After the seventh seal is broken, and before God judges the earth, there are thirty minutes of silence in Heaven. Millions of saints and angels stop everything they are doing at the sober reality of the impending judgment. While this is a great and terrible scene, even then, God's heart is still longing for men and women to turn their hearts to Him in repentance while they still can.

Host: Steve, we want to continue our discussions in Revelation. We're in chapter 8. This chapter begins with the opening of the 7th seal and then something occurs. What is it?

Steve: It says there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. I was sitting there contemplating this chapter a little while ago and I really did feel the presence and the peace of the Lord. I started thinking about Daniel 7, which is one of many vivid pictures of what will be occurring on earth in the final days and what's occurring in heaven. And in Daniel 7, I was just noticing how the scene shifts back and forth from earth to heaven, earth to heaven. It begins with the little horn with the boastful mouth uttering great boasts.
      I have a picture in my mind of the Antichrist just loud and brazen in his speech. Then it shifts over to heaven and the Ancient of Days took His seat. Then it describes Him, His vesture was like white snow, et cetera. And then all of a sudden it reverts back to earth again and there's the Antichrist again, causing chaos and confusion and attacking the saints of God. Then it reverts back again. And it's the same choice that we all have as believers. You have the world and the roar of the voice of the spirit of this world, but then you have this peaceful, quiet call to get away and to quiet yourself and hear the still, small voice of the Lord.

Host: You know, one of the things that I've noticed, especially over the last 10 or 15 years is just the increase in the flow and the noise. The amount of information that bombards us from every angle. And the spirit of this world. The atmospheres that the enemy has created in this world is all targeted at feeding our flesh and distracting us from the voice of God in these last days.

Steve: Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. The really tragic thing to me is not so much what's happening in the world, but what's happening in the Church. Believers should be able to go and meet in a place that is conducive to the presence of God and the voice of God. But we have brought all that noisy activity into the Church. And so, the atmosphere really, in probably most cases, is not much different from the atmosphere that you have out there in the world with the internet and all the blaring music and the blaring television. That's what's sad, is that many believers aren't getting a different option.

Host: Well, talk about what is happening here in chapter 8. Even when you said it, it just struck me as extraordinary. Half an hour of silence in heaven. Talk about how extraordinary that is and what was happening during that time.

Steve: Well, let's keep in mind that it doesn't say here that there was silence in the throne room, it says that there was silence in heaven. This is a world where there are millions of people and millions if not billions of angels. It's a vast empire of people and angels living life. The full life, really. And yes, it's a happy activity, it's a heavenly activity, but there's a lot going on there. And it's all shut down because something tremendous is rumbling and that is that God's wrath is about to be poured out upon this earth.

Host: Steve, in our discussions of Revelation, you have often said that much of the book finds its roots in the Old Testament. And in Chapter 8 here, we see trumpet judgments. Do these trumpet judgments have a connection to any part of the Old Testament?

Steve: Absolutely. You can find these trumpet judgments right in the ten plagues that God sent forth upon Pharaoh and his followers. But let me take it on an even deeper level. What was God's purpose for the ten plagues? I mean, if He wanted to set His people free, surely He could have done it in a much simpler, smoother and easier way than He did. Egypt was the mightiest nation on earth at the time and undergirding the world's viewpoint of that mighty nation, was the belief that the Egyptian gods were the most powerful beings upon this earth. And Jehovah, the God of this little tribe from Canaan, was considered just a nothing deity.

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      So, God came forth with mighty power and decimated Egypt. And this was a direct assault on the idea that the Egyptian gods were these powerful gods that had enabled Egypt to be so strong and prosperous and mighty in those days. And so, it's the same thing that's going to happen in the end times. God is bringing to nothing all the things that seem so huge and immovable upon this earth. Everything that can be shaken will be shaken in the end times.

Host: And even as you're saying that, immediately things come to mind that are the current day, pride of man. Our economic systems and the political systems that we're building for example. You can just imagine that these are going to be the very things that God is going to bring down in our face.

Steve: Well, that's exactly what the message of Isaiah 2 is. God alone will be exalted. And this is the beginning of it. The Babylonian system of this world is starting to crack and crumble and collapse.

Host: Well, based on that, do you see any of these trumpet judgments that are similar to natural phenomena that we see on the earth already?

Steve: The Lord can do whatever He wants to do. He could bring in completely new ways to pummel mankind if He wants. But it has been typical of Him in the past to use natural disasters, like raining down hailstones on an army or an earthquake. So, I would expect just from His past ways that He has dealt with nations that it will be more along the lines of natural disasters as we have seen in the past, but on a greater level and with a greater intensity.

Host: Steve, we don't have the time to go through each of these judgments, but in particular, I notice that the third judgment seems particularly severe. Talk a little bit about that.

Steve: Well, the third judgment is that a great star called Wormwood falls from heaven upon the fresh water supplies of Earth. Wormwood was a bitter root back in biblical times and the picture here is something poisonous. This could be a comet shower that hits Earth. We know that comets are made up of cyanide gas. Can you imagine what would happen if thousands of these comets started plunging into lakes and rivers all around the earth? Now, I know that seems far-fetched, but we're talking about times when all natural things are going to be thrown out the window. This is going to be a time of extraordinary occurrences.

Host: So, Steve, that's some of the impact of the third judgment. Talk a little bit more if you could about just in a larger view, what life is going to be like when all these other things begin to happen.

Steve: Can you imagine? I mean, let's just take that third judgment for instance. What's it going to mean to our daily life on this planet when a third of the water sources have become poisoned? I mean, even as it is right now, if we have a drought in this country, it throws off our whole system. And when a large percentage of water supplies are affected that way, you're going to see massive starvation plus droughts and rioting.
      Can you imagine the upheaval that's going to happen just from the effects of this one judgment? Life is not going to go on as usual. I think people will continually try to fight back for some kind of normalcy, but it's just not going to happen. There's going to be too much upheaval and God's going to keep it that way on purpose.

Host: I think about the way He works in our individual lives. He's constantly trying to bring us to the end of ourselves so that we might cry out and get some sight of our great need for Him. And He's going to be doing the same thing on a massive scale. And I can only imagine that while it's His judgment, it is still His heart that some might repent.

Steve: Well, that's the whole point of the next chapter and the rest of the trumpet judgments. That is where things are headed. But people will have to listen to our next program to hear the ending.

Host: They will, and we'll be back with that program. Steve Gallagher, thanks so much.

Steve: Amen.

As a professing Christian, have you struggled with sexual sin or some other form of sin consistently? The problem could very well be the quality of your Christian life. With apologetics and theology as big resources in the church—which is by no means a bad thing—it’s all too common to mistake knowing facts about Jesus with having a relationship with Him. Is that you?

Director of Ministry Outreach Patrick Hudson explains this dilemma using Isaiah chapters 53-55, and shows us the way into victory in today’s sermon.

Breaking free from sexual sin can feel overwhelming, especially with temptations everywhere. One of the keys to winning is developing a sensitive conscience towards sin and recognizing the deceptive nature of temptation. In this episode, biblical counselor Regan Bowman shares insights on discerning Holy Spirit conviction and cultivating a heart that responds to God.

Resources

• Check Out Our Residential Program

Have Any Questions for Our Upcoming Q & A? 📧Email: podcast@purelifeministries.org

Revelation 6 ends saying that the great day of the wrath of God has come and asks the question, who can withstand it? Revelation 7 answers that question as we see true believers sealed and protected from that wrath as it falls upon the earth. What does this mean? And why is this chapter followed by a scene where many saints are seen worshiping before the throne? Find out with Steve Gallagher on the next episode in our Revelation series.

Host: Steve, we are continuing our discussion in the Book of Revelation and we're on chapter 7. I'm just going to ask you a very simple question. What is chapter 7 about?

Steve: Chapter 7 is an interesting interlude in the Book of Revelation. It's basically describing two groups of people. There are 144,000 from the 12 tribes of Israel and then the second group is an innumerable multitude gathered around God's throne.

Host: Well, Steve, let's talk about that 144,000, because I know there are a lot of different thoughts about who they are and what they're going to be doing. Give us your perspective. Who are these 144,000?

Steve: There are two basic schools of thought on who this group represents. A lot of the leading scholars of the day feel like they symbolize the Church. They believe that it's a figurative number that represents a complete number of people. In other words, all the believers who are meant to be saved will be saved and they will be sealed by God to take them through the end times. That's one school of thought.
      Dispensationalists see it as completely literal, as they see just about everything in the Book of Revelation. And so, to them, it's describing a literal number of Jewish people who get saved during the tribulation period and are somehow sealed by God and used by Him as witnesses to go throughout the earth giving their testimony for Jesus Christ. So those are the two main schools of thought.

Host: Okay. Either way, the common thread is that they're a group of people that God is going to use as a testimony in the last days.

Steve: Yes, and He is going to protect them, at least spiritually speaking anyway.

Host: Okay. Well, as we look at chapter 7, what would you say are the main purposes of this chapter?

Steve: Well, the way the chapter functions, first of all, it's really an answer to the question of the earth dwellers during the 6th seal. In the last verse of Revelation 6, they said, “Who can stand?” And it's answering that. Here are the people who will stand. These people are sealed and protected from God's wrath, which is really a blessing.
      It's an encouragement for God's people who will be going through this time of great worldwide devastation. They know that God is protecting them. But also, this chapter operates as an interlude between the 6th and 7th seals, which we will see happen again between the 6th and 7th trumpets. There's a different interlude at that point.

Host: Now, when you say interlude, you can almost take that as a literary function, but is there a spiritual function of this interlude? Is there something going on during this interlude that is evidence of what God is accomplishing?

Steve: Well, in Revelation 8, when the 7th seal breaks, there's a silence in heaven that seems to stop all activity. There is a spiritual function in that instance. We'll get into that next time we get together. But, in regard to what is happening here, the way you said it is exactly right, it really is a literary tool. In other words, it's just a big parentheses describing something that's going on in the midst of all the action that has happened chronologically. All of a sudden you take a break and the Lord shows you something else that is occurring at about that same time from a different perspective.

Host: Steve, the chapter opens by describing 4 angels holding back some sort of judgment upon the earth. And we're told that they can't harm the earth until the 144,000 that you mentioned earlier are sealed. What's the significance of sealing them in the forehead as it describes?

Steve: The one thing that's fascinating studying the Book of Revelation is how much of this book comes from the Old Testament. When you start studying it, over and over and over again, you see either the typology of it in the Old Testament or actual wording or something. But it's constant. This same phenomenon occurred in Ezekiel 9. Right before the destruction of the city of Jerusalem, the Lord sent an angelic scribe throughout the city to mark on their foreheads and seal these certain people who sigh and groan over all the abominations which were being committed in the city.
      In other words, the people who loved God and couldn't stand seeing all the wickedness going on around them, that's a picture of who these people are going to be. So, it's very significant. Them being sealed in the forehead means that God is putting His mark of ownership on their souls.

Host: Now, Steve, as you talk about that, what came to my mind is, ought we not to be asking ourselves in the midst of what we see happening in the culture, whether it's same-sex marriage or abortion or just all the darkness that we see around us, is that something that we find ourselves drawn to or is it something that we find ourselves grieving over? If we're really a follower of Jesus, if we really have the Holy Spirit in us, we ought to be sensing some kind of grieving in us, shouldn't we?

Steve: Absolutely. I mean, that's one of the good evidences that the Holy Spirit is indwelling you and that you're not just a moral, quote, unquote, Christian. There are good people in this world who do not like things like abortion, for instance. But are they grieving over sin? Are they grieving over how the spirit of this world is destroying souls? We all are drawn to the world to some degree. That's just the truth. But is that desire for the things of the world what defines who we are? Or is it a passion for the things of God that really defines who we are?

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Host: Yeah. Steve, earlier in our discussion, you mentioned that there are two groups of people. There's 144,000 there on the earth during this period, and God is using them as a witness. But you mentioned also that there is a great multitude gathered around the throne of God. Talk about them.

Steve: Well, when you look at Revelation 4 and 5, you see that magnificent throne room scene. You have the four living beings and the twenty-four elders and a multitude of angels worshiping the Lord. Now we see another group added. It's this enormous multitude of believers. We don't know exactly who they are, except we know that they come out of The Great Tribulation and we also know that they come from every part of the world. Whoever these people are, they've been martyred, apparently, or they die at least, during the Great Tribulation. And now the most important aspect of this is where they are and it's in this heavenly, glorious scene gathered around the throne of God.

Host: You know, Steve, as I look at this chapter, I just stand in awe at how tremendous God is. Just the way He has laid out the time of this earth and the time of our lives. God is really awesome. All these promises being fulfilled. All the prayers of the saints being heard. All of God's people being sealed and protected. All the saints gathering around the throne of God and worshiping Him. From Genesis to Revelation, our God is awesome.

Steve: Well, you see God's sovereignty through it all. He’s enacting His purposes, He's protecting His people and He's got a tremendous eternity awaiting every one of His children. Praise the Lord.

Host: Yes. Praise the Lord.

If you’ve been broken down by sexual sin, we have good news for you: God has provided the means for transformation. It’s in His word. But it’s not simply a matter of knowledge. As a matter of fact, there’s an increasing amount of church attendees who know the Bible really well, but also habitually indulge in sinful behavior.

Transformation is a matter of submission—submission to a process which Residential Counseling Director Luke Imperato lays out clearly in today’s message.

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Lust can feel like an unbeatable opponent. But it isn’t. This episode exposes the enemy’s predictable playbook—every move driven by the same tactics he's been using for 1000s of years. Many believers feel trapped by lust when real freedom is right there for the taking. Too often we rely on our own strength, instead of fighting a spiritual battle with powerful, spiritual weapons.

Resources We Mentioned

• At the Altar of Sexual Idolatry (Book) By Steve Gallagher
• Learn More About the Pure Life Ministries 26th Annual Conference
• Register for the Conference

Have Any Questions for Our Upcoming Q & A? 📧Email: podcast@purelifeministries.org

From the Chapel: In this passionate talk that Nate Danser gave on faith at a special Sunday evening service in the Pure Life Ministries Chapel, he emphasizes that a faith that withstands the storms of life is founded on the truth rather than our own blind whims. We need the kind of faith that does not listen to our feelings or what our past experience tells. Rather, we need a faith founded on the truth of God's Word.

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The world keeps redefining truth; but that struggle isn’t new. Since the garden of Eden, humanity is continually tempted to question God’s Word and follow self instead. While this path promises fulfillment, it always brings coldness and chaos. Yet God’s truth will always remain steady, rooted, and unshakable, offering strength and clarity for all who cling to His Word.

Resources

• Your Convictions About Masturbation Matter (Article) By Pure Life Ministries

Have Any Questions for Our Upcoming Q & A? 📧Email: podcast@purelifeministries.org

This week’s bonus episode features a wives Q&A from our 2021 annual conference. Hear honest, heartfelt answers to some of the most common questions wives ask. Joining the panel are ministry cofounder Kathy Gallagher and biblical counselors Susan Smith and Jessie Meldrum. This conversation offers wisdom, clarity, and encouragement for wives in every season.

Abraham and Lot shared the same roots, but their similarities end there. Abraham spent his years pressed into God, doing his utmost to find and obey the will of God. Lot was convinced that he could make his own decisions, do his own will and run his own life. Predictably, Abraham enjoyed blessing after blessing while Lot’s life was a downward spiral of one calamity after another.

In today’s sermon, Steve Gallagher carefully examines their lives to show us how important it is for those struggling with sexual sin to find and obey the will of God.

In this episode of the podcast, we're playing a 2024 conference Q&A featuring graduates of our residential and virtual counseling programs. They share practical, firsthand insight on how sincere believers can live holy, consecrated lives and remain faithful to Christ while navigating and responding to a godless culture.

Resources

• Learn More About the Pure Life Ministries 26th Annual Conference
• Register for the Conference

Revelation 6 famously depicts the opening of the 7 seals. Each opening results in an increase of trouble and despair upon the earth. Specifically, the breaking of the 6th seal ushers in the ominous "Day of the Lord" -  a day of great judgment on those in rebellion to Him, but also God's final call of repentance and surrender before mercy is cut off forever.

Host: Steve, we want to continue in our discussions of the wonderful Book of Revelation. Revelation 6 is a description of the opening of the first six seals. And Steve, I understand that there are some other passages of Scripture that correlate with these seals. Why don't you talk about what that correlation is?

Steve: When Jesus gave His last days discourse in Matthew 24, He really laid out a roadmap of the end times. Especially in the first part of that chapter, we see a fascinating correlation between the first six seals and the different things that Jesus expressed. For instance, the first seal is about deception. And you see it right there at the beginning of the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24, where Jesus is warning people not to be misled. And then the second seal is all about internal strife and international warfare. That's exactly what you see described next in Matthew 24. And then it goes on, famines and death and so on, all the way to the sixth seal, which you see later on in Matthew 24.

Host: Now, when we look at the opening of these seals, these events, are these one-time events that are occurring here?

Steve: I would say that the third seal and the sixth seal seem to be one-time events, but the other seals seem to be a building momentum as we get closer to the end times. It's really what Jesus said right there in Matthew 24. He said, “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.” (Matthew 24:8, NASB) Now, what is a birth pang? It starts off as a low pain that happens on occasion and grows in intensity and frequency. So, when we start seeing these things start to happen, that's the beginning of birth pangs, which I believe we're in right now. But by the time we get to the end, whenever it is really intensifying, then it's the pains of a woman who's about to give birth.

Host: And what a wake-up call. Just the way that it is intensifying so rapidly. It's got to be a wake-up call from the Lord that the time is near.

Steve: Well, that's the Lord's heart. He is going to send destruction on sinners, but it's always in His heart for sinners to repent and flee from the wrath to come.

Host: Steve, earlier you mentioned the breaking of the first seal, and we read about that being the first rider that comes out at the breaking of that seal. And you mentioned the issue of deception. Why do you believe that first seal and the first rider represent deception?

Steve: Well, if you compare the description of this first rider with the return of Jesus Christ in Revelation 19, you can see that this is an obvious counterfeit of Jesus. It's not Jesus Christ. And I won't go into all the reasons why we know that, but it is not Jesus Christ, so it must be a counterfeit. This rider is going forth conquering and he's doing it through deception. And when you tie it to the Matthew 24 discourse, you see that that's what it corresponds to. So, again, we see this growing momentum of deception in the end times, which will eventually pave the way for the ultimate deception of the Antichrist.

Host: And again, we look at what's going on around us and how great the deception is these days.

Steve: And just think, this is only the beginning. What's it going to be like when the very air you breathe is nothing but a lie? It's everywhere already.

Host: Yeah, and what a warning to us of how much we need the Holy Spirit, because if we can't hear the Holy Spirit, we're sunk.

Steve: Yeah, absolutely. And also, it is a warning for us to be so grounded in the Word of God. The only place we know we're going to get truth is the Word of God.

Host: You've talked about the significance of the martyrs as represented in the fifth seal. Talk about that.

Steve: It's funny, but when you read about the martyrs here in chapter 6, they are crying out, “How long until you avenge our deaths” to the Lord. Then throughout the different plagues that are coming in the future, there is constantly this sense of referencing back to that cry of, “When will you avenge our deaths?” For instance, before the seven trumpet judgments come forth, an angel throws the censer to the earth, which is full of the prayers of those martyrs and the fire of God. So that unleashes the seven trumpet judgments. And on other occasions also, it's referenced.

Host: You know, when we gather together as a staff in the morning times for our prayer, one of the things that God is making increasingly real to us is that He hears the prayers of His saints. I know how it feels sometimes. Sometimes it feels like we're just praying to God and nothing's happening. But man, you read stuff like this, and you see that God has not forgotten the cries of His people.

Steve: The Lord answers prayer. He does it in His own timing when it's best to answer that prayer for the person and the circumstances.

Host: Yeah. Amen. Steve, the sixth seal seems to bring about a different kind of judgment than the first four seals. How does it differ from those?

Steve: Well, the first four seals seem to be a buildup of something going on, and it seems as though the enemy reacts and starts persecuting believers in the fifth seal. And then when the sixth seal opens, something powerful happens. Worldwide, cataclysmic events occur. And you see these same types of events referred to in the Old Testament as “the day of the Lord.”
       For instance, in Isaiah 13, it says, “for the stars of heaven and their constellations will not flash forth the light, the sun will be dark, and the moon will not shed its light, at the fury of the Lord of hosts in the day of His burning anger.” (Isaiah 13:10, 13, NASB) And Jesus also mentions this in Matthew 24. So, we see that this is somehow an inauguration of the great day of the Lord coming upon mankind.

Host: Now, Steve, I know people can listen to that and they can look at it as you appropriately said, it is a day of judgment. But you also mentioned earlier, God's heart. And this must also be like the final throes of God's mercy to sinners on the earth. One more evidence of the truth and the reality of God with one more opportunity to repent and turn from sin.

Steve: Well, that's what all of this is. These are all wake-up calls at this point. Now, you know, we don't know how the timing of these seals relate to the seven-year tribulation period. It seems as though these six seals are broken during the first 3 1/2 years of the tribulation period. Perhaps the sixth seal occurs about the same time as the Antichrist comes into real worldwide power at the halfway point and then people have to make a choice. They either take the mark of the beast or they completely surrender and submit to the Lord. That's where everything is headed is that great decision.

Host: And you sense that's already happening? You sense that at least building up in the earth now?

Steve: I feel like the gray area is slowly but surely going away and that it's becoming increasingly more black and white. People are either going to be true followers of God or they are going to be totally given over to this world.