Every Tribe and Tongue and Nation [Part 1]

Pastor, author, and Bible teacher, Alan Wright. God's way of saying louder than any fox, this people, this world is mine.

Revelation chapter seven. That's Pastor Alan Wright. Welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole new light. I'm Daniel Britt, excited for you to hear the teaching today in the series, The Revelation, as presented at Reynolda Church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program, I want to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. It's a CD album or a digital download, your choice of the body you've always wanted, audio messages on what heaven is like. It can be yours for your donation this month to Alan Wright Ministries. As you listen to today's message, go deeper as we send you today's special offer. Contact us at pastorallen.org. That's pastorallen.org or call 877-544-4860.

That's 877-544-4860. More on that later in the program. But now, let's get started with today's teaching.

Here is Alan Wright. Are you ready for some good news? Though the winds of judgment will blow, everyone in Christ has been sealed. Sealed and protected and rendered spotless by the saving work of Christ. And so it changes everything about how you view the tribulations of the world and how you look upon your life. And we are going to continue seeing this incredible vision in the book of Revelation. If you're new with us, we've been in here for a number of weeks daring to approach mysteries. And many people have made different sorts of interpretations of Revelation.

We've alluded to some of those. And I continue to show forth a perspective of Revelation that is primarily built on the opening line that says this is the revelation of Jesus Christ. So if we see Jesus more clearly, if I haven't been in this book, then we've had a blessing. And the opening chapter says blessed is the one who hears and does this word. So revelation is a blessing. It's not just confusing and scary. And so we're being blessed richly by this.

Thanks for being with us. It was about 3 a.m. a month and a half ago, middle of the night, 3 a.m., middle of the dark night. And I heard just what must be labeled a blood curdling scream of a young woman. Abby is at home in between graduation and moving to Washington to take up her new job.

And once a dad, always a dad. My feet hit the floor faster almost before the scream was over. And I'm running to her room thinking maybe she's had a night terror, which she never has. And I heard it again en route to her room, terrifying sound. Got to her room and thankfully there she was snuggled in her bed, sound asleep. I came back, of course, my wife sitting up, both our hearts beating out of our chest. She said, what was that?

Our window was cracked and suddenly I heard it again, just a scream, horrible sound. Then I started listening more closely and I said, I think it's a creature. She said, what?

I don't know. Well, I don't know if we slept the rest of the night. The next day was actually Sunday. I came in, I told some people, I said, have you ever heard such things? They said, well, maybe it was an owl that was screeching like that. I went home, I started googling around to try to find the sound. There's no owl that makes the sound that I heard. It wasn't it. And I kept looking until finally, you know, I'm like, you know, searching for blood curdling scream that sounds like a young woman, but it's not. And, you know, something like that. And I finally found somebody who said it was a fox claiming its territory.

Look it up later. You won't believe it. There was even a song some years ago about what does the fox say?

Because nobody seems to know. Now I know. And you're not going to believe it when you hear it. It's terrifying. And I was like a fox claiming its territory makes that sound. And I heard it online. Somebody was wandering around in the night listening saying, I don't know what this is. Screaming. I'm like, well, you're braver than I am if you're out there recording it, but it's the fox. And so you might say, well, how crazy. And about a week or so later, guess what I saw in my backyard? Screaming at 3 AM.

And I don't know. It just is like this sound you didn't think a fox could make. And the good news is if you've been following my sermons over the last year, we don't have groundhogs anymore. I think the fox is living in the groundhog hole. But anyway, he's tried to claim the territory, but I need to inform the fox at some point. It's not his territory.

It's mine. In fact, this is God's world, not the foxes. In this world, we are in a spiritual battle. And it is something that may sometimes feel odd to modern rationalistic ears to talk about an invisible spiritual battle that's going on, but very clearly there is.

And sometimes we're just far too naive about how intense that battle is. But essentially I would say that the sound of hell, the sound of the voice of the enemy is meant to be one that is startling and terrifying as if to claim territory. But today in Revelation chapter seven, we get to hear a different sound. And it is the voice of an angel rising out of the Eastern sun with a seal in his hand who speaks with a loud voice, declaring safety and a sign, signet, seal upon the believers that is God's way of saying louder than any fox, this people, this world is mine.

Revelation chapter seven. I want to begin again by pointing out that this chapter, like most of Revelation is highly symbolic. And this for people that believe the Bible, it's really important to dwell on this for a few moments and to keep doing so, so that we really understand this together, that something can be true and yet not literal. That sometimes a symbol actually gets at a truth more accurately or fully than something literal would. And so this is important because if you believe the Bible as I do, then at times it's been challenged by liberalism, which would say, well, things aren't literal, even to the point of not just saying, well, maybe it wasn't a literal whale that swallowed Jonah, but then that whole slippery slope, it goes, well, maybe Jesus didn't literally rise from the dead. So we believe in a literal Jesus who literally rose from the dead. So we believe, you know, the Bible on the whole, literally.

So when you come to this kind of literature in the Bible, which is called apocalyptic literature, it's a little bit challenging them not to adjust your thinking. No, this is symbolic. And a lot of the symbols in Revelation that we've been talking about in Revelation that we've been looking at are quite typical. And you can count on those symbols. What I'm saying is that we may not be as familiar with those symbols because this, we aren't in first century Roman empire.

We're in today's world in America. I could put up images that you would even stop to think about the fact that it's a symbol because it's a symbol and you just know what it means. So we have to, when we come to Revelation, understand the symbols that may not be as common to us, but were perhaps to the people receiving the letters in the first century.

And they would immediately know. So the book of Revelation would not be as puzzling if you understood the symbol. So today, again, in Revelation chapter seven, you're going to see a number of symbols. And it doesn't mean that because it's not literal, it's not true.

It just means it's true in a way that's bigger than what could be described literally. And the book of Revelation is a magnificent, visionary, colorful expression of image after image, layered upon layer, that is not so much a chronology of historical events, I don't believe, as it is an invitation for you to see Jesus and to see him high and lifted up and to see what God has done for his people so that they can know that they are secure and triumphant in the difficult days. Revelation chapter seven, verse one, after this, and we've seen that this phrase after this occurs over and over in Revelation. And I don't think that it means after this chronologically, first I saw this, and then the next thing that's going to happen is this. And the next thing is, I think a lot of interpretation has been missed because we think of it that way. No, it's one image and then another image came and another image came and after I had this vision, then I had this vision.

That's what he's saying. After this, I saw four angels, this is John on the Isle of Potomac, he's seeing these things in the Spirit, he's seeing a vision. So it seems odd to talk about it, but it was for him, he was just, it was a living vision in front of his eyes, spiritually. I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. Winds in the Old Testament often represent judgment because the wind scatters things.

The wind destroys things and can't be stopped. Jeremiah 49, 36 is just one example of many. I'll bring upon Elam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven and I will scatter them to all those winds. And there should be no nation to which those driven out of Elam shall not come. I will terrify Elam before their enemies and before those who seek their life. I'll bring disaster upon them. My fierce anger declares the Lord. So as an example, there are many of them, the winds represent judgment.

It's our gift to you when you support this month. Alan's CD album invites you to discover the body you've always wanted, a spiritual resurrected body. Be assured that God isn't going to scrap you or the world. He'll make all things new. Overcome the gnawing anxiety about the end of your life.

You can have peace now. Pastor Alan Wright's hope-filled messages will lead you into more than a joyous revelation of heaven according to the scriptures. They'll lead you into a bounding hope. So please help us stay on the radio in your area by making a generous gift today, and we'll be happy to send you the body you've always wanted, the CD album that is. When you make your gift to Alan Wright Ministries today, we'll send you Pastor Alan's messages in an attractive CD album or through digital download as our way of saying thanks for your partnership. We are happy to send this to you as our thanks from Alan Wright Ministries. Call us at 877-544-4860.

That's 877-544-4860. Or come to our website, PastorAlan.org. Today's teaching now continues. Here once again is Alan Wright. If you want to understand chapter seven, you don't need to understand it chronologically following chapter six because we haven't even dealt with chapter six yet. Chapter seven is something that really comes far before chapter six, which is about unveiling these four horsemen and these seals that ends up coming in this ultimate expression of judgment at the end of chapter six with these words, the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in caves and among the rocks, the mountains, everybody rich and poor and sophisticated and unsophisticated and educated and uneducated. And everybody, when the wind is blowing, when the judgment is coming, there is no respecter of persons, all of them calling to the mountains and rocks fall on us, hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne and from the wrath of the lamb for the great day of their wrath has come. And here's the last words of revelation six and who can stand.

So in a very real sense, it's like he hears this in the spirit. When judgment comes, who can stand? And then in a moment, the spirit takes John to another vision, more or less to say, I'm going to show you who can stand. And that's what revelation seven is about.

Who stands when the wind blows? You see, I don't spend a lot of time talking about judgment because I want to talk about the grace of God. That's the theme and delight of God's heart and his word.

But if you're going to appreciate grace, if you're going to ever give him thanks, if you're ever going to really love him as deeply as is possible to love him, if you're ever going to really praise him with a praise that is of the deepest depth, if you're going to really adore him, if you're going to delightfully out of gratitude serve him, then there's a part of it all that you have to let your soul stand with John and see this wind and feel it. Some might think it's the sound of the freight train of a tornado brewing. Maybe it's like the gusts, the initial gusts coming of hurricane force winds. Wind can be terrifying because it is uncontrollable. When a hurricane is coming, you never hear the meteorologists say, well, a category five storms headed towards the coast with winds over 150 miles per hour.

But no worries. We've got the technology. We'll hold back the wind. So just stay put and enjoy your day at the beach.

They never going to say that. No, there's only one thing they say when the storm's coming with those sorts of winds, they say evacuate. They get away from the storm, leave because you can't hold back wind. If you're really hot, you can get in an air conditioned room.

If you're really cold, you can build a fire and warm yourself. But the winds like judgment, it's going to blow. Normally if a storm's coming from the east, you head to the west. If a storm's coming from the south, you can head to the north. If it's coming from the north, you can head to the south. If it's coming from the west, you can head to the east.

If it's coming from the southeast, you can head to the northwest. But what happens if from the four corners of the earth, the storms are coming? What happens if a hurricane's coming from all four directions at the same time? And if you were to go west, it'll blow you back into the winds from the east. And if you're to head north, it'll blow you back into the winds from the south.

That's what John sees. This is the kind of wind that blows regardless of whoever is in its path or whatever is in its path. This kind of wind blows money up into the air and makes it worthless. This kind of wind blows away every intellectual argument of sophistication. You cannot reason a storm away. This kind of wind blows up against all personal moral righteousness and good deeds that attempt to define themselves as worthy of avoiding the storms. No, this wind is blowing and howling and it has no respecter of persons. I say, if you're ever going to appreciate the gift of Christ, you've got to hear this wind blow and feel it somehow up against you and see its foreboding presence and hear its roar and tremble at its immensity.

And you have to ponder the fate of those who face these winds with no helper. God is just. He is 100% love, but He's 100% holy. He is 100% merciful.

He loves to save. He is 100% committed to justice as well because He made the world that way. And that's why we love justice. That's why people stand outside of courthouses with picket signs demanding that the criminal be given the proper sentence and not let off the hook.

That's why nobody ever would say that we should take a person who just murdered several elderly people in order to steal a few dollars from their limited retirement account should be lauded, approved of and remain free while someone else who volunteers five days a week to deliver Meals on Wheels to the elderly so that they could have something to eat should be cursed and put in jail. Nobody would say that because that would be ridiculous. It'd be unjust. Why do you feel that way? Because you were made in the eyes and the image of God and He's just.

So you instinctively, I mean, you, I was driving down the highway yesterday and said left lane closed ahead and people were trying to zing past others in the left lane and a truck pulled over into the left lane to block them all because we get in a bad mood if somebody just breaks in line. We're made for justice. What if we were all guilty in the eyes of God? What if we had all rebelled against the king? What if we couldn't even keep 10 rules? We tried. Can't make it through a week without fudging the truth and breaking one of the commandments.

Can't make it through the day without wishing that you had what somebody else had and found yourself having coveted. We can't even keep 10 of them, much less the whole moral righteousness of God Almighty. All have fallen short. All have sinned. All have fallen short of the glory of God. All have sinned. And God has been very clear about this. Sin must be punished or else there's no justice. You can't have it both ways. I'd like to believe that somehow there's just a way that it all just works out and everybody's saved. And, and yet I can't say that at the same time say, but I like to have a world where there's justice.

The two things don't go together, do they? And so it is that the Bible paints a picture that, that, that every single person, because Adam sinned, we were born in sin. We've rebelled against God and there's no scale or continuum here. And we're all there hearing the winds that are blowing and they are hurricane force winds. They are tornadoes of judgment that must come. Pastor Alan Wright, our good news message today.

It's titled Every Tribe and Tongue and Nation. It's from our current series, The Revelation. Please stay with us. Pastor Alan is back here in the studio sharing his parting good news thought for the day in just a moment. If you think heaven is a misty place where you float around on clouds and pluck angelic harps, you're in for the surprise of your life. Our special product this month is all about the hope of heaven.

It's our gift to you when you support this month. Alan's CD album invites you to discover the body you've always wanted, a spiritual resurrected body. Be assured that God isn't going to scrap you or the world. He'll make all things new. Overcome the gnawing anxiety about the end of your life.

You can have peace now. Pastor Alan Wright's hope filled messages will lead you into more than a joyous revelation of heaven according to the scriptures. They'll lead you into a bounding hope. So please help us stay on the radio in your area by making a generous gift today and we'll be happy to send you the body you've always wanted.

The CD album that is. When you make your gift to Alan Wright Ministries today, we'll send you Pastor Alan's messages in an attractive CD album or through digital download as our way of saying thanks for your partnership. We are happy to send this to you as our thanks from Alan Wright Ministries. Call us at 877-544-4860.

That's 877-544-4860. Or come to our website, pastoralan.org. Back here with Pastor Alan. As we look into this journey through Revelations, we are reminded that here on earth, it's a big world separated by continents and oceans and language barriers. But to look ahead at the day that is to come, it's hard to even fathom all of God's children together in unity. It is one of the most beautiful pictures in Revelation to think of it that in this world where there's so much division and tribalism and sectarianism and people are insecure and want to just be with people exactly like themselves and all of us are tempted in that way, that oh my heaven and a new heaven and a new earth is going to be every tribe and nation and people and all finding glorious unity in Christ. And so the picture we get here is that those who reject Christ will themselves be rejected, but all who accept Him are going to be sealed and secure. And this is what God wants us to know about our lives in Christ. We're safe in Him and we will one and we will one day reign with Him.