Sealed and delivered

You have six seals in Revelation 6 and then you skip over to chapter 8 where the seventh seal opens up and seven trumpets come out.

The question is why didn’t they just put the seventh seal at the beginning of chapter 7?

The last verse in chapter 6 asks, “For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?”

Jordan says, “What you have in chapter 7 is a little parenthesis that answers that question. In Isaiah 33 is the question, ‘Who can survive the everlasting burning?’ Who’s gonna make it through the tribulation? Who in the world is going to be able to make it through this tremendous time which there’s never been another like in all the earth?!

“Well, here’s some people in Revelation 7 who are gonna make it through. The chapter starts out, [1] 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.
[2] 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,
[3] Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
[4] And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.’

“So the first thing you know is the 144,000 are going to abide the day of His wrath. Verse 9 says, ‘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;. Here’s the throne of god in heaven.’

“Verse 11 says, ‘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,’

"From chapter 4, we know that’s in the third heaven on the glassy sea.”

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Acts 2:5-6 reads, ‘5] And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
[6] Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.’

“Israel had been scattered among every nation under heaven. Go down to verse 39: ‘For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.’

“Daniel 9:7 uses that expression ‘them that are afar off’ to describe Israel in captivity. They’ve been carried out of the land and spread among every kindred tongue, tribe and nation. That’s why they have to speak in so many different tongues at Pentecost. They have all these Jews whose native tongue from their native lands but it’s talking about Israelis.

“You say, ‘Where did they come from?’ They were the fruit of the ministry of the 144,000. The 144,000 are sealed in the first half of the 70th week. In the middle of week, they’re caught up. It’s different and yet they’re still the sons of Abraham.

“So when I read this passage in Revelation 7, my impression is this is not talking about Gentiles, as is commonly taught.

“When you read the Book of Revelation, you have to be conscious of the fact that you’re not reading something that starts at the beginning of the tribulation and works all the way to the end. Every now and then you’ll come along and have to loop back and catch up something. Sometimes you’ll have a passage like chapter 7 that will talk about the first half of the week, and then talk about the second half of the week, in one chapter, right in the middle of talking about the 6th and 7th seal.

“You have to be careful when reading it to put it where it fits. John starts out chapter 14 with, “And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.’

“The 144,000 at this point are not on the earth. They’re in the third heaven with the Father. Rev. 12:5 says, ‘And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.’ People say that’s Jesus but the problem with it being Jesus is the Book of the Revelation is prophesying about the future, and when John wrote it, the coming of Christ was past.

“What happens in the middle of the 70th week is that man child is caught up to God. That man child in Rev. 12 is the 144,000.

“Rev. 7:13 says, ‘And 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 to 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.’

“White linen is described later on in Revelation as the righteousness of the saints. This crowd here are delivered out of the Great Tribulation into the Kingdom. Chapter 7 says, ‘For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. (Editor’s note: This was my sister’s favorite single verse in the whole Bible)

“That’s a reference to resurrection. This is a crowd that comes out of the tribulation into the kingdom who are given a special status of ministering in that millennial temple and they literally dwell there in that temple with the Savior.

“When He talks about the mansions, what He’s talking about is they’re going to rule and reign with Him in that kingdom in a very special status. They’re going to be the temple servants in that millennial temple--the overcomers, that Little Flock that He’s talking to, and especially its leaders.”