Well, I went to bed last night
studying and preaching from 1 John chapter 3. And I studied and
preached from 1 John chapter 3 all night last night. And I
got about halfway ready to start putting things down on paper,
and I got a phone call. Our friend, Brother Sonny Dutra,
from the West Coast, called, and he'd been talking to a business
acquaintance. who told Sonny something very
strange. He said, this fellow said there's only going to be
144,000 who go to heaven. And he referred to Revelation
7. Have you ever preached on that? And I said, well, I have,
but it's been a long, long time ago. And I'm sure the message
is not available on tape. I doubt it is. But anyway, Sonny
had been talking, obviously, to Russellites. a follower of
Charles Taze Russell, the fellow who was a millennial prophecy
nut back in the middle 1800s, who started what's called the
Jehovah Witnesses, the Watchtower Society. His heresy, like all
other heresies, come from a perverted twisting of scripture. Usually
they arise from the perverted twisting of one single portion
of scripture. Here in Revelation chapter 7, we read in verse 4, I heard the
number of them which were sealed. And there were sealed and hundred
and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children
of Israel. And of course, the Russellites
believe that's just one hundred and forty four thousand people
are going to heaven. Now, there's a little problem
with that. because they got over seven and a half million nuts
who follow them. But only one hundred forty four
thousand are going to make it to heaven. The rest that spend
eternity on the earth, according to Russellite doctrine. And Sonny
was well aware of the fact that the scripture says there many
are called, but few are chosen. But he thought, surely not that
few. And so we chatted a little bit on the phone and started
to go back to work. Oh, first, John three, but the
wheels were turning. And I believe God's given me something for
you that will help you. I soon abandoned what I had been
working on and began reading this blessed book of Revelation
again. We live in days of darkness and
difficulty. Antichrist is everywhere. Everywhere. Free will, works, religion is
the worldwide delusion of humanity, goes by many names, wears many
costumes, has different games they play, all the same thing,
just man worship. The moral decadence of this generation
is shocking even to someone like me who was raised in the 60s. The moral decadence of this age
is just shocking. The open, laughing, foolish promotion
of fornication and adultery and sodomy. I'm shocked folks aren't shocked.
They're just everywhere, everywhere. And if you frown at that, you
looked at it as some kind of a wild, a bigot, hating, hateful,
mean-spirited person. The economy of the world, if
folks who know about those things are telling the truth, is on
the brink of collapse. War ravages almost every society. You ever start to think about
how many people wake up every day to gunfire? And if people
wake up every day to war, poverty has the bulk of humanity in the
grip of despair. What does this book say about
those things? What hope do we have in these dark, difficult
days? Well, open your Bibles to Revelation
chapter 7, and I've got some answers for you. What about the 144,000? That's
my subject tonight. What about the 144,000? When we read the book of Revelation,
we should always remember that it is the revelation of Jesus
Christ. That's what we're told in the
opening verse. It is the revelation of Jesus Christ. This is not
a book about prophecy. Somehow, When you open the book,
open your Bible to Revelation, mentally at least, have written
on the top, the very top part of the book, this is not a book
about prophecy. Because when you start reading
it, you automatically start to think about prophetic things
that fools have promoted over the years. This is a book about
Jesus Christ. It does have a prophetic statement. It declares the sure triumph
of our Lord Jesus Christ and his people, his church, by the
gospel. The book of Revelation has this
prophetic statement. We're going to win. We're going to win. Because Christ
already has. That's the message of the book.
It is not the book of Revelations. It's not many revelations. It
is one revelation. It is the revelation of Jesus
Christ. In chapter one, we see our Lord
Jesus Christ showing himself in his glory as ever present
with his church, the son of God walking in the midst of the golden
candlesticks. And he holds the angels of his
church in his hands so that in the midst of all times, in all
seasons, Christ is with us. He walks in our midst. He meets
with his people. He holds his servants in his
hands That means he provides for us protects us guides us
takes care of us all the time He who is the all-glorious Everlasting
Son of God our Redeemer then in chapters 2 & 3 We're given
the letters of our Lord Jesus to his churches and these are
not letters to represent different times of church history. That's a mistake to look at it
that way. These letters represent the varying states of God's church
in this world at various times. The varying states of this congregation. The varying states of our own
souls. Times of declension, times of revival. Our constant need
of Christ our Savior. Our constant need of help. Our
constant need of grace. Because there is a constant warfare
in our souls. A constant warfare with the most
powerful of enemies. The prince of darkness and our
flesh. how I wore with apathy and indifference. I'm astonished. I'm astonished
at the apathy and indifference that freezes my heart most of
the time. I wish I could say sometimes,
Rex, most of the time. I burn passionately about most
things. But with regard to the things
of God, what apathy, what indifference, what coldness freezes my heart. And that's what chapters two
and three are about. Our need and his supply of grace. Our need and his mercy. Our need and his goodness. In
chapter 4, John takes us with him up into heaven itself. And there we behold a throne
and God sitting on the throne. Oh, how blessed at all times
to lift our eyes to heaven and see that the heavens do rule,
to see that the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. His throne represents
God's sovereign power. Around the throne are these 24
elders, representing all the host of God's elect, all who
are saved by God's grace, and four living creatures, four beasts,
who are the servants of God, God's messengers, all seeing
their work fulfilled in the salvation of all God's elect, represented
in those 24 elders, and all God's purpose, God sitting on the throne,
being fulfilled in that. And then we move to chapter 5
and we behold the throne again. The throne of God and a book. A book of sovereign decrees.
A book written on the inside and on the backside and sealed
with seven seals. And no one's found worthy to
open the book. The book represents God's purpose. God's eternal decree. God's plan
for the ages. God's design for the universe.
But God and his purpose and his book are unknown until the lamb
Arises in the midst of the throne a lamb as it had been slain and
takes the book Being found worthy to take the book from the hand
of him who sat on the throne and he opens the book and this
lamb opens the book to fulfill the will and purpose of God in
the universe. The Lamb who redeemed us, the
Lamb of God who sacrificed himself for us holds in his hand all
the universe to fulfill all the will of God according to his
covenant grace which Mark read about just a little bit ago.
That's what the book's all about. The Lord Jesus stands with one
foot on the earth and one foot on the sea, and he has this book
in his hand, and he rules the universe accordingly. And when
he's finished, all the host of God's elect shall be saved exactly
according to the purpose of God given us in Revelation chapter
four, showing the 24 elders around his throne. All the purpose of
the work of the ministry accomplished in the salvation of God's people.
All the purpose and work of Christ as the Redeemer accomplished
in the salvation of God's people. All the purpose of God and providence
of God brought to fulfillment in the sure salvation of God's
people. And then we come to chapter 6.
And the seals are opened. But the seals are opened in chapter
6 only six of them. The seventh seal is opened in
chapter eight. These seals opened are the unfolding
of the mysteries of God's purpose, the fulfilling of God's decree,
so that as the seals are opened, the Lord Jesus is fulfilling
that which God, the triune God, purposed from eternity. These
seven seals are opened I'm going to get to chapter 8, the seventh
one is open. But here, these seals and the
horsemen refer to the many trials and difficulties through which
God's people must pass as they make their pilgrimage through
this world. The trials and difficulties through which we must pass as
we enter into heaven's everlasting glory. They refer to the condition
God's Church the experience of God's Saints his kingdom in this
world in all ages but once more these Seals being opened as each
seal is opened gives us assurance Assurance of the fact that ultimately
Christ and his church shall be triumphant the purpose of this
sixth chapter to assure us that though we must suffer much trials
afflictions and heartaches persecutions and this adversities both without
and within Christ our Savior is always in control Christ our Savior is always in
control Brother Rex read the story of Esther and Mordecai
to us back in the office a little bit ago, and I thought, how suitable. How suitable. The Lord God, our
Savior, wisely and graciously manipulates the thoughts of men,
good and evil. He wisely manipulates and controls
the deeds of men, righteous and wicked. Deeds and thoughts that
were intended for the glory of God and deeds and thoughts Intended
for nothing but the rebellion against God he rules all and
uses them all for the good of his people everything everything Heyman built gallows 50 feet
high and Talked to hang Mordecai on the gallows And he thought
surely he would be exalted above everybody in the realm except
the king himself. And he winds up with Mordecai
exalted and himself hanged on the gallows he made for Mordecai. How could that be? God. God rules. God rules. God help you and help me to understand
that always in all things the heavens do rule the Lord Jesus
Christ is the mighty triumphant conqueror revealed in chapter
six in verses one and two riding on a white horse riding forth
to conquer conquering and to conquer he's telling us that
our Lord Jesus this mighty man of war is the sovereign Christ
we can safely trust and yet we must through much tribulation
enter into God's kingdom. So in verses three through eight
of chapter six, we see that adversity is the common lot of God's people.
There's a red horse symbolizing war and slaughter, a black horse
symbolizing hardship, poverty, starvation, injustice throughout
the world, and a pale horse symbolizing death. and the grave. These two are the common woes
of humanity. Death comes by many means, the
sword, the famine, pestilence, war, wild beast, many, many means. But death is sure to come. Our
bodies must return to the earth. The pale horse rider will be
the children of God Welcome visitor. Death is not something to be
shunned by you and I who are gods. Pastor, how can you reconcile
going to the doctor and taking care of your health with reason
and then say death is not to be shunned? We have a responsibility.
We have a responsibility to exercise reasonable care in preserving
life. and not to take life early, but
at the same time, we should never fear death. Not if we're redeemed. No reason to. No reason to. This
shall be a welcome, welcome, welcome visitor when the rider
on the pale horse comes calling us at last to glory. The fifth
seal in Revelation 6 verses 9 through 11, Shows us that all these things
we experience in this sin-cursed world of woe. And yet at the
same time, we're assured that God will not destroy this world
until his elect are saved. Yes, this world shall be destroyed.
It shall be destroyed not gradually, but climactically. It's not going
to be destroyed by the silly Absurd. See if I can think of a clearer
way to express this. Silly, absurd, foolish, God hating,
repulsive notion of global warming and you using too much hairspray
or burning too much gas. If you fall for that nonsense,
you need to be checked into a funny farm. This world is not going
to be dissolved gradually. It shall be destroyed climatically
by the hand of God in such a way that everyone knows God did it. Everyone. In Revelation 6, 11
we see all God's saints in heaven robed in perfect white righteousness
of Christ and resting, resting with Him who is the Lord our
Sabbath forever. These people who have been slain,
slaughtered as wild beasts, common criminals put to death as enemies
of men. And yet these are also all God's
people. Martyrs. Martyrs who have laid
down their lives in the cause. The number of the martyrs, however,
is not yet complete. Read the chapter. The number
of the martyrs is not yet fulfilled. You see, all of God's people
are martyrs. All of God's elect are martyrs. The Lord Jesus requires, if you
follow Him, you lay down your life for Him. You hate father
and mother and brother and sister, you hate your own life also.
You lay down your life for Him. That's what it is to trust Him.
That's what it is to believe Him. And then the sixth seal
is given in verses 12 through 17, telling us that God will
avenge himself and his own elect. It's open to introduce us to
the great and terrible day of judgment. In that day, there
will be a total dissolution of this physical universe. As I
said, a climactic, not a gradual dissolution of it. The entire
world of the reprobate will suddenly be seized with fear. I recall
years ago, Brother Ronnie Lewis told me about reading this passage
in verses 15, 16, and 17. And he said, there's going to
be a strange prayer meeting. He said, in that great and terrible
day, there will be a strange prayer meeting. Men will pray,
but the men praying will not be saved men, but unsaved men.
They'll pray not to God, but to the mountains and rocks. And
they'll pray not for life, but for death. And they'll pray not
that they may see Christ, but that they may be hidden from
Him. What that day shall be when men are so seized with terror
that they ask to be hidden from the face of the Lamb of God. What that day shall be. When
that day comes, the door of grace will be closed forever. Now,
let's look at chapter 7, Revelation chapter 7. And after these things, after
all that we've seen thus far, after the world comes to its
final climactic end, judgment's over, After the six seals were
opened, but before the seventh is opened, 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. This angel
is our Lord Jesus. No question about that. The seal
of God is God, the Holy Spirit. He gives to his ransomed ones
when he calls them by his grace. And he cried with a loud voice
to the four angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth.
The angels of God to them, 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 Don't destroy the earth Don't destroy God's creation
Until the very last one of God's elect had been sealed by the
Spirit of God in the new birth And I heard the number of them
which were sealed There were sealed and hundred and forty
and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel
Twelve thousand from each tribe and then he lists those tribes
of the children of Israel pick up in verse verse 9 and After
this after all the elect had been saved I beheld and lo a
great multitude which no man could number and 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, 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 fell down 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 which came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou
knowest. And he said unto me, These are
they which came out of great tribulation, and have 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
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
the living fountains of water. And God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes. Now the subject of this chapter
is the sure salvation of God's elect. The certain salvation
of God's elect. These 144,000 represent the total
of God's elect. And John is declaring to us by
this revelation that everyone of God's elect from the beginning
of time to the end of time. Everyone of God's elect from
the four corners of the earth, every one of God's elect in every
part of the world in every age of time shall be saved by God's
free grace. Salvation is God's. It is God's
gift. It is God's work. It is for God's
glory. It is the purpose for which God
created this earth that he might show forth the glory of his grace
in Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Salvation to our God is the song
of the book. In these 17 verses, John teaches
us four facts about God's salvation. Number one, number one, understand
this. God preserves the world for one
reason. One reason. God preserves the
nations of this world for one reason. God preserves humanity
for one reason, to save his elect. That's all. That's all. The only
reason the rest of the world exists is for the saving of God's
elect. You remember what happened with
Ham? Ham uncovered Noah's nakedness. Shaman Japheth refused to look
upon their father's nakedness. And Noah, by divine order, cursed
Ham. And the curse that was upon Ham
is this, he shall be servant of servants to Shem and Japheth. Now the curse, contrary to what
many folks say, has nothing to do with Ham's physical condition. The curse is Ham and his seed
are the reprobate seed of Satan. And they exist to serve Shem
and Japheth. They exist only for that purpose. Why on this earth do those wild
Mohammedans exist? I mean, these fellas, if they
get mad and come bomb this place, it'll be all right. I've met
hyenas who act like they've got better sense. I've seen hyenas
in zoos who act like they've got better sense. These fellas
are wild men. They're wild men. Why do they
exist? Just for the saving of God's
people, that's all. That's all. Why does Satan exist? Just for the saving of God's
people. Well, how can this be? I don't
know. And I don't need to know. God
does. You understand that? God rules. Look at what it says here. He
says, hurt not the earth. neither the sea, nor the trees,
till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. Now, let no one be mistaken.
God's long suffering is manifest in many ways. God is, the Lord
is good to all. His tender mercies are over all
his works. But don't ever imagine that blessings
in providence are an indication of God's favor. Look look how the Lord's blessed
us We've got a new car and we got a lot of money in the bank.
Look at our house Oh, look how the Lord's blessed us all our
children at home and they they love mom and daddy and respect
everything going So well, look how the Lord's blessed us read
the 73rd Psalm Read the 92nd Psalm Understand that God has set the
reprobate in slippery places and their feet shall slide into
hell in due course by God's appointment And he blesses them kind of like
a farmer who goes out and Selects one calf out of 400 just picks
out one and it puts that one calf in a stall up real close
to the house and And it gives that calf a bucket of grain every
morning and a bucket of grain at noon every day. And the rest
of them out there chewing grass on frost. It comes in, gives
that calf another bucket of grain every night. Gives it a little
extra before it goes to bed. Ah, he must really love that
calf. No, he's fixing to kill it. He's fixing to kill it. That's the reason he's stalled
up there. That's the reason he's treated so good. God speaks just
that way with regard to his blessings upon the wicked. He sends the
rain upon the just and the unjust. But the only reason, Don Ranieri,
your neighbors get any rain is because you live next door to
them. That's exactly right. The only
reason they get any sunshine is because they live next door
to us. God does everything for his elect. And men live. through the ages of time, God
preserves them, upholds all things by the word of his power, sustains
breath in their nostrils while they curse him, sustains breath
in their nostrils while they blaspheme him, sustains breath
in their nostrils while they persecute and slaughter his people
throughout the ages and God sustains them. Because God has in the
fallen sons of Adam, in their loins, an elect seed whom he
shall save by his grace. Adam, in the day you eat thereof,
you shall surely die. But Bobby, he lived for hundreds
of years after that. Well, he died spiritually, but
he's still alive. Why didn't God kill him? Why didn't God
kill him? He was under the judgment of
God the moment he ate the forbidden fruit. Why didn't God kill him
then? Because in him, in his loins,
is the seed of all humanity whom God would scatter through all
the earth and scattering them through all the earth would scatter
his elect to the four winds. and preserved them in lands of
darkness generation after generation for thousands of years until
one is raised up that's the one I'll call and he saves him by
his grace the Lord is long-suffering listen to this to usward to usward not willing that any
should perish but that all of us his elect should come to repentance
and knowledge of the truth. First thing to be understood,
God preserves this world for the saving of His elect, only
for the saving of His elect. He preserves His people in this
world until the day of their calling. Number two, we're here
told, verses 4 through 12, that all God's elect shall be saved
to the praise of the glory of his grace. And I heard the number
of them that were sealed, sealed by God, the Holy Spirit, as Abraham
sealed. His sons in the covenant and
sealed the covenant to them by circumcision in the flesh, so
God, the Holy Spirit is the seal. Circumcision made without hands
in the heart in the new birth by which God identifies his elect
By which God seals to his elect all the blessings given in that
covenant. We read of in Jeremiah 31 He
seals us in his grace and preserves us by his spirit. That's what
he does in the new birth It's the sealing of God's elect. I
Heard the number of them that were sealed And there were sealed
and hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of
Israel. Twelve thousand of each one so
that he gives us a very definite number. And some fool like Russell
comes along and says, well, that means there's only going to be
one hundred and forty four thousand who go to heaven playing those
on your face. There it is. We read the scriptures
literally and take them exactly as they stand. This book is full of gins and
snares. Deliberately written by God to
trip up folks who will not believe God. You want to find a reason
not to believe the gospel? I can show you a hundred of them
in this book before you leave here tonight. You'll find a reason not to believe
God. I can show you a hundred in this book before you leave
here tonight. God's written it just that way. to trip up folks
who will not believe on his son. The 144,000 is a definite number
given to represent an indefinite number, but it's given to represent
a specific multitude. We're told in the very next verses,
after you start naming these 12 tribes of the 12,000 out of
each tribe of the children of Israel, there's a multitude,
an innumerable multitude, which no man can number. And they're
the same people. They're the same people. Well,
why do you call it 144,000 here and an innumerable company that
no man can number over there? Why would he do that? So folks
get tripped up over it. And so that you and I might understand,
we're reading that which is written for spiritual men, for spiritual
purposes. He's telling us that God has
a specific number whom he shall save. And they were represented
in the 12 tribes of the physical nation of Israel. And they represented
God's elect in this world, His covenant people, who are later
called in the New Testament, the Israel of God, the seed of
Abraham. Now, this will come as a shock
to many. You're looking at this pretty
face right here. Most folks would never imagine this is a Jewish
stock. That's not typically the nose
you see on a Jew. Most folks would never imagine
that you're looking at Jewish stock. Jewish stock preserved
in a society of murderous Germans. Brother, you've lost your mind.
No, I'm just beginning to get it. I'm a Jew inwardly, circumcised
in the heart. And those who have noses that
look like Jews might not be. Those who have a history over
in Israel just might not be. Some are, but the bulk of them
have been cast off. What are you talking about? God's
elect were represented in that physical nation. But God's elect
are not that physical nation. And God preserves this world
and rules this world and shall destroy this world when the last
of his elect had been sealed by the circumcision made without
hands, called by his grace, born again by his spirit. This 144,000
are discovered and made known who they are when they are sealed. when they're called by the grace
of God. Now, understand these things.
I'll just give you these five things, and I'll move on to the
next thing. They are a great multitude, we're told in verses
four through nine. Not just a little group of the chosen. Somebody
said one time, well, y'all believe there's just a handful of the
elect. Well, I'll go with that, but they're in his hand. That's
a big hand. His elect, number two. God's elect and only God's
elect are redeemed by the blood of Christ. In chapter 14, John
speaks of these very same elect multitude, these same 144,000.
He says, these are the redeemed out of all the earth. Number
three, the elect are known in time by their calling when they're
called by God, the spirit circumcised in the heart, given faith in
Christ. Being called by the grace of God, they are sealed in grace. And then fifth, God's elect,
the entire 140 and 4,000 shall be saved. Now, get this third
thing. They will all be saved by faith
in Christ. Look at verse 13. And one of
the elders answered, saying unto me, what are these? Which are
arrayed in white robes, and which came they? And I said unto him,
Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are
they which came out of great tribulation. Now watch this.
And have washed their robes. And have washed their robes.
They have washed their robes. They have washed their robes
and made them white. They did. David Burge, did you
wash your robes? Did you make your robes white?
That's what it says here. They have washed their robes
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. How is that? Thy
faith hath made thee whole. Faith in Christ is the gift of
God, the work of God by all means. But faith in Christ is just as
necessary to the saving of our souls as election and redemption. Election alone is not salvation. It is unto salvation. Redemption
alone is not salvation. It guarantees salvation. Salvation
comes to sinners when you, believing on the Son of God, wash your
robes and make them white in the fountain filled with blood
drawn from Emmanuel's veins. We're saved by faith in the Son
of God. If you would be saved, you must
believe on the Lord Jesus. And fourth, the salvation of God's elect
shall be perfect and complete, everlasting salvation. Look at verses 15, 16, and 17. Because they've been redeemed
and justified through the blood of Christ, the Lamb of God sacrificed
in their place, are they before the throne. There they worship
and serve Him in spontaneous, glad, unceasing devotion of heart. In heaven, we shall be in the
immediate, eternal presence of God our Savior. And everything
we want, Everything we need everything we desire Shall be supplied with
unlimited fullness look at verse 16 They shall hunger no more Neither thirst anymore Neither
shall the Sun light on them nor any heat You will find this hard to believe,
but I know what it is to be hungry. My first year of college, first
semester I was in school, I couldn't afford to eat six times a week. I ate six days, one day a week,
I didn't have anything to eat. I know what it is to be hungry.
But that's not the hunger he's talking about. I hunger to know Him and to be
like Him and to honor Him. Oh, how I thirst for the knowledge
of God my Savior. How I thirst to know Him. How I thirst to express gratitude
to him. How I thirst to worship him. And soon I will hunger no more. And I will thirst no more. And
I had no more sun to beat upon my head and burden me in affliction,
difficulty, trial, and scorching heat of labor. We shall be completely delivered
from all sin, all sorrow, all hardship, and all care. For the lamb which is in the
midst of the throne shall feed them and shall lead them unto
living fountains of water. And God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes. What more could anyone want?
What more could anyone want? I was talking to Brother Donnie
Bell the other day. I had a chance to talk to him
a little bit and told him a story you've heard me tell many times
about the old woman who called her young pastor in to make arrangements
for a funeral. And the last thing she said to
him was, be sure when they buried me to put my fork in my hand.
And the pastor said, well, why would you want to be there with
your fork in your hand? She's well, when I was growing up,
we didn't often have dessert. And when Mama said, keep your
fork when she cleared the table, I knew something better was coming. Something better is coming. Complete,
perfect salvation. Right on time. according to God's
purpose and God's schedule for every chosen sinner. Amen.