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Now in Revelation chapter 7, the Bible reads in verse number 1, And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. Now the first thing 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 7 is a parenthetical chapter that is outside of the timeline or outside of the chronology. Well there's absolutely no indication of that and to the contrary, the term after these things indicates that chapter 7 picks up right where chapter 6 left off. Now if we remember where chapter 6 left off, the sixth seal has been opened, the sun and moon have been darkened, the stars have withdrawn their light, and the people of the earth are wailing and crying out for the mountains and rocks to fall on them. And they say this at the very end of chapter 6, look at verse 17, For the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand? For the great day of wrath is come, it has just arrived, but before the wrath is poured out, the Bible says in verse number 2 of chapter 7, 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 forest. 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 forest. So this fits perfectly in the chronology. He's about to pour out the wrath in chapter 6, but then in chapter 7, 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 forest. Then in chapter 8, after the servants are sealed, he begins to pour out his wrath upon the earth in chapter 8. And what's the first thing he does? Look at chapter 8 and verse number 7. It says, the first angel sounded, this is the first trumpet because the seven trumpet judgments start in chapter 8. 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. So 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 6 to chapter 7 to chapter 8. Chapter 6, he's about to pour out the wrath. Chapter 7, 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 8, after the 144,000 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 8, 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, you know, 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, a rapture 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 7 makes it very clear that between the sixth and seventh seals are when the 144,000 are sealed, and that the earth, sea, and trees have not been heard up to that point, which those things all happen in the first and second trumpet, and the 144, well we'll get more into the 144,000 in just a moment anyway, but I just wanted to make that really clear that chapter 7 comes in chronological order between 6 and 8. I mean, it's really complicated, isn't it? 6 goes to 7 goes to 8, and it's a very logical progression of events. Well, let's jump into chapter 7. Look at chapter 7, verse 1. And after these things, I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. 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 7, verse 1, 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, and so that basically what they've 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 40. And really the reason why they think that is that they just 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 like a square has four corners. Well, if the author of the Bible thought that the earth were flat or that it were 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 if they were 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, you know, sitting upon pillars as people have tried to say that the Bible makes it out to be. But then also in Isaiah chapter 40, look at verse 22, it says, It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers that stretch without the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell it. So in Isaiah 40 verse 22, 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 to Leviticus chapter 19, 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 these definitions in the 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 19, 27, 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 beard has four corners. Okay, 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 9 verse 21, you don't have to turn there, it says this of the children of Israel, 40 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 it's divided 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 7. So in Revelation 7, 1 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 2, and I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God, and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given, to hurt the earth and the sea, 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've sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. Look at verse number 4. It says, And I heard the number of them which were sealed, and there were sealed one hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. Then he says that the tribe of Judah were sealed twelve thousand, the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand, the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand, the tribe of Asa were sealed twelve thousand, and on and on. He specifically lists off twelve individual tribes there. Now before we talk about the identity of the 144,000, and I'm going to go into that in great detail, before we go into the identity of the 144,000, let's just talk about what the purpose is of sealing the 144,000. 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 9, then we're going to go all the way back to Ezekiel 9, because Ezekiel 9 is where we find this concept for the first time. Go back to Revelation 9 first of all, and it says in Revelation chapter 9 verse 3, this is with the events of the fifth trumpet. Again, proving that the trumpets come after the seals, because the seal that the 144,000 received between the sixth and seventh seal is going to protect them during the fifth trumpet. Look if you would at Revelation 9 verse 3, 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 the torment of a scorpion when he strike at the 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 9. So there in Revelation 9, what did we see? We saw these horrible locusts from hell that have stings like scorpion, and they are going to spend five 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. The people are going to be suicidal because of the extreme pain that is a result of the 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 144,000. So the purpose of the 144,000 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 9, 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 7, it's very clear. Go back to Ezekiel 9, and in Ezekiel 9 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 9 verse 4. 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 9, 4, 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. No, 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 9, 4 ties in perfectly with Revelation 9, 4. Look at verse 5. And to the others he said in mine hearing, go ye after him through the city and smite. Let not your eyes spare, neither have you 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 slain. Go ye forth. And they went forth and slew in the city, and on and on it goes. So in Ezekiel chapter 9, 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 9, 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 7 and Revelation chapter 9. Basically this is the same type of symbolism and the same type of event. Of course the events of Revelation 7 and Revelation 9 are very much literal. But in Ezekiel 9, 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's what's interesting about Ezekiel 9. I believe that the Antichrist will use Ezekiel 9 and will use Revelation 7, 9, and 22 to justify his mark of the beast that goes in the forehead. You see the devil is a counterfeiter, isn't he? You know the Bible talks about how those that are working for Satan will come preaching another gospel. And in Galatians chapter 1, 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's 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. That shows that the devil is a counterfeiter and he will counterfeit the mark that goes in the forehead in Ezekiel 9 and eventually in Revelation 22 in the new heaven and the new earth. And I believe that he will use Ezekiel 9 as a justification for killing those who don't receive the mark. Because you remember the false prophet in Revelation chapter 13 is going to command that anyone who will not worship the beast will be killed. And he's going to command that they all receive a mark in their forehead. Well what he's going to do is he's going to say, see Ezekiel 9 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's going to believe it. But effective lies, I don't want to say the best lie because obviously lies aren't good, but 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 13 is a counterfeit of the mark that we see in chapters 7, 9, and 22 of Revelation and also back in Ezekiel chapter 9. Now the reason I had you turn to 2 Kings 16 is because I want to quickly explain to you who the 144,000 are. We've already established the fact that the 144,000 are going to be on this earth while God's 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 and is for it. And so the 144,000 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 144,000? Now I've often heard it quoted this way, and almost every time I hear anybody talk about the 144,000, they always say this, the 144,000 Jews, has anybody ever heard them say that before? 144,000 Jews. That's how they always quote it. Well what about the 144,000 Jews in Revelation chapter 7 and Revelation 14? Now look, did Revelation 7 say 144,000 Jews? No it didn't. What did it say? 144,000 of the 12 tribes of the children of Israel. You say, Pastor Anderson, have you lost your mind? The 12 tribes of the children of Israel are the Jews. Wrong. And because people have this wrong, they make so many other mistakes because the word Jew is not referring to the 12 tribes of the children of Israel. And I'm going to prove that to you right now, that the 144,000 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 2 and 3 saying that they are the synagogue of Satan. That's the only time you'll even find the word Jews. The 12 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 2 Kings 16. You say, why turn to 2 Kings 16? Because 2 Kings 16 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 2 Kings 16. And I'm going to prove to you that it is not equivalent to the 12 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 12 tribes of the children of Israel. Here's why. Because of the fact that when Israel had his 12 children, you know, the 12 patriarchs which became the 12 tribes, if you remember they went down into Egypt and there they became a great nation, right? Then 430 years after they went in, they came out of Egypt, the children of Israel, then wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, then they inherited the promised land. They were ruled by the judges by the space of about 400 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? 40 years. Okay? Then the next king was named David. He reigned for 40 years as well. Then the third king was named Solomon and Solomon reigned for 40 years as well. So the first three kings there reigned over the entire nation, all the 12 tribes, and they were Saul for 40 years, David for 40 years, and Solomon for 40 years, okay? But after Solomon died, his son Rehoboam became king and what happened? China 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 reunited 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 and 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 books of the prophets of the Old Testament, you'll 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 apostatized, 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 into 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, you know, just where a few people came down and joined that southern kingdom. But predominantly, the 10 tribes of the northern kingdom were a separate nation, separate from the southern kingdom of Judah. Well look now with that in mind, at 2 Kings 16, this is the first time Jews, that word Jews, is used in the Bible. Look at chapter 16 verse 1. In the 17th 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's the king of Judah, right? And it says this, 20 years old was Ahaz when he began to reign, and reigned 16 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 burned 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 5, here's the key. Then Rezin, king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to war, and they besieged Ahaz but could not overcome him. So in verse 5, 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. The capital of the southern kingdom of Judah was Jerusalem. 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 6. At that time, Rezin, king of Syria, recovered Elath to Syria and drove the Jews from Elath and the Syrians came to Elath and dwelled there unto this day. So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-Pileser, 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 6 again. At that time, the king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria and drove the Jews from Elath. So who is Syria fighting against in verse 6? He's 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 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 12 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 realize that the word Jew comes from the word Jew-da. 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'll notice it's talking about the southern kingdom who went into captivity into Babylon and came back from the Babylonian captivity. They are referred to as the Jews. Now look at 2 Kings chapter 17. In 2 Kings chapter 17, we see another word appear for the first time. So in 2 Kings 16, we saw the first time of the word Jews. Now let's look at 2 Kings 17 and we will see the first time the word Samaritan is used. Look at verse 28. "'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 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 2 Kings 17. Before this point, they were just known as the children of Israel, or the ten tribes of the northern kingdom of Israel. From 17 of 2 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 stay 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 1 Kings chapter 13. 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, 144,000 Jews! Chapter 7 of Revelation is all about those 144,000 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. Think of 1 Kings 13 verse 32, 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 city of Samaria, shall surly come to pass. So there we see the cities, plural, of Samaria in 1 Kings 13, 32. So Samaria is not just one city, is it? It's a region, because he says the cities of Samaria. Now go to 1 Kings 15 verse 33. Now what I want to show you in 1 Kings 15, 33, because remember we talked about there's the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. What was the capital city of the southern kingdom of Judah? Somebody help me out. Jerusalem. Okay, what was the capital city of the northern kingdom of Israel? Well, before it was Samaria, it was a place called Tirzah. Look at 1 Kings 15, 33. In the third year of king Asa, the king of Judah, began Baasha, the son of Ahijah, to reign over all Israel in Tirzah, 20 and 4 years. So in 1 Kings 15, 33, the king of Israel is reigning from a capital city called Tirzah. Go to chapter 16. In chapter 16, the Bible says in verse 29, and in the 30th and 8th 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, 20 and 2 years. So in chapter 15, they're reigning from Tirzah. In chapter 16, 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 7 days. He took over the nation. They didn't want him. He only reigned for 7 days, so Omri, the captain of his host, came to overthrow king Zimri after only 7 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. You know, 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 the palace at Tirzah to the ground. And when Zimri burns the palace at Tirzah to the ground, you know, he dies and Omri reigns and Omri takes over the nation, but the palace is burned to the ground. So Omri decides instead of rebuilding in the same place in Tirzah, he decides to start a brand new capital city and he's going to build a brand new house for himself and he buys a piece of land from a guy named Shimer. Now when he buys that piece of property from Shimer, he names it after Shimer, 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. Now, go to Revelation 14. So in the book of Esther, for example, the Bible says this in verse 17 of chapter 8, "'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 ten 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 Judea, 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's mentioned as being from one of those ten lost tribes. And that's the woman who prophesies about baby Jesus in Luke chapter number two. She is of the tribe of Asher 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'll 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 10 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." You know, he's looking at the Samaritans considering them different than the house of Israel because they're so intermingled with the heathen. Now notice Jesus draws a 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's 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, okay? Go back to Genesis and figure out what a Gentile is. It is not everyone who's 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 2013, many of those tribes simply do not exist. Fact. Look it up. I mean, 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 2013? Show me a Reubenite. Show me a Gadite. Show me these tribes. Now look, I would challenge you to even find, you know, a hundred people of the tribe of Reuben. But wait a minute, the 144,000 are 12,000 from each tribe. Are you getting my drift here? Are you seeing where I'm going with this? This is not just, oh, we found 144,000 Jews, prophecy fulfilled. No. I take the Bible literally here. Those who want to say that these are 144,000 Jews, they're not taking it literally because they're just roughly saying, yeah, 144,000 Jews, that'll work. No. It's not 144,000 Jews. It's 12,000 of Reuben. It's 12,000 of Gad. It's 12,000 of Isaacar. That is not something that exists today on this planet. Let alone the other criteria, because look at Revelation 14. And you'll see that this is even a tougher bill to fit. You're not even going to be able to find 12,000 of these tribes, but look at what else he says. In verse 1 of chapter 14 it says, And I looked, and lo, a lamb stood on the Mount Zion, and with them 144,000 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 144,000 which were redeemed from the earth. Watch verse 4. Try to find this in 2013, or at any time in the future, of tribes that virtually and really don't exist. These are they, verse 4, which are 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 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 144,000 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're only talking about men. And notice this, they're all virgins. So we're talking 12,000 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 tribes. Go down the list of them. And I'm telling you, these tribes are gone. And you know, 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 knows? 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 12,000 Reubenites. That tribe was 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 144,000 Jews, then who are they? I'm taking it literally. They are 144,000 people from those specific 12 tribes, just like the Bible says. Well you say, well how can that be if the tribes don't exist? I'll tell you how. Because these are Old Testament saints from the 12 tribes. You see, find me 144,000 Jews that are even saved. You talk to most of these messianic Jews and they're believing in a total works-based salvation. You know that's true. 144,000 of the 12 tribes of the children of Israel are Old Testament saints from those 12 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 144,000 are already in heaven right now. They're Old Testament saints who have passed on thousands of years ago. Now look, that makes it very easy to understand how God could find 12,000 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, you know, the 400 years they're in bondage, you know, the 400 years that they're under the judges, the hundreds and hundreds of years that they're ruled over by kings, don't you think in that span of over a thousand years you're going to find 12,000 very righteous male virgin godly men from each tribe that could fit this bill easily? Try to find it today. It's a joke. I mean, 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 actually have proof beyond that I just explained that these are Old Testament saints. Here's the proof. The chronology of the book of Revelation is clear. Chapter 6 records the events of the tribulation. Chapter 7 has the 144,000 being sealed. Then later in chapter 7, a great multitude appears in heaven of all nations and kindreds saying they've come out of great tribulation, they've washed their robes, and the Bible is very clear that they just got there, and I'm going to go over that in a moment. Then in chapter 8, 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 forever and ever. Okay, well, the chronology of Revelation starts over in chapter 12 with the birth of Christ. And then he goes through all the events again. Chapter 13 covers the tribulation very clearly. Chapter 14 covers the 144,000, then it covers the rapture, and then the wrath is poured out. So in the first half of the book of Revelation, it goes first century AD, then the tribulation, then the 144,000 are sealed, then the rapture takes place, then God's wrath is poured out, okay, and so on and so forth. And it's very consistent in the first half and second half of Revelation. So chapter 7 and chapter 14 are very closely related to one another. They both mentioned the 144,000, they both mentioned the rapture. They're both placed between the tribulation and God's wrath. Chapter 6 is tribulation, 7, and then you've got 8 is God's wrath. Okay, second half of Revelation, 12 and 13 is tribulation, 14 is the 144,000, the rapture, and then 15 and 16 is God's wrath. It's very consistent in both places, okay. So look at Revelation 14, and I want to get off the 144,000 because I want to finish the rest of chapter 7, but this is a really important subject so I want to spend a lot of time on it. So keeping in mind that chapter 13 describes the tribulation and chapters 15 and 16 deal with God pouring out His wrath, okay, let's look at the order here. What order did it come in chapter 7? Well first the 144,000 were sealed, then the rapture takes place later in chapter 7. Well look down at your Bible there in chapter 14, it says in verse 1, and I looked and lo a lamb stood on the Mount Zion and with them 144,000 having his father's name written in their foreheads. So are the 144,000 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's on Mount Zion and with them 144,000. Now where is Mount Zion and where is the lamb at this point in Revelation? Well, the Bible says in Hebrews 12, but ye are come unto the Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem. So in Hebrews chapter 12, he calls the Mount Zion the heavenly Jerusalem, okay? And of course if the lamb is there, we know that the lamb at this point in Revelation is in heaven, 144,000 are with him on Mount Zion, okay? So where are the 144,000 in chapter 14? They're in heaven. I'll prove that they're in heaven a couple other ways. Look at verse 2. And I heard a voice from heaven. Where's 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 3. 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's 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 4 and 5 of Revelation. So the 144,000 are clearly in heaven because look what it says in verse 3. It says, and no man halfway down could learn that song but the 144,000 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 144,000 are the ones singing. Where's 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 is that? Only Jerusalem. You see, it's very, very, very, very clear that in Revelation 14, the 144,000 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 15 and 16, they're already in heaven with the seal in their foreheads. Now look, I'm going to prove conclusively in the sermon on Revelation 16. If you have any doubt at all that the trumpets and vials take place concurrently or happening at the same time, just listen to the sermon on chapter 16. 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're on earth during the time that the wrath is poured out. Let me prove it to you. It says in chapter 14 verse 14, and I looked and behold a white cloud and upon the cloud once 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 14, but here in chapter 14 verse 14, we see Christ coming in the clouds to reap the harvest of the earth and then of course in chapter 15 that multitude appears in heaven, just like it appeared in chapter 7. After Jesus Christ gathers up the saved and the rapture takes place, Christ comes in the clouds here in chapter 14 verse 14. But which happens first? The 144,000 are already sealed in heaven before the rapture in chapter 14, right? They're sealed in verse 1, the rapture takes place in verse 14. Chapter 7, same order. They're sealed at the beginning of 7, the rapture takes place at the end of 7. So all that to say this, if the 144,000 are already in heaven before the rapture takes place, how do you get to heaven before the rapture takes place? By dying. I mean think about it. How in the world does a saved righteous person get to heaven before the rapture? Because they're already there before the rapture in chapter 7 and in chapter 14. How do you get there? By dying. Because these are saints who died in the Old Testament. That's how there could be 12,000 from Gad. That's how there could be 12,000 from Reuben. It's impossible looking at modern day. They came from the Old Testament. They're already in heaven in chapter 14 before the rapture and before the wrath is poured out, okay? So here's 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's 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 just going to leave this earth with no testimony, with no witness, with no one to preach and reach the lost? You know, 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. God's going to leave a gospel preaching witness on this earth during that time and it's going to be in two forms. Number one, the two witnesses will be on this earth preaching. But number two is going to be the 144,000 will be 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, you know, to be there during the wrath being poured out. But wait a minute, hold on a second. I believe that 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 144,000 are the same way? And wait a minute, are you forgetting the fact that just several years after the rapture we're 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 144,000 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 14? Look down at verse 6. Right after he finishes talking about the 144,000, he says in verse 6, 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 144,000 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 144,000? 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 11, all the nations are rejoicing, everybody's 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 144,000 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 who the power has been shut off because of all the things that are happening, 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 two witnesses or finding out about them. These 144,000 can be in local places and the Bible says that the gospel would be preached unto all tongues. So basically these 144,000 will speak in various tongues just as the Galileans that were all Galileans in Acts 2, remember they all speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them out of them. The 144,000 are going to be all over the world preaching the gospel to every creature in various languages. Basically some of them will be India and they'll be speaking those languages. Some will be in China speaking Chinese, some will be in Africa, some will be in the United States, some will be in South America. These 144,000 will be left on this earth to preach the truth unto those that are left behind. Those who have already taken the mark, they're reprobated. 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're 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 144,000 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 144,000. Okay, so I spent a ton of time on that. Let me just quickly wrap up Revelation 7 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 6 anyway. And so I really wanted to focus on the 144,000 in this message. But look if you would at chapter 7, after the 144,000 are sealed, and again we'll go a little more into the 144,000 in chapter 14, but I hope I made it understandable. Look at verse 9, after this, again denoting chronology, I beheld in low a great multitude which no man could number, of all nations and kindreds and people in 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 7, we saw 144,000 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 in 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 under 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 worshiped God, saying, Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be unto our God forever and ever. Amen. Now here's the key, verse 13. 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 144,000. After this I beheld in low a great multitude which no man could number. And then 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 14, 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 24, we're not going to turn there for sake of time, but what do we see in Matthew 24? Immediately after the tribulation of those days, sun and moon are darkened, right? And he says, then he, 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, okay, and so forth. Well in Revelation 6, what did we see? Sun and moon darkened. Only place in Revelation, sun and moon are darkened. So wouldn't it make sense that the next thing 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 6, and then in chapter 7, 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, sun and moon will be darkened. He'll gather the elect. Here, chapter 6, we see sun and moon darkened. Chapter 7, 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 24. And the wrath doesn't begin until the sun and moon are darkened. How can the tribulation be the wrath? And so what we see here is a great multitude appearing in heaven, listen to me now, after the tribulation of chapter 6, but before the wrath is poured out in chapter 8. Very clear, crystal clear. Let's finish out the chapter. This is more about that multitude. Verse 15, therefore are they before the throne of God. So when the people are raptured, where do they appear? In heaven, they're before the throne of God. They're caught up to heaven. They're going to remain there until chapter 19 when they return with Christ on a white horse years later after He's 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 anymore, neither shall the sunlight 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 8 verse 1, 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 24, Mark 13, Luke 21. 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 will also 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 can get rid of some preconceived ideas that they have. And bless us all. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen.