The One Year Bible Club with Teaching
Commentary by Nick Boork
December 16
Commentary by Nick Boork
December 16
December 16
Revelation 7:1-17
The Sealed of Israel 7 After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. 2 Then 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 granted to harm the earth and the sea, 3 saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” 4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:
5 of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand were sealed;
6 of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand were sealed;
7 of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand were sealed;
8 of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed.
A Multitude from the Great Tribulation 9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying:
“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom,
Thanksgiving and honor and power and might,
Be to our God forever and ever.
Amen.”
13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?” 14 And I said to him, “Sir, you know.”
So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. 16 They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; 17 for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
OKAY, HERE’S MY TEACHING COMMENTARY
Many Bible scholars believe that the 144,000 Israelites that are sealed in their foreheads are the servants of God set apart to preach the gospel among all the nations of the earth during the time of the great tribulation. I believe that this interpretation is correct and when the elder asks the apostle John about the great multitude standing before the throne worshiping God “Who are these?” John says “you know” and the elder reveals that this is a great multitude that no one could number that has come out of the great tribulation. It does not say that they were all martyrs but it does say they came out of the great tribulation and that many of them suffered hunger, thirst and being scorched by the sun before being taken to Heaven. To me this refers to being persecuted because of their Christian faith.
The Bible says this multitude came from every nation around the world. They heard the word of the Lord possibly through the 144,000 Jewish evangelists. This multitude heard the gospel and received Jesus Christ and his cleansing blood to redeem them from all sin. The tender mercy of God is revealed because it says that the Lamb will shepherd them and lead them to fountains of living water. All of their tears will be dried-up and God will bring about a total healing through his presence! This tells me that many Christians go through difficult times, persecution and even martyrdom this side of Heaven but God will ultimately deliver us from our suffering by entering into his rest and glorious presence on the other side of this life where there is no devil, evil, persecution or suffering. Sometimes believers are delivered from torture and sufferings now but some have to endure the most cruel persecutions and even death.
Hebrews 11:35-37…Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword.
The Bible reveals that for multitudes of Christians it’s no joyride or a trip to Cedar Point following Jesus Christ as Lord. Especially during the time of the great tribulation the reality is that there’ll be such great persecution against anyone that does not worship the antichrist that many of them will be martyred for having faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. However, whatever price a person has to pay down here to enter into the glory of God’s presence and blessings for eternity is totally worth it. I mean salvation is a free gift by the grace of God but for multitudes of Christians their faith is tried by the fire of persecution. I believe this is what the apostle Paul had in mind when he wrote the following:
Romans 8:16-18 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
It is very comforting to know that the Holy Spirit confirms and as the Scripture says bears witness with our spirit deep down inside our hearts that we are the children of God! Because we’re his children we are his heirs and joint heirs with Christ. We are going to inherit everything that our father owns and that is his entire kingdom and reign with him forever! However, the next verse is the part most of us have trouble with and that is the sufferings of Christ in this present time. Paul says they are not to be compared with the glory which will be revealed in us. I’m looking forward to entering into the glory of God and having an eternal fellowship with the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit and with all the family of God that I have known in my journey as a Christian and those that I have only read about in the Bible. How about you? Let’s keep our faith and hope in the right place and that is in Jesus Christ because he will never let us down and is with us every day until we are with him forever!
WHAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE?
1) After the church is removed through the rapture God will call, seal and send 144,000 Jewish evangelists to proclaim the Gospel to the nations during the great tribulation.
2) A multitude will come out of the great tribulation that no one can number and enter into the presence of God in heaven.
3) During the great tribulation there will be great persecution and suffering.
4) The good news is that believers may suffer temporarily on earth because of their faith in Jesus Christ but once they pass from this life to the text and enter into the glory of God they will be healed spirit, soul and body.
5) Jesus will be our eternal shepherd and wipe away every tear.
6) Let’s allow the Word of God to produce in us an eternal perspective of sufferings that we go through because we are Christians. The Bible teaches us that any temporal sufferings are not worthy to be compared with the glory which will be revealed in us!
Revelation 7:1-17
The Sealed of Israel 7 After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. 2 Then 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 granted to harm the earth and the sea, 3 saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” 4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:
5 of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand were sealed;
6 of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand were sealed;
7 of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand were sealed;
8 of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed.
A Multitude from the Great Tribulation 9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying:
“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom,
Thanksgiving and honor and power and might,
Be to our God forever and ever.
Amen.”
13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?” 14 And I said to him, “Sir, you know.”
So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. 16 They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; 17 for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
OKAY, HERE’S MY TEACHING COMMENTARY
Many Bible scholars believe that the 144,000 Israelites that are sealed in their foreheads are the servants of God set apart to preach the gospel among all the nations of the earth during the time of the great tribulation. I believe that this interpretation is correct and when the elder asks the apostle John about the great multitude standing before the throne worshiping God “Who are these?” John says “you know” and the elder reveals that this is a great multitude that no one could number that has come out of the great tribulation. It does not say that they were all martyrs but it does say they came out of the great tribulation and that many of them suffered hunger, thirst and being scorched by the sun before being taken to Heaven. To me this refers to being persecuted because of their Christian faith.
The Bible says this multitude came from every nation around the world. They heard the word of the Lord possibly through the 144,000 Jewish evangelists. This multitude heard the gospel and received Jesus Christ and his cleansing blood to redeem them from all sin. The tender mercy of God is revealed because it says that the Lamb will shepherd them and lead them to fountains of living water. All of their tears will be dried-up and God will bring about a total healing through his presence! This tells me that many Christians go through difficult times, persecution and even martyrdom this side of Heaven but God will ultimately deliver us from our suffering by entering into his rest and glorious presence on the other side of this life where there is no devil, evil, persecution or suffering. Sometimes believers are delivered from torture and sufferings now but some have to endure the most cruel persecutions and even death.
Hebrews 11:35-37…Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword.
The Bible reveals that for multitudes of Christians it’s no joyride or a trip to Cedar Point following Jesus Christ as Lord. Especially during the time of the great tribulation the reality is that there’ll be such great persecution against anyone that does not worship the antichrist that many of them will be martyred for having faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. However, whatever price a person has to pay down here to enter into the glory of God’s presence and blessings for eternity is totally worth it. I mean salvation is a free gift by the grace of God but for multitudes of Christians their faith is tried by the fire of persecution. I believe this is what the apostle Paul had in mind when he wrote the following:
Romans 8:16-18 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
It is very comforting to know that the Holy Spirit confirms and as the Scripture says bears witness with our spirit deep down inside our hearts that we are the children of God! Because we’re his children we are his heirs and joint heirs with Christ. We are going to inherit everything that our father owns and that is his entire kingdom and reign with him forever! However, the next verse is the part most of us have trouble with and that is the sufferings of Christ in this present time. Paul says they are not to be compared with the glory which will be revealed in us. I’m looking forward to entering into the glory of God and having an eternal fellowship with the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit and with all the family of God that I have known in my journey as a Christian and those that I have only read about in the Bible. How about you? Let’s keep our faith and hope in the right place and that is in Jesus Christ because he will never let us down and is with us every day until we are with him forever!
WHAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE?
1) After the church is removed through the rapture God will call, seal and send 144,000 Jewish evangelists to proclaim the Gospel to the nations during the great tribulation.
2) A multitude will come out of the great tribulation that no one can number and enter into the presence of God in heaven.
3) During the great tribulation there will be great persecution and suffering.
4) The good news is that believers may suffer temporarily on earth because of their faith in Jesus Christ but once they pass from this life to the text and enter into the glory of God they will be healed spirit, soul and body.
5) Jesus will be our eternal shepherd and wipe away every tear.
6) Let’s allow the Word of God to produce in us an eternal perspective of sufferings that we go through because we are Christians. The Bible teaches us that any temporal sufferings are not worthy to be compared with the glory which will be revealed in us!
OKAY, HERE’S MY TEACHING COMMENTARY
WHAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE?
PRAYER TO APPLY THE WORD OF GOD TO OUR LIVES
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