sermon 'God will wipe away every tear'

Sermon preached at Bedok Church, Singapore on 25th April 2010

Before zeroing in the on the text in Rev 7:9-17, I would like to take us through Rev 6-7: the vision of the seven seals.
It follows a 4-2-1 pattern:

Four horseman (6:1-8)
Two questions (6:9-17)
an interlude (7:1-17)
One final consummation (8:1-5)

The four horsemen depict a world ruled by violence/domination:
1st horseman is white - bent on conquest
2nd horseman is fiery red - war
3rd horseman is black - famine; food is severely rationed (1 litre of barley for 1 day's wages barely enough to feed one person)
4th horseman is pale/greenish yellow - color of death

a natural progression of evil: conquest -> war -> famine - > death

It's a downward spiral of evil that begins with desire for conquest and ends in death. This desire for control is not only found in the dictators eg. Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan but resident in everyone. As Tears for Fears sings 'Everybody wants to rule the world'.

5th seal : a minority of underdogs offer an alternative vision over and against the system of 'rule-by-conquest'; these are the martyrs who bear witness to the gospel of peace. They ask 'how long?''

'How long before justice is served? How long before evil is punished and the world put right again?'

6th seal is God's resounding answer in the form of an earthquake. The perpetratorswould rather be crushed by the mountains than suffer God's wrath. They ask 'who can stand the wrath of God?'
'Who can stand?'


In the interlude John saw a people who can *stand* for they stand in the presence of God and are kept from wrath.

He saw two complementary pictures of the same people in 7:1-8 and in v 9-17

the first he heard, the second he saw
the first is counted, the second is countless
the first is a nation of Jews, the second is an international gathering
the first is gathering for the Messianic war, the second is celebrating the victory of the Lamb

It is not two different people but one. the bible knows of only one people of God. 144000 symbolizes the whole people of God from the old (12 tribes of Israel) and the new covenant (the church founded on the 12 apostle)- therefore 12x12x1000= 144 000. heaven is not populated by factions or by individual christians loosely connected to each other. God is creating one people called by his name.

The mission
This people was first called forth through the election of Israel and then extended to the gentiles cos Israel was called to be a light to the nations.
In the same way, the church is called to preach the gospel to every nation. Salvation is for all.
This underscores the missional nature of the church. 'the church is the only organisation on earth that exists primarily for the benefits of its non-members'
This reminds us of the words of jesus to his disciples on resurrection day 'as the Father has sent me so do I send you!'

The tribulation
one of the elders explains that the multitude are they who have come of the great tribulation ('thlipsis') and washed their robes white in the blood of the Lamb'

'thlipsis' means hard pressed on every side, like being thrown into a pressure cooker.,

this means for God's people - NO WRATH but PLENTY OF TRIBULATION.
wrath is what you suffer for sins, tribulation is what you suffer for doing what is right.

being washed in the blood of the lamb contrary to popular interpretation is not about being cleansed of sins, it refers instead to martyrdom.
this does not mean that every christian is called to physical martyrdom but to bear faithful witness to Christ no matter what it costs.

we should not be surprised when we face fiery trials as christians. one of marks of the church is suffering.

we may not suffer physical martyrdom in singapore, but if we are faithful servants of Christ, we expect to suffer no less.

-we suffer as we reach out to the poor, the sick and dying. it involves standing in the places of pain and brokenness and intercede, groaning with the pains of a fallen creation (Rom 8) and standing in solidaity with the needy. It requires sacrifice of resources.

-we suffer as we love our enemy and forgive our debtors - we do not return evil for evil but overcome evil with good, absorbing the damages and pains inflicted on us.

-we suffer as we seek to love one another within the community of God. Community-building involves risks, possible misunderstandings, frustrations, disappointments and being vulnerable to others, losing something of our selves in the process. when one member suffers, the whole body suffers with it.

If the Lamb overcomes the world not by wielding the sword and killing other people but by coming under the sword and being slain, his followers will do no less. The Christian answer to the problem of evil is the cross. God becomes a man and gets killed bearing the full brunt of evil upon himself and neutralizing it.

The victory

The gathered multitude sings the victory song 'salvation belongs to our God, to the one who sits on the throne and unto the lamb' and the angels, the elders and the four living creatures fell face down in worship saying 'praise and glory, honor and thanks, power and strength belongs to God forever!' All creation joins in worship - angels, humans and animals.

this shows that salvation is not an end in itself but worship is the goal of salvation history. we are saved to worship the Creator, the only one worthy of our worship,the rightful ruler of the world.

the language John uses echoes Isa 49 a Servant Song which pictures the Messiah as leading the people through the new exodus..God to pharaoh 'let my people go that they might go and worship me in the land I give them.'

now we are in the wilderness - hungering, thirsting, beaten by the desert heat , but the Lamb will lead us
to springs of living water. he will spread out his tent (ie tabernacle) to shield us. now we sow in tears but he will wipe every tear away.

Conclusion

Will you be there? Will you be counted among the 144 000?

Not an automatic process.

but if you would stand and be counted among his faithful NOW in the face of adversity, you will be counted in that number and stand before the throne...

if you would bear faithful witness to Christ and not shrink from hardships and death, you will be found in that festive throng

and God will wipe away every tear from our eyes...

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