Serving Multitudes - Revelation 7:9-17

We had a couple of questions come up last week that we didn't have an answer for right off. And one of them was, are there any females in the 144,000? And the answer is no. And where we get that is Revelation chapter 14, verse 4. And he says, these are the ones who have not been defiled with a woman, for they have kept themselves chased. They are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes, These have been purchased from among men as the firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. So the answer to are there any men in the 144,000 is no. And chapter 14 verse 4 is where we get that. Women, I'm sorry.

Not only am I feeling very allergic, but I'm on medicine too. So if I'm groggy and you guys get to correct me a lot this morning, That'll be fun. So that was the first question. The second question was talking about believers during the tribulation period having the same seal as the 144,000.

And what I'm going to do with that one is let's hold off until the end of the lesson. And I've got some stuff in place that we're going to do some comparing and contrasting. And we'll answer that question at the end of the lesson. So for this morning, we're in Revelation chapter 7 verses 9 through 17.

And if you remember last week, we got an introduction to the 144,000 who are 12,000 Jews from each of the 12 tribes of Israel. And that is the definition of the 144,000. This week we're going to get a little bit of a different look. And this week we're looking at a great multitude. And this great multitude is going to be Tribulation Saints. So a different group of people than what we saw last week.

And our first verse there, chapter 7, verse 9, says, After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands.

The first phrase there is, After these things. And we see it quite a few times in Revelation. It's also used throughout Scripture in the Old and New Testament. And it was a phrase that was used in a historical sense. So every time you see this, like all the verses we have listed here, now it came about after these things. Now it came about after these things. It's given in a historical timeline sense. So this stuff's happened, and then after these things, this is what happened.

The big picture that you should get from any time you see after these things is a lot of times Revelation is looked at as John had a dream or John had a vision or John had whatever. He didn't get enough sleep or been in the sun too long on that island. There's a lot of different things people say. But basically, the phrase John is using here, he's showing that these are things that he actually saw.

They're real events. He was there. He's not dreaming them up or making it up as he goes. It's real. He saw it. He heard it. He was there. God invited him to come up and see what will happen. So they're future events. From our standpoint from John's for that matter, but he's saying these are these are real events that I saw this isn't you know Some type of hallucination or dream or anything weird like that. This is a real deal.

God showed it to me Excuse me And then on the on the second page there says this this phrase every nation tribes peoples and tongues This is also something that's used throughout Revelation and also through the entire Bible. We've got 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 different places it's used in Revelation there.

And each time we see it, it has a global and international scope and scale, so it's just everybody on the whole earth, is the point that this is trying to bring out. It's focusing on people rather than the earth. So it's focusing on the people of the earth rather than the earth itself.

And it's used specifically to include Gentiles, especially in verses that are speaking towards a Jewish background. It's used to specifically include Gentiles. And then the fourth point there, it's taken from language of rulers and empires. The verse that you see there, Daniel, this was a phrase that the king would use when he wanted to address everyone. So if he's coming out and he wants to address everyone, they'd say, attention, every nation, tribe, people, and tongue, look up here. So there's something that in the book of Daniel, it's used to get everyone's attention. A couple other contrasts to make. We're looking at Tribulation Saints here.

What's the position of church saints in the heavenly scene? In the heavenly scene that we've had revealed to us out of the Book of Revelation in previous chapters, What are church saints doing? What do they look like? So if you went up there and you saw a church saint, what are they doing? What do they look like?

They're co-reigning. Okay. So it says here that standing before the throne and before the Lamb, what's the position of a church saint? It's seated, right? So they're seated around the throne. And these Tribulation Saints are standing before the throne.

So there's a difference in their position, which is something that we're going to look at in more depth as we go through at the end of this. But a difference in the way that Tribulation Saints are dealt with than in the manner that Church Saints are dealt with.

If you remember, I don't remember the exact chapter and verse. It's chapter 4, verse 4. And around the throne were twenty-four elders, and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments and golden crowns on their heads. The elders, as we talked about, could be any one of us.

So the church saint is in a seated position co-reigning with Christ, and the tribulation saint is in a different position. They're standing before Christ. So it's interesting, and it's something for me that's a little bit different to look at. The way that God deals with church saints and tribulation saints is different.

We're going to see that a little bit more as we go through this. Any questions on verse 9? Okay. Verse 10, it says, And they cried out with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb. When you read that, it sounds like they're offering salvation to God, but that's not the picture that you're trying to get across here. God and the Lamb are definitely not in a position where they need salvation. It's a cry of triumphant praise and overwhelming thankfulness for what the Lord has accomplished in salvation to these Tribulation Saints. They're giving God credit for their salvation.

And then verse 11 and 12, he says, And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the twenty-four living creatures. And they fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God, saying, Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen.

Now we've already seen in a couple of chapters just ongoing praise. The praise just doesn't stop. It keeps going and going. And this is another case of that. So, returning to the pattern of endless praise, praise from the angels and elders and four living creatures, praises we saw in chapter 4 and especially 5 of Revelation. Notice how the creatures in heaven do not seem to tire of praising from the Lord. Nobody's looking down at their watch wondering when this is, you know, when do we go play golf again? Because this is getting old.

No, that's not the case. It's as if the musicians of Holly Hills were playing their instruments for years and years without ever stopping from a worldly time perspective. It's as if they've just been going on their instruments for years and years and they're not even tired. The calluses on Randy's fingers don't even hurt from playing the guitar.

I think it's interesting in verse 12, they open it with Amen, and they close it with Amen. That Amen word is truly or verily often translated in the Gospels that way. Truly, truly, I say unto you. It's a truth statement, and I think it's interesting. They open it with, you know, this is truth, and they end it with this is truth. Pretty amazing to worship God and know Him in that manner, and recognize Him in that manner of truth. I think that's pretty neat to open and close with Amen. Any questions or comments on verse 11 or 12? All right.

Verse 13 says, Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, Those are the ones who are These who are clothed in white robes, who are they and where do they come from? So the elder asks John a question. Wrong word right there. Those who are clothed in white robes, who are they and where do they come from?

I had a gentleman explain asking a question as though you're in a cave. So imagine that everything is dark in here and the question is like shining a light. Where are we pointing? What do you want to see here? So he's asking a question to kind of shine light on what he wants John to see. It was very common of Greek philosophers to ask questions to lead who they were talking to to understand something.

So it's kind of like everything's dark in here and the angel grabs a flashlight and says, look at those guys, what are they about? So he's drawing John's attention to who are these people and where have they come from? If you remember, the last time that John was asked a question by an angel, he kind of got out of control and wept uncontrollably. The angel had to calm him down and stop weeping, yell at him and get him to stop. What we'll see here is this time John is a little bit more prepared, I guess you could say. He's a little bit more in control of himself for this question.

Alright, so verses 14-17, I said to him, My Lord, you know, and he said to me, These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason they are before the throne of God, and they serve Him day and night in his temple, and he who sits on the throne will spread his tabernacle over them. They will hunger no longer, nor thirst any more, nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to the springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. So verse 14, he says, and I just love this because it gives good perspective on where our hearts should be.

I said to him, Lord, my Lord, you know. And I mean, the illustration there is, you know, have you got to a point, are we at a point in our lives where when big questions come up, when something we're not sure of pops up, that we are in a position where we say, Lord, you know?

Are you searching for answers everywhere else? Trying to figure it out on your own? I just think that's neat that instead of searching out for something else, he just says, you know. It's like we talked about the elder here is trying to bring about, bring out truth. God isn't expecting us to have all the answers, but He is desiring for us to turn to Him.

And then on our back page there it says, the tribulation is not over. In fact, many worse things are yet to come. About two-thirds of the judgments are yet to come. Many of the judgments yet to come are even more severe than what we've seen up to this point. The severity will grow as the Tribulation period comes to its climax. The worst of the martyrdom is yet to take place.

In spite of this, there are a great many being saved. This Tribulation period is a great time of trial and tribulation, but it is also a time in which God's overflowing mercy is made evident and the severity of the times directs many to the blood of the Lamb. We aren't given a direct connection, or excuse me, a direct connection in this text, but maybe the ministry of the 144,000 and other ministries of the Lord during this time have been having their effect. And the ministry of the 144,000, like we talked about a little bit last week, is evangelism. God has sealed these men for the specific purpose of evangelism during this time period. And he's going to protect them from things that are going on so that they can evangelize.

The question down there below says, when would you ever wash something in blood? So if you, I spilled coffee on my shirt this morning, it did not cross my mind to prick my arm and get some blood to wash it with. That certainly would not make things any better.

But sin is no ordinary stain and this is no ordinary blood. It's real easy for us to underestimate the severe problem that sin presents. Sin is so severe a problem that God cannot even look upon it. Sin is entirely and irreversibly contrary to God's unchangeable character. When it comes to sin, God cannot grade on a curve.

So it's not about, you did a bunch of sins, but you got a bunch of good stuff going on too, and you're a little bit better than this guy. And I need 60% of you to pass so that I can keep my job. Teachers will grade on a curve because I've got to pass some of you. But God's not looking at it that way. It's all pass or fail, and the Bible tells us that for us it's all fail.

But the blood of the Lamb is the only thing that will wash away this stain, and that is the result of sin. The righteous Lamb of God has shed His blood, if there was any hope at all of cleansing the sin stain. However, only those who trust the blood to do the cleansing would see the sparkling white results. Notice that there's no other way presented for making the robes white. If one is not washed in blood, they would not stand before the throne.

Now, I had a question on these verses that I did not come to a point that I had fully answered. And in verse 14 it says, these are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Now, I believe that them washing their robes is basically placing belief on Christ and His cleansing blood is given to them because they believe. But it's interesting that there's an emphasis placed on them. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

A real emphasis on faith there. At least that's how I read it. I don't know. You know, faith is action. Right. Faith isn't just kind of believing hypothetically. Right. We have faith in these We're all 10 feet above the actual floor here, you know? And if it wasn't for this floor structure and the fumes, we'd be falling down. Right. Yeah. I mean, faith is active for us as well.

I mean, it's an active decision to accept the cleansing power of the blood. Yeah. and say, you know, I'm sorry, but you're supposed to do something about it and help. So, as Vern's saying, it requires action. That's what Jane said about faith, that it works. Right. You know, faith is more than just seeing and believing. It's actually doing something about what you see and you believe.

Yeah. It's code. You can't do one without the other. Yeah. I thought it was neat that the focus was on them washing their robes. An active choice, this thing's dirty, I'm going to go over here and wash it. Get it clean because I recognize that it's the only way to do it.

We talked a little bit about the differences between church saints and tribulation saints. I think another example pops up in verse 15. He says, For this reason they are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in the temple. And he who sits on the throne will spread his tabernacle out over them. You know, we have these Tribulation Saints where they're standing and serving all the time in this scene, and the description of the Church Saints, I don't know what I just said, the Tribulation Saints are standing and serving. The Church Saints are seated in a co-reigning position.

So it's interesting that they have different roles even in this heavenly scene. I was also going to ask, why do you think it says that he spread I mean, it doesn't say that they went in, or that he brought them in, or that he spread it over them. Do you have anything on that, the spread?

One thing is, and we're going to read more about these tribulation saints, that the Lord acts to deal with these people who have been through great You know, imagine that during the tribulation, those who become believers, it's not like, hey, I'm going to be able to grow for a while, and then I'll face some really serious trials and challenges. It's right now. Are you going to believe in Christ? Hey, well, you know, you're going to have trouble right away. And so it's like the Lord is actively comforting them. The Lord is actively giving them a place, and it's a place of protection. That for what they're going through, or what they have gone through to get there, This is showing the Lord's character.

The tabernacle was where God resided, basically, with the Jews. That was the tabernacle. That's where God was with them. That was His residence. So to spread, I mean, His residence with us is in us. And we're in Him. God's tabernacle with us is in me and in you and in all of us.

Do you see a similarity between the tabernacle that he has with the church saints and the tribulation saints, meaning that he's spreading it over them? Or is there a difference there? I think this probably relates more closely to the Jewish situation, but on the heavenly scene.

Right. We're going to see other things that fit the Jewish picture as we continue through Revelation. Right. And it says even here they are before the throne. So they're day and night in the temple. So they're in the temple. in kind of more of a Jewish picture than a Christian one.

It kind of rings to mind to me that picture of, I think it's in Psalms, I think, I can't remember if you said it or not, about the chick who spreads its wing over its chick wings. covering the saints, right? That's a good illustration. Why do they need it now when they're in heaven? Yeah, I think it's a picture of a reward more than anything else.

They've gone through this tribulation and now they're in a position, you know, it says in the next verse, it says, they will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore, nor will the sun be down on them, nor any heat. So it's a picture of complete provision for them in the heavenly scene. Everything is provided for. They're not hungry, they're not thirsty, they're not in a position where the sun's beating down on them, and they're certainly not feeling the heat, so to speak. Which is probably part of what the king said they went through. Right. Exactly. It's relief from what they've been going through on earth during the tribulation.

Later on, we're going to see a scene with the Tribulation Saints where they're just saying, it is so awful for us. We've shown up here because our lives have been taken. But they're pleading for the Lord. to act on behalf of the saints that remain. Right, we saw that, that was two weeks ago we saw that, where they're asking for that. Yeah, and we're going to see it again.

But it's one of those things that if you start looking at it, they're in a different place than the church saints. But the Lord's character is still shown for what it is, even though they're in a different place. Yeah. Handled a little bit differently, given a different set of circumstances, but grace and mercy and provision and all these things are still shown. God's character still comes through for them.

And also, it talks about heaven on earth being a type of shadow, where the reality is in heaven. So when you're talking about, you know, why is this of the tabernacle or the temple and with God. Whereas that picture was played out in the wilderness with the tent and the tent meeting and how they parked around the tent and camped around the tent. So the reality is the tent. This is the thing. Which goes back to being an alien on earth. It's almost like talking like Aristotle where he said this stuff is not real. There's more truth to what he said than people realize.

Yeah. Yeah, verse 17 just kind of continues that picture of them not needing anymore. For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd and will guide them to the springs the water of life and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. So everything that they were going through during that tribulation period is now done and gone. Yeah, we're just about to get to that. Are you saying 144,000 are going to on the earth evangelizing of course, but then the second block here underneath on that column, it says wherever Christ goes, that's where they are.

So I assume when he comes down on the Mount of Olives, is that sweater he's talking about, that they're with him also? And do they reign, do they stay on earth during the millennial reign, or do they go back to heaven? I always thought they went back to heaven. So as they sang that song in heaven, so do they go back to earth then?

I don't know the sequence exactly. My question is, do they stay in the millennial kingdom? They will be in the millennial kingdom. So they actually go to heaven and come back down? before the throne, and before the four living creatures, and the elders, and no one could learn the song, except the one hundred and four thousand who had been purged from the earth. So that means that they left the earth, because they were there at the throne, right? So they're going to come back down, then, and rule here in the millennium reign? Just to make sure I answered your question correctly. But they will be in the Millennial Kingdom. They are saved. Okay. Obviously, they've been saved because they get the mark of God. Right.

And what... One of the things that is clear is that they've gotten a seal one else. So unlike the other tribulation saints, where a lot of them are getting killed off, these are not. So I would take a look at that more particularly. Because the two witnesses are actually taken up. The two witnesses are specifically taken up. We know that.

They remain in heaven, right? Right. And I think looking at that carefully, a number of concluded As I have, that the two witnesses are taken up in the middle of the tribulation. Right. So let me take a look at that one and make sure I have the right answer to your question. OK, because if I say that we're with the lamb wherever he goes, so the lamb does come down. So they must come down with him or something. Yeah. Again, I'll take a look at it. Sure. On your fifth page we have a chart comparing and contrasting Jews, Church Age Saints, Tribulation Saints, and the 144,000. As we work our way through that, the top line is the Jews were a nation.

Church Saints are specifically Christ's body. Tribulation Saints are a multitude of nations and they are never called Christ's body. So it's a different circumstance. And the 144,000 are a specific number that God has for a specific purpose. And then the next line there, a third of those of the tribulation under the Jews, a third of those in the tribulation are preserved and saved for the millennial kingdom. And we have a group of verses there that talk about that. Zechariah specifically gives a number to, it's Zechariah, correct, that gives a specific number to the number of Jewish people that will be, it's not a specific, well, it's a specific ratio of those that will be saved or lost, for that matter.

And then on the church saints, all saved, were all eternally and heavenly seated with Christ. So if you're a believer, you're saved. There's no maybe, maybe not. Tribulation saints, all saved eternally, but only some preserved through the tribulation to be saved alive into the millennial kingdom.

We get that out of Matthew 24.13 and Revelation 14.9-13.

And then the 144,000, we just talked about this a moment ago, all saved through the Tribulation and for the Millennial Kingdom. So the Tribulation Saints, some are preserved through the Tribulation. They're all saved. Some are preserved through the Tribulation to be alive in the Millennial Kingdom. And all of the 144,000 are for the Millennial Kingdom.

So a difference between the two groups of people that we see in Chapter 7. Are we saying that some will be preserved through tribulation and some will not be preserved so they just die? They're the ones we're looking at in this heavenly scene. They're the martyrs. When you say preserved through the tribulation, are they the ones that by preserved they died and went to heaven?

They make it through the tribulation alive in an earthly body. Correct? Oh, okay. So they make it through the whole tribulation. Right. Through the tribulation to be saved alive. So they're going to be pretty old. Well, it's a seven year period. So, I mean, they could be eight. But, you know, this is going into the kingdom.

So they will live a thousand years plus their lifetime going into the tribulation. Preserved through the tribulation. Tribulation is a seven year period. So they are preserved through that into the millennial kingdom. They get born. They get old. And then the tribulation comes and they live through that. And they live through the millennium. They live into the millennium. But they never die. But they could die. During the millennium they could die.

OK, yeah, that's what you say. So, yeah, but not throughout the millennium. Yeah. So, so this is everything that's believed in. We're going to be dying. Yeah. People will be dying in the millennium. However, the length of life will be longer. It says someone who dies at one hundred and twenty will have thought to have died young. Yeah. About a thousand years. No, no. There will be there will be death during the millennium. but lifespans will be longer. How do you know when they're going to die? Where does it say that? I'll have to look it up, but yeah, actually expressions of someone who died at 120 during the morning. Someone who died at 120 during the morning was thought to have died young.

So that indicates a little gap, but people will live longer, somewhat, And that's also one of our differences. A question last week was, are the Tribulation Saints given the same seal that the 144,000 are given? And the answer is no. And we talked about that a little bit.

Our next line there is dealing with wrath. The nation of Israel is subject to God's wrath. The church saints are specifically not subject to wrath. We're told that in multiple places in Thethal. You all can read that, I can't say it. It says it specifically in those verses. And then there's a specific difference between the Church Saints and everyone else for that matter.

The Church Saints are the only group that are not specifically subject to wrath. Because of a position in Christ, a fullness of a position in Christ, they are not subject to wrath. All the other groups could be subject to wrath. And the reason I say could be is the 144,000 are specifically protected from the consequences of wrath. So they are subject to it, however God protects them specifically from it. And then Tribulation Saints, subject to meaning not protected from the exposure to God's wrath. And it's an interesting thing to note that the church saints are the only group of people, believers or non-believers for that matter, that are specifically not subject to God's wrath. But the question from last week, do the tribulation saints receive that same protection as 144,000? The answer is no. And then the difference of position concerning the Tribulation.

The Jews are refined by the Tribulation. Those same verses in Zechariah talk about refining the people. The Church Saints are obviously, and we've talked about this multiple times, raptured prior to the Tribulation. So the Church Saints are specifically not part of the Tribulation. Tribulation saints come out of the Tribulation. They come to understand God and seek to have their robes washed in His blood during the Tribulation. And then 144,000 are sealed during the Tribulation specifically for evangelism.

One of the other things that we talked about last night and I wanted to talk about a little bit this morning was, I guess it was yesterday morning, but the church saints are also specifically under a grace principle. And the others, Jews, Tribulation Saints, and the 144,000 are all under a law principle. Interesting that Tribulation Saints are not under a grace system. They are under a law-based system, which is Totally different to think about. They're dealt with differently than the church-age saints are.

Yeah. I believe even there's places in Revelation where it talks about the sacrifices starting back up and things along those lines. We kind of zippity-ed right through that. Does anybody have any questions or things they want to look at from this week's lesson or lasts or anything along those lines or questions on the chart? You know, one of the things that stands out to me is the uniqueness of the church. Right.

The uniqueness of the church as the body of Christ, as the one uniquely promised not to be subject to God's wrath, to be taken out before that begins. That's not something that other groups can count on, or will be able to count on. Even in the Old Testament, in numerous places, the Old Testament I think one of the other things that's interesting is there's not a verse that specifically says, this is why you won't be subject to God's wrath. But what we gather from Scripture If you look at the uniqueness of the Church and their position being part of the body of Christ, God has made them in a position where the sin is completely no longer an issue.

We are placed into Christ. All the riches that He has are in us. And he obviously can't pour wrath out on himself because there's nothing to have wrath on. It's meant for sin and fallen nature. But the Christian's in a position where those are both taken care of completely. And God's wrath, he can't pour wrath out upon himself because his character is perfect. There's no need for it.

Which is pretty interesting. the difference between the church and the other groups. Okay, yeah, so we didn't mention prior to the nation of Israel. That's a good question. Yeah, I mean, If we look at each row here, basically we're dealing with how they're classified in the first one as a nation or multitude of nations, specific numbers, specifically Christ's body. I don't know how you would classify the Old Testament saints in that. Right. Where would the Old Testament Saints position in the Millennial Kingdom be? Oh, okay. The Old Testament Saints are resurrected.

We'll be going through this in Chapter 20. But when Christ comes again, here are the armies that will be with him. There will be an army of angels. There will be the Old Testament Saints, both Jew and Gentile. there will be Church Saints, there will be Tribulation Saints, who have been taken out, but then given resurrection bodies. So now you're going to have all those groups, the Angels, Jewish Old Testament Saints, Gentile Old Testament Saints, Church Saints, Tribulation Saints, resurrected all of them by this time, all coming with Christ. And that's why you see the multiple descriptions of coming in the clouds, or coming with the clouds, such a great mass of those saints and angels from all times. People will look up, you imagine here's the earth turning, and this glowing cloud gets bigger and closer, and pretty soon this recognition, hey wait a minute, that's not a cloud, This is an army of angels and saints coming with the Lord. And so anyway, they'll all come with us. At the end of the tribulation, let the Lord's second coming happen. That's chapter 19 is one thing that's described. I think if you move your way down the chart, the word saint means holy one. So if you're an Old Testament saint, and that's why church saints all save, tribulation saints all saved eternally, if you're an Old Testament saint, you're saved, you're a holy one, you're saved.

They would be subject to wrath during their time period. And then as far as the tribulation is concerned, they really have no part in the tribulation, do they? Old Testament Saints. They really don't even have a part in the Tribulation. The Millennial Kingdom, they will. The Old Testament Saints were taken from Abraham's bosom when Christ went there and went to Heaven, right? So, they're in Heaven, obviously.

So, they would be exempt from the earthly Tribulation. You think of it, the thief on the cross was, so far as we know, the last Old Testament saint that we have recorded. Because it was prior to the start of the church. So what did Christ tell the thief on the cross? Today, you'll be with me where I am. We see the church saints sitting around the throne. Would the Old Testament saints, could they be one of those elders as well?

No, I don't think so. Okay. I don't think so. Because those specifically represent the church. And we're not given specifics in those scenes as to what's up with Old Testament saints. Not in those scenes, but in other passages. That's why when we get to chapter 20, we'll talk about who goes where when. No, this group is every nation, it's not the nation. Right. All tribes and peoples and tongues. This is in reference to the Gentiles. Right. Particularly. What about Messianic Jews? When I say Messianic Jews, what do you mean? Well, the ones who defended Christ, but they still had a Jewish blood in their veins.

Okay. They're not the tribes. They're the tribulation group. They would be a tribulation saint. Right, just like a Jewish person with Jewish lineage comes to know Christ now, they're a Jewish church saint. Yes, however, this is all tribes and peoples. The picture in Scripture is the nation and the people. Every nation, or nations plural, is Gentile. People, here, is peoples plural, so that's Gentile. 10, 11, they take out the word tribes and they put in the word kings. And if you go to 17, 15, they take out the word tribes and they put in multitudes. So there is something significant about that. What you're looking at is they rotate around tribes and kings and multitudes between those. and all of them that are believers.

All believers. They don't necessarily have to be Gentiles. They still can be Christian Jews, right? I don't understand why that would be considered Gentile. Well, it's because looking at the pattern, what does every nation do is Gentile. Every nation other than Israel is Gentile. And peoples, when you see people That's Jews. When you see people, it's plural, that's Gentiles. And these are the patterns in scripture? Yeah. And that starts well into the Old Testament prophecies. So what you see is he has not a standard phrase for Gentiles, but he has these terms that he moves between.

But these are pointing to Gentiles. Nevertheless, a Tribulation Saint could be a person of Jewish lineage who comes to the position where they see the need to wash, like we saw in this verse, to wash their robes in Christ's blood. They come to a point where they understand and believe. A Jewish person could be a Tribulation Saint, yes. That's an important point.

One of the references to kings, that Jesus is the king of kings, and that's specifically a reference to the Gentiles. The Jews will have one king, right? But the Gentiles will have multiple kings. So when Jesus Christ is the king of kings, that's a reference to the Gentiles. He's the king of presidents and prime ministers and all those different names that we have for kings.

Right. Well, does anybody have anything else they would like to bring up? I have one question that we've been mulling over. You said that the sacrifices will start up again and Is that during the tribulation that they'll start back up, or is that in the millennium? Okay, so yeah, that's a situation where both start back up. But why do they start back up? Is it because God tells them to do it, or is it part of tradition, or why does it start back up?

There are two different answers to that, and that is because the Jews, even now there are groups of Jews who want and they have all the clothing and paraphernalia to do so sitting there in a museum in Jerusalem. Baba Margaret Eccles seen that museum. They're wanting to do it.

And out of the Book of Daniel, what is clear is that the sacrifices being allowed to resume will be the thing that starts the tribulation period. Antichrist will reign. That will start the tribulation period. That's what starts the seven-year clock. And then, in the middle of the tribulation period, three and a half years, that tree will be broken by the Antichrist, and the sacrifice is disrupted. It will start during the tribulation period because the Jews want it and because the Antichrist brings a treaty together that allows it.

It will happen in the millennium. This is Ezekiel about chapters 40-48. It will happen in the millennium under Christ and those will be memorial sacrifices. not anticipating as the Old Testament sacrifices were, but a new temple of a different design that will have immortal sacrifices looking back on Christ as the sacrifice rather than forward as the Old Testament sacrifice. Now, the tribulation saints who have come to a position of recognizing that it's Christ's blood that washes them clean, what part would they have in a sacrifice? Is that a memorial?

The Jews would not really want them to be involved. That's a good point. They wouldn't even let them in. Yeah. And the standing for Christ is not going to hold up very well. That will separate. So they're in a similar position that it's a law based system, however it's different as well. Yeah, it's different yet again.

So during the tribulation, the Jews are still, when they are sacrificing, they are still looking for that Messiah. That's right. But during the millennium, it's a remembrance of Christ. Yes. And what comes down. Moral sacrifices and remembering that, knowing that in His first coming, He was God's Lamb. not an abomination, and that is in the middle of the tribulation period. That's the half point of the tribulation period, and that ends the sacrifice period in the middle of the tribulation period, and starts the period of extreme tyranny in the Antichrist. Now, is there going to be a temple in New Jerusalem then too, or is New Jerusalem considered symbolic of a temple? There will not be a temple of sacrificial system in the New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem will have the Lamb, who will appear yet as sacrifice, and will be the source of light for everyone, no sun, no day and night, but no longer sacrificial system.

Because why? There's no longer no death. But there is still a temple during that reign, right? During the thousand years? No, you're talking about the millennium. Right. Which is different from the New Jerusalem. Yeah, so the Tribulation, Millennial Kingdom, and then after the Millennial Kingdom, New Heavens, New Earth, and Jerusalem. So that's the time frame you've got to lock in is us now, pre-Rapture, Rapture and then Tribulation, then Millennial Kingdom, then New Heavens and New Earth, and New Jerusalem. We need to put a graph together for that. Which will be a new creation of heaven and earth, no longer any deaths, no longer any sacrifices.

Alright, so we did a little bit of rabbit trailing this morning, but I hope that was beneficial for everybody. We'll close this in prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for our time this morning. We thank you for what's revealed to us in your Word. We look at the differences between how you deal with groups of people, and yet it's amazing that your character remains the same even through those differences. You are unchanging, ever faithful, and though you may deal with different people in different manners, we know that you are the consistent, unchanging God of eternity, and it's neat to know that. We thank you for our time this morning. Amen.