I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, come! I looked, and there before me was a white horse. It's right or held a ball, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest. When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, come! Then another horse came out of fiery red one. It's right or was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword. When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, come! I looked, and there before me was a black horse. It's right or was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures saying, a court of weak for a day's wages, and three courts of barley for a day's wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine. When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, come! I looked, and there before me was a pale horse. It's right or was named death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth. When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, long, sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and jow her blood. Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed. So reads the words of the living God, our Father in heaven, we pray that you would send your Holy Spirit to be at work in our midst, to be teaching us. We believe in your providence that you have brought us now to this point, and so we ask that you would say to us what you know we need to hear, help us to be faithful to the text, and to understand something of your purposes. For us, for this world, and our responsibility with the gospel, in the name of Jesus, I ask these things, for His glory, and for the benefit of His people. Amen. Can we have a little more light back? Is there still another light on you? I'd appreciate it. Thank you. One of the reasons we tend to struggle so greatly with a book like The Revelation is that our attempts at interpreting it have often been driven by the wrong question. Knowing as we do, that the Revelation inevitably pushes us to the outer rim of human history, we tend to read each of its chapters with one primary concern in mind. When will these events take place? The fact of the matter is my friends, it is the question that evangelicals like us have been conditioned to ask of the Revelation. So these events will occur when, unfortunately, it is that very question that almost certainly dooms our efforts to failure. Not because the question is inherently a bad one, rather because the question is inherently the wrong one. It's not the question that the Revelation seeks to answer. Come to think of it, friends, for all of its discussions regarding the future, I don't think that the Scriptures are anywhere concerned to provide us with specific details as to the issue of when. Have you ever noticed this by chance in the teachings of Jesus himself? When his disciples begin to question him about the future, his answers are notoriously nebulous with regard to precise timing. Not however because he wants to be coy or worse yet because he's impertinent in some way, rather because he wants the preoccupations of his disciples to be turned toward what he regards to be the far more important question. Namely, why? To my knowledge other than his own resurrection from the dead, never once did Jesus articulate a specific date on which a future event would occur. Though arguably such a thing was within the realm of possibility for him, rather when speaking about the future, the repeated emphasis of Jesus was to set forth its very practical implications for the present. That was his concern. That was his burden for us. Do you remember the illustration of this that occurred just prior to his crucifixion? You can find it in Matthew chapter 24 and Mark chapter 13 and Luke chapter 21. Having left the temple in Jerusalem, Jesus spoke to his disciples about a coming day of judgment when that glorious edifice would be obliterated. The subsequent question of his disciples, it says we would expect. Tell us, Lord, when will this happen? And what will be the sign of your coming in the end of the age? Their presupposition you see was that these two events would occur simultaneously. Have you ever read Jesus's answer? There can be no doubt that a greatly frustrated their appetite for a well-defined calendar of events. To be sure he spoke about terrifying trends, but by his own admission, my friends, those trends were not to be regarded precisely as signs of the end, merely symptoms of this fallen world status quo. Interestingly enough, the symptoms very similar to the events that accompany the slitting of these first four seals. Jesus gave them veiled clues to recognize the coming of the destruction of the temple, of visitation of judgment that occurred in AD 70, and he provided them with some sketchy information with regard to his personal coming at the end of the age. And yet, my friends, it was with reference to this specific coming, that specific event, the when question initially posed by the disciples that Jesus said this, of that day and hour, no one knows. Not even the angels of heaven, nor the sun, but the father alone. Now friends, do you hear in that, as you should, the subtle implication of rebuke? He's not unkind, but his point is well taken. Like us, their preoccupations were all together riveted upon the question of when. But that implies Jesus is an inappropriate attempt to probe secrets that to them are off limits. You say, well, art, why bother then to even speak about the future, if not to detail the when of it all? And this, my friends, you see, is at the very heart of our great dilemma, is we approach a book like the revelation. We have been so conditioned to think in terms of timing that we don't know how to think about the what the Bible says concerning the future, if we admit, if we acknowledge that its primary burden is not date setting and calendar marking. I mean, we're in a complete loss, we don't know what to do with it. And so I ask you, my friends, why does Jesus speak about the future, if in fact his burden is something other than providing us with material for an eschatological chart? And the answer is, Jesus speaks about the future because of the profoundly practical bearing it has upon our lives in the present. In the same discussion to which I have already referred, Jesus speaks to his disciples about the events to come because doing so will serve three relevant purposes, very practical purposes, you can read of them yourselves. First of all, it will urge them on to perseverance. Jesus says he who stands firm to the end will be saved. Secondly, he says what he says because it will arouse them to spiritual readiness. So you must also be ready because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. And thirdly, and this is what I want us to give consideration to this morning, it will embolden their efforts at making known the gospel. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. In other words, the end will be preceded by a successful universal proclamation of the gospel.
Now my friends, I grant you, admittedly, Jesus does not say to his disciples, now guys, listen to what I'm going to do. I'm going to tip you off, I'm going to take exactly what I'm doing. I'm going to take your when question, and I'm going to turn it into the far more important, why question? He's not that pedantic, but then again, friends, he doesn't have to be, the substance of his words makes his agenda very clear. In other words, what he's saying is, you think that the pressing need for your life is to know the answer to this question. When will these events take place in the future, wrong question? The fact is the real need in your life is for the answer to another question. Why must I know that these events in the future will take place? And the answer, as he says at least in part, is because of the profoundly practical benefits this will have upon your life as a witness for me. He turns a preoccupation with when into an explanation of why, and his reason for doing so because of the implications of the future upon our witness in the present. In other words, given God's design for what's to come, the promise of successful proclamation of the gospel throughout the world, we better get serious right now about this task of testifying to Jesus Christ. He turns a when into a why because of present implications for witness. When you see my friends, Jesus employs this very same methodology once again on an occasion subsequent to his resurrection. Do you remember it from Acts 1? The question of when was once again on the minds of his disciples? They asked him, Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel? It was the when question all over again. So how does Jesus respond? Firstly, like before, he chasens their date setting curiosity. It is not for you to know the times or dates the father has set by his own authority. That would immediately take care of about three quarters of the books that are written today on the subject of the future. It is not for you to know the times or dates the father has set by his own authority. In other words, you guys are still trying to pry a date from the father's secret purpose. And then secondly, like before, he directs their attention away from the when to the why. Listen, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. And you will be by witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. Now, my friends, please now track, please follow along with the flow of the logic and the thinking of Jesus. It was certainly true that by virtue of his death, burial, resurrection and impending enthronement, that the kingdom he promised would be inaugurated. But for the present moment, you see, he knows that it will serve no practical benefit for him to answer their question. So when will this glorious kingdom in all of its consummated form be established? Rather, he says, the question you ought to be asking is why did that coming kingdom need to be inaugurated by means of my death, burial and resurrection? His forthcoming answer, that he might furnish them with the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit so that they might accomplish their purpose as witnesses for him. You see the pattern my friends emerge once again? Jesus Christ, I appeal to you, has no time for those who regard the subject of the future as mere fantasy for their fanciable speculations. His talk of the future is intentionally calculated to accomplish his purposes for the present. For this reason, then, in the context of conversations concerning the timing of the future, Jesus turns the question of when into a question of why. And he does so because of the present implications that are consequent upon the future. Implications that are clearly associated with the task of witness, of evangelism, of making known the gospel. Well, my friends, this same pattern now manifests itself here again in Revelation 6 as we observe the scene that accompanies the slitting of the 5th seal. But what have we seen thus far? As a consequence of his victory via death, the triumphant Lamb, Jesus Christ, has earned the right to take the 7th sealed scroll out of the strong hand of God, this scroll of destiny that contains God's ultimate purposes for final salvation and judgment with regard to the entire created realm. And so upon receiving it, this enthroned Lamb begins the drama of opening the scroll. But I would remind you, the events associated with the slitting of the scrolls, horrific as they are, do not yet reflect the contents of the scroll, the scroll which cannot be opened and its contents seen until all 7 seals have been slit. These events here are but the accompaniments to the slitting of the seal, giving us a preliminary taste of the infinitely greater severity that is still contained inside. It's bad now, it's going to get a whole lot worse. With the slitting of each of the first four seals, we are made to see specifically ordained expressions of the Lamb's wrath. Forces of woe and calamity that he has already sent out upon the earth as expressions of his pre-judgment justice, precursors of the final judgment yet to come. Between the first and second comings of Jesus Christ, the four horsemen of the apocalypse ride upon the earth and in so doing my friends remind us that eschatology, the last things has already been set in motion. Not only in terms of salvation for which we as Christians give him praise, we have the first fruits of the new age, the indwelling spirit. But eschatology has been set in motion with regard to judgment as well. But do you remember what we discovered about these judgments last Lord's day? It's the same observation we will make in relationship to the trumpet judgments that begin in chapter 8. That is these sealed judgments, albeit real and devastating, are not exhaustive. They are not comprehensive, they are not universal, they are measured, they are restrained, they are partial. Remember verse 6, a quarter of a week for a day's wages, three courts of barley for a day's wages, and do not damage the oil in the wine. Now it's famine alright, an economic catastrophe, but it's not total. The calamity is not yet universal, times are hard, but still not quite impossible. In verse 8 the horsemen of death is called upon to bring about his specific form of judgment. And yet do you remember clear limitations are established, only a fourth of the earth is to be affected by this judicial death. My point is there is restraint as yet, there are limitations that have been set. The judgment is only partial, might we even say, incomplete, not thorough? And that raises the question that is now posed in the slitting of this fifth seal. A question concerning the very integrity of God himself. How do we understand these three verses by seeing them divided under three headings? Verse 9, the unveiled vision of gospel martyrs, verse 10, their passionate cry for righteous justice, verse 11, the heavenly response of predetermined purpose. Now look for a moment, at the unveiled vision of gospel martyrs, verse 9. When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. Now friends, just to begin with do you notice the differences associated with the slitting of this seal? No longer is mentioned made of the great angelic creatures, there was no subsequent command to come forth, no apocalyptic horsemen. The only similarity here with the prior seals is that the lamb is still the one seen to be opening it. In fact, properly speaking, the location of the activity in this vision changes. That is to say the sphere of its attention moves from earth to heaven. And here, as is often the case in the Old Testament, heaven is seen as a temple. Now in the prior chapter, do you remember chapters 4 and 5? Heaven had just been seen as a throne room. Remember? But as apocalyptic is prone to do, images are frequently mixed and mingle to serve different purposes. Here then heaven is seen as a temple, and we know that because our attention is drawn specifically to the presence of an altar, a sacrificial altar. And what is it that John specifically sees in this unveiled vision? Something in proximity to this sacrificial altar. I saw, under the altar, the souls of those who had been slain. Now my friends, we are not to extrapolate from this what life is presently like in heaven for the Christians who were there. That their material spirits are presently confined to a space underneath the altar. Don't seek to derive an answer to a question John himself is not even beginning to address. It is not his burden here to describe the nature of the intermediate state. Rather, the question you need to be asking is what is this imagery intending to convey? And the answer is it draws upon imagery taken from the sacrificial context of the Old Testament. Read Leviticus chapter 4, when a sacrificial victim was slaughtered and placed upon the altar, the blood of that victim was poured out at the base of that altar. And how did the Old Testament regard the blood of a sacrificial victim? That it's blood was regarded as it's very life. Leviticus chapter 17 says, the life nephash in the Hebrew, the soul of a creature is in the blood, that life was contained in that blood. And so my friends when John is given to see these Christian martyrs under the altar, it was not only a way of saying that they had poured out their lives in death, but that their deaths on earth were regarded by God as a sacrificial offering on the altar of heaven. It's a beautiful thing, how God regards this, the death of his saints, the martyrdom of his people. Not a sacrifice that takes away sin, of course, this isn't a vicarious sacrifice, a redemptive sacrifice, a saving sacrifice, but it is a sacrifice nonetheless. The sacrifice that in fact follows that emulates, that even shares in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. In fact, it's the very word used to speak of the sacrifice of Jesus back in chapter 5 verse 9 when the angels say, you are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals because you were slain. That's the same word John now uses to speak of those who followed Jesus in sacrifice. And of course, this makes perfect sense because as we've already seen earlier in the revelation, Christians are to overcome in the same way that Jesus has overcome. How did Jesus overcome? Remember paradoxically, his victory was accomplished by way of death, the lion who conquered by becoming a lamb. And so here now, John sees these Christians who like Jesus have been martyred whose outpored lives have been regarded by God as a sacrificial offering. But all of that begs the obvious question, friends, why had they suffered such violence? John tells us because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. The idea in the original because of their commitment to a word that had its origin in God and that was testified to and brought to us by Jesus Christ. Right here, my friends, this is a phrase that John uses throughout the revelation we've already seen it. We saw it back in chapter 1. It is a phrase that John uses throughout this apocalypse as his label for the gospel. The good news that Jesus is Lord and that eternal life is found in him and no other. The word of God and the testimony. Well, you see, beloved, then God takes note of these gospel martyrs, Christians whose willingness to take up the cross in allegiance to Jesus Christ had become more than just a profession of faith. We read about believers like this before. Do you remember when we studied the seven churches? To the church at Smurna, Jesus says, do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you the devil will put some of you in prison to test you and you will suffer persecution for 10 days. Be faithful even to the point of death and I will give you the crown of life. And then he says to the church in Pergamum, I know where you live, where Satan has his throne, yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me even in the days of Antibus, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city where Satan lives. Here in the slitting of this fifth seal, John has given an unveiled vision into heaven where he sees these martyr people. Christians who would not flinch, Christians who would not budge, Christians so profoundly devoted to the gospel of Jesus Christ that they would not renounce him even when such allegiance came to demand from them the greatest. Sacrifice. Christians who appropriately are steadily referred to into revelation as the overcomers. Those who have emulated Jesus Christ himself, whose triumph has come in dying like a slaughtered lamb and yet regarded by God as a holy sacrifice. Do you realize my friends that even now at this very moment in some parts of our very world, Christians are being slaughtered for their allegiance to Jesus Christ. Do you have any idea that that is going on at this very hour? Let me give you just a bit of church history. Do you realize that there have been more Christian martyrs in the last 150 years than all of the 18 centuries prior in the history of the church? I'll tell you that's part of the reason why we have difficulty with the revelation. Our context is so profoundly different. Christians living in Iran would understand this better than we. And so while John here sees Christians who have been slaughtered under Roman emperors like Nero and perhaps Demision, don't forget beloved that these are the kinds of Christians that were killed in Kaduna, people who loved Jesus Christ and who regarded the gospel as more valuable than... Well, you see, these are the kinds of people that John observes here. And yet you'll note now that in applying out of this drama, it becomes clear that they are powerfully grieved by an unsettled concern. And so let's look now, secondly, at their passionate cry for righteous justice, verse 10, they called out in a loud voice, in our English translations, this gets domesticated.
The idea is they cried out. It can mean to shout, to scream. At times like here, it's a word used to emphasize both the passionate and unpleasant nature of the sound of their voices. It is an outcry in a loud voice, how long sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and of entire blood, you've got to appreciate the passion that's here. Well, you see my friends in many ways, this is the verse that proves to be the interpretive key for the entire chapter. In other words, if the first four seals reveal to us something of God's present judgment, albeit restrained, and the sixth seal reveals to us something of God's future judgment altogether without restrained, then it is this fifth seal that provides us something of the reason for both these present and future judgments. Now to understand this, I want us to answer three questions. Who, what, and why? Firstly, who are these inhabitants of the earth? How long sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth? Who are these guys? Well, that's another one of the phrases that John uses repeatedly throughout this book. It is a technical term for John. That does not refer beloved to humanity in general, but to people who are at home in this present world order over against Christians who are well on this earth, citizens of heaven. Elsewhere in the revelation these inhabitants of the earth are given another semi-technical title, they're referred to as the worshipers of the beast. It's a name for people who are not Christians. You may not remember friends, but when we started this business in Revelation early on, I told you that one of the distinguishing features of apocalyptic literature is there is no gray where the loyalties of people are being evaluated. In apocalyptic literature, all fuzziness goes. Political correctness, inclusivity, thrown out the window. The lordship of pluralism that governs our postmodern culture is altogether forsaken. Why? Because the subject matter contained in apocalyptic literature is so important. You see in the book of Revelation, we're dealing in the most graphic way with the monumental polarities of life or death, adherence to the lamb or to the beast, citizenship in heaven or the New Jerusalem, eternity in the lake of fire or in the new heaven and the new earth. And right now you see every one of us here this morning is attached to one of these realms and one of these destinies. There is no neutral ground. These inhabitants of the earth, those who are not Christians, John gives to them this name because earth is their home and earth is the only home they want. In chapter 11, John writes that the inhabitants of the earth are those who rejoice over the death of the two witnesses speaking of the testimonial gospel ministry of the church. In chapter 13, as I've already said, they are called the worshippers of the beast. In chapter 17, they are drunk on the wine of immorality with the great hearted. In chapter 17, their names are not written in the Lamb's book of life. They're not neutral for the simple reason, beloved. There is no neutral. And right here you see they are recognized as the avowed opponents of God who expressed that in the slaughter of his people. And thus marked out as targets for God's final and unrestrained judgment. The only issue here is that of timing. When, here's my second question. What are these Christian martyrs asking God to do? What are these Christian martyrs asking God to do to these inhabitants of the earth? You said, well, you've already mentioned it, aren't you? You've already said they're asking for judgment, for retribution, for eternal repayment, punishment. And yes, that is true, but friends, you need to appreciate something more of the judicial overtones that are at work here. Step into the mind of someone who lives in the ancient Hebrew world and think of a law court. In the ancient Hebrew world, a plaintiff, that is the one bringing a complaint against somebody else, would normally plead his own case before the judge, who in turn would decide whether the plaintiff was in the right or in the wrong. What's more, failure on the part of the judge to vindicate the plaintiff was tantamount to a decision in favor of the one accused, a de facto approval of the defendant. That's the mindset. That's their experience. Well, beloved, these Christian martyrs, you see, have been condemned to death in a human court of law. And that decision stands against them unless reversed by a higher court. But here's the point. The heavenly judge cannot declare them to be in the right without at the same time declaring their persecutors to be in the wrong and thus to execute sentence upon them. But as yet, it is quite obvious that God has not done that. Yes, the Lamb has released these anticipatory judgments, the first four seals, but they are restrained after all. Not only are they not comprehensive of all of God's enemies, they're not said to be eternal or final or ultimate. And so with each passing day it seems to the gospel martyrs that they've been left dangling without vindication. And so they're cry for justice. How long sovereign, Lord, holy and true until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood. My friends, does that phrase conjure up an image in your mind? It's the corporate counterpart of Genesis chapter four when God said decaying your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground, but there is still more here at stake than a plea for their own vindication. Which prompts me then to ask the third question, why did these Christian martyrs ask God to judge the inhabitants of the earth? And the answer, friends, quite simply is because until he does, his own honor will be left in question. Did you notice the names that they assigned to him here, long sovereign Lord despotace from which we get our word despot? It speaks of his absolute sovereignty. But in slaughtering them, the world has shown its defiance of his sovereignty. Moreover notice they call him holy and true. The God who was all together separated from sin and faithful to the promises that he has made to his covenant people. Oh, but you see these are the very qualities that cannot shine forth in the fullness of their lustre until full retribution is made against these enemies of God. This, my friends, is not a sinful thirst for personal revenge. Better people seeking eye for eye satisfaction, tit for tat justice. The point is here because they are God's people and they know who God is, namely that he is holy and true, they see the need for justice. But if there is not justice against the unrighteousness of this world, the whole moral universe collapses. This is not an expression of self-pity, this is not an expression of whining, the issue is as things presently are. It looks as though God's honor is at stake, that his integrity is in question. Now, my friends, in the event that reading this unnerves you and you're inclined to think that it's somehow less than Christian, let me remind you of two things. Number one, properly speaking, the gospel martyrs are not asking God to do something that he had never determined to do. Their request is to know how long they need to wait until he does it. Right? And secondly, don't forget these saints are in heaven, which means that they are now free from all of the effects of the curse. Therefore, we can be certain that their cry for justice is a sinless one. You know, they're actually commentators, beloved, who think that this verse does not belong in the inspired text. You want to know why people struggle to understand this? It's not because they're not smart enough, it's because they're not righteous enough.
Given our residual sin, even as Christians, we do not love righteousness as we one day will, when we will rejoice with the heavenly angels in the worship of our God as we observe the eternal condemnation of the wicked, chapter 19 of the revelation. The present inability, my friends, to enter into the full sense of this, the enthusiastic appreciation of this is perhaps the greatest indication that we, unlike God, are not holy and true. These are glorified saints that John sees with a heart-free, from the slightest taint of sin. Thus, their passionate cry for righteous justice, their cry for vindication suggests that their ultimate concern is for God's honor and God's glory. And again, not with the slightest doubt that it will occur only a concern for the timing of its execution. They know it's not a matter of if, but when, how long, or to say it a bit differently, when will you finish the job that you've begun? Now, to be sure, friends, an answer to their question is forthcoming. At the same time, however, it is not something that can be marked on a calendar. In fact, to be precise, to be more truthful with you, the substance of the response given does not really answer their question when. More to the point it answers the question of why. And the reason for doing this, because God's ordained plan for the future has profound implications for present witness. Let's watch this now. Watch now. Finally, the heavenly response of predetermined purpose. I call it a heavenly response because we're not told who spoke these words. In fact, it's not even a direct quote. It's just a reflection of what was said. Watch now. The heavenly response of predetermined sovereign purpose, verse 11. Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer. More literally, friends, I'm really disappointed here with the NIV because it misses such an important thought. More literally, it says they were told to rest a little while, rest a while. Now, friends, don't get the wrong into the stick here. It's not a charge that they should control their impatience. That they should cease and desist from all of their complaints. The idea is not, hey, give it a rest, will you? No, something idea. The idea is enjoy your Sabbath rest. The writer of Hebrew says, keep persevering because there is a Sabbath yet to come. You're here now. Rest in the full enjoyment of your heavenly blessedness. Rest in peace, knowing that the punishment which has been ordained will be executed. Rest until that time. But until that time, what present assurance are they given that they will in fact be vindicated a victory robe? White, because it's a symbol of blessedness and purity and the beauty of holiness. So what about the answer to their question? When? How long? Well, an answer was given. And at the heart of it is an answer that, like others given in similar situations, it's an answer that speaks to the fact that God has a predetermined purpose. But interestingly enough, in dispelling out of this purpose, beloved, look at it closely, the emphasis is not so much on a predetermined time as it is on a predetermined number. They were told to rest a little while until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed. Final judgment on the enemies of God will come. You can rest confidently in that. But only after a predetermined number of martyrs has been fulfilled. Let me be a bit more specific. An ordained number of brothers and sisters, fellow servants who have been killed just as you have been. So let me ask you, do you remember why these original martyrs had been killed? Because of their unflinching witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Therefore, final judgment and vindication will not come to God's, will not come until God's predetermined number of gospel martyrs is filled to the full. Now, beloved, do you see what's going on here? They want to know, when will this final judgment come down? The answer is, however, dismiss the concrete details of when and sets its preoccupation upon why? God's execution of final judgment is being restrained so that the full number of gospel martyrs might be achieved. Why? Why is God some kind of masochist? No, because according to the pattern established by Jesus Christ himself, this is how his kingdom paradoxically prevails. Victory via death. Now, friends, don't let me lose you here at this point. In a passage to which I made reference earlier, Jesus says, this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations and then the end will come. In other words, the predetermined end is contingent upon a predetermined accomplishment, the preaching of the gospel to all the nations. Here in Revelation, we're told something very similar, that the predetermined end, final judgment, final vindication, is contingent upon a predetermined accomplishment. In this case, the full number of gospel martyrs. And what I'm saying to you, beloved, is that these two things converge in the plan and purpose of God. Given the way that the revelation has portrayed the means by which Jesus Christ has accomplished his victory in the laying down of his life and in turn that we must overcome as he has overcome, where to understand that the end will come only when the gospel has been taken to the whole of the world and that such a thing will happen only as a consequence of the life sacrificing witness of his people. When will the end come, judgment, vindication when the gospel has been fully proclaimed to all the nations or to say it a bit differently until the full complement of gospel martyrs has been achieved? And to make it more personal, more practical, more relevant, we must say to one another until a generation of Christians arise who are radical enough to literally die for the sake of reaching the unreached. The fact of the matter is, beloved, this is how the kingdom was inaugurated by Jesus. This is how God significantly advances his kingdom through his people in this world. Through the life sacrificing witness of his people, a devotion to the gospel so profound that people will surrender their lives for that message. In the late 19th century, Hudson Taylor in seeking recruits for his mission declared that those he needed were, quote, men and women such as will put Jesus, China and souls first and foremost in everything and at every time even life itself must be secondary. That commitment was eventually tested in time in 1900 and what was called the boxer rebellion. 188 Protestant missionaries were killed along with 30,000 Chinese Christians within the next 10 years. The Chinese church tripled in growth. What does God do this? He honors our efforts to emulate his son. Victory through life sacrifice. And my friends, as you think about our own world today, it is highly unlikely that some of the Hindu and Islamic strongholds will be reached in a fashion other than the way Europe and most other mission fields were originally pride open by the blood of the martyrs. This is how God has always advanced his kingdom. So much for escape from tribulation. And this beloved is why the execution of final judgment has not yet come. The predetermined end is contingent upon a predetermined accomplishment. The full number of Christian martyrs who will sacrifice their lives to take the gospel of Jesus Christ successfully to the ends of the earth. And since that end has not yet come, we dear friends must assume that the conglomerate of people willing to spend their lives for the gospel must include you and me and our children. The question revelation seeks to answer is not when, but why? Because God has a purpose in this world. Would you bow your heads with me, please. Our father and our God, we love you and we certainly would not be so arrogant as to suggest that our explanation of the word of God is infallible. But we do know that you're in the business of working with us in our frailties and that you don't wait for us to get it all right before you cause us to be useful. Now, father, we want to know the truth and we work hard to know the truth. But as we said at the beginning this morning, we recognize that for all of our labors and desires, even if we managed to get it all right, we're dependent upon the Holy Spirit for it to make any difference. To produce any effect, our father on the one hand, we take confidence in the fact that one day you will judge your enemies. We are thankful that until that time, we need not fear your reputation, your integrity that in heaven, we are given victory robes as a pledge of what will one day happen that our commitment to you are devotion to the gospel will be vindicated and that all of your enemies. These will meet with a miserable end. In the meantime, father, help us to remember that we wait for that time until the full number of the martyrs can be achieved. Men and women and boys and girls who will speak the gospel with such openness and boldness that they will not shrink in the face of opposition. Father, I pray that here in our own communities, that would be our burden, that we would speak the gospel and let go of potential reaction. And we pray, O Lord, for our young men and women here. I pray for my own children and the children of this church that you would raise them up with the kind of passion that is willing to spill their very blood, that your kingdom would be advanced. And this, O Lord, and God is how we emulate your son, Jesus, who testified to you to the point of sacrificing his own life. And because you vindicated him, we can be confident that you will vindicate us. We love you. And we thank you for this, as it comforts our soul. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.