The Rapture as Taught in Revelation - The Innumerable Multitude & The Seventh Seal

Compiled/Formatted By Tom Stephens

The Righteous Are Sealed

1) “Then he cried in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause ye them that have charge over the city to draw near, every man with his destroying weapon in his hand. 2) And behold, six men came from the way of the upper gate, which lieth toward the north, every man with his slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man in the midst of them clothed in linen, With a writer’s inkhorn by his side. And they went in, and stood beside the brazen altar. 3) And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon it was, to the threshold of the house: and he called to the man clothed in linen, who hath the writer’s inkhorn by his side. 4) And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. 5) And to the others He said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: Let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: 6) Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.” (Ezekiel 9: 1-6).

God is vacating the Temple as Babylon sees to Jerusalem’s destruction. This is a grievous event! Babylon is attacking and destroying Jerusalem in the physical realm, but by God’s Spirit, Ezekiel sees the glory of the God of Israel which had gone up from its accustomed place between the cherubim over the mercy-seat, now hovering over the threshold of the house—in His glorious chariot—as described in Ezekiel one. The throne of God is no longer a throne of grace but of judgment, for grace has been ignored and God’s holiness defied. God’s chariot appears to hover over the threshold of the Temple in grief of Israel’s sins.

The voice is heard again, and is identified as that of Jehovah Himself. He commands the man clothed in linen, who had the writer’s inkhorn, to go through the midst of the city of Jerusalem, and to set a mark upon the foreheads of those who manifested soul sighing and crying because of the many abominations practiced with no guilt. I am reminded of the Church of Jesus Christ, having been sealed by His Spirit—under grace—and the144,000 out of all the tribes of Israel who are to be sealed in their foreheads just before the great tribulation bursts upon the world in all its terrible fury. And we think today of those who, having turned to God in repentance and trusted the Lord Jesus Christ; sealed by the Holy Spirit during the tribulation—thus marked off from those who are to be Anathema Maranatha—devoted to the judgment of the Lord.[1]

Righteousness, with God, always prevails and just as a remnant of God’s righteous in the days of Babylon was sealed unto divine protection, so is the righteous of the church sealed, along with the 144,000 Israelites, and all those who chose Christ over the antichrist also sealed unto divine protection. Thus, Babylon is a type of the Great Tribulation, in that God ordered His angels to complete this process within the ranks of each of God’s righteous ones. Who is left?

Only one group: those who dwell upon the earth, who are the true haters of Christ and His people.

The Fate Of The Earth Dwellerso:p>

In continuing this series, I reaffirm my original intentions—to establish the following goals:

· Show the elders as the true church—resurrected/raptured between Church Age and Tribulation.

· Show the true church continuously in heaven during this period, soon to be wed to Christ Jesus.

· SShow multitudes left on earth will repent, come to Christ, and be martyred for their testimony.

· The rest of mankind—dwellers of the earth—to receive the mark of the beast unto eternal death.

In this part four, I want to focus on the rest of mankind, those who dwell on the earth. Beginning in the eighth chapter of Revelation, we read:

1) “And when He had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. 2) And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. 3) And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. 4) And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand. 5) And the angel took the censer, and filled it with the fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thundering, and lightnings, and an earthquake.”

John told us the Lamb opened the seventh seal and there was silence in heaven for the space of about half an hour. We might call this space, “the calm before the coming storm”— the most awful storm that shall ever break over this poor world. Some of you have lived in regions where thunderstorms are common, and you have no doubt, noted on a hot summer day the clouds suddenly gathering in the heavens, becoming heavier and darker every mo­ment. You have heard the thunder echoing in the skies with ever increasing in­tensity. You have observed the lightning flashes striking terror into hearts. Then suddenly all became still; there seemed to be not even a breath of wind to move the leaves upon the trees as you witnessed the storms eye; and yet, an overcast, threatening sky, causing the fowls to run for a hiding place, the cattle to move uneasily—all nature awaits, and the windows of the heavens are opened—the storm pouring down in a deluge!

We saw in chapters four and five the saints gathered around the throne of God and of the Lamb, and we noted from the throne proceeded thunder and lightning. As the seals were broken, judgment followed judgment in quick succession upon the world from which God had gathered out His people. But even the crashing un­der the sixth seal is not the climax. When the last seal is broken it will be clearly manifested then just what side God takes in all the affairs of earth. He will judge according to the holiness of His character and the righteousness of His throne. The seventh seal introduces the trumpet judgments—the final drama of the great tribulation. No wonder there is silence in heaven for half an hour before that seal is broken!

The Trumpet Judgments

It is as though all heaven is waiting in breathless expectation. I hear the question: What will the Lamb do next? What will be God’s next move toward judging and reclaiming that rebellious world? The verses that follow give the answer. John says:

“And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer ; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand. And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake ” (Ch. 8: 2-5—see also Part Three of this series).

Careful readers of the Bible will connect the seven trumpets with the fall of Jericho: that great city just across the Jordan that barred the progress of the people of Israel into the promised land—the city that fell with the blast of God alone. The priests of Israel were given the trumpets of judg­ment, and for seven days they marched about the city blowing the trumpets; seven times on the seventh day they did so and at the seventh blast the walls fell down flat. Jericho is a type of this present world in its estrangement from God, with enmity toward the people of God. Jericho fell at the sound of seven trumpets, and the world, as you and I know it, is going to fall at the sound of the seven trumpets of doom, blown by these angels of judgment.

Our present world is a “type” of the ancient city Jericho, slaughtered by righteousness in a very sick age.

The seal is broken, the book is fully unrolled, and the seven angels appear to whom are given seven trumpets. And as these angel messengers stand by, waiting one after the other to herald with a trumpet-blast the coming judgments, John tells us that another angel came and stood to officiate at the golden altar. He is seen offering incense; therefore is an angel-priest. Is this angel-priest our Savior Jesus Christ?

He has a golden censer. Israel will have such an Intercessor in the coming day. We are told that the smoke of the incense is the prayers of the saints—those suf­fering saints on the earth. The angel took the cen­ser, and filled it with the fire of the altar, and emp­tied it upon the earth. Here is the answer to the cry of His afflicted ones down in that scene of tribu­lation. The prayers went up to the Father, and judgment came down, “there were thunderings, lightnings and an earthquake.” The final storm breaks!

Therefore, the first angel sounded, and there followed:

· Hail and fire mingled with blood, and cast upon the earth;

· And the third part of the trees were burnt up,

· And all the green grass was burnt up.

“The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth; and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up” (Rev. 8: 6,7).

I cannot explain the symbol fully, but I think I can see a hint of the awful time that is before the people of Christendom who have refused the gos­pel. Do you remember that grass is used as a symbol of man (Isaiah 40:6)? Grass trampled beneath the foot is the picture of man in his frailty and weakness. What about the tree? It is an­other picture of man rising up in his pride and independence of God. Remember how Nebu­chadnezzar is compared to a great tree and how the rulers in Israel were spoken of as great cedars. John the Baptist said, “Now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree that beareth not good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire.” Grass is man in his weakness, man in his littleness; the tree is man in his dignity, in his greatness, in his inde­pendence—man lifting himself up against God.

So the first angel’s trumpet distinctly indicates a fiery judgment upon that part of the human race that has rejected the gospel now so freely proclaimed. It is an appalling picture, but, remember, the reality is far worse than the picture! So much so that man today cannot imagine the death and destruction, the horrors of destruction will bring to our earth—death due to lack of oxygen and other environmental poisons!

The second angel sounded, and there followed:

· A great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea;

· And the third part of the sea became blood;

· And the third part of the living creatures which were in the sea, died;

· And the third part of the ships were destroyed (verses 8, 9).

“And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea; and the third part of the sea became blood; and the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed” (Rev.8: 8-9).

Jeremiah 51: 25 tells us of a great mountain which was cast into the sea. Every symbol in the Book of the Revelation is explained somewhere else in the Bible. In the Old Testament a great mountain burning with fire is the symbol of Babylon, literal Babylon. In the New Testament this great destroying mountain burning with fire, that is cast into the sea and brought to an end under the judgment of God in this coming day, is evidently spiritual Babylon (antichrist system). Babylon of old was the fountainhead of idolatry. Every idolatrous sys­tem has had its root in Babylon. Life in the sea is destroyed by thick bloody waters; one third of all the creatures of the sea died; and a third of the ships were destroyed.

Jesus said there has never been, neither will ever be again, the horrors of the Great Tribulation period!

The third angel sounded, and there followed:

· A great star fell from heaven, burning as it were a lamp; falling on 1/3 the rivers, and fountains:

· This star is called wormwood:

· Many men died because of the bitter waters. (Rev. 8 10, 11)

“And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters ; and the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter” (Rev. 8 10, 11).

Wormwood can sometimes indicate nuclear gases; sometimes, other deadly gases. Can you see the possibility of a world-wide nuclear war here? John is saying that a great number of men are dying during this time of horror. The six seal judgments which began the Great Tribulation in Revelation 6 are, at this time, long past; but now we see terrible judgments poured out on evil mankind such as the world has never before witnessed—all life on earth being threatened.

There are three groups spoken of during these final days prior to the 1,000 year Millennial Reign of Christ:

1. The righteous who are raptured prior to the Great Tribulation.

2. Those justified and sealed by the blood of Jesus during the Great Tribulation (Eph 1:13; Rev. 12:12).

3. The rest are the dwellers on earth and are the eternally condemned. (Revelation 12:12).

The only people left on earth are those who are dwellers of the earth—the condemned! (Rev. 12:11-12).

The fourth angel sounded, and there followed

· The third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and a third part of the stars;

· The third part of them all were darkened, and the day and night shone for a third part.

· I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabitants of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound. (Rev. 8:12-13).

“And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise. And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabitants of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound” (verses 12, 13).

What does it mean? You know what the Lord Jesus says to the individual, “If the light that is in thee be darkened, how great is that darkness.” (Mat. 6:23). “Light obeyed increaseth light—light resisted bringeth night.” “God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who obeyed not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness ” (2 Thess. 2: 11, 12).

The thirteenth verse introduces the three trumpets yet to follow, which are dis­tinguished from the four we have already com­mented upon, as “woe” trumpets. They speak of a more intensified form of judgment than any previ­ously portrayed.

continue at Rapture Ready:

http://raptureready.com/soap/stephens18.html