A Journey thru Revelation, Part 21: The Seventh Seal: The Trumpet Judgments

In this next part of the Revelation of Jesus Christ (Rev. 8:1-6), we see a new part of the vision. We are going to see Jesus break the seals on the trumpet judgments, which are now going to come upon the humanity.

 

The Seventh Sea: The Trumpets

v.1, “And when He broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour”:

·     This chapter opens with the announcement that the seventh seal is opened:

o   Remember, its only Christ who is worthy to open these seals.

 

·     The phrase “and when he broke the seventh seal” indicates a continuation of seal judgments from chapter 6:12:

o   Remember, in the last two articles, we’ve looked at a vision between sixth and seventh seal.

 

·     Contained within the seventh seal are the later developments leading to the second coming of Christ, including the seven trumpet judgments and the seven bowl judgments of the wrath of God.

 

·     The breaking of this final seal brings an unexpected result, "there came a silence in heaven for about a half an hour":

o   Though 30 minutes is not ordinarily considered a long time, when it’s a time of absolute silence, foreshadowing such ominous events ahead, it’s an indication that something awful is about to take place.

 

·     This half an hour is a dramatic pause to symbolize both the awe and dread with which the heavenly hosts await the events that are about happen.

 

·     It's a silent expectancy that makes the judgments that are about to begin all the more impressive.

 

·     We see this kind of silence in the Old Testament in combination with reverence for God and awesome expectation of His judgment.

 

·     The silence is preparation for what’s coming in v.2, the terrible consequences of the seven trumpet judgments that will begin shortly.

 

·     This first trumpet will happen early during last half of Great Tribulation.

 

v.2, “And I saw the seven angels who stand before God; and seven trumpets were given to them”:

·     This part of the vision comes after the half-hour of silence and includes some preparations for the trumpet judgments and the sounding of the first four trumpets in 8:7-12.

 

·     John saw "the seven angels who stand before God [that is, in the presence of God].” 

 

·     Who are these seven angels?

 

·     Let me start by explaining:

o   In Jewish literature, written between the Old and New Testaments, Gabriel is described as one of “the angels of the presence” who stand before God’s throne praising Him and interceding for men (Apocrypha:  Tobit 12:15).

o   This book is part of the “Apocrypha” which means hidden or secret:

Ø  The books of the Apocrypha are considered non-canonical because the authors are unknown.

 

·     So here’s what some believe:

o   First, because of the definite article "the" angels, and because of a supposed connection with seven archangel's in Jewish tradition, some have identified these angels as a special group consisting of:

Ø  Uriel = God is my light.

Ø  Raphael = angel of healing

Ø  Reuel = friend of God

Ø  Michael = who is like God

Ø  Sariel = God has fought or Prince of God

Ø  Gabriel = strength of God

Ø  Remiel = mercy of God or God's mercy

Ø  These names come from a book known as 1 Enoch 20, a Pseudapigraphal book, a false writing (we don’t know who the author was, therefore it was rejected from Canon of Scripture)

 

o   Second, some believe that the word “stand” indicates that they were in front of God and have been there for some time. Therefore, they must be a special class of angels.

 

·     Here are the arguments against either of these identifications:

o   First, the seven angles are not mentioned among the heavenly company described in Revelation 4-5.

o   Second, Jewish “literature” is not Scripture. These reasons are traditions taken from books, whose authors are unknown and, therefore, do not make it factual.

o   Third, in 8:2-5, it’s an angel, distinct from this group, who offers the prayers of the saints:

Ø  One would think that if this were such a special group, certainly one of them would have been assigned this task.

 

·     Perhaps the best explanation is that these angels, whoever they are, do have a place of prominence, in heaven:

o   There’s just not much more we know about them except they will sound the trumpets of judgment.

 

·     John saw the seven angels receive seven trumpets, “seven trumpets were given to them”:

o   Trumpets played a major part in the national life is Israel:

Ø  In ceremonial processions.

Ø  For assembling people for war, journeys, and special feasts.

Ø  For warning of the coming Day of the Lord.

Ø  For announcing the New Year.

o   As a signal for war.

o   These trumpets find a natural association with judgment. 

o   Here, they are precursors of Divine judgment and the “Day of the Lord.”

 

·     Before the trumpets sound, however, there’s a pause. Notice verse three.

 

v.3, “And another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne”:

·     As John watched, “another angel” with the golden censer came into the picture and stood before the altar.

                         

·     Some have tried to identify this angel as Christ mainly because of the theological consideration that only Christ, as high priest, can answer the prayers of the saints.

 

·     However, a basic rule for interpretation is that we must never move away from the plain meaning of the words.

 

·     Careful observation of what the angel does reveals that this angel doesn’t act as a mediator by making the prayers acceptable:

o   He only delivers the prayers.

o   Jesus is the only Mediator between God and man.

o   He, alone, makes our prayers acceptable.

 

·     A better identification of this angel would be that he’s another created being, not Christ:

o   Again, this is an angel of the same kind (allos, in the Greek, of the same kind) as those in 8:2.

o   He does not pray or attempt to intercede on behalf of the humans. 

o   He simply takes the incense and adds it to the prayers of the saints.

 

·     The identity of the altars, two of them, in v.3 and v.5, has been a subject of much debate:

o   In the context of Revelation, its best to see these “altars” as one and the same.

 

·     The attention in this passage is on the incense. This, along with later references to the altar of incense (9:13; 14:18; 16:7), pretty much excludes the possibility of this being the altar for offering.

 

·     Not only that, but only the altar of incense was made of gold:

o   The golden altar of incense (Exod. 30:1–10) stood just before the veil inside the tabernacle that separated the most holy place from the rest of the worship area (Exod. 40:26–27).

o   The “golden censer,” sometimes referred to as a “fire pan,” was used in the temple of Solomon.

o   Priests burned incense on this altar every day so it’s sweet smell would fill the tabernacle.

 

·     Notice, John tells us “and much incense was given to him.” 

o   The angel receives “much incense” from God to offer on the altar along with the prayers of the saints.

 

·     Where the incense came from isn’t clear, but the customary usage of “edothe,” is the Greek word meaning “was given” throughout Revelation, indicates that it was from God.

 

·     Incense had a prominent place in Old Testament worship and serves as a reminder that intercessory prayer is like sweet perfume before the Lord.

 

·     In the temple rituals, the priest poured the saucer of incense over the burning coals on the altar of incense:

o   At the same time, the Israelites bowed in prayer as the fragrant cloud of smoke ascended heavenward. 

o   A similar connection between incense and the prayers of the saints occurs in Revelation 5:8, except there, the incense and prayers are one and the same.

o   Here, the incense is added to the prayers of the persecuted and the martyrs.

 

·     One of the reasons for the trumpet judgments is that God is answering the prayers of the saints:

o   This is a beautiful picture of the prayers of the saints as seen from heaven.

 

·     Incense was symbolic of worship and prayer and a reminder that intercession of the Lord has the character of sweet incense.

 

·     So, the actions of the angel don’t make the angel a mediator between God and man:

o   The text is simply saying that the angel adds much incense to the prayers of the saints.

o   And he does that at the golden altar, which is before the throne.

 

·     In the whole context of the Revelation, the prayers are the cries of the saints for judgment against their persecutors:

o   Remember, these are not the prayers of all the saints of all time.

o   The martyrs in heaven will perhaps cry the loudest, but the number of the future saints will not be limited to just them.

 

·     The prayers are going to the golden altar before God’s throne:

o   Which is a place of power.

o   And the source of the trumpet judgments, which are about to begin.

 

v.4, “And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel’s hand”:

·     Leaving the angel’s hand, the smoke rises upward arriving in the very presence of God:

o   Picture this scene in your mind.

 

·     The timing here is on the verge of God’s “trumpet” judgments:

o   This represents the acceptability of the prayers.

 

·     These prayers, which have been unanswered until now, are welcome and receive a direct reply (as we’ll soon see).

 

·     Notice: the smoke produced by the burning incense rises “with the prayers of the saints”:

o   We will soon see God’s acceptance of these prayers for vengeance and He will act.

v.5, “And the angel took the censer; and he filled it with the fire of the altar and threw it to the earth; and there followed peals of thunder and sounds and flashes of lightning and an earthquake”:

·     This is the next scene in this pause just before the trumpet judgments bring the earth’s inhabitants into the picture.

 

·     The angel takes the censer, fills it with coals from the fire on the altar and then he hurls it towards the earth:

o   This signifies that judgment is about to be imposed in answer to the prayers of the saints for vengeance.

o   God’s answer to these prayers of these saints, for vengeance, is symbolized by the prayers being hurled at the earth.

o   The connection between the Divine wrath about to fall upon the earth and the prayers of God's people is not a coincidence.

 

·     The censer was normally used for offering incense. But now it has become a symbol of judgment in response to prayer.

 

·     Fire is frequently used in Scripture as a symbol for God’s judgment of the wicked.

 

·     The hurling of the censer to the earth reminds us of the saints’ question back in 6:10, "How long O Lord?"

o   It also signals that an answer to those prayers is on the way.

 

·     The interaction between the sovereignty of God and the prayers of His people is part of the mystery of the Christian life:

o   The how and why prayer is intertwined with moving of the hand of God is something we may never understand the side of glory.

o   These saints pray for justice and their prayers play a part, but it’s God's business to determine the time and nature of the actions against their persecutors.

 

·     The thunder, lightening, and the earthquake are all a huge contrast with the silence of v.1:

o   They are the physical expression of God's anger against the unrepentant world.

 

·     The inhabitants of the earth will see in the coming trumpet judgments as what God set out to do in "the hour of testing that is about to come upon the whole earth, to test those who dwell upon the earth" (3:10).

 

·     As we'll soon see, by the time the seven trumpets have run their course, God’s purging of this creation will almost be complete.

 

v.6, “And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound them”:

·     To close the quiet before the storm, the seven angels prepare themselves.

 

·     Perhaps their preparation is a deliberate arranging of themselves in a certain order:

o   Maybe it includes the raising of their trumpets in readiness to sound, which would heighten the sense of expectancy even more.

 

·     The signal for the angels to prepare was the hurling of censer to the earth.

 

·     As we’ll see later, just like the pattern of the seal judgments, the first four trumpets are different from the last three:

o   The first four set in motion the forces of nature to complete their destructive effects on the earth and mankind.

o   God uses the natural forces to punish mankind. 

o   In the last three trumpets, sustaining human life in the face of demonic onslaught becomes the major concern, especially among the rebellious inhabitants of the earth.

 

·     Next time, we’ll see that, like the bowl judgments to follow, the trumpet judgments have a recollection of the Old Testament plagues against Egypt:

o   You’ll have to come back next month to see the similarities.

 

Lessons Learned from Chapter 8:1-6:

·     There was silence in heaven for half an hour. With all the activity, this dramatic pause must have seemed to last for an eternity. During this time, the only activity was the prayers of the saints. We must seek God in times of silence. How proper for us to be quiet and honor God for His power and might. Take time each day to be silent and exalt God.

 

·     Silence before God conveys trust and confidence. We can trust God that He will give us strength and provide the justice against our oppressors.

 

·     The angel threw the censer to the earth. This symbolizes the judgment of God released on earth. It was in answer to the prayers of the saints for justice for those who had opposed and killed them. 

 

·     This shows that justice, vindication, and revenge are in God's hands, not ours. 

 

·     No matter how strong the desire to exact revenge and retaliate against our enemies, our work is to pray for our enemies and wait for His justice in His timing.

 

May the Lord bless you as you continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our God.

 

By His Grace,

Gary T. Dromi, Ph.D., D.Min.

A Journey through Revelation, Part 20: The Great Multitude. Revelation 7:9-17

In our last article, we looked at the 144,000, which will be 12,000 from each of the twelve tribes of the nation of Israel.

In the following verses, John describes a great multitude of people standing before the throne of God and the Lamb.

 

Let’s take a look.

 

v.9, “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands”:

·     “after these things” introduces John’s second vision in chapter 7.

 ·     The phrase, “I looked and behold,” gets your attention.

 ·     “a great multitude which no one could count” means untold millions of people!

o   In 7:1-8, the number of people is definite, but here it is indefinite.

o   In the last article, the 144,000 are from the 12 tribes of Israel, but here, they’re from every nation.

o   In the first vision, the people are prepared for upcoming danger and wrath. But here they are victorious and secure.

o   The first vision was exclusively Jews. This one is not.

o   The first group was facing a period of wrath. This one has come out of it.

 

·     “from every nation” means people from every nation will believe and receive Christ during the Great Tribulation.

 

·     “and all tribes, peoples and tongues” means Jews and Gentiles:

o   Salvation, during the time of the Tribulation, just as it is now, remains a free gift from God, based solely upon believing and receiving Jesus Christ as Savior.

o   No one’s excluded due to race, color, or heritage.

o   Never let anyone tell you otherwise!

o   God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow and He has said that the just shall live by faith! (“For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘but the righteous man shall live by faith’” Romans 1:17).

o   This huge crowd represents Gentile and Jewish believers who have died, either a natural or a violent death during the period of the first six seals and they come out of the Great Tribulation.

 

·     They are “standing before the throne and before the Lamb”:

o   This scene is in heaven, before the throne of God and the Lamb.

o   The presence of the elders and the living beings verifies that this is still the heavenly throne room that we read about in chapters 4 and 5, not an earthly setting.

o   This great multitude is in the presence of the Father and, notice, “and before the Lamb.” They are in heaven!

 

·     They were “clothed in white robes”:

o   In John’s day, white robes were symbolic of rejoicing associated with victory.

o   The robes symbolize victory and righteousness obtained through the death of Christ.

o   They’ve been washed clean of their sin, and that’s the reason they’re rejoicing, as all believers should!

 

·     “Palm branches were in their hands.” Why palm branches?

o   The palms carried in their hands verify the victory.

o   According to oriental thought, a palm was a perfect tree because it embodied everything a tree should have:

Ø  Shade, dates for food, and an oasis where water was located.

 

o   Palm branches were regarded as proper at any season of joy and triumph, such as the triumphal entry of Christ in John 12:13.

o   They were important at the Feast of Tabernacle’s, being used to construct the shelters on the housetops.

o   The Greeks and Romans used palm branches with the same symbolism:  triumph and joy.

o   This multitude is celebrating its victory and these palm branches are a part of their celebration.

 

v.10, “and they [the multitude] cry out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb’”:

·     “and they cry out” in the Greek means that they keep on crying out:

o   They never stop; their voices are never quieted. They cry out with a “loud voice.”

 

·     This very strong expression shows the depth of gratitude of the multitude and their resolve to give credit where credit is due, to God and to the Lamb:

o   They realize that this salvation is not of their own achievement, but that of God and the Lamb.

 

·     The words “salvation to our God who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb” recognizes that the victory belongs to Father and the Son.

 

v.11, “And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God”:

·     The angels respond to the cry of the multitude by falling down in worship of God.

 

·     Angels don’t experience salvation in the way humans do:

o   But they still rejoice over every repentant sinner and long to know more about the salvation that is available to mankind (1 Peter 1:12).

 

·     At this point, the angels fall before the throne upon their faces much in the same manner as the 24 elders did in chapter 4:

o   Falling on one’s face is a proper position to worship God.

 

Notice what the angels are saying in v.12.

 

v.12, , “Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen”:

·     The first “amen” is their confirmation of the tribute of the multitude to God because of the victory He has brought.

 

·     What comes next is their angelic tribute in the form of a sevenfold doxology, like we saw from angelic beings in 5:12.

 

·     They use the word “blessing” because this is what is due to God on behalf of the saved ones.

 

·     Then, the word “glory” which refers to the honor earned from earning a good reputation:

o   This glory is the radiance of God.

o   In this case, because of His work of deliverance of humans from eternal death through faith in the Lamb, Jesus Christ.

 

·     Next is the word “wisdom” which describes the Divine knowledge of God as revealed in His plan of salvation.

 

·     Then, we see the word “thanksgiving.” This is the thanksgiving of the believers, which is inevitable, when we consider all of God's blessings and accomplishment on our behalf.

 

·     Next, the word “honor” which describes the respect given in recognition of God's provision of salvation:

o   They, and we, have done nothing on our own to earn salvation.

o   It’s purely a work of the Father and His Son, Jesus, the sacrificial Lamb.

 

·     The next word is “power” which describes God's omnipotence, His ability to act effectively against any and all opposition:

o   He has delivered this multitude from some of the most terrifying judgments ever seen by human beings.

 

·     Lastly, they use the word “might,” meaning strength. It refers to a quality that one possesses, whether he exerts that strength or not:

o   In this case, God has shown His strength by delivering this multitude of people from the clutches of the enemy.

 

·     These attributes of God are “forever and ever.”

 

·     The second “amen” means “so be it” or “let it be so.”

 

v.13, “And one of the elders answered, saying to me, ‘These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and from where have they come?’”

·     Here’s a conversation between one of the 24 elders and John:

o   This conversation identifies the multitude more clearly.

 

·     We see God using a dialogue to explain John’s visions:

o   Visions were not given for the purpose of spectacular displays.

o   They are given to reveal new things from God, things that, as of yet, were unknown, in this case, future events.

o   The details of these revelations were not, and should not, be ignored, dismissed or trivialized.

 

·     Here, as in 5:5, an elder interprets the vision for John:

o   He anticipates the question that John was getting ready to ask.

 

·     The elder directs John’s attention to the multitude dressed in white robes:

o   The white robes are the focal point, not their number.

 

·     He asked two questions: 

o   "who are they?" and "from where have they come?"

 

Notice John’s response in v.14

 

v.14 “And I said to him, ‘My lord, you know.’ And he said to me, ‘These are the ones who come out of the Great Tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb”:

·     John shows respect by addressing the elder as “My lord.”

 

·     John also tells the elder “you know,” meaning that the elder knows the truth about this multitude.

 

·     The elder answers John, "these are the ones who come out of Great Tribulation."

 

·     The key to identifying who this multitude is lies in the words "those who are coming out of the great tribulation”:

o   This is a vision of the future.

o   The elder describes those who will be coming out of the Great Tribulation.

o   The persecution of the saints will be a long process, which, from John’s standpoint, was partly past because he had seen the first six seals. And partly future, as the trumpet and bowl judgments are still to come.

o   It’s interesting to note from the saints perspective, they enter into heaven immediately after physical death.

o   But the resurrection of their bodies must wait until the personal return of Christ to the earth in Revelation 20:4.

o   So, John sees this multitude coming out from persecution on the earth, from a point just before the persecution of the saints becomes even worse under the leadership of the beast of the sea in Revelation 13:7.

 

·     The elder continues with his description by saying, “and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb”:

o   In Isaiah 64:6 and Zech. 3:3, dirty clothes symbolize sinfulness.

o   This illustration of cleansing and whiteness comes from Psalm 51:7 and Isaiah 1:18.

 

·     In modern times, making anything white by washing it in blood is unheard of, but it was not so with John and those with an Old Testament background:

o   To them, such washing stood for spiritual purity.

o   But not just any blood would achieve this cleansing, however. The martyrs’ blood would not do it.

o   It had to be the blood of the Christ to produce the whiteness, the purity, and the cleanness before God.

 

·     The verb in the Greek looks back to the time when the cleansing occurred in the life of each member of the crowd, and that was while they were still on earth:

o   Through faith alone, they obtained the promise of cleansing through the Lamb’s atoning sacrifice.

 

·     The washing and the whitening are one act of God, not two separate acts:

o   Washing and whitening happens at the moment of salvation, at the moment of saving faith.

o   God washes away the sin which then cleanses the soul.

o   Using figurative language we are, “white,” we are pure; we are sinless because of the atoning work of Christ on the cross. It is His blood that washing away all our sin at the moment of saving faith in Jesus.

 

·     We are saved by virtue of receiving God's forgiveness and being given Christ’s righteousness, again, by faith alone.

 

·     The Lamb's blood, Jesus’ blood spilled at Calvary, on the cross, makes it possible.

 

v.15, “For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne shall spread His tabernacle over them”:

·     “for this reason" - the white robes and the cleansing they symbolize are the reason for the position of this multitude before the throne.

 

·     Their purity is derived from their faith in the Lamb and in His sacrificial work:

o   It has prepared them to be in the presence of God and given them the privilege to stand before His throne.

 

·     In this case, standing before God's throne does not mean idleness:

o   Each one has been assigned a task, which they fulfill willingly: "they serve Him day and night in His temple."

o   And they do so continuously, “day and night.”

 

·     Their service is connected with a "temple" in this verse, and that shows that priestly service is in view here:

o   Of course this is not the service of external rites and rituals.

o   This is spiritual worship. This is praise to, and adoration of, God.

o   The same service of worship is referred to in Rev. 22:3.

 

·     This service will be rendered "day and night":

o   It must be presumed that day and night does not exist in heaven.

o   Day and night implies “time” and God is not bound by time:

Ø  He transcends time.

 

o   It means the service of worship by the multitude continues without interruption.

 

·     This worship happens "in the temple":

o   This is a picture of all of heaven as a sanctuary in which God's people are priests.

o   Remember, this is a view of the saints after death, not after the final judgment of all men.

o   They are not yet in their final state of glory, but in the presence of God awaiting the completion of His wrath against mankind.

o   While they wait, they worship and praise God for saving them eternally.

 

·     “and He who sits on the throne shall spread His tabernacle over them”:

o   The Greek word for "tabernacle" has the idea of tent camping.

o   Here it reflects what was symbolized in the Old Testament by the Shekinah, or the immediate presence of God, above the mercy seat, in the tabernacle in the wilderness, and in the cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.

o   The immediate presence of God shelters and protects them from all harm.

o   It also corresponds to the Old Testament promise that God will dwell in midst of His people.

 

v.16, “They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; neither shall the sun beat down on them, nor any heat”;

·     Here we see two provisions for the heavenly multitude.

 

·     In the natural world, the first has to do with bodily nourishment, "they will not hunger anymore or thirst anymore":

o   This promise would have been particularly attractive in an ancient land were both hunger and thirst were constant threats.

o   But the deeper meaning is the satisfaction of spiritual hunger and quenching of spiritual thirst.

o   Remember, they don’t have glorified bodies yet.

 

·     The words would be all the more meaningful to those early readers who may have been experiencing severe persecution.

 

·     Another aspect of this figurative language is that the tormenting conditions on earth will have ended for them.

 

·     In another sense, spiritual hunger and thirst for God will never cease:

o   They will just begin to see God as He truly is and long to know more about Him.

o   That’s true of us as well.

o   God’s people will always thirst for Him and that thirst will always be satisfied.

 

·     The other provision stated in verse 16 is, "neither shall the sun beat down on them, nor any heat”:

o   No matter where someone lives, the sun plays a huge factor in his or her lives.

o   Under the fourth bowl judgment of God's wrath (yet to be described), the heat of the sun will become more oppressive than ever before.

o   This multitude will not be subjected to that judgment.

 

·     How God will provide for these things is found in verse 17.

 

v.17, “for the Lamb in the center of the throne shall be their shepherd, and shall guide them to springs of the water of life; and God shall wipe every tear from their eyes”:

·     The Lamb, who is at the center of the throne, will shepherd them and lead them to the springs of the water of life.

·     God will wipe away every tear from their eyes:

o   The Father and the Son will bring the benefits promised.

 

·     Jesus’ function as a shepherd comes into view with the words "shall be their shepherd."

 

·     The idea of Jesus as shepherd is well-known in the rest of the New Testament:

o   But the idea of a Lamb shepherding a flock is quite different.

o   Usually it’s the lambs that follow the shepherd.

o   Here, the Lamb of God will shepherd His followers.

 

·     The four gospels show Christ's shepherding in relation to present life on earth, but here in Revelation, we see this multitude as God's flock in heaven:

o   Jesus will patiently care for the sheep, guarding them from any further persecution.

o   Jesus will "guide them to springs of the waters of life."

 

·     Besides protecting the sheep, the Shepherd is responsible to provide for their refreshment:

o   "he shall guide" continues the picture of Jesus leading His flock to the eternal blessedness that awaits all who belong to God. 

 

·     The Shepherd is leading them "to springs of the water of life":

o   God the Father, who is the source of all life, is the One to whom the Lamb will lead His sheep.

 

·     Notice that God, Himself, will remove all their sorrow, "and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes":

• Tears in the eyes denote the sorrow of God's people because of the pressures of life on earth.
• The Old Testament source of this promise to remove any lingering effect of that sorrow is Isaiah 20:5-8. In Revelation 20:1-3, the promise is restated in practically identical wording.

 

Lessons from John’s Visions

·     The number of believers is innumerable:  “from every tribe, tongue and nation.” That’s why missions are so important.

 

·     God’s revelations are important to us. We’re not just to read them and walk away.

 

·     The message will still be the same at the end of the earth as it has been all along:  it’s the blood of the Lamb that washes us clean from our sin and guilt.

 

·     When we get to heaven, we will:

• Be in God’s immediate presence.
• We will see His glory, the same glory that ancient Israel saw.
• Our spiritual hunger and thirst will be quenched.
• God will wipe away all sorrow, sadness, and tears. We can hardly wait!!!

 

May the Lord bless you as you continue to growth in the grace and knowledge of the Lord.

 

By His Grace,

Gary T. Dromi, Ph.D., D.Min.