If you will, take your Bibles
and turn with me to Revelation chapter 7. I want to read all of chapter
7 and then I'll make some comments about it. 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, nor 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, till we have sealed the servants of
our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them
which were sealed. And there were sealed a hundred
and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children
of Israel. Of the tribe of Judah were sealed
twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed
twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed
12,000. Of the tribe of Asher there were
sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Nephthalim were
sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Manassas were
sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed
12,000. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed
12,000. Of the tribe of Issachar were
sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Zabulon were
sealed 12,000. And of the tribe of Joseph were
sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Benjamin were
sealed 12,000. And after this, I beheld and lo a great number
which no man could number of all nations. And kindreds and
people and tongues stood before the throne. and before the Lamb
clothed with the 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 beasts,
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. 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 unto me, These are
they which came out of great trouble, 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 sat upon the throne shall dwell among them. They
shall hunger no more. Neither thirst any more, 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 waters, living fountains of waters, and God
shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. I read this chapter in its whole
so I might teach you the meaning of it in its whole. The subject
here is in the light of the judgment and the wrath of God set before
us in the previous chapter. And it's written to assure us
of the salvation of God's elect in the light of that whore and
exacting justice which he shall recompense upon this world. It was out of the belly of hell,
the scripture said, that Jonah cried. He cried. And what did Jonah cry? He said,
I'll pay that which I have vowed salvation is of the Lord. And it's of the Lord in its purpose,
and it's of the Lord in its purchase, it's of the Lord in its performance,
it's of the Lord in his preservation. And it's of the Lord in its final
perfection. So from Alpha to Omega, from
first to last, salvation is God's work and God's gift to chosen
sinners. All of God. All of God. Now this chapter begins by telling
us that his angels are already set for the destruction of the
world. They're already chosen and in
place. They have the ability to do what
God sent them to do and they're ready to do it. They're ready
to do it. Now there's a day set when the
Lord Jesus, the scripture said, shall be revealed coming down
from God out of heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire
taking vengeance on them that know not God. and this is that
day of which he's speaking. He's going to take vengeance
on them that know not God, nor will obey his gospel, and they
shall be destroyed from the presence of the Lord and from the glory
of his power. You know, men laugh and mock
when those who preach such things. When they hear them, they laugh
and mock, don't they? But even their response has been
prophesied in the Scriptures. Listen to this. Peter said, knowing
this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers,
scoffers, walking after their own lust and saying, where is
the promise of his coming? He'd been foretold since the
fathers were way back in the days of Abraham. Way back in
the days of Isaac, way back in the days of Jacob, he'd been
foretold and foretold over and over and over again, all kinds
of prophecies. So where's the promise of his
coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue
as they were from the beginning. And then John tells us plainly
here in chapter 7 that the means of destruction are already in
place. They're already in place. And they're ready. They're ready
to do what God has called them to do. But then another angel,
he said, appears in this vision. Another messenger from God and
he ascends out of the east having the seal of God. Now this has
to be the Lord Jesus Christ. Nobody else has the seal of God. But he ascends from the east
having the seal of God and he commands the four angels to wait.
To wait. They're ready to go. They're
ready to destroy. They're ready to fold this world
up. Roll it up like a scroll. the crash is hold on there's
something yet not complete all my people have not been seen
and you don't you don't hurt anything they're seeing every
last one of them wait until all god's servants have been sealed
in their forehead and this angle is the messenger of god's covenant
the lord jesus christ And before the awful day of vengeance and
wrath shall come, the Lord will call all of His elect and He'll
seal them with His Holy Spirit of promise, bringing them into
faith and repentance and a good hope through grace. He's not
going to leave one behind. I've read and studied all these
various things about the end, and the pre-millennialists believe
that the Lord's going to call up His elect out of this world,
and then there's going to be a thousand years called the Great
Tribulation, and men are going to live during that time, and
those who change their mind and make their decisions for Jesus,
and all that tommyrot that they preach, then at the last day,
if they survive, if they survive, then they're gonna be saved.
But that's not what this is talking about. This thousand years that
he's talking about has to do with the whole of the gospel
age. That's what that thousand years
represents, the reign of Christ with his church. With his church. And that's how it's pictured
in each of these visions. He's reigning with his people
in glory. And that thousand years represents
that. Now, I've got several things
I want to show you here in these passages. First of all, God preserves
this world in order to save His elect out of it. Now, men can
cry and moan and march up and down the street, and they can
have all these things about the world coming to an end, and all
of these things. Ain't nothing going to happen
to this world until God's people have been sealed. He preserves
this world for one reason. Not because they're getting better
and better, not because they're quitting this and starting that.
He preserves this world for His elect. Period. Turn with me to 2 Peter chapter
3. There's only one thing which stands between God and the total
annihilation of this present evil world, and that's the mediatorial
work of the Lord Jesus Christ. He tells us in John chapter 5,
the Father judgeth no man, but he committed all judgment unto
the Son. He's the one mediator between
God and man. He mediates God's will in this
world. Now listen to this, 2 Peter chapter
3 verse 9. The Lord is not slack concerning
His promise, as some men count slackness. but is long-suffering
to usward. He's talking here to his elect. He's long-suffering to usward,
not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Now, if you'll read that whole
chapter, you'll see that this is in the context of his preservation
of this world. He said these scoffers, that
scripture I quoted to you earlier, in the last days there shall
come scoffers. He said, those scalpers are ignorant
of this. At one time, the land was made
separate from the waters, and men were created to live upon
it by the word of God. And God judged men, and He turned
that ocean loose. He turned those waters loose
in the sky and in the ground, and those oceans that He backed
up by His word and said, here shall thy proud waves come, but
no further. and he loosed that water and
he covered this world in water and he drowned it all but a handful
and put them on an ark now he said they're ignorant of that
and in the same way they're ignorant of what's going on today God
was long suffering in the days of Noah not willing that they
should perish him and his sons and his daughter-in-law None
of them gonna perish until that ark's built and they're gonna
put them inside the ark and then God's wrath gonna fall on this
earth. Same thing going on today except
he's putting men in Christ. In Christ. The rain which fell
on the just and the unjust and the air we breathe and the food
we eat and the lives we live here on this earth are all enjoyed
by all because of God's loving kindness and long-suffering toward
his saints. And when he says he's not willing
that any should perish, he's not talking about every living
soul. His unwillingness is directed
to usward, his elect, and it's not just an idle wish. In other
words, he's not just saying, well, God really ain't gonna
like it if some of us perish, but some of us are gonna perish
anyway. That's not what he's saying. you remember they actually
work with all things that the council of his own we'll what
he will she does not willing that any of his own way should
pair as god said he is still upon
the houses of israel in egypt when that angel of destruction
passed by even so christ to set his seal upon all his elect by
the spirit and by faith given to us by our Savior through the
Holy Spirit of God. Ephesians 1.13 tells us that
as believers we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which
is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased
possession under the praise of His glory. Not one of God's elect
shall be lost or perish under the judgment of this present
evil world. Brother Don said this in his book on Revelations.
He said, God the Father sealed us with his eternal decree of
election. He sealed us. God the Son sealed
us with his atoning blood. And God the Holy Spirit sealed
us with his regenerating grace. We're sealed. And nothing's gonna
happen to this world until all God's elect have been sealed. God preserves this world in order
to save his elect out of it. All right, secondly. Here's the
second fact set forth here in Revelation chapter seven. All
of God's elect shall be saved when john looked at the throne
how many of Israel did he see? 144,000 how many did God purpose
to save? 144,000 now that number is a
an exact number to tell us that that the number of God's elect
is a certain number. And then next he pictures them
as a numberless multitude taken out of every nation, every tribe,
every kindred. And so there is a set number
which God has chosen. That 144,000 represents that.
But it's also a numberless multitude in our eyes. When he told Abraham,
he likened it to the sands of the seashore and the stars in
the sky. So when you're able to number
them, you're able to number God's elect. Until then, it's a numberless
multitude. But not with God. And he gives us a definite number
here to symbolize the whole of spiritual Israel. And I'm going to tell you something.
A lot of people like to take this and apply this to natural
Israel. But no man will ever be saved
simply because he's a blood relative of Abraham. We're told that over
and over in the Scriptures. Paul was very clear in Romans
chapter 9. He said, They which are the children
of the flesh, these are not the children of God. That's pretty
plain, isn't it? But the children of the promise
are counted for the seed. And then he tells us, John tells
us in John chapter one of his gospel, he says, children of
God are not born of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor
the will of man. They're born of God. Judgment is a reality. The means
are ready and the day is set, but not one of God's elect shall
suffer with them. Christ has suffered their hell,
he's borne their judgment, and he's satisfied divine justice
on their behalf. That's my hope when it comes
to judgment. He bore my sins in his own body
on the tree. He's my hope of righteousness.
He's my hope of justification. And there is therefore now no
condemnation, no judgment to them which are in Christ Jesus
who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit. We rest
in Christ. We trust in Christ. There's nothing
iffy about salvation. The whole time I was in religion
they talked about men being saved and they'd come forward and they'd
pray and they'd get up and they'd thank God for saving them. And
about a month later, they'd be up here confessing that they
were lost. And then they were found again,
and then they were lost again, and then they were saved again.
There's nothing iffy about salvation. Salvation's an eternal work.
It began in eternity past. It'll be finished in eternity
future. But it's the work of God, and
it can't fail. And there's nothing iffy about
salvation. I might put an if on myself,
but not on Christ, and not on God. When he finished his work,
he sat down. There's only one reason a priest
was never allowed to sit down. But there's only one reason for
a priest to sit down, and that's when his work is finished. And
Christ, offering that one sacrifice for sins, have perfected us forever,
and he sat down, expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. I tell you, we start seeking
assurance when we start thinking about judgment, don't we? Huh? We don't wanna play anymore.
Judgment's real, and judgment's by God who can see all things. He can discern your thoughts
and the intents of your heart. And you can't, but he can. And
I tell you, it's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the
living God. And when we start talking about
judgment and start talking about death and eternity, we won't
be sure, don't we? That's assurance. Let me tell
you something. The only place you'll ever find
assurance when it comes to judgment is in Christ. That's the only
place you can find it. Assurance is in Christ. It's
in being fully persuaded that what he's promised, he's able
also to perform. The entire book of Revelation
is written to show us that salvation is the work of God. It's accomplished
through the mediation of his son, and it's applied to the
hearts of chosen sinners by the Holy Ghost. And it's written
to assure us that though all these things are coming upon
us in the end, we'll have the victory in our Lord Jesus Christ. And because it is of God, all
Israel shall be saved. Hold up. All right, here's the
third thing set before us here in these verses, is that all
spiritual Israel shall be saved through faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ. I believe it's of utmost importance
here to know how God saves sinners and to know the various parts
of that salvation and how it's established in the scriptures. I've been guilty of it, and a
lot of great preachers that I know are guilty of it, but they say
this, and they may continue saying this after they hear what I have
to say. I don't know, but I've been convicted a little bit in
saying it. I've made the statement before,
election is not salvation. Oh, I beg your pardon. I beg
your pardon, not according to scripture it is. he said god has and then he called us with the
holy call not according to our work but according to his own
purpose in grace which was given us in christ Jesus before the
world began or what happened when christ came it was manifested
what god purposed in eternity manifested by his appearance
you read second timothy one nine and ten Oh yes, election is salvation.
Election is not salvation all by itself. But God doesn't choose
people and then just let them go. If God chose a people, He's
going to redeem that people. He's going to send the Holy Spirit
to those people. He's going to send those people
a preacher. He's going to give them the gift of faith. And they're
going to persevere because He's going to preserve them. under
that day, and not one of them is going to perish. That's what
he's telling us here, and we've got to be careful about what
we say. I heard somebody say the other day that the death
of Christ wasn't enough. Wasn't enough. And I know he
was well-meaning in what he said. What he was trying to say was
there also has to be the work of the Holy Spirit. But you be
careful about what you say about the death of Christ. It's enough.
It's enough. It's finished. But I tell you,
everybody that Christ died for, he's going to call with his Holy
Spirit. You see what I'm saying? We got
to know these various parts of this salvation or we'll say things
that just aren't true or it leads people to think that they're
not true. We want to be careful in how
we say these things. God began all things with the
purpose to save a people for His glory through the person
and work of His dear Son. And when a son appeared in this
world as a man, he manifested God's eternal purpose of grace.
When Christ died on the cross, was raised up again on the third
day, God declared His work to be approved and therefore justified
all His elect. He was delivered for our offenses
and raised again for our justification. When He ascended into glory and
took His place at the right hand of God, He manifested His right
to rule over all things, to give eternal life to His elect. Now you can read that in John
17, verse 2. And God is purposed to give this
eternal life by the preaching of the gospel and the sovereign
working of the Holy Spirit of God. And it's futile to hope in a
salvation that's purposed, but never comes to pass. Everything
God purposed, that's what he said. I'm God, he said, way back
yonder through his prophet Isaiah. He said, I'm God, and beside
me there is none else. I declare the end from the beginning.
And from ancient times, the things that are not yet done, saying
my counsel's gonna stand, and I'm gonna do all my pleasure.
That's God. That's God. But religion has
him failing. Religion has men resisting his
will, spoiling his work. Well, my soul,
then he can't be God. Because he said, this is how
you know I'm God. And then somebody else said,
well, Christ died and that's the end of it. No, sir, that
ain't the end of it. All for whom Christ died are
gonna hear, and they're gonna repent, and they're gonna believe. These are they which come up
out of great tribulation, great trouble, came up out of a depraved
world, with depraved natures, came up out of a cursed world.
They are they which come up out of great tribulation and they've
washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
That's the exercise of faith. Therefore are they before the
throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple. And
then, fourthly, I want you to see in these verses that the
salvation of God's elect will be perfect, complete, and eternal. You know, religious rebels like
to accuse God's preachers of preaching, once in grace, always
in grace. Took me a long time before I
could get a definition out of one of them about what he meant
by that. Because I believe if God bestows grace on a man, he'll
keep on bestowing grace on me. So if that's what you're saying,
then that's what I believe, once in grace, always in grace. But
this accusation they make is with the understanding that we're
preaching that every man and woman who professes faith is
as sure for heaven as if he's already there. I don't preach
that. And while I'll acknowledge that
there be some who do, who are pretenders to their office, I
never met one. God's work is a work that works
from the inside out. It begins with a new birth, a
divine hearing, a godly calling, a spiritual understanding, and
a heart obedience. And faith is a vital part of
the salvation of God's elect. By grace are you saved through
faith. And His salvation is ordained
and fixed and unchangeable, it's effectual, it's irresistible,
and it's made sure by the presence and power of God Himself. Peter
tells us to give diligence, to make our calling and election
sure, for if you do these things, you'll never fall. And how is
it made sure except to examine it in its whole and in each thing
in particular? and yield ourselves to him and
his authority over us. But here's what John's trying
to get us to see. The statements made over in Philippians
1, verse 6. He which hath begun a good work
in you will perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ. And to his angels, he says this. He said, hold on. Hold on. Don't you hurt anything until
all my servants are sealed. He's going to finish this work
which he's half begun. And then he closes with these
words. These ones that he sees standing
before the throne in those white robes. who came up out of great
tribulation and washed their robes in the blood of the lamb,
and they stand before him and serve him day and night in his
temple. Here's what he says about them.
They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, 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. under living waters, and God
shall wipe away all tears.