As we start looking at Revelation 10 this morning, we come to what I think is rather another key transition, really, in the whole book of Revelation. This transition, starting in Revelation 10 verse 1, is what many have come to call another interlude. I've seen this called other things as well, like a parenthesis or one of the fancy words is a intercalation. I had to look that one up. Basically, it's another word for interlude. I thought that was interesting. So somebody just came up with another fancy word. But this is another interlude. I kind of like that word that comes sort of in the action of the trumpet judgments. This seems like, I think, an appropriate description because of what we find taking place in chapter 10, verse one. all the way through chapter 11 through 13. So it's a much longer section than we have looked at before, but we'll read it here in just a moment. But just before, if you remember chapter 10 verse 1, we've already looked at in chapters 8 and 9, what? The trumpet judgments, right? We've looked at the first six trumpet judgments, and we spent a little time reviewing those trumpet judgments last week, and hopefully that just kind of brought back to mind some of the things that we've been learning because it has been a little while uh... but we don't actually come to the seventh and final trumpet judgment until chapter eleven verse fourteen so you can actually look at that with me where it says the second woe is past now what was the second woe It was the sixth trumpet judgment, right? And now it says, behold, the third woe cometh quickly, and what happens immediately in verse 15? And the seventh angel sounded. So there's a transition between the six trumpet judgments, the sixth trumpet judgment, and the seventh trumpet judgment, which is known as the third woe. And really, if you were to skip over chapter 10, verse one, through chapter 11, verse 13, the flow of all seven trumpet judgments would appear uninterrupted. Now obviously they're there for a purpose, these verses, but because we have them, they will help us, I think, understand more about what is going on both during and after the trumpet judgments. So that's something that we need to keep in mind. So we're gonna read together. these versus starting there in Chapter 10 verse one, knowing what we already know. All right, so we have the six trumpet judgments given to us already here. We have a parenthesis sort of an interlude, and then we have the seventh trumpet judgment coming up later on. But starting there in verse one, Revelation 10, we read these things. John says, And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud, and a rainbow was upon his head. And his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire. And he had in his hand a little book open. And he set his right foot upon the sea and his left foot on the earth, and cried with a loud voice as when a lion roars. And when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write. And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not. And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven and swear by him that liveth forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that therein are, and the earth and the things that therein are, and the sea and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer. But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go, and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel, which it standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. And I went unto the angel and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it and eat it up, and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. And I took the little book out of the angel's hand and ate it up, and it was in my mouth sweet as honey. And as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples and nations and tongues and kings. And then, chapter 11, there was given me a reed, like unto a rod. And the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court, which is without the temple, leave out, and measure it not. For it is given unto the Gentiles, and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth and devoureth their enemies. And if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy, and have power over waters to turn them to blood and to smite the earth with all plagues as often as they will. And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them and shall overcome them and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and a half and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. and they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another, because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. And after three days and a half, the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet, and great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies beheld them. And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell. And in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand, and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven. And of course, this then leads us to the transition back into the trumpet judgments. The second well was passed, verse 14, and behold, the third well cometh quickly, and the seventh angel sounded. Now obviously, in this interlude, in these chapters, really these verses, there's a lot of new material. And obviously, we're gonna go through it verse by verse and explore it and see what we can learn from this new material. But this interlude within the seven trumpet judgments, before we actually look at the details of it, I want to notice that there are some similarities to the interlude of the seven seals, which we looked at already back in chapter seven, because I think when we compare and contrast these two interludes, It'll help us understand more of the placement and the roles of these interludes in really the overall message of Revelation. So we've already read the interlude of the trumpets here in chapters 10 and 11. Now go back with me to chapter 7, because remember, this is the first interlude. So chapter 7 is the interlude of the seals. Chapters 10 and 11, most of chapter 11, is the interlude of the trumpets. And I want to refresh our memory of where we've been already, and hopefully we'll see some of these similarities come out even as we read them. So picking up there in chapter 7, verse 1, John again writes, remember, this is in the seal time, okay? 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. 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. And I heard the number of them which were sealed. And there were sealed 140,000 of all the tribes of the children of Israel. Of the tribe of Judah were sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Asher were sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Naphthalene were sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Manasseh were sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Zebulon were sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed 12,000. After this, I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues, stood before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes and palms in their hands, 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 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. And one of the elders answered, saying to me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? And whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation. Remember, there's the article before that, so we can even translate it, the great tribulation, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. 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. So we read these chapters together because there are some similarities between them. And I think as we explore those similarities, it will help us to understand the role and the placement of both of those interludes. And we're gonna come to another, what we can describe as a prelude, not an interlude, later on, but we'll get to that when we get there. But the first similarity between chapter seven and then chapters 10 and 11 is really the placement of these two interludes. Because as we described and really as we've noticed already, both interludes are placed between the 6th and the 7th of their series. And we saw that when we came to the seals, when we looked at them, and of course we just read the same thing happening here with the trumpets. So when we think about the seals, The interlude of chapter 7 is put right between the description of the 6th and 7th seals that are opened by the Lamb. And, you know, if you look at chapter 7, you notice this right away, because just before chapter 7 starts, We come to that sixth seal being open, and that is there in chapter 6, verse 12, and I beheld when he'd opened the sixth seal. And then we have to wait a little while, right? We have to wait a little while until chapter 7 is given to us when we come to chapter 8, verse 1, when he opened the seventh seal. So obviously this is an interlude. This is a parenthesis between those two seals. Well, the same thing holds true for the trumpets. This interlude, chapter 10, verse 1 through 11, verse 13, is placed between the description of the 6th and the 7th trumpets that are sounded by their angels. Now, this does not necessarily mean that the seals and the trumpets are describing the same period, just because there is a similarity in what we read about them, even though there are some who think they do. Now, we already looked at some of the ways people approach Revelation and really approach the seals and the trumpets and the bowls. Some see them in parallel so that really the all of the ones happen about the same time period, and all of the twos all the way down to all of the sevens. And so they would say that all of them are describing the same period, only from different perspectives. And of course, we've already looked at that view. I personally don't hold to this view. But there are some similarities between the seals and the bowls and the trumpets, and primarily the bowls and the trumpets. So really the placement of both of these interludes is more likely what you can describe as a literary parallel than one of events. So even though the seals and the trumpets and the bowls may seem similar in some ways, I mean you obviously have the series of seven, some would say that they're describing the same things, Yet, I think it's more of a literary parallel, or really you could call it a visionary parallel, because obviously this is what God is giving to John, and then John is recording it for us. But even though there may not be parallels between the first seal and the first trumpet and the first bowl and the second seal and the second trumpet and the second bowl and the third seal and the third bowl, or third trumpet and third bowl, and going on, there may still be overlap between these interludes. because of the similarities that we will look at as we go forward. Overlap between the interludes. There might be some other reasons why they appear where they do as well in this similar pattern, but we will see that going forward. So the first similarity between the seal interlude and the trumpet interlude is that they're placed between the sixth and the seventh of their series. A second similarity and likeness is that of their focus. the focus of these two interludes. Now, obviously, when you think about most of the seals and most of the trumpets, and most of, I would say really most of the seals, all of the trumpets, and all of the bowl judgments, they deal with a world of unbelievers. I say most of the seal judgments because we always have that seal number five, which deals with a prayer of the martyrs, right? How long, O Lord? But otherwise, it's describing what's going to happen to the world of unbelievers during the time in which we live, moving on into the very end of time in which the Lord Jesus will return. The focus of both interludes, I believe, is on the people of God. And we, I think, sense that even as we were reading through it. Greg Beal writes it this way. This interlude, really both interludes, explain the relationship between the godless and the godly during the same time. And I would agree with that, even though we may not have the same perspective on the seals and the trumpets and the bowls. Yet I do agree that these interludes, both in chapter seven and in chapters 10 and 11, explain the relationship between those who are the people of God and those who are just the dwellers on the earth, those who really have no true relationship with God. And in both interludes, it's interesting that there is a two-fold description of God's people at two different times. And that's another similarity that we'll look at. So first of all, let's focus our attention on the seal interlude of chapter 7. So if you're in chapter 10, go back to chapter 7. And you can glance at this with us as we go through it. Obviously, we've studied this together already. If you want to go back and see what we've said, all of these are online, either on our website or on sermon audio as well. But when we come to the seal interlude of chapter seven, the people of God are first described. In terms of one hundred and forty four thousand servants, you remember also there in verse four, of chapter seven. I heard the number of them which were sealed and the sealed were 144,000 of all the tribes of the Children of Israel. And one of the things that we noticed as we went through chapters verse 5 and 6 and 7 is that it goes on to describe a different Israel than one we find in the Old Testament. There are tribes here in these verses that you don't find in the Old Testament. So however way you take it, it is a different description of Israel. But they are found sealed by the Lord, and they are sealed clearly before the Great Tribulation. because obviously later on we'll find something after the Great Tribulation. So in time, this 144,000 are sealed by the Lord before the Great Tribulation. Now there are some who believe that this describes all believers in the church age. I personally believe that it describes those that will be sealed You know, just as the, perhaps, Great Tribulation is about to commence. But either way, these are sealed before this Great Tribulation that is described in these verses. But then, we find that the people of God are described a different way in verse 9. And what is that way? So we have 144,000 at the beginning of this chapter, and then what do we find? A great multitude, that's right. We find the people of God described as a great multitude which no man could number. And they are, note this there in verse nine, of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues. Now that's a beautiful description of really all of God's people in all of the church. Because no matter where you go in this world, there is the church. And certainly this is the case even at this time period as well. But the time is a little different. Remember, the 144,000 is describing people that are sealed before the Great Tribulation. Now, if you jump down to verse 14, John is told expressly that this great multitude that he sees are they which came out of the Great Tribulation. And of course, at this point in John's vision, it's way past the Great Tribulation, at least for these, because they are, verse 15, before the throne of God, and they serve Him day and night in His temple. Now, one of the things that you can look at when you look at chapter seven, the seal interlude, and then chapters 10 and 11, the trumpet interlude, is look for other parallels. We're only describing a few of them, all right? But this also is one of those similarities in that we have a description of the temple here in the first interlude, the seal interlude, but we also have a description of the temple in the trumpet interlude, and we'll get to that as we move along. So here we have the seal interlude that people of God described, first of all, in terms of 144,000 before the Great Tribulation. and then a great multitude which came out of the great tribulation. And though this interlude is placed after the sixth seal, it seems to describe what takes place before the sixth seal. Because obviously the sixth seal, if you remember, that's when the people of the world are quaking because they're afraid and concerned about the wrath of God that is about to come. And so that is why I would put the Great Tribulation that we find here in chapter seven between the fifth and the sixth seals. This is some ground that we've already covered, and I think this is a... the scroll that we looked at as well. Of course, the Great Tribulation includes the seven trumpet judgments. We considered that before. But the reason why I place it between the fifth seal and the sixth seal is because, if you go back to chapter six, verse 11, there are martyrs at the fifth seal. And you can see that with the people praying right there. That's the fifth seal. And remember what they're praying? They're praying, how long, Lord? So obviously, these are believers that have been martyred and they are awaiting God's consummation and really His vengeance on this world that actually committed these murders. But the Lord tells these martyrs in verse 11 that they are to rest yet for a little while, a little season, until when? Until their fellow servants also and their brethren that should be killed as they were should be fulfilled. And so when we come to chapter seven, when we come to this period of the Great Tribulation, the fulfillment of martyrdom is what will take place during the Great Tribulation. And so that's one of the reasons why I placed the Great Tribulation between the fifth and sixth seals, because the answer to their plea and their cry in the fifth seal is that there will be more martyrs coming, and then when they are fulfilled, that's when their rest is over. That's when they will experience the fulfillment of the Lord. And so the fulfillment of martyrdom is what takes place during this great tribulation. But obviously, there's more that takes place during the great tribulation, and that is the tribulation itself. And that is where we find the trumpet judgments as well. Just kind of keep this in mind. I think that we had this on one of our lesson guides many months ago, but hopefully this is something that is ringing some bells in your mind. But then let's go back to chapter 10 and 11. because that's the seal interlude. Now, when we come to the trumpet interlude, we also find that the people of God are described in two ways. So when we look at the seals, they're described first as the 144,000 before the Great Tribulation, and then after the Great Tribulation, a great multitude. Well, we have two people of God, if you will, mentioned in these verses as well. And so the first is the focus is on John himself. In fact, if you look at chapter 10, verse 11, we find his recommission. That's what a lot of people describe this part of chapter 10. The recommission of John, verse 11, he's told by this angel, thou must prophesy again before many peoples and nations and tongues and kings. So keep that word prophesy in mind, okay? That's another parallel, I think, that we'll see. Also, keep that phrase many peoples and nations and tongues and kings in mind as well. Now, obviously, when is this describing? What period of time is this describing? When the Lord is telling John, you need to prophesy. Obviously, John is living back in the end of the first century, right? So it's probably describing the past. It's probably describing the time in which he lived. This is a real recommissioning service, if you will, for John. And he said that you are to do more. And obviously we have more of revelation given to us, don't we? And we'll look a little bit more about what that might mean. So this clearly refers to the time in which John himself lived. However, I think it could also extend throughout church history through the people that John represents. So we would describe this as the ministry of the past. And it could even describe some of the ministry of the present. Because when we preach the word of God, whose word are we preaching besides God's word? We're preaching the word of the disciples, right? The apostles. This is the doctrine that has been passed on from generation to generation to generation to generation. And so obviously when we are preaching and teaching the book of Revelation, we're teaching and preaching what John himself gave. And so, in a very real sense, John represents the message that we have in Revelation as well as in his other writings. When we preach and teach what John wrote, we are continuing the ministry of John that God gave him even in these verses. And so that is one of the things that we saw in the book of Acts, where that the people of God, the church of God, would continue in the apostles' doctrine. And so that's one of the reasons why we're here on the Lord's Day, is that we continue in the Apostles' doctrine. That is, Matthew through Revelation, but also the foundation of that doctrine in the Old Testament as well. So, the people of God are in focus in this interlude as well. First of all, through John and the ones that he represents. But then, when we come to chapter 11, It's nice that the people that divided these into chapters did this nicely, right? So chapter 10 deals with John and his recommission and his prophecy. And now in chapter 11, we find another group. And the focus is on there in verse three, two witnesses. And we could even say the people that they represent. One of the things that we've noticed in the book of Revelation is that it is a representative book, okay? There are a lot of people that are mentioned in Revelation that represent others. And that's something that we need to keep in mind. When we went to the throne revision in chapter 4 and chapter 5, we saw that immediately surrounding the throne were four living ones. I think that King James translates them beasts, but the idea is that they are truly alive. And yet they appear differently. They seem like angels, but they appear differently in really objects or the creation of God. I think one looked like a lion, one like an eagle, one like a calf, one like a man. And in a very true sense, those represented what God created on the earth. It doesn't mean that all creation was there, but all creation was there represented by those four living ones. And then we went out from the throne, and we had 24 elders sitting on those thrones, right? And, you know, there are some who would say that those were actual men. Some would say that they are angels. But either way, they represent God's people here on Earth in a complete way. One of the reasons why they have the number 24 is because, you know, you add up the 12 tribes of the Old Testament, the 12 apostles of the New Testament, you add them up, you get the 24. And it represents the wholeness and the completeness of the people of God. And so whether they're men or angels, those 24 elders surrounding the throne represent us in our praise and worship to God and all of God's people, no matter when they live from the beginning to the very end. And so here we have in chapter 10 and 11, I think also not only John specifically and these two witnesses specifically, But we also have the very people that they are representing. John would represent those who continue to preach and present his doctrine, his word. And these two witnesses, clearly they're not the only believers in the world at this time. And so they too would also, in many ways, represent the function of God's people at this time of witnessing for the Lord Jesus Christ. So these are the two witnesses. So we have, in the seal interlude, 144,000 and a great multitude. Now we have, in the second interlude, the trumpet interlude, we have John and these two witnesses. And the ministries of these two witnesses, if you jump down to verse 6, are described as in the days of their what? Of their prophecy. And if you remember from John, in chapter 10, verse 11, he's told, prophesy. So what is the ministry of John? Prophecy. Proclaiming God's word to the people of this world. And now we have, again, the ministry of these two witnesses is to prophesy. about what God has given to them. We need to remember that prophecy can include in the Bible both foretelling, and obviously John is doing a lot of foretelling in the book of Revelation, but it also can include what we describe as foretelling. It's just simply preaching and proclaiming the truth that has already been foretold and already been given to us. It may be that God will give these two witnesses the foretelling ability. We're not told that here, but they certainly will be foretelling the gospel. They will be foretelling what God wants them to give. They will also be continuing on the ministry of John himself. But those days are also in mind because they're numbered in such a way that points to the very end of Christian witness and testimony. If you look at verse three, how long is their ministry to last? 1,260 days. And so whereas John's ministry can be described as the ministry of the past, which started with his ministry and maybe even goes on until our time and beyond, now we have the ministry of these two witnesses, which will continue on until God is done with them. And God is finally done with that witness in this world. And even though this interlude is placed after the sixth trumpet, okay, so again, we have another similarity here, it seems to describe what will take place sometime during the sixth trumpet judgments. So just because we have a literary interlude doesn't mean that this is what's going to take place between the sixth and the seventh trumpet. any more than the seal interlude is gonna actually take place between the sixth and the seventh seal. In fact, I think there's some reason for us to think that this interlude is taking place, what we would say is during the fifth and sixth supernatural judgments that we read about in chapter nine. Again, this is obviously something we'll come to know, whether we're in heaven or whether we're experiencing it here on earth, But one writer even describes this interlude as an enlargement of the 5th and 6th trumpet judgments. Remember, the 5th and 6th trumpet judgments deal with what God is doing to unbelievers, whereas this interlude, just like the seal interlude, is describing what is going to happen to the saints during the same time period. And so you can kind of look at this grid, if you will, and you would see that this particular interlude may describe even what's going on during the fifth and sixth supernatural judgments. So obviously there's more going on than meets the eye. as the people of God are being persecuted for their faith in the Lord Jesus and especially these two witnesses and they represent. Yet the world is undergoing the unbelievers in this world are undergoing intense judgment of God, and yet they will still not turn to him. And obviously what happens to these these two witnesses? It seems like. At least from the world's perspective, is intimately related to their judgments. Because what happens? Once these two witnesses die, it says in verse 10 that the people that dwell on the earth, they're gonna rejoice over them, make merry, send gifts to one another. Because at that point, it seems like all of their torment is over, right? So we could probably say this is an enlargement of even the fifth and sixth trumpet judgments. That's kind of where I'm, from where I'm coming in this particular, seen or in this setting here in chapters 10 and 11. Obviously, there are people that disagree. They would say that all of this is going on right now. But even though the seals and the trumpets themselves do not appear to describe the same events in a parallel way, there does seem to be some overlap between these interludes. And you can see it right here on this grid. You can see that the seal interlude, where the 144,000 are then going to become or are the great multitude, Within that same time period, we're going to have the two witnesses that are presenting the word of God. And so this would actually give us the third similarity between the seals and the trumpets, or the seal interlude and the trumpet interlude, and that is their overlap, their overlap. Make sure I'm there now. They both describe something about the people of God during the time of the Great Tribulation. Obviously, that's what this grid shows. That's what the scroll shows. They're all taking place during the time of Great Tribulation. And of course, what is this Great Tribulation? The Great Tribulation has both an effect on unbelievers and believers. For unbelievers, during the Great Tribulation, they will experience the judgment and the ultimate wrath of God. But what's going to happen to believers during this same time? Many believers will go through persecution by the world and by the devil and his representatives. And we'll get to that in chapters 13 and on, or chapters 12 and on, when we meet the dragon and we meet the beasts and we meet the image of the beast, if you will. And so obviously during the great tribulation, not only is there judgment on unbelievers, but there's going to be great persecution on true believers. And that's when the fulfillment of that fifth seal will be actually fulfilled. when all of God's martyrs will come to the number. So, if you think about it in this way, if you look at the overlap of these two interludes, the ministry of the 144,000 in chapter 7 is likely meant to be an extension of John's ministry in chapter 10. So obviously, remember, John, that's the ministry that started in the first century and continues on. So when we get to this 144,000, whoever they are, what gospel will they be preaching and presenting? The same gospel that John was preaching, the same gospel that Paul was preaching, the same gospel that Jesus was preaching and then gave to his disciples. So in a very real sense, there's an overlap between the ministry of John going all throughout the church And then at the very outset, the very beginning of this great tribulation, we have 144,000 preaching the same ministry, preaching the same word. But then what happens? Well, obviously, sometime during this same period, the ministry of the two witnesses in chapter 11 is then likely to be related to the great multitude of chapter 7. So we see a connection here. How is there going to be a great multitude of every tribe, tongue, people, and nation who are going to be in the presence of God, worshiping God? It's because they're saved through the ministry of the gospel. And obviously the ministry of the gospel will not only be from John, or from the 144,000, but also from these two witnesses as well. And so you can just kind of see the train of witnesses that is going on from the past, into the present, all the way into the future, until the very end. In fact, there is something that we find in all three chapters that shows to us the worldwide impact of the Great Tribulation. We mentioned this already to kind of keep in mind some of the words that are similar. But if you go back to chapter 7, verse 9, We mentioned already that the saved multitude, that great multitude of the saved are from, verse nine, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues. So keep that in mind. That is the ultimate result. There is going to be a vast multitude of believers from all nations, kindreds, people, and tongues. Now if you look at chapter 10, verse 11, when John receives his recommission, who is his ministry? Not so much to, but who is his ministry about? Verse 11. Many peoples and nations and tongues and kings. Now, obviously, we have people that is similar to chapter 7. We have nations that is repeated from chapter 7. we have tongues which is also repeated from chapter seven but this time we have instead of the uh... we're missing kindreds right or tribes uh... but this time we have kings and even though there's a little bit of a change obviously it shows that john is going to prophesy about kings he does that in the rest of revelation he prophesies about the kings of the earth in fact we don't really find much about the kings of the earth until after this is given to us But now go to chapter 11, verse 9, because obviously we have believers from all nations, kindreds, and people, and tongues. But in chapter 11, verse 9, we have unbelievers who rejoice over the death of the two witnesses. And where are they from? From the people, and kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And those are actually all repeated Not in the same order, but they are certainly the same words that we find in Chapter 7, and obviously three of them are referred to in Chapter 10. So we have parallels, again, and these parallels are not really accidental. I think they're meant for us to be able to look at Chapter 7 and look at Chapters 10 and 11 to see these similarities, to see these parallels, and to really see them as occurring during the same time period. and describing what's going to happen to God's people even during the same time when the godless people are being affected by these judgments. But one of the questions that I had as I was going through that, then what's the point? What's the point of two interludes that pretty much cover the same ground? And obviously it doesn't cover exactly the same ground. Where, you know, from our perspective or from my perspective, the 144,000, the great multitude of chapter seven are all during the great tribulation. Whereas John's ministry is before that, right? And the two witnesses is still during the tribulation. So there's an extension that keeps going back and that'll actually go back further in chapter 12. You'll see that here in just a moment. There does also seem to be some similar but distinct themes that are brought out between these two interludes. Some similar but distinct themes. So if you come back to chapter 7, When we read through that, when we looked at that chapter, the main themes about the 144,000 and that great multitude are what we can say the security and the success of the members of the Christian community during the greatest time of tribulation that the world will ever see. The themes of the seal interlude are the security and the success of the members of the Christian community during the greatest period of tribulation. So think about the 144,000. There's a reason why that number is given. We saw that numbers in Revelation have some powerful significance. There might be some literal signification, but also there's some symbolic signification, and when we think about that number, the idea is that there is a complete number It's not just 12 plus 12, it's 12 times 12 times 1,000. 144,000. And the point of this and the sealing of those 144,000 is security. No matter what they go through, even if they are part of the number of the martyrs, they don't need to fear what man will do to them. Because to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. And so I think one of the main reasons why the 144,000 servants that are sealed by God is mentioned is to show us that during this time, God's people will be secure. They don't have to worry. They don't have to be afraid. But on the other side, we see the success that is found in the great multitude. So again, we have a great multitude which no man could number. And so even though from our perspective, 144,000 might seem like a very small number, yet a great multitude which no man can number, they are the ones who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. It means that they've been saved by the blood of Christ. In chapter seven, verse 14, we see the success of the gospel even during this time. even though there's gonna be great persecution and great oppression and great judgment even, not on believers, but on unbelievers, yet God will provide success so that many will come to know the Lord Jesus as their Savior through the witnesses of his people, whether it's the 144,000 or even through these two witnesses that we see there in chapter 11. So again, it's dealing with the members of the Christian community and their security and their success. So what about the trumpet interlude? Well, in the trumpet interlude of chapters 10 and 11, I think the themes would be the service and the suffering in the ministry of God's people around the same time. The service and the suffering in the ministry of God's people around the same time. So really, what should God's people be doing during the time of the Great Tribulation? serving, and witnessing, and telling people about the Lord. In fact, this service is found in the prophetic ministry of John. John, you are to prophesy again. And that prophecy will continue on through what you write for generation after generation after generation, even until our time today, and even going forward. The message of the word is ongoing. And so the service of God's people will continue. And yet, that service will still bring about suffering. And that suffering is found in the prophetic ministries of those two witnesses. If you look at chapter 11, verse 7 again, what's gonna happen to these two witnesses? They'll be overcome and killed by this beast. And by the way, this is the very first mention of the beast that we'll learn more about going forward. But this beast, when they shall have finished their testimony. So even while God's people during this time period will be serving him and suffering for him, remember chapter seven, there's still security and success for their ministry. Isn't that a wonderful thing? When you see the overlap of the themes between these two interludes. Yes, as you serve, you will suffer, and yet you are still secure and you will experience some success. Maybe not in a huge numerical way, But we do know that there is a great multitude from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. Robert Thomas writes this, says this interlude, this, really, you can describe both interludes, is meant to console believers, comfort believers, encourage believers by reiterating God's role as sovereign over earthly affairs, who will not only judge the wicked, but also will exalt the suffering faithful in due time. And so as we keep these similarities in mind, we're then going to start next week looking at the trumpet interlude in more detail. So keep these similarities in mind, because it all begins there in chapter 10, which is focused primarily on the ministry of John, his service and his witness for the Lord in this world. But if you think about it, John has just witnessed so much destruction and distress in the previous six trumpet judgments. I mean, he has not only heard about it, he's seen in a vision things that are gonna happen to this world and to the people in this world that are unimaginable. Probably kind of discouraging, probably kind of distressing. But now when we come to chapter 10, I think the Lord wants him to experience something different. from all the negative, and I think chapters eight and nine were filled with negativity, yet here's something positive. I'm gonna reassure you, John, that I've called you, and I'm gonna call you again. I'm gonna reassure my people that I have called them, and I will call them again, because he will be with his people through all of what we find here. Most interpreters of Revelation describe chapter 10 as this recommission of John, to encourage and equip him, obviously, but it also is to add to the serious nature, really, of this message. All of Revelation is serious. And it really is a disservice to the church for us not to read it, not to study it, not to learn from it, not to even apply it to our lives, because it is a serious message. And so we need to be recommissioned in some way. Because what John is really displaying to us is the results of what will happen for those who will not accept the gospel and those who do accept the gospel. When we start off next time, we will look at some of the Old Testament background. to this recommissioning there in chapter 10, but then we will start digging a little bit deeper. But as we do, keep these similarities in mind, and especially the similarity of themes. Because as we serve and suffer for the Lord, we can still experience his security and even success in sharing the gospel. And that's gonna happen ongoing until the Lord returns. And that's the trumpet intro.