Revelation 7 - Verse by Verse Bible Study

By Pastor Steven L Anderson

Video

January, 2013

Now in Revelation chapter the Bible reads in verse number , "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." Now

the first thing that I want to point out about that verse, is the fact that it says "after

these things". Now this chapter fits in perfectly with the chronology of the book of Revelation.

A lot of people have tried to say "well, chapter is a parenthetical chapter that is outside

of the timeline, or outside of the chronology. Well, there is absolutely no indication of

that, and to the contrary, the term "after these things" indicates that chapter picks

up right where chapter left off. Now if we remember where chapter left off, the

sixth seal has been opened, the sun and moon have been darkened, the stars have withdrawn

their light, and the people of the earth are wailing and crying out for the mountains and

the rocks to fall on them, and they say this at the very end of chapter , look at verse

, "For the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" So the great

day of His wrath is come, it is just arrived, but BEFORE the wrath is poured out, the Bible

says in verse number of chapter , "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, saying, Hurt not the earth, neither

the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads."

So right there, he says "wait a minute, BEFORE the wrath is poured out, before the earth

and the sea and the trees are hurt, we must first seal the servants of our God in their

foreheads." So this fits perfectly in the chronology. He is about to pour out the wrath

in chapter , but then in chapter , right before he does, he says "wait a minute, hurt

not the earth, neither the sea nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God

in their foreheads." Then in chapter , AFTER the servants are sealed, He begins to pour

out His wrath upon the earth in chapter . And what's the first thing He does? Look at

chapter and verse number . It says "The first angel sounded", this is the first trumpet,

because the seven trumpet judgments start in chapter . It says "The first angel sounded,

and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth"-

so is the earth being hurt? Yes. "And the third part of TREES was burnt up"- so are

the trees being hurt? Yes. And then when we go to the second trumpet, He pours it out

on the sea, and destroys the sea. And so we very clearly see a logical progression from

chapter to chapter to chapter . Chapter , He is about to pour out the wrath, chapter

, "AFTER these things", He says... He withholds for a moment and says "wait a minute, let's

not pour out the wrath yet, we don't want to hurt the earth, the trees or the sea UNTIL

we've sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads". Then in chapter , AFTER the ,

are sealed, AND after the great multitude of all nations appears in heaven- which is

obviously the believers caught up at the rapture, when the trumpet sounds, then in chapter

the seventh seal is opened, and He begins to pour out His wrath with the seven trumpets.

He damages the trees, the earth and the sea. So it makes perfect logical sense. Now there

are people out there who try to say "well actually, the trumpets actually happen before

the sixth seal." And they try to say "the seventh trumpet lines up with the sixth seal."

I've heard that doctrine out there. I've heard those that believe in a pre-trib rapture say

that the trumpets do not come after the seals. I've heard those who believe in a post-wrath

rapture, you know that comes all the way at the end of the seven years. I've heard them

say that the trumpets do not follow the seals. But chapter makes it very clear that BETWEEN

the sixth and seventh seals, are when the , are sealed. And that the earth, sea

and trees have not been hurt up to that point, which, those things all happen in the first

and second trumpet. And, the ,, well, we'll get more into the , in just a

moment anyway. But I just wanted to make that REALLY clear that chapter comes in chronological

order, between and , I mean it's really complicated isn't it? goes to goes to

, and it's a very logical progression of events. Well, let's jump into chapter . Look

at chapter , verse . "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." Now "the four winds of the earth", what's that

referring to? Well obviously, there are four compass directions, north, south, east and

west. And so the four winds of the earth, are the wind blowing to the north, to the

south, to the east and to the west. Many people have pointed to Revelation chapter verse

and said that this is proof that the Bible is in error. Because they've said "you know

the Bible says that the earth has four corners, and we of course know that the earth is round".

So basically what they have tried to say is that the authors of the Bible thought that

the earth was flat, or that the earth was a big square, okay? Well first of all, let

me explain to you why that doesn't make any sense. Go back if you would to Isaiah chapter

. And really the reason why they think that is really they don't understand the word "corner".

Now let's say for a moment that God when he said "corner" here, or the author of Revelation

when he said "corner" here, actually meant "corner", as we think of, you know, two lines

intersecting, or "a square has four corners". Well, if the author of the Bible thought that

the earth was flat, or that it was a big square, that wouldn't really make any sense, because

if you had a square, and you have the four winds, they would be coming from the sides

of the square, not from the corners, because those would be diagonals, and that would not

be north, south, east and west. They would be coming from a diagonal, first of all. But

second of all, the Bible makes it very clear that the earth is round. First of all, in

the book of Job, that God hangs the earth upon nothing. So if God hangs the earth upon

nothing, that shows that it's not a flat disc, or a flat square that's sitting upon pillars,

that people have tried to say that the Bible makes it out to be. But then also in Isaiah

chapter , look at verse , it says "It is he that sitteth upon the CIRCLE of the

earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens

as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in". So in Isaiah , verse

, it says "THE CIRCLE of the earth". Then in the book of Job it says God hangs the earth

upon nothing. Both of those statements are accurate, are they not? Now, go back if you

would to Leviticus chapter , and I'm going to show you how the word "corner" in the Bible

has a different meaning than what we think of. And even if you look it up in a modern

dictionary, it will give you these definitions in a modern dictionary for the word corner.

It does not only mean the place where two lines come together at the edge of a square.

Look at Leviticus :. "Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou

mar the corners of thy beard."... "See right there, the authors of the Bible thought that

people's heads were flat squares!" Of course they didn't! And look, our head is not flat.

Our head is not a square. What shape is our head? I mean, it's basically, roughly a sphere.

Just like the earth is a sphere. And so just as the earth has "four corners", our heads

have four corners, our beards have four corners. Again, showing that something does not have

to be square or flat to have corners if we use the biblical definition of "corners",

because the head has "corners". Nehemiah chapter , verse , you don't have to turn there,

it says this of the children of Israel, " forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness,

so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.

Moreover thou gavest them kingdoms and nations"- watch this- "and didst divide them into corners:

so they possessed the land of Sihon, and the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land

of Og king of Bashan." So there, it talks about the children of Israel inheriting the

promised land, and that the promised land was divided into corners. Because simply put,

the word "corner" in the Bible can mean "region" or "areas", or "quadrants". That's what it

means when it says "the four corners of the earth". We're talking about the four regions,

or the four extremities, or the four edges of the earth. And so go back to Revelation

chapter . And so Revelation : there, he says that the four angels are 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." verse , "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, Saying,

Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of

our God in their foreheads." Now look, four angels that are going to hurt the earth and

the sea. He says "don't do it till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads."

Look at verse number . It says "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." Then He says "Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe

of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand.

Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand." And on and on. He specifically lists off

individual tribes there. Now, before we talk about the identity of the ,- and I'm

going to go into that in great detail... Before we go into the identity of the , let's

just talk about what the purpose is of sealing the ,. Why are these people being sealed

before God's wrath is poured out, and what is that seal going to do for them? Go back

if you would... First turn to Revelation , then we are going to go back all the way to

Ezekiel , because Ezekiel is where we find this concept for the first time. Go back to

Revelation first of all. And it says in Revelation chapter , verse - this is with

the events of the fifth trumpet, again, proving that the trumpets come AFTER the seals, because

the seal that the , receive BETWEEN the sixth and seventh seal is going to protect

them during the fifth trumpet, okay? Look if you would at Revelation , verse . "And

there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the

scorpions of the earth have power. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt

the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men

which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. And to them it was given that they should

not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the

torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. And in those days shall men seek death,

and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them." Go back

to Ezekiel chapter . So there in Revelation , what did we see? We saw these horrible

locusts from hell that have stings like scorpions, and they're going to spend months torturing

and tormenting the men that dwell upon the earth, stinging them and putting them in such

horrific pain, that in those days men will wish that they were dead, and will desire

to die, and they will not be able to die. Just because obviously, a lot of people have

trouble bringing themselves to commit suicide, or finding the means to commit suicide, but

people are going to be suicidal because of the extreme pain that is a result of these

scorpion-like locusts that are tormenting them. But notice, who are the locusts leaving

alone? The locusts are not tormenting those who have the seal in their foreheads. Obviously

the ,. So the purpose of the , being sealed is to cause them to be immune

from the judgment of God. To cause them to be immune from these plagues of His wrath

that are coming. Now some have said "well, when it says in Revelation that only those

men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads... that's just talking about being

sealed with the Holy Ghost." No, you don't get sealed with the Holy Ghost in your forehead.

This is the mark that was put in their foreheads in Revelation , it's very clear. Go back

to Ezekiel , and in Ezekiel , we'll see this concept in the Old Testament, of people

being sealed in their foreheads in order to protect them from the wrath of God being poured

out. Look at Ezekiel , verse . " And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of

the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men

that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof." So in

Ezekiel :, He talks about putting a mark in the forehead of those that are upset about

all the sin and wickedness going on in their nation. You know, they're not the ones who

are participating in it, they're the ones who are upset about the abominations and upset

about the wickedness of their land. He says "let's put a mark on them in their foreheads."

So Ezekiel :, ties in perfectly with Revelation :, okay? Look at verse . "And to the others

he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare,

neither have ye pity: Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and

women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then

they began at the ancient men which were before the house. And he said unto them, Defile the

house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew

in the city." And on and on it goes. So in Ezekiel chapter , God's pouring out judgment,

God is slaughtering the wicked people of the land in this... it's just really a vision,

it's not literally happening in Ezekiel , it's a vision that Ezekiel is seeing. And

in this vision, anyone who has this mark in their forehead is spared from the wrath, is

spared from being slain in the judgment of God. This is what is alluded to in Revelation

chapter number , and in Revelation chapter . Basically this is the same type of symbolism

and the same type of event. Of course the events of Revelation and Revelation are

very much LITERAL. But in Ezekiel , he was seeing this in visions, it had to do with

things that were going to be happening very soon around him, but it was also a foreshadowing

of the events of the book of Revelation. Now, here is what's interesting about Ezekiel .

I believe that the antichrist will use Ezekiel , and will use Revelation , and to

justify his mark of the beast that goes in the forehead. You see the devil is a counterfeiter,

isn't he? The Bible talks about how those that are working for Satan will come preaching

another gospel. And in Galatians chapter , he says that they come and preach another

gospel, but he says which is not another, "but there be some which would pervert the

gospel of Christ." So the devil's gospel is not a completely different gospel, it's the

true gospel perverted. It's the true gospel, twisted. So the devil is constantly taking

what God has, and what God says and what God does, and he is constantly corrupting it,

twisting it, perverting it. He is the master counterfeiter. Just as we have in our English

language, the King James Bible, the perfect preserved word of God without error, there

are many counterfeits out there. New "Bible versions" that completely twist and change

things, and attack Bible doctrines that are so important. You know, that shows that the

devil is a counterfeiter, and he will counterfeit the mark that goes in the forehead in Ezekiel

, and eventually in Revelation in the new heaven and the new earth. And I believe

that he will use Ezekiel as a justification for killing those who don't receive the mark.

Because you remember the false prophet in Revelation chapter , is going to command

that anyone who will not worship the beast will be killed. And he is going to command

that they all receive a mark in their forehead. Well, what he is going to do is he is going

to say "see? Ezekiel says to slay everyone that does not have the mark in their forehead-

man, woman, boy, girl, that's what we're doing." And so the devil is constantly twisting scripture,

twisting the Lord's concepts into his own, and making them become a lie in the process.

You see the best lie always has a little bit of truth in it, doesn't it? If you have a

lie that has no truth in it, nobody is going to believe it. But effective lies- I don't

want to say "the best lies", because obviously lies aren't good- but you know, effective

liars will mix in as much truth as possible to suck you in. For example, if I were to

use a counterfeit bill, I'm not going to use monopoly money, right? I'm going to try to

get a bill that looks as close to the real thing as possible. And so the devil is constantly

trying to mimic the Lord, and mimic Jesus Christ in order to get people to believe him,

in order to get people sucked in. And so, the devil's mark of the beast in Revelation

is a counterfeit of the mark that we see in chapter's , and of Revelation and

also back in Ezekiel chapter . Now, the reason I had you turn to nd Kings , is because

I want to quickly explain to you who the , are. We have already established the fact

that the , are going to be on this earth while God is pouring out His wrath, right?

Because while these locusts are stinging people, they are immune from that, because the locusts

are commanded not to hurt anyone that has the seal of God in his forehead. And so the

, are sealed to protect them from the plagues of God's wrath. They will be on this

earth during that time, but who are these ,? Now, I've often heard it quoted this

way, and almost every time I hear anybody talk about the , they always say this-

"the , Jews". Has anybody heard them say that before? ", Jews". That's how

they always quote it. "Well, what about the , Jews in Revelation chapter and Revelation

?" Now look, did Revelation say , JEWS? No it didn't. What did it say? ,

OF THE TWELVE TRIBES OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL. You say "Pastor Anderson, have you lost your

mind? The tribes of the children of Israel are the Jews!" WRONG. And because people have

this wrong, they have so many other mistakes, because the word "Jew" is not referring to

the tribes of the children of Israel! And I'm going to prove that to you right now that

the , of all the tribes of the children of Israel, are not "the Jews", quote unquote.

In fact, the only time the word "Jews" is used, and I'm not trying to make a rhyme here

but, the only time the word "Jews" is used in the book of Revelation, is in chapters

and , saying that they are the synagogue of Satan. That's the only time you will even

find the word "Jews". The tribes of the children of Israel, when they were united

into one kingdom, were NEVER called "the Jews". And let me just give you a little history,

before we get into nd Kings . And you say "why turn to nd Kings ?" Because nd Kings

is the first time in the Bible that uses the word "Jews", did you know that? The first

time that the word "Jews" is ever used in the Bible, is in nd Kings chapter , and

I am going to prove to you that it is NOT EQUIVALENT to the tribes of the children

of Israel, even in the first time it's mentioned! And whenever you want to know what a word

means, it's always helpful to look up the first time it's used in the Bible. Because

usually when God mentions something for the first time in the Bible, He defines it, and

that makes it easier to understand. So let me explain to you why the word "Jews" is not

referring to all the tribes of the children of Israel. Here is why. Because of the fact

that when Israel had his children, you know, the patriarchs which became the

tribes, if you remember, they went down into Egypt, and there they became a great nation,

right? Then, four hundred and thirty years after they went in, they came out of Egypt,

the children of Israel, then wandered in the wilderness for forty years, then they inherited

the promised land. They were ruled by the Judges by the space of about years, right?

Then eventually they said "give us a king, that we may be like all the nations", right?

What was the name of that first king that they chose? Saul. Okay, king Saul ruled over

them for how long? Forty years. Then the next king was named David. He reigned for forty

years as well. Then the third king was named Solomon. And Solomon reigned for forty years

as well. So the first three kings there, reigned over the entire nation, all the tribes,

and they were... Saul for forty years, David for forty years, and Solomon for forty years,

okay? BUT, after Solomon died, his son Rehoboam became king, and what happened? Ten tribes

rebelled against Rehoboam. And so Solomon was the last king to reign over all the tribes.

Because Rehoboam only reigned over the southern kingdom, and the ten tribes of the northern

kingdom broke off and formed their own nation. And after that time, you have two separate

nations- you have the nation of Israel, and you have the nation of Judah. They never re-united

and became one nation. They remained separate nations from there on out. Israel was the

northern kingdom, also known as "the ten tribes", and then Judah was the southern kingdom. Now,

the southern kingdom was mainly the tribe of Judah, which is why the southern kingdom

took on the name Judah. But I want you to be very clear, I want you to listen very carefully.

Try to follow what I'm saying. The southern kingdom of Judah DID contain some people from

other tribes, okay? But because the primary tribe of the southern kingdom was the tribe

of Judah, that southern kingdom just became known as Judah, and the northern kingdom became

known as Israel. And so all throughout the books of the kings, and all throughout the

book of the prophets of the Old Testament, you will see a distinction between the kingdom

of Judah, and the kingdom of Israel. TWO DIFFERENT COUNTRIES. Now, again, let me be very clear.

When I say "Judah", I'm NOT just referring to the tribe of Judah. I'm referring to the

southern kingdom of Judah, which primarily was made up of the tribe of Judah, but it

also contained many of the tribe of Benjamin, many of the tribe of Simeon, and also many

of the Levites. Because if you remember, the Levites were scattered throughout all the

tribes. And many of the Levites, when the northern kingdom apostatised, many of those

Levites came down and joined the southern kingdom of Judah. Also just a lot of people

in the northern kingdom who were righteous people, when the northern kingdom of Israel

went in to total Baal worship, a lot of them came down and joined up with the southern

kingdom of Judah, okay. And then also, in the days of Hezekiah, certain tribes, the

Bible mentions some specific tribes that... just where a few people came down and joined

that southern kingdom. But predominantly, the ten tribes of the northern kingdom were

a separate nation, separate from the southern kingdom of Judah. Well, look now, with that

in mind at nd Kings chapter . This is the first time "Jews", that word "Jews" is used

in the Bible. Look at chapter verse . "In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son

of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign." So notice, is this

guy the king of Israel? No, he is the king of Judah, right? And it says this. "Twenty

years old was Ahaz when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem, and

did not that which was right in the sight of the Lord his God, like David his father.

But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yea, and made his son to pass through the

fire, according to the abominations of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out from before

the children of Israel. And he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places, and

on the hills, and under every green tree." So those verses are just explaining to us

that Ahaz the king of Judah was involved in a lot of wickedness. And he was actually following

a lot of the same sins that the northern kingdom of Israel were participating in at that time.

But look at verse . Here's the key. "Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah

king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome

him." So in verse , who is it that is attacking the kingdom of Judah, and the city of Jerusalem?

Well, it is Syria, and Israel. So the Northern kingdom of Israel has teamed up with Syria,

and they've come to attack the southern kingdom of Judah, okay? The capital of the southern

kingdom of Judah was Jerusalem. The capital of the northern kingdom of Israel was Samaria.

The capital of the kingdom of Syria was Damascus. So, Syria and Israel are coming down to attack

Jerusalem and the kingdom of Judah. Now look at verse . "At that time Rezin king of Syria

recovered Elath to Syria, and drave the JEWS from Elath: and the Syrians came to Elath,

and dwelt there unto this day. So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglathpileser king of Assyria,

saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me out of the hand of the king

of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me." So get

the picture here. Syria and Israel are allies. Syria and Israel are working together to fight

against Judah, and look what it says in verse again. "At that time Rezin king of Syria

recovered Elath to Syria, and drave the Jews from Elath". So who is Syria fighting against

in verse ? He is fighting against the Jews, right? The king of Syria is driving the Jews

out of the town of Elath. He is fighting against the JEWS. Who is his ally? Israel. So Syria

and Israel are up against THE JEWS. This is the first time that the word "Jews" is ever

mentioned in the Bible, and it's Israel and Syria, fighting against "the Jews". So explain

to me, are all tribes being called "the Jews" here? Absolutely not. Only that southern

kingdom of Judah is referred to as "the Jews". Now look, it doesn't take a genius to realise

that the word "Jew", comes from the word "Judah". That's where it comes from. That's why when

they were united, they were never called the Jews, they were called "the Hebrews", or "the

Israelites", or "the children of Israel". But once they're divided, he begins to use

the term "Jews", referring to those of the southern kingdom. And as you study your Old

Testament, and you see the word "Jews" in Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, the book of Daniel...

You will notice it is talking about the southern kingdom, who went in captivity in Babylon,

and came back from the Babylonian captivity. THEY are referred to as "the Jews". Now look

at nd Kings chapter . In nd Kings chapter , we see another word appear for the first

time. So in nd Kings , we saw the first time of the word "Jews". Now let's look at

nd Kings , and we will see the first time the word "Samaritan" is used. Look at verse

. "Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in

Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the Lord. Howbeit every nation made gods of

their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the"- what?- "Samaritans

had made". So notice here, a person of Samaria is known as a what? A Samaritan, "every nation

in their cities wherein they dwelt." Now notice, they don't start being called the Samaritans

until nd Kings . Before this point, they were just known as "the children of Israel",

or "the ten tribes", or "the northern kingdom of Israel". But from chapter of nd Kings

onward, they start being known here as the Samaritans. Why? What happened? What caused

them to be known as the Samaritans? Well, because of the fact that around this time,

they went into captivity. They were conquered by the Assyrians. And when the Assyrians brought

the northern kingdom of Israel into captivity, they brought a lot of the children of Israel

back to the land of Assyria, but they left the poor of the land to stay in the northern

kingdom of Israel. But then they brought in all these other people from all these other

nations, all these foreigners. And all the foreigners that were brought in, they intermingled

with the Israelites of the northern kingdom. And so this intermingled group of people that

is the ten tribes of the children of Israel that stayed behind, mixed in with all these

other nations that were brought in, and assimilated in... That mixed nation, that intermingled

group became known as the Samaritans, okay? Because they lived in Samaria. Now let me

explain to you the significance of the word "Samaria". Go back to st Kings chapter .

And I know I'm spending a lot of time on this, but it's very important that we understand

this, because people are going around saying ", Jews! Chapter of Revelation is

all about those , Jews", and it is FALSE, and I'm proving it false right now, and I

want you to get this information. The "Jews" are those who are from the southern kingdom

of Judah, which was primarily the tribe of Judah, and the tribe of Benjamin, and some

of the Levites. Yes there were some people from other tribes, but the vast majority of

the people came from the tribe of Judah, which is why that nation became known as "the nation

of Judah". Look at st Kings , verse . "For the saying"- this is the first time the

word "Samaria" is ever used in the Bible- " For the saying which he cried by the word

of the Lord against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places

which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass." So there we see "the

cities'- PLURAL- "of Samaria", in st Kings, :. So Samaria is not just one city is

it? It's a region. Because He says "the cities of Samaria". Now go to st Kings , verse

. Now what I want to show you in st Kings :- because remember we talked about, there

is the northern kingdom of Israel, and the southern kingdom of Judah. What was the capital

city of the southern kingdom of Judah? Jerusalem. Okay, what was the capital of the northern

kingdom of Israel? Well, BEFORE it was Samaria, it was a place called "Tirzah". Look at st

Kings :. "In the third year of Asa king of Judah began Baasha the son of Ahijah to

reign over all Israel in TIRZAH, twenty and four years." So in st Kings :, the king

of Israel is reigning from a capital city called "Tirzah", okay? Go to chapter . In

chapter , the Bible says in verse , " And in the thirty and eighth year of Asa king

of Judah began Ahab the son of Omri to reign over Israel: and Ahab the son of Omri reigned

over Israel in SAMARIA twenty and two years." So, in chapter , they're reigning from Tirzah,

in chapter they're reigning from Samaria, here's why. There was a king named Zimri,

the king of the northern kingdom of Israel named Zimri, he only reigned for days. He

took over the nation, they didn't want him, he only reigned for days. So Omri, that

captain of his host came to overthrow king Zimri, after only days of reigning. Well,

when Omri shows up to take over the kingdom, and take it away from Zimri, Zimri decides

to basically commit suicide, and also demolish the palace. It's kind of like, "well, if I

can't rule from this palace, no-one can." So what does he do? Zimri lights the place

on fire. Zimri burns that palace at Tirzah to the ground. And when Zimri burns the palace

at Tirzah to the ground, he dies and Omri reigns, and Omri takes over the nation, but

that palace is burned to the ground. So Omri decides, instead of re-building in the same

place in Tirzah, he decides to start a brand new capital city, and he is going to build

a brand new house for himself, and he buys a piece of land from a guy named "Shemer".

And when he buys that piece of property from Shemer, he names it after Shemer, he names

it Samaria. And from then on, Samaria becomes the capital city of that northern kingdom

of Israel. Later that whole region is going to be known as Samaria. And by the time we

get to the New Testament- are you listening?- By the time we get to the New Testament, that

whole region of what used to be the northern kingdom, is known as Samaria, and the people

who live there are known as "the Samaritans". And the Samaritans there, are basically a

mixed nation, a mixed group of people ethnically, because they are just a total mixture of the

ten tribes, mixed in with these heathen foreigners that have been brought in by the Assyrians,

hundreds and hundreds of years before, okay? Now, Go to Revelation . So, in the book

of Esther for example, the Bible says this, in verse of chapter . "And in every province,

and in every city, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, the Jews

had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day. And many of the people of the land BECAME

Jews; for the fear of the Jews fell upon them." Just as in the book of Exodus, the Bible said

that anybody who wanted to could join the nation of Israel by becoming circumcised and

keeping the passover, and they could join the nation. Well, it was the same way with

the nation of Judah, hundreds and hundreds of years later. In the book of Esther we have

people BECOMING Jews, because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them. So, yes there could

have been individuals from the northern kingdom, from those ten tribes who migrated down to

the southern kingdom, and the Bible records it in the days of Hezekiah, and other days...

Where they migrated down and joined the nation of Judah, maybe from the tribe of Zebulun,

or the tribe of Asher and so forth. But let me explain this to you. The VAST MAJORITY

of the people in those tribes became assimilated with the heathen. You say, "Why have you spent

so much time explaining to us, the Jews versus the Samaritans, and the northern kingdom of

Israel versus the southern kingdom of Judah?" Here's why. Because when we get to the time

of the New Testament, when the Bible is talking about the "Jews", we're talking about people

who are living in Judaea, which is people of that southern kingdom, which are primarily

of the tribe of Judah, although a lot of Benjamites were part of that southern kingdom, and then

you've got a few... There's only one person in the entire New Testament who is mentioned

as being from one of those lost tribes. And that's the woman who prophesies about

baby Jesus in Luke chapter number , she is of the tribe of Aser, and that's it. I mean

that's the only mention. Because predominantly, you're finding people that are of the tribe

of Judah, Paul said "I'm of the tribe of Benjamin". Look, Benjamin was a southern kingdom tribe.

And then also the Levites. You will see some Levites mentioned. Why is that significant?

Because of the fact that the ten tribes of the northern kingdom, many of them are completely

lost today. Now you can easily see how that could happen, right? When you've got the ten

tribes being intermingled with a bunch of heathen, losing their genealogy, losing their

tribal identity, becoming totally mixed in with heathen nations to the point where Jesus

did not even consider them the children of Israel in Matthew chapter when he said

"go not into the way of the gentiles, and into any city of THE SAMARITANS enter ye not,

but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." He's looking at the Samaritans,

considering them different than the house of Israel, because they are so intermingled

with the heathen. Now, notice Jesus draws the distinction there, between the gentiles,

and the Samaritans, and the house of Israel at that time. And again, a whole other mistake

is that people think that everybody who is not a Jew is a gentile. "Pastor Anderson,

if you're saying that the ten tribes are not Jews, are you saying they're gentiles?" Look,

gentiles are the sons of Japheth, study your Bible. Go back to Genesis and figure out what

a gentile is. It is not everyone who is not a Jew. But again, I don't have time to go

into that. So what we see here is that the children of Israel that were part of those

ten tribes, most of them were scattered, most of them were mixed in. And today, and even

at the time of Christ there were very few representatives of those tribes. There were

some representatives that had come down into the southern kingdom, but there were very

few. But listen to me. Today in , many of those tribes simply DO NOT EXIST. FACT.

Look it up! Get out an encyclopedia, and look up the tribe of Gad, look up the tribe of

Reuben, and you know what it's going to say? It's going to say "this tribe was conquered

by the Assyrians, mixed in, scattered abroad, mixed in with the heathen, and therefore we

cannot trace this tribe today. We have no idea where this tribe is today. This tribe

has ceased to exist as a people group. You'll find a bunch of people who say "we're Jews!"

But will you find the tribe of Reuben today in ? Show me a Reubenite! Show me a Gadite!

Show me these tribes. Now look, I would challenge you to even find people of the tribe of

Reuben. But wait a minute, the , are , from each tribe. Are you getting my

drift here? Do you see where I am going with this? This is not just "Oh, we found ,

Jews, prophecy fulfilled!" No. I take the Bible literally here. Those who want to say

that these are , Jews, they're not taking it literally, because they're just roughly

saying "Yeah, , Jews, that'll work." No. It's not , Jews. It's , of

Reuben! It's , of Gad! It's , of Issachar! That is not something that exists

today on this planet. LET ALONE the other criteria, because look at Revelation and

you will see that this is even a tougher bill to fit. You're not even going to be able to

find , of these tribes, but look what else, He says, in verse of chapter . It

says "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. And I heard

a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder:

and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new

song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn

that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth."-

Watch verse . Try to find this in , or at any time in the future, of tribes that

virtually, and really don't exist. "These are they which were not defiled with women;

for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These

were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth

was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God." So here we see

that these , of all the tribes of the children of Israel, notice, they're males.

They're all male. Well that cuts out half the population right there, doesn't it? Because

we are only talking about men. And notice this, they're all virgins. So we're talking

, SAVED. MALE. VIRGINS. From EACH tribe of the children of Israel including tribes

that were decimated centuries ago. And I'm not making this stuff up. Get out the encyclopedia,

look up Gad, look up Reuben, look up these... Go down the list of them, and I'm telling

you, these tribes are gone! And taking this really loose interpretation of just saying

"well, it's just Jews in general..." And you say "well, you know all those Jews over in

Israel, and the Jews scattered throughout the world, you know, God knows who they are,

God knows which tribe they belong to." But look, you know what God know? He knows which

tribe they belong to, and most of them are from the tribe of Judah. And some of them

are from the tribe of Benjamin, and some of them are from the tribe of Levi, and maybe

a few rare exceptions are from some of those other tribes. But let me tell you something.

There are NOT , Reubenites. That tribe is decimated and gone. And so you say "well,

what are you saying Pastor Anderson, I don't get it, I don't understand, what are you driving

at? If these aren't , Jews then who are they?" I'm taking it literally, they are

, people from those specific tribes, just like the Bible says. Well, you say "how

can that be if those tribes don't exist?" I'll tell you how. Because these are Old Testament

saints from the tribes. You see, find me , Jews that are even saved! You talk

to most of these "Messianic Jews" and they're believing a total works based salvation, you

know that's true! The , of the tribes of the children of Israel are OLD TESTAMENT

SAINTS, from those literal tribes, that are going to come back and be on this earth

during the time that the wrath is poured out. In fact, the , are already in heaven

right now. They're Old Testament saints who've passed on thousands of years ago. Now look,

that makes it very easy to understand how God could find , male virgins that were

righteous from each tribe. Because if we look at the whole history of the nation of Israel,

before they were scattered, the years they were in bondage, the years that they

are under the Judges, the hundreds and hundreds of years that they were ruled over by kings...

Don't you think in that span of over a thousand years, you are going to find , very righteous

male virgin, godly men from each tribe that could fit this bill? EASILY! Try to find it

today. It's a joke. It's ridiculous to even think that you could find such a number of

people. But you say "Pastor Anderson, that's just your opinion, you're just making stuff

up Pastor Anderson. You're just coming up with this out of thin air, that it's these

Old Testament saints coming back." No, actually, I have proof beyond what I just explained

about how these are Old Testament saints. The chronology of the book of Revelation is

clear. Chapter records the events of the tribulation. Chapter has the , being

sealed. THEN, later in chapter , a great multitude appears in heaven of all nations

and kindreds saying they have come out of great tribulation, they have washed their

robes. And the Bible is very clear that they just got there. And I am going to go over

that in a moment. Then in chapter , the wrath is poured out. Then at the seventh trumpet,

he says the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ,

and he shall reign for ever and ever. Well, the chronology of Revelation starts over in

chapter , with the birth of Christ. And then he goes through all the events again.

Chapter covers the tribulation very clearly. Chapter covers the ,, then it covers

the rapture, and then the wrath is poured out. So in the first half of the book of Revelation,

it goes st Century AD, then the tribulation, then the , are sealed, then the rapture

takes place, then God's wrath is poured out and so on and so forth. And it's very consistent

in the first half and second half of Revelation. So, chapter and chapter are very closely

related to one another. They both mention the , and they both mention the rapture.

They're both placed BETWEEN the tribulation and God's wrath. Chapter is tribulation,

, and then you've got is God's wrath. Okay, second half of Revelation. and is tribulation,

is the , and the rapture, and then and is God's wrath. It's very consistent

in both places, okay? So, look at Revelation . And I want to get off the , because

I want to finish the rest of chapter , but this is a really important subject, so I want

to spend a lot of time on it. So, keeping in mind that chapter describes the tribulation,

and chapters and deal with God pouring out His wrath, let's look at the order here.

What order did it come in chapter ? Well, first the , were sealed, THEN the rapture

takes place LATER in chapter . Well look down at your Bible there in chapter , it

says in verse "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."

So, are the , already sealed at this point? Yes, because they have their father's

name written in their foreheads already. Where are they located? Well, first of all let's

see who they're with. They're with the Lamb, right? The lamb is on Mount Zion, and with

him, ,. Now where is Mount Zion, and where is the Lamb at this point in Revelation?

Well, the Bible says in Hebrews "But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city

of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem". So in Hebrews chapter , he calls the Mount

Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem.” And of course if the Lamb is there, we know that the Lamb

at this point in Revelation is in heaven, , are with him on mount Zion. Okay so,

where are the , in chapter ? They're in heaven. I'll prove that they're in heaven

a couple of other ways, look at verse . "And I heard a voice from heaven"- where is the

voice coming from? From heaven. "And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many

waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with

their harps". So, the voice that John is hearing from heaven, is the voice of singers and harpers,

right? Look at verse . "And they sung"- the voices that he hears- "as it were a new song

before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders". So, the voices that are singing

that John is hearing FROM HEAVEN, are being sung before the throne, before the beasts,

and before the elders. That's the scene in heaven described in chapter and of Revelation.

So the , are clearly IN HEAVEN, because look what it says in verse , it says "and

no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed

from the earth." So let me ask you this, is someone else singing with them? They're the

only ones who could learn the song. The , are the ones singing. Where is their voice

coming from? From heaven. Where are they singing? Before the throne, and the four beasts and

the elders. Who are they with? Jesus Christ. Where are they at? The mount Zion. Where's

that? The heavenly Jerusalem. You see, it's VERY, VERY, VERY CLEAR that in Revelation

the , are sealed in their foreheads, and they are located IN HEAVEN. And this is

before God's wrath is poured out. BEFORE the wrath is poured out in chapters and ,

they're ALREADY in heaven, with the seal in their foreheads. Now look, I'm going to prove

conclusively in the sermon on Revelation . If you have any doubt at all that the trumpets

and vials take place concurrently, are happening at the same time, just listen to the sermon

on chapter . But here we see that they're already in heaven, before the wrath is poured

out. Which means that they're going from heaven to earth, because we know that they are on

earth during the time the wrath is poured out. Let me prove it to you. It says in chapter

, verse . "And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like

unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle."

Now we're going to go into this in more detail in the sermon on chapter , but here in chapter

, verse , we see Christ coming in the clouds to reap the harvest of the earth, and

then of course in chapter , that multitude appears in heaven, just like it appeared in

chapter , after Jesus Christ gathers up the saved, and the rapture takes place, Christ

comes in the clouds here, in chapter verse . But which happens first? The , are

already sealed in heaven before the rapture in chapter , right? They're sealed in verse

... The rapture takes place in verse . Chapter , same order! They're sealed at the

beginning of chapter , the rapture takes place at the end of chapter . So all that

to say this. If the , are already in heaven, before the rapture takes place, how

do you get to heaven before the rapture takes place? By dying. Think about it. How in the

world does a saved, righteous person, get to heaven before the rapture? Because they

are already there before the rapture in chapter , and in chapter . How do you get there?

By dying! Because these are saints who died in the Old Testament, that's how there could

be , from Gad. That's how there could be , from Reuben. It's impossible, looking

at modern day. They came from the Old Testament. They are already in heaven in chapter before

the rapture, and before the wrath is poured out. So here is how it works, my friend. When

the rapture takes place, isn't the rapture every believer being removed from this earth?

Every saved person being removed from this earth? Every believer who has ever lived is

caught up to be with Christ in the clouds, right? But wait a minute, who is going to

continue to preach the gospel, when all the believers are gone? I mean is God going to

just leave this earth with no testimony, with no witness, with no-one to preach and reach

the lost? God still loves people, even that are unsaved. Now many of the people will be

reprobate, who've already taken the mark of the beast. But others who've not yet taken

the mark of the beast can get saved after the rapture. And so God's going to leave a

gospel preaching witness on this earth during that time, and it's going to be in forms.

Number , the two witnesses will be on this earth preaching. But number is going to

be the , on this earth preaching the gospel during the time that the wrath is poured

out. Now, you say, "I find that VERY hard to believe that God would resurrect Old Testament

saints, and then send them right back down to this earth to be there during the wrath

being poured out." But wait a minute. I believe the two witnesses are Moses and Elijah. Most

people agree with me on that. Aren't they Old Testament saints who are coming back,

and being on this earth while the wrath is poured out? So why is it hard to believe that

the , are the same way. And wait a minute, are you forgetting the fact that just several

years after the rapture, we are all going to be back on this earth to rule and reign

with Christ for a thousand years, aren't we all going to be back? So basically, the ,

are just coming back a little early. The two witnesses are coming back even earlier than

that. And so, these people are coming back to be on this earth, to preach the gospel.

Are you still in chapter ? Look down at verse , right after he finishes talking about

,, he says in verse , "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the

everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and

kindred, and tongue, and people". So this angel comes right after the , are there,

sealed, singing praises to God. Basically this angel shows up having the everlasting

gospel to be preached unto all these nations and kindreds and tongues. So, why does God

leave on this earth, during the outpouring of His wrath BOTH the two witnesses, and the

,. Why does He need both to preach the gospel? Well, I'll tell you why. Because of

the fact that the two witnesses are only two guys. How many people can they really reach

with the gospel? How many languages can they really speak and reach with? And if you look

at the two witnesses, they have a very public ministry. Because when they are killed in

Revelation , all the nations are rejoicing, everybody is thrilled, all over, every people

and tongue. So there are a lot of people all over the world who know about them, so I believe

that the two witnesses are probably getting a lot of coverage in the media, they're basically

known worldwide. They're basically very public preachers, public figures that are prophesying

and preaching, and a lot of people are hearing their prophecy. The , on the other hand,

since there are more of them can basically have a more local ministry. Basically, they

can be scattered throughout all the world, preaching to people for who the power has

been shut off- you know, because of all the plagues. Or preaching to people who aren't

watching TV, who aren't listening to the radio, who aren't hearing the coverage of these

witnesses, or finding out about them. These , can be in local places. And the Bible

says that the gospel will be preached unto all tongues. So basically, these , will

speak in various tongues, just as the Galileans... they were all Galileans in Acts , remember

they all spake with tongues as the spirit gave them utterance? The , are going

to be all over the world, preaching the gospel to every creature in various languages. basically,

some of them will be in India, and they will be speaking those languages, some of them

will be in China, speaking Chinese, some of them will be in Africa, some will be in the

United States, some of them will be in South America. These , will be left on this

earth to preach the truth unto those that are left behind. Those who've already taken

the mark, they're reprobate, it's too late for them. But the ones for whom it is not

too late, the ones who have not yet received the mark of the beast... Children, or adults

who just hadn't taken it for whatever reason, maybe they are just afraid of it, maybe conspiracy

type people, even if they're not saved, they don't want to take this mark of the beast,

they're off the grid anyway, right? So these , are going to be winning a lot of souls.

There are going to be a lot of people that are saved during the time that God's wrath

is poured out, through the two witnesses, and through the ,. Okay, so I spent

a tonne of time on that, let me just quickly wrap up Revelation here with the great multitude

appearing in heaven. And here's the thing. I already covered the multitude appearing

in heaven a little bit in my sermon on chapter anyway, and so I really wanted to focus

on the , in this message. But look if you would at chapter . After the ,

are sealed and again, we'll go a little more into the , in chapter , but I hope

I made it understandable. Look at verse . "After this"- again, denoting chronology-

"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". So at the beginning part of chapter , we saw

, of the children of Israel only, specific tribes and so forth. But now we see a multitude

which no man can number. And keep in mind, the Bible numbers millions of people. This

is a huge multitude. And he says specifically, that it's 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, and fell before the throne on their faces,

and worshipped God, Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and

honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen." Now here is

the key, verse . " And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which

are arrayed in white robes?" And watch this- "and whence came they?" What does "whence"

mean? "Whence" is an old word for "from where". "Whence came they?" in our modern vernacular,

would mean "where did they come from?" Now that denotes that they just arrived. John

didn't see them until "AFTER THIS", after the ,, "AFTER THIS I beheld, and lo,

a great multitude which no man could number." And the elder says to him, "who are these

people and where did they come from?" Meaning that they just showed up. And then look what

the answer is. Verse . "And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me,

These are they which came out of great tribulation", by the way, last time the word "tribulation"

is ever used in the Bible. It says "These are they which came out of great tribulation,

and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." So what do

we see here? We see a great multitude appear in heaven out of nowhere, huge number. And

it says they came OUT OF great tribulation. Now, if we were to compare this to Matthew

, we're not going to turn there for sake of time, but what do we see in Matthew ?

Immediately after the tribulation of those days, sun and moon are darkened, right? And

then he says the trumpet sounds, he comes in the clouds, and he gathers his elect from

the four winds. "Elect". Look up every time the word "elect" is used in the New Testament.

Always referring to those that are saved, whether they be Jew or gentile, whether they

be bond or free. Study every mention, it's VERY clear. So Jesus Christ gathers the saved,

the trumpet sounds, in the clouds, AFTER the tribulation, AFTER the sun and moon are darkened.

Well, in Revelation , what did we see? Sun and moon darkened. Only place in Revelation

where the sun and moon are darkened. So wouldn't it make sense that the next thing that we

would see would be Jesus in the clouds, trumpet sounds, rapture taking place? Right. So what

do we see? Sun and moon darkened in chapter , and then in chapter a great multitude

appears in heaven. Doesn't it fit perfectly? Where did they come from? Out of tribulation.

Why? Because Jesus said after the tribulation, the sun and moon will be darkened, he will

gather the elect. Here, chapter we see sun and moon darkened, chapter , the elect appear

in heaven of all nations, all kindreds. Where did they come from? They came out of great

tribulation. And again, let me reiterate where I started the sermon. This is BEFORE the wrath

is poured out. People try to smuggle God's wrath into the tribulation, don't they? They

say that "the tribulation IS God's wrath. It's a pre-trib rapture, because God would

never pour out his wrath on his own people!" Look, the tribulation is OVER when the sun

and moon are darkened according to Matthew ! And the WRATH DOESN'T BEGIN UNTIL THE

SUN AND MOON ARE DARKENED. How can the tribulation be the wrath?! And so And so what we see here

is a great multitude of people appearing in heaven, listen to me now, AFTER THE TRIBULATION

of chapter , but BEFORE the wrath is poured out in chapter . Very clear. CRYSTAL CLEAR.

Let's finish out the chapter. This is more about that multitude. Verse . "Therefore

are they before the throne of God". So when the people are raptured, where do they appear?

In heaven, they are before the throne of God, they are caught up to heaven. They are going

to remain there until chapter when they return with Christ on a white horse, years

later, after He is done pouring out His wrath. So it says "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 living fountains of waters: and God shall

wipe away all tears from their eyes." Chapter , verse . "And when he had opened the seventh

seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour." So right there we

see between the sixth and seventh seals, that is where the multitude appears in heaven,

that is where the rapture takes place according to Matthew , Mark , Luke . It's all

consistent, it all fits, it all matches. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Father

we thank you so much for your word dear God, and I tried to cram a lot of information into

a short period of time. I pray that people would have ears to hear, and I hope that they

listened carefully, and I hope that they do more study on their own, and really dig into

this, and see how easy it is to understand, and how clear these truths are, once they

get rid of some pre-conceived ideas that they have. And bless us all in Jesus' name we pray,

Amen.