****Please read the scripture from the Bible first as this is God's Word****

The dream of philosophers and idealists throughout the centuries has been to create the perfect society. Plato called it Utopia. Whether through a "War to end all wars" or a "Great Society", or even a "Third Reich", all efforts have failed miserably. The perfect society will only be found in the presence and favor of the perfect Creator. It is the only place of blessing.

Up to this chapter we have seen the first 6 seals opened up. Chapter 7 is a chapter that leads up to the opening of the 7th seal in Chapter 8.

In verse 1 - 3 we see the blessedness of God's mercy. The idea of the angel's holding back the winds from "hurting the Earth" is God holding back his judgment. There will be great destruction upon the earth, however, we are blessed to have a longsuffering and merciful God. Foolish men want immediate judgment and wise men beg for forgiveness and mercy. We should be so thankful for the mercy He has bestowed upon us and learn to be patient as well. We can learn a lot by example from God.

In verse 4 - 8 we see the blessedness of God's call and blessedness of God's preserving power. We see that 144,000 or 12,000 of each of the 12 tribes of Israel will be protected. God selects these individuals and seals or protects them from the great tribulation. We also see in verse 9 that many others of all different ethniticities are also saved during the great tribulation. In verse 13 - 15 an elder that asks John who these people are, and John responds basically saying " you tell me". The elder says they were people which came out of the great tribulation and are here in Heaven and will worship the King forever and ever.

In Verse 10 - 12 we see the blessedness of God's Kingdom. We see the angels bowing down before the throne of God giving thanks and praise. When we go to be with our Father in Heaven we will be praising and glorifying God. Some may think, that sounds "boring", but it will be anything but boring. We see through God's creation the Universe, the planets, the stars, the moons, the galaxies, the earth, the wildlife, the trees, the flowers, the insects, the clouds, the land, the people, in which God created which is absolutely not boring. God is the only one who can paint a perfect sunset, or a perfect sunrise, God created music and weather. We are talking about God who is anything but boring. We will spend eternity learning about God and his creation, giving Him thanks and praise. I can't wait for that day!

We see the blessedness of His grace and mercy in verse 13 - 14. Those that were brought out of the great tribulation were granted mercy. We are given a lot of time, more than we deserve, to give our lives to our God. Time on earth won't last forever, so we ought to take advantage of the time and mercy God has granted us.

We see the blessedness of His presence and promises in verse 15 - 17. We see in verse 15 that God will dwell among us. Imagine that, God will dwell among us in fellowship, that concept is awesome! In His presence we see a place of purpose, we will spend eternity with our Master in Heaven praising, and glorifying him forever. There will be no fatigue, we will serve him day and night. It is a place of provision, we see there will be no hunger nor thirst. The idea of the sun light and heat not being upon us is the idea of God's protection from harm. We will have guidance in his presence, He is our shepherd and will guide us to living fountains of waters. There will be joy, and happiness. We won't have any more tears nor fears. These are all promises that God will keep.

Are you aware of the mercies God has granted you. God knocks at our door, but we are too busy, or have the music to loud, or the TV is on, or we are on the phone with our family or friends and we don't hear the knock. When our lives are filled with worldly "junk" we don't hear when the Holy Spirit tries to talk to us. We need to tone down our selfish lives and let the grace of God into our lives. John 9:30 says "He must increase, but I must decrease". The great tribulation is not something you nor your children, or grand children to endure. We must step up and remove the junk from our lives and kids lives and give our lives to our Lord and Savior Jesus. With Jesus we will never fear death, because we have eternal life after death with God, in which we will have the opportunity to dwell with Him in the kingdom of heaven.

posted by Ben at 3:55 PM