This sermon was preached at Sherwood Community Friends Church on Sunday, November 1. You can watch the video of this sermon by clicking below.
Funny thing, before they got to the curtain moment where the truth of the wizard is revealed, Dorothy and her friends were warmly greeted into the city and saw the magical horse of a different color. Dorothy was awestruck at its purple, then red, then yellow.
Well, this morning we get horses of different colors as John pulls back a curtain of his own to unveil the Lamb opening all seven seals.
Rome’s story was peace and prosperity with these four horses showing what it cost. The question we’ll see over this whole chapter is the one we all ask when life gets heavy: who’s holding the reins? Who’s in control?
Would you please stand and pray with me.
Where We’ve Been
We’re in a teaching series taking us on a journey through the book of Revelation and as we read it we’re asking two questions every time. Let’s say them together.
What did this mean for the original audience?
What does it mean for us?
We learned Revelation is three things: an apocalypse, a prophecy, and a letter.
Our theme verse and big idea for the whole series is:
“These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes.” Revelation 14:4 CSB
BIG IDEA SERIES: Revelation is not about predicting the future. It’s about revealing Jesus and forming us into his faithful witnesses in the present.
A couple weeks ago we read who John’s original audience was when we read King Jesus’s letters to the seven churches John wrote the book of Revelation to and discovered they were in danger of comfort and complacency by reflecting the culture around them as a thermometer rather than setting the standard as a thermostat.
Last week we walked into the throne room of God Almighty and heard the question, “Who is worthy?” Let’s say our big idea from week three together.
God is worthy because he created us, and the Lamb is worthy because he redeemed us.
Today we’ll watch what happens as the Lamb, the only One who was worthy, takes the scroll he was handed and starts to open it.
Revelation Chapter 6
Chapter 6 is heavy. I’m going to read the whole thing, and I’ll stop at the very last line, which asks a question, let it hang in the air, and then we’ll come back and answer it.
“The First Seal on the Scroll
Then I saw the Lamb open one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” I looked, and there was a white horse. Its rider held a bow; a crown was given to him, and he went out as a conqueror in order to conquer.
The Second Seal
When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” Then another horse went out, a fiery red one, and its rider was allowed to take peace from the earth, so that people would slaughter one another. And a large sword was given to him.
The Third Seal
When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and there was a black horse. Its rider held a set of scales in his hand. Then I heard something like a voice among the four living creatures say, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, but do not harm the oil and the wine.”
The Fourth Seal
When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and there was a pale green horse. Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following after him. They were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill by the sword, by famine, by plague, and by the wild animals of the earth.
The Fifth Seal
When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered because of the word of God and the testimony they had given. They cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, the one who is holy and true, how long until you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?” So they were each given a white robe, and they were told to rest a little while longer until the number would be completed of their fellow servants and their brothers and sisters, who were going to be killed just as they had been.
The Sixth Seal
Then I saw him open the sixth seal. A violent earthquake occurred; the sun turned black like sackcloth made of hair; the entire moon became like blood; the stars of heaven fell to the earth as a fig tree drops its unripe figs when shaken by a high wind; the sky was split apart like a scroll being rolled up; and every mountain and island was moved from its place.
Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the generals, the rich, the powerful, and every slave and free person hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. And they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, because the great day of their wrath has come!
And who is able to stand?”
Rome’s Story
Those seven churches knew exactly who this was aimed at: Rome.
The story Rome told was one of peace and prosperity. The Pax Romana brought roads, trade, grain ships, wine, and oil. By and large, commerce was strong among the empire, but it came at the cost of conquering militaristic campaigns.
Now watch what John does. He takes that story, pulls back the curtain, and shows the impact. Conquest. War. Famine. Death.
These are the impacts of the empire— and the six seals show us an empire under judgment. A people who promise peace and prosperity while leaving God out of the picture will reap what they have sown (Mathewson).
In Romans chapter 1, Paul paints a descriptive picture of what was going on in the Roman world and says three times: God gave them over.
Romans 1:20-32 CSB “For [God’s] invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made. As a result, people are without excuse. For though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became worthless, and their senseless hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles.
Therefore God delivered them over in the desires of their hearts to sexual impurity, so that their bodies were degraded among themselves. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served what has been created instead of the Creator, who is praised forever. Amen.
For this reason God delivered them over to disgraceful passions. Their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. The men in the same way also left natural relations with women and were inflamed in their lust for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in their own persons the appropriate penalty of their error.
And because they did not think it worthwhile to acknowledge God, God delivered them over to a corrupt mind so that they do what is not right. They are filled with all unrighteousness, evil, greed, and wickedness. They are full of envy, murder, quarrels, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, arrogant, proud, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, senseless, untrustworthy, unloving, and unmerciful. Although they know God’s just sentence—that those who practice such things deserve to die—they not only do them, but even applaud others who practice them.”
Whoa… this is heavy stuff isn’t it?
This is what the Roman world looked like. Has anything changed from then to now?
This is what our world looks like doesn’t it?
And if we’re honest, and I think we should be, something— or multiple somethings— in that list was a sin we’ve committed at some point in our past. Praise the Lord for his forgiving grace! Amen?!
God, in his loving mercy gives us free will, and because he will never force anyone to love him, lets people have the world they keep asking for which is a judgment all by itself.
Who Holds the Reins?
So in all that, who’s holding the reins? Let’s look at who opens the seals because it gives us the clue.
Yes… It’s the Lamb. You already know this.
In chapter 5 he takes the scroll, opens it, and sets it in motion (Mathewson). Every seal, every colorful horse, starts with the hand of the Lamb.
At each crack of the seal, who calls the horses and their riders into the scene? The four living creatures. We met them last week. They stand around God’s throne with faces like a lion, ox, man, and flying eagle— representing all of creation. Jesus delegates to them, and as each seal is opened, one by one they say “Come!” These horses and riders then answer to the throne room’s call.
The first horse, a white one, its rider was given a crown as he conquers humanity. The second fiery red horse of rage was allowed to take peace from the earth. The third horse was black, and it had scales of justice given to it. The fourth horse was pale green, and its rider was given authority over a fourth of the earth. All four of these colorful horses and their riders have one thing in common.
The riders have no power of their own. Everything they hold is on loan, and the limit is one fourth. That fraction is warning shots, a foretaste of the final judgment still to come (Mathewson).
Think of the horsemen being on a leash, and the Lamb is the one holding it. And John has seen horses like these before in the OT. Zechariah saw horses of different colors patrolling the earth (Zechariah 1:8–11), and later four chariots pulled by horses of different colors (Zechariah 6:1–7) went out to do battle. John re-actualized Zechariah’s horses from an old picture to carry a new message (McKnight).
Who’s on Stage This Week?
Before we meet the riders, let’s look at who’s on stage this week in the drama of Revelation. Last week it was Team Lamb stealing the whole show. This week Team Dragon finally gets some stage time, and every one of them shows up on a borrowed horse with borrowed authority.
The Lamb
First though is the Lamb. He’s at the center of the scene, opening every seal with full control and authority. Every horse in this chapter answers to him.
Hoooraaaayyyy!!! Go Team Lamb!!
The Rider on the White Horse: Conquest
He has a bow, a crown, and a plan to conquer. David Mathewson reads him most likely as the Roman emperor, who always conquered with the sword. John uses the same language of conquering that he used for the Lion in chapter 5, so this rider is a knockoff, a parody of the Lamb.
This rider is on Team Dragon… Boooooooo!!!
Where do we see him today? In every voice that says winning, power, and the next promotion will finally make you safe or the next amount of money will finally be enough. Achieve, achieve, achieve… Perform, perform, perform… Climb, climb, climb!!! The knockoff conqueror still rides today… and what he brings is exhausting.
The Rider on the Red Horse: War
He takes peace from the earth and carries a large sword. Rome promised peace and kept it through bloodshed (Mathewson).
This rider is on Team Dragon… Boooooooo!!!
Where do we see him today? Anywhere we try to make peace by force. When we have to win the argument, cutting someone off on the road or not letting them merge in, or we hold the grudge because we want to feel like we’re in control. That’s peace by sword in a kitchen, living room, in traffic, or a social media comment section.
The Rider on the Black Horse: Famine
He’s holding scales in his hand, and a voice says a quart of wheat for a day’s wage. That’s enough to feed one person for a day and nobody else (Mathewson). It’s all about them— self-preservation. The staples are scarce, but the oil and wine are left alone, which are Rome’s luxury exports— that only the wealthy could afford. This is an economy greatly out of whack. When John’s seven churches heard this, they were asking themselves, “Do we really want to participate in this economy?”
This rider is on Team Dragon… Boooooooo!!!
Where do we see him today? Whenever we chase more “oil and wine” while our neighbors can’t afford the “wheat”, and whenever our security rests on a paycheck or a portfolio or politics.
Death and Hades
Out of the fourth seal comes a pale green horse, the color of something unwell. Death rides this one with Hades trailing close behind. Aw, poor Hades doesn’t even get a horse!
These guys are definitely on Team Dragon… Boooooooo!!!
Remember, back in chapter 1 Jesus said he holds the keys of death and Hades (Revelation 1:18). Yep! The Lamb’s still in control!!
Where do we see them today? In the fear of death or anxiety that runs more of our decisions than we like to admit. In the endless scroll of the news cycle of intensifying headlines, fear mongering, and amygdala stimulating constant worldwide incidents that don’t impact us directly, but the media sure wants our attention to it. We’re not meant to carry this much! And it’s killing us!
Now let me ask you this: Which team are you living for? Every rider offers us safety, peace, or security. Only the Lamb delivers.
The Fifth Seal
The fifth seal moves from the empire to the church. Under the altar are the souls of those slaughtered because of God’s Word and their faith testimony in Jesus Christ. They’re clinging to the altar with everything they’ve got because they’re desperately wanting to be rescued by the Lamb. These are martyred faithful witnesses who cry out, “Lord, the one who is holy and true, how long until you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?”
That cry comes from Psalm 13:1, and it tells us John expected delay (Mathewson). The message of this seal is patience. God will vindicate his people. Scot McKnight calls these How-long-O-Lord prayers, and he says, “For justice they pray, and these three times seven judgments are God’s responses to their prayers.”
In the waiting… It’s okay to ask, “How long, Lord?” These martyrs ask it in the throne room, and nobody scolds them. They’re given white robes (signifying righteousness) and told to rest— to trust God’s timing.
These are our people… and they are on Team Lamb! Hoooraaaayyyy!!!
Do you remember what they were given while they wait? White robes
White robes is a metaphor for stripping away identity, the Lamb is an equalizer, Galatians 3:26-27, people who were baptized in the early church took off any identifying clothing of status or class or familial connection to be equalized in Christ. They put on white robes.
Listen to the last line. They rest “until the number would be completed of their fellow servants… who were going to be killed just as they had been.” John is honest with those seven churches. Some of you will join them in the suffering. But the Lamb promises a white robe of his righteousness, his equalizing family Name of belonging as his beloved, and his eternal presence.
The Sixth Seal
The sixth seal leaves a mark with an earthquake, darkness, and the sky rolled up like a scroll. John’s borrowing here from Isaiah (13:10; 34:4), Joel (2:10), and Jesus himself (Mark 13:24–27) by “echoing echoes” (McKnight). This seal brings us to the second coming, but John stops short (Mathewson). He intentionally builds in delay that leads into chapter 7.
When this sixth seal opens we see people hiding who are kings, generals, the rich, the powerful, slave and free. This is everyone who built their security on Rome’s story. They’re all running for the hills and the caves because this is encompassing all classes, all types of people. No one is safe.
They beg for the mountains to fall on them, because they cannot face the wrath of the Lamb.
Ok hold up… The Lamb has wrath? Oh yes… this is not the gentle, tender Jesus sitting with a child on his lap. During this day of the Lord's judgment Jesus is not the gentle savior but he's a destroying bringer of justice on those who oppose God and persecute his people.
God’s wrath is his justice (Mathewson). He began dealing with sin on Good Friday, and one day he will make every wrong right. He’ll put the disorder into order.
And one more thing about how this book is built. As we move through the drama of Revelation, the seals, trumpets, and bowls are three tellings of the same reality, each one more intense, and each one ends at the end (6:12–17, 11:15–19, 16:17–21). Revelation gives us a reality to live in, so we can put away the stopwatch.
At the very end of the sixth seal, the question is asked again: “Who is able to stand?”
A Curtain Moment
Turning the page we begin Chapter 7 which is the first of what we’re calling curtain moments or interludes. There are ten of them in Revelation, and they “pull back the curtain, unveiling God’s world (Scot McKnight).” Just when we want to put our hands over our eyes, John lifts us into the presence of God. Each one answers a question: what should the church do while this is happening?
Chapter 7 answers the question cliffhanging over chapter 6: “Who is able to stand?”
Let’s read it. There’s a verse I want us to read out loud together and I’ll let you know when we get there.
Chapter 7
“After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, restraining the four winds of the earth so that no wind could blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. Then I saw another angel rising up from the east, who had the seal of the living God. He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels who were allowed to harm the earth and the sea, ‘Don’t harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we seal the servants of our God on their foreheads.’”
“And I heard the number of the sealed: 144,000 sealed from every tribe of the Israelites: 12,000 sealed from the tribe of Judah, 12,000 from the tribe of Reuben, 12,000 from the tribe of Gad, 12,000 from the tribe of Asher, 12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali, 12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh, 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon, 12,000 from the tribe of Levi, 12,000 from the tribe of Issachar, 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000 from the tribe of Joseph, 12,000 sealed from the tribe of Benjamin.”
“After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands.”
“And they cried out in a loud voice: Salvation belongs to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
“All the angels stood around the throne, and along with the elders and the four living creatures they fell facedown before the throne and worshiped God, saying, Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”
“Then one of the elders asked me, ‘Who are these people in white robes, and where did they come from?’ I said to him, ‘Sir, you know.’ Then he told me: These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
“For this reason they are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple. The one seated on the throne will shelter them: They will no longer hunger; they will no longer thirst; the sun will no longer strike them, nor will any scorching heat. For the Lamb who is at the center of the throne will shepherd them; he will guide them to springs of the waters of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
The Sealed
Now that’s a Team Lamb moment if there ever is one! Hoooraaaayyyy!!!
Before the judgment lands, an angel seals God’s servants on their foreheads— meaning marking them for whom they belong. John built this scene from Ezekiel chapter 9 where John follows Ezekiel’s vision very carefully (Mathewson). Listen to Ezekiel:
Ezekiel 9:4 CSB “‘Pass throughout the city of Jerusalem,’ the LORD said to him, ‘and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the detestable practices committed in it.’”
A mark on the faithful before judgment comes is a heavenly seal on them saying whose they are.
The sealed ones are those “coming out of the great tribulation.” Yes, they go through it. They’re not exfiltrated out. The Biblical text says that right in chapter 7 verse 14, “these are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.”
Coming out of the Great Tribulation is not language of being removed or plucked or rescued or raptured from it. John’s language here is of arriving through something, as if one was in it and went through it to come out of it.
Think of when you come out of a swimming pool because you went into it and came through it to get out of it. When you go into the pool, you have water engulfed all around you, and there’s no escaping it being on you. Same as with the tribulation. The Lambs' people, his church, will go through it, BECAUSE he went through it, it’ll be all over them/us as it was him, and they/we will be brought through it.
The seal from the Lamb carries them/us through.
The 144,000
During the seventh seal, John says, “I heard the number of the sealed: 144,000.” Twelve thousand from each tribe of Israel. John’s working with multiples of twelve. Twelve tribes. Twelve apostles. Throughout Scripture, twelve and its multiples describe the people of God. The number indicates who they are (Mathewson).
Numbers chapter 1 counted Israel’s tribes for an army (Bauckham). This army conquers the way the Lamb did, by being faithful witnesses in the middle of suffering.
Did you notice the first tribe on the list? Judah, the tribe of the Lion who is the Lamb. This group of people is now defined by their relationship to him. Israel is expanded here, the way Peter and Paul describe the church with Israel’s own language (Mathewson).
Now watch the move John makes next with this. In chapter 5 he heard a Lion and turned around and saw a Lamb. In chapter 7 he hears 144,000 and turns around and sees something else.
A Multitude No One Could Number
A multitude no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language. Remember God’s promise to Abraham?
Genesis 15:5 CSB “He took him outside and said, ‘Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ Then he said to him, ‘Your offspring will be that numerous.’”
There it is! John even bends his grammar in verse 9 to draw our eyes to Abraham’s promise (Mathewson) being fulfilled. The army and the multitude are the same people, seen two ways. The army marches out to battle. The multitude stands victorious. When God’s people go into battle, they come out standing.
White robes and palm branches mirror the crowd on Palm Sunday. Washed in blood and made white only makes sense if the blood is the Lamb’s.
Everyone in Rome’s story was looking at somebody else for salvation. This multitude sings where it comes from.
Revelation 7:10 CSB “Salvation belongs to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
Amen?!
The Lamb Who Walks Among Us
Chapter 7 ends declaring they will no longer hunger.
Remember the black horse? Price gouging a quart of wheat for a day’s wage? No more hunger. No more thirst. God wipes every tear. The Lamb at the center of the throne is the Shepherd, the One who was slaughtered, now guiding his people to springs of living water.
Let’s look at verse 15. “The one seated on the throne will shelter them.” That word means to spread a tent over someone. This is so cool! It’s tabernacle language, God pitching his tent among his people. And we’ve heard that word before.
Listen to how Apostle John opens his Gospel:
John 1:1–5 CSB “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.”
John 1:14 CSB “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
John wrote the word “dwelt” in John 1:14 and “shelter” in Revelation 7:15. They both come from the same Greek word that means to establish a home. The Word, Jesus Christ, who pitched his tent among us out of Bethlehem is the Lamb who spreads his tent over us in our suffering.
We’ve seen him do this from the opening of Revelation. In chapter 1, John turned and saw Jesus standing among the lampstands, his churches. In chapter 2, he’s the one “who walks among the seven golden lampstands” (2:1). He walked among Ephesus and Smyrna then. He walks among us now. The darkness did not overcome him, and it will not overcome his people. Amen?!
That’s the truth of the Gospel! He came to us. He walks with us. He brings us home to him.
So who is able to stand?
BIG IDEA: The people who endure as the Lamb’s faithful witnesses are the ones who will stand, because the Lamb walks with them through suffering and brings them home to him.
Written to Them, True for Us
So what…? Why or how does any of this stuff that we talked about today matter to us… so what…?
So what did this mean for the original audience?
For churches tempted to trust Rome’s peace, prosperity, and security, John says look at the cost and look at who holds the reins. Suffering is coming, it’s already here, and the Lamb will meet you in it.
What does it mean for us? Three things.
First— we live in a story of false peace and prosperity too. Where have we trusted the promise of comfort, money, or security or politics more than the Lamb?
Second— suffering is real, and the Lamb is in it. If you’re in a hard moment or season right now, know that he sees you, and he’s walking with you— if you let him. You can pray, “How long, Lord?”
Third— The Lamb walks among his lampstands, his churches. When John turns to look, he never sees one lone witness standing off by himself or herself. He sees a multitude no one could number, standing together before the throne. The people who stand are standing with each other.
Some of us have drifted from doing that. Life got full, a season changed, and little by little we pulled back from the people God placed us with as his church.
The truth is, followers of Jesus living life apart from his church are not living faithfully in God’s Kingdom. Jesus built his church so his followers would live together, suffer together, encourage together, and endure together. The writer of Hebrews puts it this way…
Hebrews 10:24–25 CSB “And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.”
That day is the day we talked about today in Revelation when all the seals broke loose.
So let me ask… Who would notice or care if you stopped showing up? Who are you standing with?
And if you’ve stepped away, hear me. The door is open. We miss you. Come home.
So here’s our exercise to do this week. Pick one of these:
Name one area where you’ve been trusting the empire’s promise, and tell the Lamb you’re handing it back to receive his blessing.
Pray “How long, O Lord?”
Perhaps text one person who you know who’s suffering and ask if you can walk with them this week.
Call or text someone you haven’t seen in a while and tell them they’re missed.
Pick one, and do it by Wednesday.
Close
In Oz, the curtain falls away and the great and mighty wizard is a small fraud of a man pulling levers. In Revelation, the curtain lifts, and at the center of the throne is the Lamb, walking among his people, holding the reins.
“What now looks like a dragon victory will eventually be the Lamb’s victory (McKnight).”
How many of us need to hear that today?
Remember our theme verse for the whole series:
Revelation 14:4 CSB “These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes.”
Wherever he goes. Even through suffering. Even through this…
The people who endure as the Lamb’s faithful witnesses are the ones who will stand, because the Lamb walks with them through suffering and brings them home to him.
Are you following the Lamb through the hard things?
Is every part of you following him? Or is there a part behind your own curtain that you have yet to release for him to hold?
Where do you need to trust that the Lamb is with you in your suffering— and give him back his reins?
Pray with me.
Citations
1. McKnight, Scot, with Cody Matchett. Revelation for the Rest of Us: A Prophetic Call to Follow Jesus as a Dissident Disciple. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2023. Ch. 9, “The Drama of Revelation” (paraphrased: the horizontal and vertical lines). Ch. 10, “An Interlude about the Interludes” (quoted: the interludes “pull back the curtain, unveiling God’s world,” p. 108, and “What now looks like a dragon victory will eventually be the Lamb’s victory”; paraphrased: hands over our eyes). Ch. 11, “Three Times Seven = Completion” (quoted: “For justice they pray, and these three times seven judgments are God’s responses to their prayers”). Ch. 12, “A Prophet Spinning Plates” (quoted: “echoing echoes”; paraphrased: Zechariah’s horses and the sources of the sixth seal).
2. Mathewson, David L. The Book of Revelation, Didasko Seminar, May 2025. Principles paraphrased in the pastor’s own words: the seals as an empire under judgment; the Lamb opening and setting the scroll in motion; the first rider as Caesar; the Pax Romana; the economy of the third seal; the one-fourth limit as warning shots; Death and Hades; the fifth seal and “how long”; the sixth seal and delay; recapitulation; God’s wrath as his justice; chapter 7 as an extension of the sixth seal; Ezekiel 9; the symbolic 144,000 and Israel expanded; the multitude and the promise to Abraham.
3. Bauckham, Richard, as cited in Mathewson’s Didasko notes. Paraphrased: the tribes counted as an army.
4. The Wizard of Oz. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1939. Quoted: “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.” Referenced: the horse of a different color.
5. Blackhawk Church, Madison, WI. Revelation Playbill. Used by permission.
6. Scripture quotations are from the Christian Standard Bible (CSB), copyright 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers.
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