Sermon Notes - An Introduction to the Seals - Littleby Baptist Church - July 25, 2021
1. Setting the stage
a.
God the Father is sitting on His throne holding
the scroll.
b.
24 elders and 4 creatures are praising God
constantly.
c.
The Holy Spirit is there in the form of 7 fiery torches.
d.
John thought no one could open the Seals on the scroll.
e.
But… then Jesus appears.
i. Not
in His glorious form described in chapter 1.
ii. He
appeared as a slaughtered Lamb.
iii. He
took the scroll from the Father’s hand.
f.
Revelation 5:13 - All of Creation praised Jesus.
2.
The Seals of Revelation.
a.
When:
i. Not
the day or time that no man can know, but more of in what order do these events
play out?
b.
Daniel 9:27
i. The
verses leading up to verse 27 talk about the 69 of 70 weeks that are required
for full restoration of the Kingdom of God.
ii. Week
69 is said to come to an end on that first Palm Sunday before our Lord becomes
the perfect sacrifice for us.
iii. It
is believed that week 70 is the final 7 years before our Lord’s second coming.
iv. This
verse tells us that there will be a 7-year covenant, but it will be cut short
with the antichrist desecrating the Lord’s temple.
v. Halfway through the 70th week the
antichrist strikes.
c.
So, does the book of Revelation support a 7-year
period?
1.
Which is a common interpretation of the
Tribulation.
ii. The
book of Revelation never points to a 7-year period of time.
1.
Revelation 13:5 – 42 months
2.
Revelation 7:13-14 – Those in white robes came
out of the great tribulation.
3.
Would point to the Seals being part of the Great
Tribulation and I would argue that they are not part of the time leading up to
it.
4.
That would mean that the Seals are part of the
final 3 ½ years, not the final 7 years.
5.
I think life will get hard for those who truly follow
Jesus in the first 3.5 years of the final week as leaders try to control our actions,
thoughts, and beliefs.
a.
But I do not think that is part of the Great
Tribulation.
iii. 1
Thessalonians 5:1-3 Peace and security and then sudden destruction will come… a
time of peace will be on the world and then destruction will come.
1.
If I were to weave a tale about this, I would
say that people will be content with world peace, but some will see the writing
on the wall and start to build up opposition to the antichrist. Then on the day
the antichrist desolates the temple he will attack many places throughout the
world. Sudden Destruction of those who do not support him.
iv. Matthew
24:15-21 – the abomination followed by a time of great distress.
1.
The antichrist asserting his control over the
earth which will ultimately be followed by the judgement of God.
d.
Lots of opinions on what this means, but in
looking at these verses I would say that as we look at the Seals, we are
looking at the Great Tribulation that starts at the halfway point, after the
antichrist desecrates the temple.
3.
The Bible does not use the word Rapture.
a.
Revelation 3:10-11 – tells us that those who are
faithful will be kept from a time of testing.
b.
From Revelation 6 on, there is no mention of the
churches Jesus wrote to and no mention of them being kept or taken away.
c.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 – those who are left
will be caught up together, does not give us timing.
d.
1 Corinthians 15:51-52, not all will fall
asleep, meaning face death, but will be changed in the twinkling of an eye.
Some followers of Christ will not die but will be called to be with Jesus.
Nothing on timing.
e.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-4, the day that Jesus
gathers those who follow Him will not happen unless the temple is desecrated.
4.
When?
a.
One of the most popular opinions is that
followers of Jesus will never see the tribulation, but I honestly do not
believe Scripture supports that.
b.
While we will never know the day or hour, these
verses seem to tell us that believers will be on earth until the temple is
desecrated and then will be taken away.
c.
If we are alive during the first 3.5 years of
the final week, I believe we will know who the antichrist is and that He claims
to be God.
5.
Chronological?
a.
As we study Revelation, we are going to look at
the 7 Seals, the 7 Trumpets, and the 7 Bowls.
b.
We tend to read them in that order,
chronologically.
c.
Most theologians agree there is some overlap,
but they do not all agree on how much they overlap.
6.
Matthew 24:29 – Jesus talking about the end of
days.
a.
Sun is darkened, stars will fall from the sky.
7.
Isaiah 13:10
a.
Stars, sun, and moon will go dark.
8.
Revelation 6:12-14 – The Sixth Seal
a.
Violent earthquake, sun turned black, stars fell
to earth, every mountain and island was moved from its place.
9.
Revelation 11:19 – The Seventh Trumpet
a.
Lightning, thunder, earthquake, and severe hail.
10. Revelation
16:17-21 The Seventh Bowl
a.
Lightning, thunder, severe earthquake, islands
and mountains disappeared, and enormous hail stones.
11. What
this sounds like is the Sixth Seal, the Seventh Trumpet, and the Seventh Bowl
could all be describing the same event.
12. When
we look at prophecies of the future it can be hard to understand exactly how
things will play out.
13. Many
have strong opinions, but if we are truly honest with ourselves, there is no
way we can be certain.
a.
Maybe no way we can be 75% or 50% certain that
we have the events of the Tribulation period mapped out.
14. What
we can be 100% certain of is, that the more we study God’s Word the closer we
draw to Him.
a.
Even challenging verses such as we are covering
will help strengthen our faith in Jesus.
b.
Even ambiguous lessons can help us see God’s
ultimate plan to not only save those who follow Him, but to redeem all of
creation.
c.
Verses like this remind us of the importance of
Loving God with all that we are and Loving Others.
d.
Remind us to reach out to those who do not know
Jesus.
e.
These prophecies of Jesus were given to strengthen
our faith, encourage us, and to bring comfort.
15. Finish
with Revelation 5:13
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