Revelation Series Study Sheet
Revelation Series Study Sheet Week 10—July 8 Message Title: Who Can Stand? Text: Revelation 7
Read Revelation 7 If the 144,000 servants of God refers to all followers of Jesus (including us), then it is we who receive the seal of God upon our foreheads. Read these verses and discuss what this seal means: (2 Cor 1:22; Eph 1:13; 4:30; Rev 14:1). To be sealed by God doesn’t mean we are protected from suffering, but protected in suffering. How does God’s Spirit protect us in the midst of suffering? How have you experienced the presence and power of God in the midst of suffering and hardship in your life? Read this quote from Scott Peck: “Life is difficult. This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it. Once we truly know that life is difficult—once we truly understand and accept it— then life is no longer difficult because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters.”1 Discuss the quote above. Have you honestly accepted the reality that life is difficult? How does accepting this reality help us face pain in life? Rev 7:9-17 is a beautiful picture of life in the new creation, when we finally come through the ‘great tribulation’ of this present life. What image captures your heart most in this passage? What hope does this passage give you amidst our present difficulties? What has been most important and helpful to you when you have gone through times of pain and suffering? What has been unhelpful? Are there others around you who are experiencing hardship at the moment that you can practically show the love of Jesus to in some way? How can this passage strengthen you to stand firm in your faith when times of difficulty come along?
1
M. Scott Peck¸ The Road Less Travelled (Random House: London, 1983).
Read Revelation 7 If the 144,000 servants of God refers to all followers of Jesus (including us), then it is we who receive the seal of God upon our foreheads. Read these verses and discuss what this seal means: (2 Cor 1:22; Eph 1:13; 4:30; Rev 14:1). To be sealed by God doesn’t mean we are protected from suffering, but protected in suffering. How does God’s Spirit protect us in the midst of suffering? How have you experienced the presence and power of God in the midst of suffering and hardship in your life? Read this quote from Scott Peck: “Life is difficult. This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it. Once we truly know that life is difficult—once we truly understand and accept it— then life is no longer difficult because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters.”1 Discuss the quote above. Have you honestly accepted the reality that life is difficult? How does accepting this reality help us face pain in life? Rev 7:9-17 is a beautiful picture of life in the new creation, when we finally come through the ‘great tribulation’ of this present life. What image captures your heart most in this passage? What hope does this passage give you amidst our present difficulties? What has been most important and helpful to you when you have gone through times of pain and suffering? What has been unhelpful? Are there others around you who are experiencing hardship at the moment that you can practically show the love of Jesus to in some way? How can this passage strengthen you to stand firm in your faith when times of difficulty come along?
1
M. Scott Peck¸ The Road Less Travelled (Random House: London, 1983).
