Good morning again, welcome to worship this morning.
For those of you who I haven't had a chance to meet,
! My name's Jeff, I'm one of the pastors here,
and I would love to meet you after the service,
out on the steps and hear your story
and get to know you a little bit better.
As a kid growing up in the late 90s and early 2000s,
one of my favorite TV shows was on the Disney Channel.
It was called The Jersey, The Jersey Show of Hands.
Has anyone seen this show?
A couple, probably 90s kids, 2000s kids.
Probably not many of you have seen this.
It's about a group of kids who love to play sports.
And one day, this group of teenagers
who love to play sports discover an old football jersey
up in the attic of one of their houses.
It was a football jersey that belonged
to one of the grandfathers of these kids,
and they discover that this old football jersey
has magical powers.
And in every episode,
these kids would be encountering some problem
of teenage life related to school or friendship
or dating or sports.
And then somewhere along the way,
they would put on the jersey,
or sometimes even the jersey would find them,
and it would transport them
into the bodies of professional athletes.
They would suddenly become the 49ers quarterback Steve Young
playing in the NFL.
Or they would become Dominique Dawes competing in gymnastics
in the Olympics.
Any number of professional athletes.
And somewhere in these experiences of being transported
to being a professional sports player,
they would learn a truth about life.
They would learn about the value of teamwork
or having integrity or how to face their fears.
And then finally, that moment would be over,
and the jersey would transport them back
to their real lives again.
And the rest of the episode,
they would be reflecting how their experience
as Steve Young or as Dominique Dawes
had taught them something about how to persevere.
about how to persevere through the problem
and the challenges that they were facing.
And I know that it's an imperfect illustration,
but something like this is happening
in the book of Revelation.
The book of Revelation was written by the apostle John
to a group of churches in first century Asia Minor,
many of whom were experiencing very real hardship
and persecution and suffering.
And in this book, we see over and over again
that John is transported.
He's transported across space and time
through a series of visions across the entirety of the book.
And the purpose of these visions
is something like what the jersey did.
It's meant to tell the truth.
It's meant to tell the truth about reality
in a way that encourages perseverance for the church,
to encourage these embattled churches
in Asia Minor in the first century,
to persevere in their own generation
and faithful living and gospel witness.
And it's meant to do the same for us.
And over the course of the Easter season,
we've been journeying through Revelation in the lectionary.
A few weeks ago, we saw that in Revelation chapter one,
we saw this vision of Jesus holding the seven lampstands
and the seven stars of the churches.
Last week in Revelation five, we saw this vision of Jesus
who is at once the lamb who was slain
and the lion of the tribe of Judah.
And in our text this morning, in Revelation chapter seven,
John receives another vision.
And it's this vision of this great multitude.
And so that's what we're gonna look at this morning,
who this great multitude is
and how this multitude encourages us
to persevere in our own generation
is what we're gonna look at this morning.
We're gonna see from Revelation seven,
we're gonna see a multi-ethnic multitude,
a triumphant multitude, and a secure multitude.
A multi-ethnic multitude, a triumphant multitude,
and a secure multitude.
So first of all, a multi-ethnic multitude.
One of the questions that faces anybody
who reads this section of Revelation chapter seven
is what John's seeing,
is what he is seeing one group or is it two groups?
In verses four through eight, John hears a number.
And the number that he hears is 144,000
from the tribe of Israel,
from the various tribes of Israel.
But then in verse nine, he sees,
he sees a great multitude that no one could count
from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
And so we have to ask ourselves, which is it?
Is this one group of people
or is this two groups of people?
And as you can imagine,
scholars have proposed various theories
across the centuries.
Those within Christendom
and those outside of Christendom.
So Jehovah's Witnesses, for example,
you may know that Jehovah's Witnesses
actually believe that these 144,000
are a select group of people
that will reign with Christ in heaven one day
while all other believers
have somewhat of a second-class existence on earth.
It's kind of a varsity, junior varsity split going on here.
If you're a really great Christian,
you'll be numbered among the 144,000.
Within Christendom,
some Christians have even argued
that the 144,000
represent a select group of Jewish evangelists
who will witness to Jesus as the Messiah
during the period of the Great Tribulation,
which is still yet to come.
But I think that neither of these views
actually reads Revelation well.
Neither of these views best accounts
for what's happening
and how the symbolic imagery of Revelation
is supposed to work
on its original audience and on us.
To read this well,
all we have to do is remember back to chapter five.
When John hears and he sees.
In Revelation chapter five,
John hears the name of the lion of the tribe of Judah,
but then a verse later,
he sees who?
He sees the lamb who was slain,
seated on the throne.
And what we realize in Revelation five
is what John hears and what he sees
are one and the same.
Jesus is both the lion of the tribe of Judah
and the lamb seated on the throne who was slain.
And these two images are two lenses
through which we see the same Jesus.
And the same thing is happening here.
John hears the number of 144,000
and then he sees the great multitude
that can't be counted.
But they are one and the same,
simply viewed through two different lenses.
The 144,000 symbolically represent
God's people Israel under the old covenant.
The number 12, if you read the Old Testament,
or even if you think about Jesus' 12 disciples,
number 12 is symbolic of fullness
or completeness in the Bible.
And so 144,000 comes from the 12 tribes of Israel
times 12,000.
And I checked on my calculator this week
and it does lead to 144,000.
So you're welcome to check my math.
But this is not a statistic.
It's not a statistic.
It's a symbolic image of the completeness of God's people.
The people of Israel under the old covenant
are one in the same.
They are one in the same with the great multitude
from every tribe and tongue and people and nation
under the new covenant.
And although God is revealing this to John
in a new vision, this is nothing new.
If you've read the Old Testament,
you know that this has been God's plan all along.
God told Abraham in Genesis 12 that his family,
his descendants will be a blessing
to all the families of the earth.
And all over the Old Testament,
we read how Israel's mission was meant
to be a light to the nations,
to all of the peoples of the earth.
And so the church is this multi-ethnic fulfillment
of these promises.
They are the new Israel in Christ.
And so what John sees is a future vision
of the full number of God's people
from at the end of history,
from every era of time
and from every nation on earth
that will stand before God
and who will reign with him forever and ever.
And this future vision
is meant to encourage us
to persevere in our present mission.
This future reality doesn't yet match
what is currently the present reality.
The Joshua Project estimates
that there are 7,200 ethnic groups in the world
representing over 3 billion people
with little to no access to the gospel.
Many of them who live in what's called
as the 1040 window.
This is the part of the globe
stretching from North Africa
across the Middle East to parts of Asia.
This is the place where
most people in the world
have not only not heard of Christ
but have little to no access to the gospel.
And in our digital and connected world,
many of the people who remain unreached
are unreached for a reason.
They live in places
that are geographically hard to get to.
They live in places
that are spiritually challenging
and they live in places
where the political authorities
are opposed to the gospel,
sometimes even violently.
And so to share Christ
with people in these places
often takes great risk.
And it often involves great difficulty
and even opposition.
Just as the churches
in the first century in Asian minor
experienced,
in the Roman Empire,
experienced risk
and opposition
and even persecution
to share Christ,
the same is true of many today
who answer the call of God
to share Christ with those
in unreached and difficult places.
Why should the church,
why should the people of God
persevere in spreading the gospel
in places that are geographically
hard to get to,
in places that are spiritually challenging,
and in places where the political authorities
are opposed to the gospel?
Because of the great multitude.
Because of the great multitude,
God is on a mission
to make the good news
of the victory of the Lamb
known to every tribe
and tongue
and nation
on earth.
And this vision
of the multitude
in Revelation 7
assures us
that this
multi-ethnic mission
will
not
fail.
It will not fail.
The success rate
is 100%.
And God
has given us
the incredible stewardship
and privilege
and opportunity
to join him
in his mission
to every tribe
and tongue
and people
on earth.
This is why
as a church
we support missionaries
all over the world
taking the gospel
to people
in unreached
and hard to reach places.
This is why
we support missionaries
working in
places like
Thailand.
In places
like Kazakhstan.
It's why
we support
missionaries
who work with
Middle Eastern refugees
in places
like Greece.
This is why
we give generously
to the calls
of global missions.
It's why
we pray
faithfully
for the calls
of global missions
and it's why
we go
courageously
to hard places
for the calls
of global missions.
We do this
because the
north star
for the mission
of the church
is the multi-ethnic
multitude
in Revelation 7
from every tribe
and tongue
and people
and nation.
So that's the first thing
that we see
in Revelation 7
that this multitude
that John sees
is a multi-ethnic
multitude.
The second thing
that we see
as we continue
in the passage
is that it is
a triumphant
multitude.
It's a triumphant
multitude.
We saw
in chapter 5
last week
we saw
this vision
of the scroll
how there's
a scroll
that reveals
God's plan
his sovereign
plan for all
of history
that there is
only one
and there is
only one
who is able
to break
the seals
and to open
the scroll
and it is
the one
who is both
the lion
of the tribe
of Judah
and the lamb
who was slain.
And then
as we move
forward in chapter 6
what we begin
to see
is that
the lamb
who is the lion
begins opening
the seals
of the book
of history.
And as he opens
the seals
what we begin
to see
is the reality
of a suffering
world
where the powers
of evil
are wreaking
havoc
where there is
violence
and destruction
and famine
and death
on humanity
in general
and where the
people of God
in particular
are persecuted
and even killed.
and we see
this in Revelation 6
verses 9 and 10
when the fifth
of seven seals
is opened
we read this
when he opened
the fifth seal
I saw under
the altar
the souls
of those
who had been slain
because of the word
of God
and the testimony
that they had maintained
and they called out
in a loud voice
how long
sovereign Lord
holy and true
until you judge
the inhabitants
of the earth
and avenge
our blood
and these
are the martyrs
of the church
they are those
who have been killed
for their faith
in Christ
and for their witness
to the gospel
not only those
in the first century
in the seven churches
in Asia Minor
who were killed
and martyred
under the great persecutions
of the Roman Empire
but those who continue
to be martyred
even today
Open Doors International
is a ministry
that supports
and creates awareness
of the persecuted church
around the world
and they report
that in
last year
in 2024
that approximately
4,500 Christians
across the globe
were killed
and martyred
for their faith
and that this number
is likely higher
since many of these
instances
go unreported
the reality
of martyrdom
is not an ancient
phenomenon
it is a present reality
for many Christians
around the world
those who have died
for the sake of Christ
across history
are in the presence
of the Lord
and they're crying out
to God saying
how long
until you bring justice
to our death
and defeat the powers
of evil
once and for all
how long
is the cry
of the martyrs
of the church
it's also the cry
of every Christian
who suffers
in a fallen world
it's the cry
of every human being
who feels
as if justice
will never come
it's the cry
of every person
in this room
who is suffering
how long
God
why are you waiting
why are you delaying
bringing justice
to the world
and we begin
to get an answer
in chapter 6
verse 11
it says
then each of them
was given a white robe
and they were told
to wait a little longer
until the full number
of their fellow servants
their brothers and sisters
were killed
just as they had been
and this
seems
a bit surprising
perhaps even troubling
at first
when we read this
that God
is delaying
his justice
until the
full number
of martyrs
have been killed
until
we remember
the lamb
and we remember
that this is
exactly how
the lamb
conquers
the powers
of evil
and sin
and death
just
as
the lamb
was triumphant
through weakness
and sacrifice
and death
so too
are those
who follow
the lamb
what the powers
of evil do
to try
to oppose
the lamb
uses
to conquer
the powers
of evil
the third century
church father
Tertullian
is famous
for saying
that the blood
of the martyrs
is the seed
of the church
the blood
of the martyrs
is the seed
of the church
throughout history
whenever followers
of Christ
have given
their lives
for the gospel
what happens
the gospel
spreads
and the church
grows
and the lamb
is victorious
and this
is what we see
in Revelation
chapter 7
we see
in Revelation
chapter 6
the cry
of the martyrs
and in Revelation
7 we see
that this
army
of martyrs
is triumphant
and verse 9
they are wearing
white robes
and they are
holding palm branches
white robes
and palm branches
in the ancient world
were symbols
of a military victory
and as this multitude
bears
the symbols
of victory
they sing
a song
of victory
to their triumphant
king
verse 10
they cry out
with a loud voice
salvation
belongs to
our God
who sits
on the throne
into the lamb
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
saying
amen
blessing
and glory
and wisdom
and thanksgiving
and honor
and power
and might
be to our God
forever
and ever
amen
this is
a triumphant
multitude
and in a
suffering world
where there is
real suffering
and real injustice
where there is
violence
and destruction
and war
and famine
and chaos
and death
where followers
of Christ
are imprisoned
and tortured
and even killed
for the gospel
around the world
in a world
and in our own lives
where sometimes
it can feel
like the powers
of evil
are winning
and sometimes
it can feel
hopeless
this is why
the church
can persevere
this is why
the church
can persevere
amidst
opposition
and persecution
and even martyrdom
because the ultimate
triumph
of the Lamb
over the powers
of evil
is never in doubt
in fact
he uses
what the powers
of evil
try to do
to oppose him
to conquer
the powers
of evil
and the power
and glory
of all earthly
empires
will eventually
fade
and will eventually
give way
to the glory
and power
of the Lamb
and his kingdom
the original audience
would have heard
in their culture
and in their time
Caesar and Rome
bring you salvation
Caesar and Rome
bring you blessing
Caesar and Rome
bring you glory
Caesar and Rome
bring you wisdom
and honor
they were false
promises then
they're false
promises now
salvation
doesn't belong
to Rome
it doesn't belong
to Caesar
it doesn't belong
to any earthly empire
including our own
salvation
belongs
to our God
and to the Lamb
who is seated
on the throne
blessing
and glory
and wisdom
and thanksgiving
and honor
and power
and might
be to our God
forever
and ever
Amen
so the first
thing we see
about this
multitude
is that it is
a multi-ethnic
multitude
the second thing
we see
is that it is
a triumphant
multitude
and finally
the third thing
and final thing
we see
in Revelation 7
is that it is
a secure
multitude
the hard truth
of Revelation
of all of Revelation
but Revelation
chapter 6
the hard truth
is that
the wrath
of the Lamb
is coming
we see
at the end
of chapter 6
as the sixth
seal of the scroll
is opened
we see a vision
of the day of judgment
at the end of time
Revelation chapter 6
verses 15
through 17
then the kings
of the earth
and the great ones
and the generals
and the rich
and the powerful
and everyone
slave and free
hid themselves
in the caves
and among the rocks
of the mountains
calling to the mountains
and the rocks
fall on us
and hide us
from the face
of him
who is seated
on the throne
and from the wrath
of the Lamb
for the great day
of their wrath
has come
and who
can stand
for some of us
perhaps many of us
the wrath of God
is something
that is
uncomfortable
or perhaps
even troubling
to think about
perhaps this is
why some of us
cannot possibly
believe in the God
of the Bible
we've dismissed
the God
of the Bible
because we can
never believe
in a God
of wrath
it seems
irrational
it seems unfair
it seems opposed
to a God
of love
but think
for a second
about
the people
in your life
who
you love
the most
who love
you the most
friends
family
loved ones
what if
the people
in your life
that you love
the most
were threatened
were harmed
even abused
what would
you feel
would you
not feel
anger
would you
not feel
wrath
would you
not long
for someone
to do
something about
it
and to
bring
justice
in the same
way
God's wrath
and judgment
is simply
the flip side
of his love
God's purposes
for humanity
and for his
creation
are loving
and redemptive
they are to heal
and restore
his creation
but as many
who have
experienced
injustice
know
healing
cannot happen
without justice
the judge
of all the earth
must punish
and remove
all evil
and cleanse
his world
from sin
to restore it
and the question
that revelation
confronts us
with
is who
can stand
who can stand
before a God
like that
who can stand
before the wrath
of the Lamb
when all of us
rightly deserve
his judgment
because of the sin
and evil
in our hearts
that's the hard
news of revelation
but the good news
of revelation
is though the
wrath of the Lamb
is coming
the salvation
of the Lamb
has already
come
the salvation
of the Lamb
has already
come
this is what
it's meant
by chapter 7
verse 14
when it talks
about this multitude
it says that
they have washed
their robes
and made them
white in the blood
of the Lamb
that's strange
that's confusing
how can
blood
wash something
and make it
white
but the strangeness
of this image
helps us to see
the powerfully
good news
of the gospel
that in revelation
5
Jesus is the Lamb
who was slain
for you
to purchase you
with his death
with his blood
and his blood
shed for us
on the cross
is what brings us
salvation
and healing
and forgiveness
and restoration
and it is what
makes us clean
from the stain
of sin
and if you
have trusted
in him
if you have
trusted in
the blood
of the Lamb
to wash you
and make you
clean
then just
like the great
multitude
in the day
of the Lamb's
wrath
you can
stand
you can
stand
you can
stand
clothed
in a white
robe
washed
in the blood
of the Lamb
because you
are safe
and secure
in his
love
and what's
said
in verses
15-17
if you look
at chapter 7
verses 15-17
what is said
about the great
multitude
is your
sure hope
and consolation
as well
and I'm
as I read
this verses
as I read
these verses
I want to
acknowledge
that there are
people all
across this
room
who are
experiencing
a range
of
degrees
of
suffering
that come
from living
in a fallen
world
and if that's
you and you're
here this
morning
I want
you to
receive
these
verses
from
Jesus
himself
as
consolation
for your
soul
therefore
they are
before
the throne
of God
and serve
him
day and
night
in his
temple
and he
who sits
on the
throne
will
shelter
them
with
his
presence
they
shall
hunger
no more
neither
thirst
anymore
the sun
shall not
strike them
nor any
scorching
heat
for the
lamb
in the
midst
of the
throne
will be
their
shepherd
and he
will guide
them to
springs
of living
water
and God
will wipe
away
every tear
from their
eyes
can you
imagine
it
does this
seem too
good to be
true
sheltered
forever
by the
presence
of God
the lamb
who was
slain
himself as
your
shepherd
drinking
from
springs
of living
water
all of
your
tears
wiped
away
never
having
to
suffer
again
this
is the
ultimate
consolation
and comfort
and hope
to all
who trust
in the
lamb
whose
robes
are washed
white
in his
blood
and to
all
who have
suffered
and died
for the
sake
of
Christ
the
lamb
who
was
slain
is
also
our
shepherd
who
brings
us
shelter
and
safety
and
security
and
consolation
forever
as a
kid
growing up
in the
90s
part of
me
longed
to have
that
magic
jersey
I
want
to be
transported
to be
a professional
athlete
play in
the NFL
play in
the NBA
I
later
found out
I
can't
wear that
magic
jersey
friends we
don't have
a magic
jersey
we have
something
better
we have
the word
of God
we have
the book
of
revelation
we have
revelation
chapter 7
this vision
in revelation
7
transported
john
in the
first
century
church
to see
the great
multitude
in ways
that brought
them encouragement
and hope
and assurance
so that they
could persevere
in their
generation
faithful
living
and in
gospel
witness
and it
does the
same for
us today
seeing
this
multi
ethnic
multitude
encourages
us to
persevere
in the
global
mission
of the
lamb
despite
opposition
and
difficulty
it
encourages
us
to
go
to
places
that
are
geographically
hard
to
get
to
that
are
spiritually
difficult
and that
are
politically
opposed
to the
spread
of the
gospel
seeing
this
triumphant
multitude
assures
us
that the
victory
of the
lamb
over
the
powers
of
evil
is
never
in
doubt
no
matter
what
no
matter
the
amount
of
suffering
and
persecution
we
face
no
matter
even
if
we
give
our
lives
for
the
gospel
and
seeing
this
secure
multitude
reminds
us
of
our
ultimate
consolation
that
in
the
day
of
the
lamb's
wrath
we
can
stand
because
the
lamb
who
was
slain
for
us
is
our
shepherd
and
so
as we
come to
the
end
of
revelation
7
we
join
our
voices
with
the
heavenly
chorus
and
with
the
saints
across
the
ages
singing
together
with
them
salvation
belongs
to
God
and
to
the
one
to
the
lamb
who
sits
on
the
throne
blessing
and
glory
and
wisdom
and
thanksgiving
and
honor
and
power
and
might
be
to
our
God
forever
and
ever
amen
pray
with
me
oh
Lord
God
of
heaven
thank
you
so
much
for
this
vision
that
you
gave
the
apostle
John
that
encouraged
the
first
century
church
would
you
encourage
us
today
would
you
assure
us
of
these
promises
would
you
help
us
to
persevere
in
the
power
of
your
spirit
and
knowing
that
the
ultimate
victory
belongs
to
you
in
the
name
of
the
Father
and
the
Son
and
the
Holy
Spirit
Amen