We are going to turn to the book of the Revelation today, and this time we are studying Revelation chapter 7. And I'd like you to turn there because this is a very important passage to grasp because today we live in a time where there are those who claim to be the witnesses of Jehovah, those who claim to be the ones that are witnessing for Jehovah without to understand the chapter 7 of the book of the Revelation and whom does the Apostle John is writing about. So Revelation chapter 7, and I'm turning to the beginning of the chapter and we'll begin with verse 1 to read today. Revelation chapter 7, beginning with verse 1.

And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth holding the four winds of the earth that the wind should not blow on the earth nor on the sea and on any tree and I saw another angel ascending from the east having the seal of the living God and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea saying, hurt not the earth neither the sea nor the trees until we have sealed the servants of our God in their forehead and I heard the number of them which were sealed and they were sealed 144,000 of all the tribes of the children of Israel of the tribe of Judah were sealed 12,000 of the tribe of Reuven they were sealed 12,000.

Of the tribe of Gad, they were sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Asher, they were sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Naphtali, they were sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Menashe. They were sealed 12,000. And of the tribe of Shimon, they were sealed 12,000. And of the tribe of Levi, they were sealed 12,000. And of the tribe of Yissashar were sealed 12,000. And of the tribe of Zevulun were sealed 12,000. And of the tribe of Yosef, they were sealed 12,000. And of the tribe of ben yamin were sealed 12 000 after this i beheld and law a great multitude which no man could number of all nations and kindred and people and tongue stood before the throne and before the lamb Closed with white robes and palms in their hands And cried with a loud voice saying Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb And all the angels stood round about the throne And about the elders and the four living creatures and fell before the throne on their faces and worshipped God, saying, Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be unto our God forever and ever.

Amen. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes, and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest? And he said to me, These are they which came out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple. And he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither shall any more thirst, neither shall the sun light on them nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

What a wonderful chapter, Revelation chapter 7. You know, oftentimes when people are being asked to learn from the book of the Revelation, they oftentimes are afraid to deal with the book of the Revelation because there are many symbols, and there are many things in the book of the Revelation that seem to be hard to be understood by beloved brothers and sisters. As we study the book of the Revelation, chapter by chapter, verse by verse, systematically, you will see that it is very clear to the mind and to the heart of the believer who want to understand the Word of God. And God, in the power of the Holy Spirit, is able to unfold before us these truths that are found even in the book of the Revelation.

Now, chapter 7, of course, in order following chapter 6, and we just finished in the last couple of ministry meetings to deal with Revelation chapter 6. We have understood from chapter 6 that the tribulation period had begun when this Lamb of God, Yeshua himself, who was the one that was slain, the one that was, as we read about him, the Lion of the tribe of Judah and of the Root of David, the one that prevailed. He took the scroll from the hand of God the father who sat upon the throne and he began to loose the seven seals and he loosed them one by one by the end of chapter 6 Yeshua the Messiah have already loosed six of the seven seals and we have seen clearly that every seal that was open remind us or pointed to event that will occur here on earth during Jacob's trouble sarat Yaakov and as he opening those seals you remember the first seal was the one who rode upon the white horse this is the counterfeit Messiah he came and he appeared here on earth as the one that seeks to bring peace to this world it didn't take too long when Yeshua opened the second seal we saw the horse rider who rode on a red horse and that spoke to us about the first world war of the tribulation period and then he opened the third seal and we saw the black horse which speak to us of the famine that will happen here during the tribulation period terrible famine and then.

He opened the fourth seal and we saw that fourth horse and the one that rode on a pale horse and that spoke to us about the time that the earth will lose one quarter of the population when men will be killed with sword with hunger with pestilence and with the beast of this earth but we didn't stop there because as Yeshua the Messiah is opening those seals he didn't stop because the fifth seal and the sixth seal had been opened by the second half of Revelation chapter 6 and we find there in the fifth seal there was the souls of them that were slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they have held there were those many who was there underneath the altar in the presence of God that they were slain they were killed here in this world because they have given testimony to Yeshua the Messiah and many have been killed but those that were killed became believers they have heard the message of the gospel and so they have heard the message.

Of the gospel during the tribulation and they have become martyrs as we have learned in our message last ministry meeting they died for the name of Yeshua the Messiah their body was buried their soul was being taken to the presence of God and there they were crying to God and they were saying, Lord, how long? Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge or avenge the blood of them that dwell upon the earth? In a sense, dear brothers and sisters, because there were tribulation saints who died they were part of what we would know today they were not part of our present day dispensation because we have said that we saw John and the church already have been taken out of here in a sense they are closing the last seven years of Daniel 70th years the last seven years the last 70th week of Daniel and they are in a sense part of the old testament saints and so they cry how long Lord how long you allowed these things to happen upon the face of this earth and then we.

Moved on to the last seal that was open and if you remember what we have talked about in our last ministry meeting that there will be a catastrophic events here on earth and we read about that there would be earthquake and the sun became black in verse 12 of chapter 6 and the moon became like blood and the stars of heaven fell and the people in this world will begin to cry for the mountains to fall upon them because of their fear that they have had from the one that sit upon the throne and the wrath of the lamb that is going to come in judgment now this is terrible when you think about these events that are going to happen during the tribulation period and we could see brothers and sisters how things will immediately there will be an intensity in the judgment that are going to come and every seal represent a judgment that is falling upon the face of this earth so we.

Finish now at the end of chapter 6 in verse 17 we finish with the loosing of six seals already and now the Spirit of God is now allowing us to get some information about how those souls became believers during the tribulation even before Yeshua the Messiah is opening the seventh seal in chapter 8 and verse 1. And so we have the whole seventh chapter of Revelation to help us to see what happened here on earth during the tribulation with respect to the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom. Now you know, brothers and sisters, that we today in the church age, we preach the gospel that we call it the gospel of the grace of God.

When we present that gospel, we tell people, Jewish people and non-Jewish people, that they need to repent and turn to the Lord because the Lord is coming and those who will believe will go with Him to be with Him in heaven. But the tribulation saints who are going to preach also the gospel, they will preach the gospel of the kingdom. And I'm going to show you this in a moment. What does that mean? It is the same message that Yeshua died, buried, rose again for our justification. But the difference between the message that they will present and the message that we are presenting today is simply this.

They present the message of the gospel in view of the coming kingdom. We present the message of the gospel in view of the church to be closed and to go to the presence of God in glory. That's the only difference it is the same message it is concerning the person of the Lord Jesus the Messiah it is a very same clear message of the death burial and resurrection of the Messiah so now in chapter 7 the apostle John received this special information from the glorified Messiah about who gonna be here and what's gonna happen and who gonna preach this message of the gospel of the kingdom when the seven-year tribulation will happen and so now look at these brothers and sisters look what we read in verses 1 to 8 that we have read already earlier we see first of all the sealing of the servants of God let me put it in another words we see the sealing of the true Jehovah Witnesses.

We see here in these first eight verses that there will be the true Jehovah Witnesses who are going to be sealed by the Lord in order to enable them to present the message of the gospel now in the first three verses here we find out the cry of an angel to hold on. In judgment look it says in verse one it says and after these things i saw the four angels standing on the four corners of the earth holding the four winds of the earth that the wind should not blow on earth not on the sea not on any tree now this is interesting because the Bible have many ways in which to express before us the judgments of God here we find out that there are four angels verse one who are standing in the four corners of the earth we know that the earth is not square it is round but this is an expression that we have in Scripture to show us that there the angels that are all surrounding this earth.

And look what it says, that they are holding the four winds of the earth. That the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any of the trees. Now, the wind in the Bible is often being used by the Lord as an expression of coming judgment. When God at times uses desire to judge this world in one area or another, whether his own nation, Israel, or other people in this world, he oftentimes used the wind in judgment. I remember hearing many years ago a brother who was preaching about a storm, a hurricane that was coming through Jamaica. And he was preaching about the wind that was preparing itself to come toward Jamaica.

And the people at that time in Jamaica was preparing for a hurricane. They called it Hurricane David. And I can tell you, dear brothers and sisters, they were putting boards on the windows. They went shopping to get food so that they would have plenty of food in their homes. They even played music. They called it the sacred music. And they were sitting and waiting for the wind to come. The hurricane David was going to come through Jamaica. And they had been told that after the hurricane came and passed through Jamaica, when they came out of their homes, they saw twisted metal. They saw crushed and broken up concrete.

The hurricane, the wind of the event that came, if you would call it a nature, natural event that came and passed by through Jamaica, have caused devastation in Jamaica. And the thought of wind in the Bible speak oftentimes of the judgment of God that is falling down upon the face of this earth. We have read, if you remember, in Psalm 148, which have been read earlier, and the Psalm is very clear that God uses everything for his own pleasure, for his own meaning. It says in verse 8 of Psalm 148 fire and hail snow and cloud stormy wind fulfill his word when God wanted to use the elements of this universe he can use the fire the hail the snow the vapor even the wind to fulfill his purposes Isaiah said in chapter 32 of his writings He says this, listen to this, chapter 32 of Isaiah.

It says in verse 1, Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment, a man shall be a hiding place from the wind. Isaiah 32, verses 1 and 2. When Isaiah was speaking concerning the tribulation period, he says that the only place of safety during the tribulation time will be a man that will be a safety a hiding place from the wind of God's righteous indignation against sin and we know prophetically that that man is none else but our blessed Lord Yeshua the Messiah the place of safety the place of protection is to know him as our Lord and Savior and to know him as our Mashiach our Messiah who cleansed us and washed away our sins.

He's the only place of safety in a time of God's righteous indignation against sin. And so the angels are holding those winds. It said that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any of the trees. And then we find out that in verse 2, there is a cry of another angel. And look what he's saying. I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God, and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, and he said to them in verse 3, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God in their forehead.

You see, there were four angels who were holding back the wind of God's judgment upon this earth in the tribulation period. And they heard the voice of another angel who said to them, don't do anything yet. Hold on. As he said, do not hurt the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees. He said, until what? Until we have sealed the servants of our God in their forehead. In other words, here we see a moment of grace in the midst of God's righteous indignation against sin. Here you can see that God is using these angels to hold back His judgment for a short time because there is a reason because He is going to seal some of His servants.

He's going to seal them and he's going to protect them during the time of judgment now we know very well dear brothers and sisters that they are called the servants of God in verse 3 they are called the servants of God and God is now intending to seal them to Mark them you know years ago when we have been studying the book of Genesis if you remember we have studied the Genesis and we got to Genesis chapter 4 if you remember there were the two brothers there it was the cain and abel abel approached God on a basis on the sacrifice the cain approached God on a basis of his good works and God rejected the offering of cain and he accepted the offering of abel well cain got mad and angry you know what he did he went and he murdered his very own brother it's the first murder in the Bible in the history of the human race and then after he murdered his own brother Abel God appeared unto Cain he says Cain.

Where are you where is your brother Abel and Cain said am I my brother's keeper and you remember what happened is that after God said to Cain Cain the blood of your brother Abel is crying out from the ground for vengeance and then Cain went out of the presence of the Lord and God marked Cain if you'll notice God marked Cain that they will not be done harm to him when he went away from the presence of the Lord God marked him lest everyone because everybody Cain said everyone would come and will kill me and God put a Mark on him and in a sense dear brothers and sisters that was a temporary Mark of protection for Cain but Cain rejected the will of God but God marked him later on when we're going to read in Revelation chapter 13 you will find out that there will be those who will take the Mark of the beast during the tribulation period but here we have a different group altogether this group is a group that are called the servants of God.

That there will be Mark in their forehead and they will be sealed by God. When we write a letter and we want to send it to somebody, we seal the letter and we mail it and we say that this letter is to be protected, it belonged to that one person. And here we see that God, by sealing those servants, he's really saying, those people belong to me. He speaks of ownership he speaks of that which belonged to him and he sealed them for service for ministry during the tribulation period every one of us that have come to know Yeshua the Messiah according to Ephesians chapter 1 also have been sealed by the holy Spirit of God the apostle Paul said in Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 13 he says in whom he also trusted after that he heard of the word of truth the gospel of your salvation in whom also after that you have believed on him you were sealed with the holy Spirit of promise you know those of us that are believers we have been sealed by God he mocked us and he says look you belong to me and he sealed us with the Holy Spirit of God here we see those individuals that are called to be the servants of God who will be sealed in their forehead and the reason that they will be sealed in their foreheads because the wind of God's judgment was going to come now on this earth and he sealed them.

For service and all that they will present the message of the gospel during the kingdom age now i want you for a moment to bear with me because there are a couple of old testament verses that i want to read to you before we're going to move now to the next verses so turn with me to Isaiah once again two chapters Isaiah chapter 43 and Isaiah chapter 44 when God have called our nation Israel to be a unique nation unto him he called the nation of Israel as the Jehovah Witnesses look what he says here in Isaiah 43 in verse 9 let all the nations be gathered together and let the people be assembled who among them can declare this and show us former things let them bring forth their witnesses that they may be justified or let them hear and say it is truth and then he's speaking to his people Israel and he's saying to them in verse 10 ye are my witnesses says the Lord.

And my servant whom I have chosen that ye may know and believe me and understand that I am he before me there was no God formed neither shall there be after me i even i am the Lord and beside me there is no Savior see God called his people Israel to become his witnesses here in this world and in a sense while Israel our nation historically in some measure have been a witness for God but in its fullest sense Israel as a nation was not the witness that God has expected from them to be in chapter 44 in verse 6 of Isaiah 44 6 he continues and he says thus says the Lord the King of Israel and his Redeemer the Lord of hosts I am the first and I am the last and beside me there is no God and who as i shall call and shall declare it and set it in order for me since i appointed the ancient people and the things that are coming and shall come let them.

Show unto them fear ye not neither be afraid have not i told you from that time and have declared you are my witnesses is there a God beside me yeah there is no God i know not any again brothers and sisters Isaiah or God through the prophet yeshayahu is speaking to the people of Israel he says Israel you are my witnesses you are the true Jehovah witnesses that i have raised you to present to the world the true and living God well Israel in its fullest sense of the way have failed to fulfill what God had in mind for them and so now when we get to Revelation chapter 7 God is raising up again his people to be the witnesses here to this world during the tribulation period and so brothers and sisters look I am back now in Revelation chapter 7 and when God sealed these people God sealed these servants of our God in verse 3 then in verse 4 to 8 he gives us the names or he gives us the description he gives us a clear information.

Who are those servants that he's going to seal in this tribulation period and so he says and I heard the number of them which were sealed they were sealed 144 thousands and listen to that brothers and sisters of all the tribes of the children of Israel now i know and i heard it many times since i became a believer in Yeshua the Messiah over 30 years ago i've heard of many who claim to be those 144,000 Hebrews. There are many who claim that we are becoming like a few sects have already called themselves those who are the witnesses of Jehovah, the 144,000. And when this sect grew up to be more than 144, they began to second group of 144,000.

And when the second group of 144,000 have grown there's a third group of 144,000 but beloved brothers and sisters when one person come to you and ask you tell you that he is part of these 144,000 witnesses servants you should simply ask him or her which tribe do you belong to there's no answer You know, even we as Jewish people oftentimes have a problem to understand which tribe we came from. Why? Because all the evidence of a tribal connection had been destroyed in 70 AD in the temple in Jerusalem. Some families have maintained somehow certain documents, if you will, that keep giving us a measure of understanding what tribe we belong to.

For example for myself from the tribe of Levi because my mother was Levi and my father was Levi so I can imagine and I can grasp of the fact that I belong to the tribe of Levi but really none of us who are Jewish or Hebrew can have a clear understanding or clear knowledge of the fact that we came from this tribe of this tribe we have even ourselves have a problem with but God doesn't God knows whom are his people and that's why in verses 5 and 6 and 7 and 8 you have the 12 tribes of the people of Israel those servants were Hebrews those servants were Israelis they are part of the totality of the nation it says in verse 5 the tribe of yuda the tribe of Reuven, the tribe of G-d.

In verse 6, the tribe of Asher, the tribe of Naphtali, the tribe of Menashe. In verse 7, the tribe of Shimon, the tribe of Levi, and the tribe of Issachar. And in verse 8, the tribe of Zebulun, the tribe of Yosef, and the tribe of Binyamin. Now some might say, wait a minute, there is something strange about this list of tribes. You notice there are three things that we should make a note here as we are reading this list. First of all, you notice that the tribe of Levi is mentioned here in verse 7. Now, according to the Scripture, Levi did not have any part of the inheritance in the land because he was a priestly tribe.

And therefore, in a sense, he is oftentimes count a little bit differently than the rest of the 12 tribes of Israel. But God, by divine design, places Levi here in this list. The second thing we notice here is that we find here that Joseph is mentioned and not Ephraim. And the question, of course, arises, why is it? Because Joseph had two sons. One of them was Menashe, which is mentioned in verse 6. And the other one was Ephraim. But Ephraim is not mentioned here. Well, we do not know why, but perhaps Yosef is taking the place of his son, Ephraim, and replacing him. And in a sense, Ephraim is found here through his father, Yosef.

But there is another thing that here, that even more puzzling, is that you notice that the tribe of Dan is not mentioned here. And again, there are many speculations, dear brothers and sisters, that people are wondering, Why is it that Dan is not mentioned here in this list? But I want to suggest to you that you and I do not know everything. God knows. There are all sorts of reasons that people have mentioned over the years. But if you look down at this list, even though Dan is not mentioned, if you just for a moment go to the prophet Ezekiel, that has to do with the future temple that is going to be built, and Israel restored as a nation, in the list that is found in Ezekiel chapter 48, Dan is mentioned.

In fact, he is mentioned as the first one in the list of the tribes. Look, it says, Ezekiel 48 and verse 1, Now these are the names of the tribes from the north end to the coast of the way of Athelon, as one goes to Hamat, the border of Damascus northward to the coast of hamat for these are the sides east and west and then he says a portion for dan verse 2 a portion for asher verse 3 a portion for naphtali verse 4 a portion for menashe verse 5 a portion of a flying verse 6 reuven verse 7 yehuda and so and the rest of the chapter gives us additional names at the end of chapter 48 of the book of Ezekiel so what we learned that while you and i do not understand why God sometime rearrange the list of the tribes of Israel nevertheless dear brothers and sisters God have intended for his people Israel to be witnesses unto him in this world even during the tribulation period before i'm going to move on i gotta read one more verse in Matthew chapter 24 please turn.

To Matthew chapter 24 here is Yeshua speaking not too long before he is taken to the cross to the altar, where he would give his life, a ransom for the nation of Israel, and a ransom for the world. Look what he said concerning the future tribulation period. He said in verse 9 of Matthew chapter 24, Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and they shall kill you, and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake and then shall many be offended and shall betray one another and shall hate one another and many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many and because iniquity shall abound the love of many shall wax cold and he that shall endure unto the end the same shall be saved and now he says in verse 14 for this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations and then shall the end come you see dear beloved brothers and sisters Yeshua ha-Mashiach when he was speaking to his early talmidim his early disciples he was speaking to them and he was really going beyond their present time when they were with him all the way to the end of the age and he's telling them listen.

The same like you immediately going to be persecuted right now but in the future there there will be those disciples just like you from among the nation of Israel and they will be preaching the gospel of the kingdom and they will preach it in all the earth now can you imagine brothers and sisters like Shaul the apostle Paul to have 144 thousand apostles Paul preaching the message of the Mashiach to the whole world in the tribulation period they will be sealed by God. They will be marked by Him for protection. They will be preserved by Him. They will be empowered by the Holy Spirit of God.

And while there will be persecution that's going to fall upon this earth and judgment from God, persecution of the anti-Messiah, the counterfeit Messiah, these 144,000 Hebrews will be preserved by God. They will preach that message. And they will tell this world that the Messiah has come. The kingdom is going to be ready soon. Turn to Him. Come to know Yeshua, the Messiah. Acknowledge Him as your Lord and as your Savior. And you will be part of the coming kingdom. The kingdom is coming. And they will preach it. And here is the word. They will be preaching the word for a witness. God said to them early, to the nation through Isaiah, you are my witnesses.

And here we see them witnessing concerning the Messiah, presenting him. And you know, today we don't even realize the open door that we have, the freedom and the liberty that we have, the ease that we have in hearing the message. And yet the world rejects the message today. But during the tribulation period, when God is going to unleash his judgment and the Antichrist is going to rise and Satan is going to be cast down and there will be terrible conditions upon the face of this earth, a believer at the tribulation time is going to have a hard time. They're not going to have it easy.

In our Bible class yesterday, we talked about some believers that are in a country, in a Muslim world, that they don't have the freedom that we have to hear the word of God. And it costs them to follow the Lord. There is a price that they have to pay. Those men during the tribulation period will be preserved by God in a supernatural way and they will preach the message of the gospel of the kingdom to this world. And it's so wonderful to think how God brings back his people Israel into the front, into the focus. He began by raising those 144,000 Hebrews who are going to seal them.

But beyond those 144,000, there will be so many more among our people Israel who will come to faith in the Messiah. And many of them will be martyrs for the name of Yeshua in this world. Turn for a moment to Revelation chapter 14 he's talking again about the same 144 000 and he's saying about those 144 000 in those verses it says in verse 3 and 4 of chapter 14 of Revelation they sang as it were a new song before the throne and before the four beasts and and the elders and no man could learn the song but the 144 thousands which were redeemed from this earth these are they which were not defiled with women for they are virgins these are they which followed the lamb whithersoever he goes these were redeemed from among men being the first fruits unto God and unto the Lamb.

Those 144,000 are only the first fruits of many more to come from among the nation of Israel, but not beloved, only from among the nation of Israel, because when they are going to present the gospel of the kingdom there will be many others who will come to faith in Yeshua the Messiah. And the verses that follow here, in Revelation chapter 7, from verse 9 to the. End. We see the result of the preaching of the 144,000 Hebrews during the tribulation period. Look at this, just quickly. We're going to take a look at those verses. From verse 9 to verse 17, we see those who will be saved during the tribulation period.

The first thing, we see that there is a multitude of people. Look, verse 9 and 10. And after this I beheld a Lord great multitude, which no man could number of all nations, and kinders, and peoples, and tongues. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, clothes in white robes and palms in their hands, and they cried with a loud voice, and they said, Salvation to our God, which sits upon the throne and unto the Lamb. Look at this. The preaching of the gospel of the 144,000 Hebrews will bring results. The Spirit of God is going to work in power and many are going to be redeemed.

It says that there were a great multitude that you could not even number them. And they came from all nations. Look at us here today. Just the same like us, we came to faith in the Messiah. If I will ask you which country you came from, most of us will say, at least I think we have about 10 countries that we all came from, including Israel. And we can praise God that there are believers today, even from among our people Israel. But in the future, when those Hebrews are going to present the gospel of the kingdom, there will be a great multitude that you could not even number them.

Nations and kindreds and peoples and tongue. And you can see that they have come to faith in Yeshua the Messiah as a result of the preaching by the 144,000 Hebrews. A few things we find out about them in verses 9 and 10. The first thing we find out that they stood before the Lamb. Notice verse 9, at the end they stood before the throne and before the Lamb. That means that they have been accepted by God they stood before him he accepted them you know that you and I are accepted in the beloved God accepts us not because we are good but because what Yeshua has done for us secondly we find out in this same verse 9 that they were clothes in white robes notice that it says they were clothes in white robes now white robes in the Scripture often speaks about redemption and forgiveness of sins and we found that earlier in the book of the Revelation already in chapter 6 and verse 11 the white robes represent the fact that they have been cleansed and washed and forgiven they are the people that are saved people they have white robes thirdly we find out in verse 9 that they had palms in their hands you notice that it says they have palm branches in their hands do you know when we in Israel use the palm branches in our hands is when we celebrate the feast of Sukkot the feast of booth.

I remember when we used to always pick up those branches and bring them to our home in my grandfather's house and we build the sukkah and we put the palm branches upon the top as to serve as a roof as a ceiling and the palms represent us to a coming time of rejoicing or celebration because it's leading us to the feast of Sukkot the millennial age of time of celebration in fact God commended Israel in the time of Sukkot if you read Leviticus chapter 23 he says that you shall rejoice before me Israel could not come without rejoicing before God when they remember what God had done for them and how he provided a booth for them the Sukkot for them and he took care of them doing their journey from Egypt to the promised land and then fourthly we find out in verse 10 that they sung with a loud voice see it said in verse 10 and they cried with a loud voice and they said salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne and unto the.

Lamb this is the song of redemption you know only a believer can sing such a song an unbeliever cannot sing a song of redemption because he doesn't have his or her sins forgiven but these individuals that were saved here during the tribulation time from the preaching of the 144,000 can sing brothers and sisters and so we find that verses 9 and 10 the great multitude standing before the lamb look at verse 11 and 12 here as we are talking about those saved ones it says that the angels and the elders and the four living creatures also were praising God because of that and all the angels stood round about the throne and about the elders and the four beasts and they fell before the throne on their faces and they worshiped God and they said, Amen, blessings and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be unto God forever and ever, Amen.

They were singing and praising God. You know those angels? Now, they were singing angels are not saved, but they were praising God. This was because of who God is. The elders represent the church, and they were also praising God. And the four living creatures, they also fell before the throne of God, and they worshipped the Lord. They said blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor and power and might be unto God and forever and ever Amen so days that singing and praising God for what he have done now verses 13 and 14 here's a question rose John was asked a question by one of the elders in verse 13 and look at the answer this is so beautiful one of the ages answered and said unto me this is unto John what are these which were arrayed in white robes and where did they come from one of these elders this is representing the church one of the believers they'll ask him one of the elders representing the church asking John he says listen who are those people here that they have these white robes and where did they come from So the answer was, of course, in verse 14, John said to him, he says, Sir, you know, I don't have to tell you this.

And look, he said to me, in other words, now the elder answering back to John, and he said to him, These are they which came out of great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Brothers and sisters, you see that those saved individuals, this great company, are distinguished from the elders. And we have already learned from chapter 4 and chapter 5 that the elders are really the church saints, the believers from this present day dispensation of the days of grace. But those other multitude that became and accepted the Messiah through the preaching of the 144,000 Hebrews, they are distinct company.

They are what we would call tribulation saints. They are to be distinguished. They are saved during the tribulation period. And you know it says that they washed their robes and made them white with the blood of the Lamb. Sometimes we sing, What shall wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Yeshua. What shall make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Yeshua. The only way to be washed and cleansed, it is only on the basis of the blood of the Lamb. And then finally, brothers and sisters, conclusion of this chapter in verses 15 16 and 17 we find out the position and the blessing of those that were saved it says here in verse 15 look at that they are with God and they are going to serve him therefore are they before the throne of God they serve him day and night in his temple and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them you know people ask the question what we're going to do when we're going to get to heaven do you know what we're going to do when we're going to get to heaven just the same like those future saints from among the people of Israel when they are going to die during the tribulation and ultimately what we're going to do we're going to serve God we're going to serve him you know now we fail in serving him now we oftentimes dishonor him in our lives but we're never going to dishonor him anymore when we are going to be.

In his presence we're going to serve him we're never going to sin against him we're never going to violate his word anymore we're never going to hurt his heart anymore we're going to serve him don't you think it'll be wonderful when we're going to serve the Lord we're going to serve him we're going to do the thing that is pleasing to his heart and the time that we fail in our lives here to serve him he's going to be set aside completely we are going to serve him notice that it says about them that they serve him day and night and what a wonderful thing to know that we are going to serve the Lord day and night and you know will never anymore hurt his heart will never anymore dishonor him with things that are creeping into our life notice the next verse now not only that they're going to serve him in verse 15 it says in verse 16 that they will never be hungry or thirsty anymore you see what it says here in verse 16 they shall hunger no more.

Neither thirst anymore neither shall there the sun will strike them nor the heat there will not be anymore the burning of heat upon them now just to think in this world that we have so much hunger and so much thirst today in this world. Can you imagine to come to a time in the history of men where we're never going to be hungry anymore? I just listened today. I watched earlier in the morning through the internet while I was sitting and listening to something that happened in the Middle East and all around the area. And there are people that are hungry and thirsty today in this world.

There's famine in many other areas in this world. Many of the population in this world, in Sudan and in other countries, that people are hungry. They have no food. And many of them are believers in Yeshua. Here's a promise that those that will come to know the Messiah during the tribulation, just the same like even us today, when we are going to be in the presence of the Lord, We will never hunger anymore, never thirst, it says here. Neither the sun will strike, you know, anymore upon them. There will be no more strong burning heat against them. And they will enjoy the presence of the Lord without to be separated from the Lord.

You know, brothers and sisters, this is, again, not coincident that it's mentioned here because John was a Hebrew. He was Jewish. Whatever he heard concerning the time of the tribulation period, he was really borrowing, if you will, that which already Isaiah was speaking about concerning the future day when Isaiah himself was speaking in chapter 49. It says, listen, just listen to that in verses 8, 9, and 10. Thus saith the Lord, Isaiah 49, In an acceptable time I have heard thee, in a day of salvation I have helped thee, And I will preserve thee and give thee for a covenant of the people to establish the earth and to cause to inherit the desolate heritages.

Then verse 9, that thou may say to the prisoners, go forth to them that are in darkness, show yourself. They shall feed in the ways. Their pastors shall be in all high places. They shall not hunger nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor the sun smite them. For he that has mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them. You see, Isaiah is speaking for the Lord about the future remnant of Israel that will be restored in the coming days. And he's telling that they as well from the nations who will believe in the Messiah they will never anymore hunger and never anymore thirst and then the last verse of Revelation 7 is verse 17 and I'm going to close with that in verse 17 it says that they will be led by the Lamb the Lord Jesus the Messiah It says there, for the lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

See, the wonderful conclusion in this chapter is that ultimately those that will come to know Yeshua the Messiah during the tribulation many from among our people Israel and many from the nations of the world ultimately they will have a time of rest they will never be hungry anymore never going to be thirsty and ultimately they're going to be led by the lamb by the Lord Jesus the Messiah, and he will wipe away their tears from their eyes. Brothers and sisters, we have many tears that we shed in our life today. You might have tears because of problems in your personal life, in your family life, maybe sicknesses and problems that come across our lives today.

But when we are going to be with the Lord Jesus we will never anymore have to experience what we experience here in this world and praise God for that because this day is coming very soon but also Israel and also those believers who are going to accept the Messiah during the tribulation they will also will enjoy the leading of the Lamb in their lives and never anymore. To be separated from Him. I'm looking forward for this day. May the Lord hasten this day and bring it to pass and we are going to enjoy him forever. It's a good subject to talk about in the middle of all the judgment that are falling here upon this human race in the tribulation period.