Okay, well we come back to Revelation,
and this week to Revelation chapter 8, and the first six verses. Some strange concepts here, which
we want to look into this morning. but you need to set it all in
context. Since the fall in the Garden
of Eden, God's purpose, it's his eternal purpose, but let's
say in terms of our concept of time and the movement of time,
but since the fall, God's purpose has been to recover his kingdom
from Satan, who must be destroyed. God's kingdom is a kingdom of
peace, and true righteousness, a kingdom populated by saved,
redeemed people. Satan took that kingdom by deceit
and deception. He beguiled Eve and Adam, not
deceived, knew what he was doing, and handed over the viceroyship
of that kingdom to Satan, the enemy of the people of God. And
it's the story of the whole of scripture, how God's kingdom
is recovered from that fall, from what Satan did there. the
whole of scripture. The more and more you see it
like this, when you read the scripture, you will say, ah,
that's where that fits in. The story of Israel, what's it
all about? It's a story of how God is recovering his kingdom. How? By bringing the seed of
the woman, the promised seed of the woman. Revelation, sorry,
Genesis 3 verse 15. The seed of the woman, which
is God's Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, will come and will crush
the head of the serpent. And in the process, his heel
will be bruised. But the wound of Satan will be
fatal and eternal. And this story of the recovery
of God's kingdom is summarized in Revelation. Remember, it was
given in A.D. 95 or thereabouts. To the Apostle
John, God gave it to Christ, the manifestation of God to people. And Christ, by His angels, signified
it in symbols, in pictures, to John, the Apostle, the old Apostle,
the oldest one surviving. And it's summarized here in the
book that we have. The plan of God's recovery of
His kingdom is seen in Revelation chapter 5, where God on the throne
has on His hand a seven-sealed book. That is the plan. And for the plan to be implemented,
the seals have to be opened. And so one has to be found to
open those seals. And of course it's only Christ,
the Lamb of God, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. in the role
of a lamb slain, because only in that role is the justification
of his people accomplished. He is the one who is qualified
to implement the recovery of the Kingdom of God. And when
that plan is implemented, nothing of Satan's fingerprints can remain,
nothing. It must all be removed, it must
all be destroyed, it must all be defeated. So we saw the seals
being opened and I know I'm always being told that well we had a
bit too much repetition this week but you know in the book
of Revelation you've got to keep these things in your mind otherwise
you will lose track of where you are and what the purpose
is so please just bear with me just for a moment there's a risk
of repetition but it's necessary the seals are opened in chapter
6 the first four seals obviously they go together because they're
four horses horses with riders. And what do they do? Let me just
quickly remind you, the white horse, how does God recover his
kingdom that Satan has stolen, that Satan has usurped? How does
he recover it? First of all, he sends his truth. he sends his gospel grace, his
divine truth into this world. That's the white horse with its
rider. That horse goes and has a huge effect on this kingdom
of Satan, because nobody can ever quite get rid of the notion
that there is a God in heaven. There is a God of righteousness
and justice. There is a God to whom we must
all give an account. That white horse is the first
element of the plan of God to recover his kingdom. And then
he disrupts Satan's idea that he's going to create a worldwide
unity of bliss and happiness and all friends together. But
do you know what? Let's not bother with this justice
of God. Let's not bother with this righteousness of God. We
can do without that, can't we? Let's get rid of that. And God
disrupts it by sending three more horses, a red horse of war,
where nation rises up against nation. a black horse of economic
disparity, huge differences of prosperity and poverty in the
peoples of this world, and the pale horse, the pale horse of
death, because at the end of all else, everyone dies. Everyone dies. It says a quarter
died. And then there's another seal,
another element to the plan, and it's that justice must be
maintained. And the martyrs are seen under
the altar, crying out for justice. There's unrequited justice which
must, must, must be satisfied. And therefore, that is an element
of God's plan. That is a pressure for God's
kingdom to triumph. And then in the sixth seal, at
the end of chapter six, we see that this world in which all
of the hopes and aspirations of the people of this world,
of the citizens of Satan's kingdom, are vested that this world is
going to be brought to destruction. And the people in this world
who've pinned every one of their hopes for all their lives on
the things that they want to do in this world, the things
they want to have, the way they want to conquer disease and conquer
death, and all of those things that you constantly hear about,
God's going to bring it all to an end. It is going to be ended. And the kings of the earth and
the great men and the rich men and the captains and the mighty
men and even every bondman and every free man, they hide themselves
in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains, praying for
the rocks and the mountains to fall on them and hide them from
the justice of God. You see, that's the end of all
the hopes of Satan's kingdom. And then there's a pause. with
chapter 7. There's a pause before we get
to the seventh of the seven seals. What of God's people? What of
God's people? Well, chapter 7 told us, and
I'm not going to repeat it all, I'll just quickly skim it. What
of God's people, those that are on earth, at any one time of
history, are symbolised by 144,000? I'm not going to go into those
numbers again, look back, it's all on Sermon Audio, you'll find
that explanation. but they are sealed in this world.
In this world, which is the kingdom of Satan, subject to all of the
things that go on, all of the lies and the deceit and the deception
and the falsehood that goes on, all of that affect even the people
of God, physically. But, as Jesus prayed in John
17, Father, I pray not that you take them out of the world, but
that you keep them from the evil. And in this world, that assures
us, the first half of chapter 7, if you're a child of God in
this world, one of the sealed ones in this world, one of His
elect, called out of darkness into the marvellous light of
the gospel of grace and the Lord Jesus Christ, one of those that
Acts 13, 48 says, those ordained to eternal life. When you hear
the gospel, you believe it. If you're one of those people,
you are sealed. with the stamp of the ownership
of God in this world. And whilst your body may be subject
to issues that arise because of the kingdom of Satan, your
soul is absolutely immune from any harm. Keep them from the
evil. They're sealed in this world. And then, they're eternally
safe in glory. The second half of chapter 7,
After this, I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man
could number, of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues,
stood before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white
robes and palms in their hands, and cried with a loud voice,
Salvation to our God! God is the author and the finisher
of our salvation. Praise be to Him for all that
He has done, and all the angels together. That's the heaven of
God accomplished, and that's where the people of God are.
So don't be concerned, people of God, that you've seen terrible
things happening. Yes, this world is going to end.
This world is going to end. I'll say it again, this world
is going to end. Don't pin your hopes on this
world. If you're a child of God, your
hopes are in heaven. Set your heart on things above. Again and again we read in the
scripture, set your heart on heavenly things, where Christ
is. That's where your bliss is. We look at a morning like in
this country at the moment, it might not be light where you
are yet, But in this country at the moment, we've had a beautiful
spell of very sunny weather, and the gardens are all blooming,
and you think, oh wow, this is lovely. Can things get any better
than this? I'm telling you, child of God, the kingdom of God, the
heaven of God, anything that you have imagined about it, you've
fallen short in your imagination. It is far better to be with Christ,
which is far better. It is far, far better God is
going to sweep all of this away. Of course, God's fingerprints
are on everything created here, all the beauty of everything
we see in nature around, but it's going to be swept away because
Satan's kingdom will be destroyed and God's kingdom will be established. So then, let's come to this seventh
seal, and let's just read the six verses at the start of chapter
eight. I don't want to go any further
than that this morning. So remember, this is the seventh seal of the
seven-sealed book. This is the seventh component
of God's overarching plan for his kingdom to triumph over Satan's. And we read, And when he had
opened the seventh seal, who opened it? The Lamb opens it.
The Lamb, who is a lion. the Lion of the tribe of Judah,
whose qualification to open it, when nobody else was qualified
to open it, go back to the call in chapter 5, his qualification
to open and implement the plan rests in his having made satisfaction
to God's righteousness and justice by paying the sin debt of his
kingdom's citizens. I'm telling you, I'm not just
randomly picking words out and not thinking about them. I mean
every word of that. He's made satisfaction to God's
righteousness and justice because by His shed blood on Calvary's
cross, He, the Lamb of God, has paid the sin debt of who? His kingdom's citizens. Those
chosen in Him before the foundation of the world. So he opened the
seventh seal, and there was silence in heaven about the space of
half an hour. 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. And the seven angels, which had
the seven trumpets, prepared themselves to sound. That's the
last seal of the seven-sealed book. It's the last bit of the
second of the seven visions of Revelation. You know, the first
was chapters one to three, then from four to here. And this seventh
seal, the last of the seals of this vision, reveals seven trumpets,
which will unfold. Now nothing dramatic happens
when this seal is opened other than a reverential silence for
half an hour. What on earth can that mean?
What on earth can that mean? Nothing happens, nothing more
dramatic than a reverential silence for a limited time. It says half
an hour. Clearly, eternity is outside
of time. So what's it trying to convey
to us in picture, to us time-bound mortals in this life? Half an
hour is a limited period of time. It's a short period of time,
but a period of time long enough to do something. Think about
the jobs that you do around the house. Often, you can get something
useful done in half an hour, but it's a limited time. It doesn't
go on and on for days. Unlike a minute or two, in two
minutes, what can you do? If you've got a modern electric
toothbrush, then that's the time it takes for it to go through
its four cycles and clean your teeth. But it's not long enough
to do anything else. Half an hour is a bit longer
than that. It's a limited time, but long enough for something
to happen. And also, when this silence is there, we see the
revelation of the seven angels that it says, stand before God. There are seven angels which
stand before God, and they're each given a trumpet. to them
were given. This is what he sees in this
vision. They stand before God. These are the angels that stand
before God. There's some significance to
that, I'm not sure entirely what it is, but in Luke chapter 1
and verse 19, when The angel came to Zacharias, the husband
of Elizabeth, the cousin of Mary, the mother of Jesus, to say that
John the Baptist is going to be born. Zacharias said unto
the angel, Whereby shall I know this? For I am an old man and
my wife well stricken in years. Go on, you're not being serious.
How can this possibly be that we're going to have a baby at
our time of life? And the angel answering said unto him, I am
Gabriel. that stand in the presence of
God, and am sent to speak unto thee, and to show thee these
glad tidings." There are seven of these angels who stand before
the presence of God. What does that mean? I don't
know, but it means something. It means something. There's something
significant there. There are gradations of angels.
There are archangels and angels and cherubim and seraphim. We
don't understand the full the full details of it, but here
is a group of angels with a very important role. They stand before
God and they're waiting in silence until another angel has come,
in verse 3, offering much incense with the prayers of all saints,
is what it says, on the golden altar. The altar is a picture,
is a symbol of sacrifice to make atonement, sacrifice to make
propitiation. Propitiation is the turning away
of just anger. That's where it's made, there's
an altar there. And the prayers of all saints
will be offered with much incense. The thing about incense, it was
in the temple worship, Catholics use it today, but It was in the
temple worship of the temple in Jerusalem. The incense was,
look it up, Google it, find out what it was, but lovely aroma,
lovely scent, and because it's burning and it's smoke, it rises,
and it pictures the prayers of all saints ascending to God. And then there's the response
to the prayers in verse 5. Judgments fall. Judgments fall
on the earth. Then the angels prepare to sound
their trumpets. So this seventh seal inaugurates
an intensification of God's disruption of Satan's kingdom plans. And
in just the same way, the seventh trumpet we'll see in a few weeks
will inaugurate the final overthrow of Satan's kingdom with seven
vials of wrath poured out. But you'll have to wait for that.
So then, silence for half an hour. Silence for half an hour.
Satan's kingdom will be overthrown, but not just yet. There's a reverent
silence for a distinct but limited period. What could this mean? A reverent silence, if it's a
silence in heaven, it's not just like, oh gosh, you know, we would
say you could hear a pin drop. This is a reverent silence. This
is an awesome silence. None dare make a sound. It's
a reverent silence for a distinct but limited period. It's surely
symbolical of God's just judgment being withheld for a little while. Of God's just judgment which
will surely come because it has to, not immediately falling. It's a time for repentance. Fallen
man, this is a time to rethink your relationship with this world
and with God and His kingdom. In Matthew chapter 3 and verses
1 and 2, when John the Baptist, that same John the Baptist, came
preaching at the start of his ministry, he came saying, repent
ye Think again, repent ye, turn ye around, for the kingdom of
heaven is at hand. Why should you think again, you
men and women of this world, going about your daily business
as if things are going to go on without anything stopping
them? Think again, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The kingdom
of heaven is due to come to fruition. The kingdom of heaven is coming
and this thing that you rest all your hopes in, here and now,
is going to be swept away in destruction. Hear what Joel says,
the prophet Joel, only a little prophecy, only three chapters,
but chapter 2 verse 23, he says this, you see, a symbol of repentance
in Old Testament religion, a symbol of repentance was sackcloth and
ashes and tearing your clothes, tearing your clothes as a symbol
of a broken heart. And the prophet says, God says
via the prophet, rend your heart, tear your heart and not your
garments. and turn unto the Lord your God,
for He is gracious and merciful. He is slow to anger and of great
kindness. Do you see this space? This space. Judgment will fall, but there's
space. There's a limited, distinct,
but limited period of time, which is time for repentance, to think,
to come. The just judgment hasn't yet
fallen. You know, before the flood, In
Genesis chapter 6, before the flood of Noah's day, this is
what Peter the Apostle tells us, the long-suffering of God
waited in the days of Noah. What was it, 120 years? And whilst
he was building the ark to the specification that God gave him,
the ark which was a picture of Christ that would save them from
the wrath that was coming, and he took Noah and his sons and
their wives into that ark. There were eight souls all together
there, plus preserving the life which breathed air in its lungs
in that ark. The long suffering of God waited
while that ark was being built, and they laughed Noah to scorn.
and they poured scorn on him, and they rejected him. And look
how successful his evangelism was. Oh, look at the modern evangelists
today who say, oh, if you're not getting hundreds and thousands
of people coming, there's something wrong with your message. Oh,
if your church isn't full to the brim, there's something wrong
with your message. What about Noah? How successful
was Noah. Him and seven others were saved. Him and seven others, and then
what a mess even they made because of sin, because their sin was
preserved to after the days of the flood. Surely we're in such
a time now where God is holding back just judgment. Today is
the day of salvation. God waits before judgment falls. Will you heed it? Will you hear
this message? or will you continue to ignore
and to pour scorn? Look what Jesus taught in Matthew
24 and verse 37. Well, verse 36, talking about
when the world will end. You see, this isn't pie-in-the-sky
philosophical stuff. This was the teaching of Jesus
Christ. He's talking about when things
will come to an end. Verse 36 of Matthew 24, But of
that day, when is it going to happen? But of that day and hour
knoweth no man. No, not the angels of heaven,
but my Father only. Now listen, compare this. He
gives an example. This is what we should compare
it with. But as the days of Noah were, if you wonder why Noah
is spelled N-O-E, it's because this is a translation from the
Greek version of what was Hebrew originally. But as the days of
Noah were, so shall also the coming of the son of Man be.
For as in the days that were before the flood, when Noah was
building his ark and they were laughing at him, they were eating
and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage, until the
day that Noah entered into the ark. God shut him in and knew
not until the flood came. took them all away. So shall
also the coming of the Son of Man be. Then shall two be in
the field, the one shall be taken and the other left. Two... I'm
not reading the italics because I don't think they're there.
Two grinding at the mill, one shall be taken and the other
left. Heed the warning. Will you heed the warning? Will
you heed what that is trying to say or will you continue to
ignore it and pour scorn upon it? But you see there's more.
that must happen in this half an hour of silence. There's space
for repentance before just judgment falls, but there's more. Prayers
must ascend to God before God's judgment falls and justice is
satisfied. Prayers must ascend to God. What? Verse three, the prayers of all
saints. You know in the scripture, Every
word is vital. That's why in these modern days,
as people like to think, we continue with the old King James Version. We don't even use the new King
James Version, because the new King James Version distorts the
scripture in various places. Every word is important. Every word is vital, and you
may find it hard to understand in places, but this is as close
as we can get. I'm not saying it's perfect,
it's a translation, but it's as close as we can get to the
mind of God concerning his plan for recovery of his kingdom.
The prayers of all saints, the prayers of all saints must ascend,
and that begs a question. We believe in a sovereign God,
don't we? We believe that nothing can affect what God intends to
do. So if God is sovereign, why pray? Why do we pray if God is sovereign?
Can the prayers of mere mortals like us, please Lord, will you
do such and such thing, can it persuade God to do anything other
than that which he was going to do anyway? Can it? You'd think
the answer obviously is no, of course it can't. Can God's arm
be twisted to indulge our desires? Oh Lord, please make the next
traffic light green. I just can't bear to have to
wait two minutes for it to go green again. Please make the
next traffic light green. So let's ask some questions here.
Two questions. Who are these all saints? and what are their prayers? Who
are these all saints and what are their prayers? All saints,
he says, all saints, all the people of God in all ages of
history. Saints are sanctified ones. Sanctified ones are especially
set aside apart from the rest by God, by God's Spirit. Holy
means separate. The Holy Bible is the separate
book, it's not like any other book. It's the sanctified book. These are saints, these are people
set apart by the Spirit of God. They're sanctified in Christ. They're united with Christ from
before the beginning of time. They're made in time, though
they're sinners like everybody else and children of wrath just
as others, they are made the righteousness of God in Christ,
because He was made their sin for us, that we might be made
the righteousness of God in Him. This is the multitude that, for
no other reason than the grace of God, the sovereign choice
of God, they were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the
world. These are the elect of God. Oh, I don't like that name.
I don't like that word. I don't like that doctrine. Well,
get your scissors and cut lots out of your Bible because you
can't avoid it. It's on every page. The elect of God. It is
God who chooses. Who is salvation of? Salvation
is of the Lord. Says it again and again. The
elect of God. What marks them out? They're
destined for God's eternal kingdom. They're destined to be amongst
that multitude in verse 9 of chapter 7, which no man can number.
That's what they're destined to be. They're redeemed particularly,
and I mean them and them alone and nobody else. The elect of
God, that multitude that no man can number, they're the ones
who are redeemed. Their purchase price is paid.
that they might be rid of their sin, that they might not bear
their sin into eternity. They're redeemed from sin's curse
by Christ's blood. And it's all of them. From Adam
and Eve, I believe they were the first redeemed to fight back
straight away against Satan after the fall. And Abel. was redeemed, and Seth, and Enoch,
and I'm missing out loads, but Noah stands out, for he found
grace in the sight of the Lord. And Abraham was called from his
idolatrous family in Ur of the Chaldees, and all of his family
with him became Israel, became the people of God, where the
seed of the woman would come from, that he might redeem his
people. And it wasn't just Abraham's physical descendants, because
even there in the Old Testament, we're given examples of Ruth,
Ruth, the Moabitess, do you know Ruth? From Ruth came Christ. From Ruth, the Moabitess, came
Christ. From Rahab, from Rahab in Jericho,
the harlot of Jericho, Rahab, the harlot, from her came the
descendants that went down to Christ. And these were all given
what Paul calls, writing to Titus, the faith of God's elect. God
gives to his elect multitude faith, which is the sight of
the soul to believe the truth of God. And God's followers are
these people, his bond-servants, his glad-willing servants. Paul calls himself a bond-servant
of Christ. His church, His body, the body
of Christ of which He is the head. Those who hear His voice,
my sheep hear my voice, and they follow me. I call them, they
follow me. I call you no longer servants,
but friends. You are my friends, the friends
of God. Heirs of God and joint heirs
with Christ, what is the inheritance? Come, ye blessed of my Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world. Kings and priests, you're a holy nation, a nation
of kings and of priests in God's kingdom. This is the elect. These are all saints, those ordained
to eternal life. Acts chapter 13 verse 48, the
apostles preached and many people heard, but those that were ordained
to eternal life believed, believed. They were called by preaching
in time for it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching
to call them, made alive to God's call. predestined to inhabit
eternity with God, to have intimate fellowship with Him forever. Having the mind of Christ, we
have it imperfectly as believers in this life, but then perfectly.
What are they in relation to this world? What are the saints,
the all saints, in relation to this world, true believers in
relation to this world? They're enmity with it. God said
that in Genesis 3.15. There will be enmity between
this line of people who believe me and with your world, Satan. They shun the aspirations of
this world. Instead of the desires of this
world in their hearts, they have the desire of heaven in their
hearts. Their aspirations are set on
paradise with God. They seek communion with God,
to know God, to know God. They desire his word. His word
is their food. It is their manna from heaven.
It is that which feeds their souls. They long to tell him
their heart's desires in prayer. How much scripture encourages
saints to pray. Pray without ceasing. How Jesus,
the man, led by example in frequent prayer. He went aside alone to
pray and they fell asleep and he said, could you not watch
with me one hour? Their eyes were heavy and they
felt, oh yes, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. They're
encouraged to ask in Christ's name, in accordance with his
revealed will. That's the problem. Do we always? Taught by him, taught by Jesus. The Lord teaches to pray, so
he taught them. Our Father, which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be
done on earth as it is in heaven. How the heavenly exile, because
that's what you are if you're a child of God in this world,
how the heavenly exile longs to return to his natural home
from the bondage of Satan's kingdom. This is the prayer of true saints.
Thy kingdom come, O Lord. Think of Egypt, think of Israel
in Egyptian bondage. Israel in Egyptian bondage in
the days of the Pharaohs, you know, it was 400 years since
Jacob had gone down there and Joseph had died and the people
were there and they'd become numerous, and Pharaoh and the
Egyptians put them into bondage. how that pictures the saints
of God in this world. How that pictures it, in Exodus
chapter 3 verse 9, when God meets Moses to summon him to go, in
Exodus chapter 3 verse 9, chapter 3 verse 9, Now therefore behold,
the cry of the children of Israel. This is God speaking to Moses.
The cry of the children, the prayers of the children of Israel
is come unto me. And I have also seen the oppression
wherewith the Egyptians oppressed them. I'm going to release them,
is what God is saying. Their prayer was that they might
be released from that bondage. So God sent plagues on the earth,
sorry, God sent plagues on Egypt. God frustrated Pharaoh's intentions. Do you see the picture with God
frustrating Satan's intentions with his kingdom? If the Israelites
were aligned with Egypt, their hearts were really in Egypt,
with the prosperity of that land, their prayers would have asked
for the plagues to stop. Wouldn't they? Think about it,
mull that over. How many Christians in this world,
claiming to be Christians, with their hearts supposedly set on
heaven, are praying more for the plagues of this world to
stop that they might enjoy their life here? Many Christians, true
as well as nominal, allow their fleshly natures to ask satisfaction
for their lusts. You know the flesh versus the
spirit, the two natures that are in the believer? No, prayers
like that are not the prayers of all saints. James, talking
to believers, says, Ye ask and receive not, because ye ask amiss,
that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Look, believer, are you
prone to pray for things that are really the things of this
world, that you might consume it on your lusts? Much that Christians
regard as prayer is for worldly contentment. Now don't get me
wrong, it's right to seek the Lord's wisdom in relation to
our dealings in the world, to acknowledge that all providence
for the flesh is from God's bounty and His grace to us. But He puts
in His people's hearts what to pray. That's what David said
in 2 Samuel chapter 7, concerning the building of the temple. 2
Samuel chapter 7, let me just go there. 2 Samuel chapter 7
and, where am I? Verse 27. For thou, O Lord of
hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed unto thy servant, that's David,
saying, I will build thee an house. Therefore hath thy servant
found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee. And look at
Ezekiel chapter 36 and verse 37. It's about things God intends
to do. And he says in verse 37, thus
saith the Lord God, I will yet for this be inquired of by the
house of Israel. I will have them pray to me.
I will have them pray asking me for this. Why? Because I'm
going to do it for them. I will be inquired of by the
house of Israel to do it for them. Why do we pray if God is
sovereign? Because he will be inquired of
by the house of Israel to do it for them. And these prayers, Sorry, where am I? Yes. Praying
in accordance with Christ's will is praying for Christ's kingdom
to come. At the end of the book, two verses
before the end, even so come Lord Jesus. Whatever advances
that desire, the world doesn't want it. They despair. We saw
them despairing at the end of chapter six in that about the
world being destroyed. All their hopes are shattered
there. But these prayers of all saints, that the kingdom would
come, are offered with incense. In verse 3, they're offered with
incense. You know, when Noah came out of the ark, he offered
burnt offerings upon the altar, and the Lord smelled a sweet
savour. And if you look then in Ephesians
chapter 5 and verse 2, Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 2, walk in
love, writes Paul to the Ephesian believers. Walk in love as Christ
also hath loved us and hath given himself for us an offering and
a sacrifice to God as Noah offered and sacrificed animals that were
taken into the ark. Offering and sacrifice to God
for a sweet-smelling savour. Incense is a sweet-smelling savour. What is the sweet-smelling savour
that rises up into the nostrils of God, that causes Him delight?
It is the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the sacrifice
of His dear Son, which paid the sin debt of the people He's redeeming
from the curse of the law. It pictures satisfaction made
to God's justice in redeeming blood. Do you, professing believer,
pray all these prayers of all saints? Thy kingdom come, thy
kingdom established on righteousness and divine answer. Well, that
happens in that silence for half an hour, that symbolical time. Is this what you're praying for?
You see, in verse five, it's answered. And the martyr's prayer
of chapter six and verse 10, how long are we going to wait
for vengeance, for God's vengeance to come and repay? The prayers
are answered, and judgments are poured out. Voices, thunderings,
lightnings, and an earthquake. This world, Satan's usurped kingdom,
is ripe for judgment under God's justice. Are you among his saints
praying for his kingdom to triumph? Do you profess to be his, but
actually you want judgment delayed until you've ticked off all the
items on your bucket list? Wow, I bet that stabbed, didn't
it, in some places? Eh? Let me say it again. Do you profess to be his and
to pray the prayers of all saints, but actually you want judgment
delayed until you've ticked off everything that's on your bucket
list in this world? Or are you among those, this
is a desperate case, who will plead to be hidden from the face
of Him that sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb?
You know, this world is ending. This world is ending. It's coming
to an end. God will be vindicated. His justice
will be upheld. His people will be taken with
Him. Oh, think on these things. Think where your heart is. Where
your heart is, that's where your treasure is. Is your treasure
in heaven? For in the Sermon on the Mount,
Jesus said, lay up treasure in heaven. Amen.