Over the past two weeks, in Revelation 4 and 5, we've read about what happened in heaven, after Jesus ascended into the clouds. Jesus rises up, disappears, out of the sight of his disciples. And he rises up into the heavenly throne room, into the midst of the four living creatures.
And when we saw Jesus in God's throne room, it made us stop and reflect on Jesus has accomplished through his life and death.
What exactly has Jesus done? One of the beautiful things about Revelation, is the way it broadens our perspective, and helps us appreciate how much Jesus accomplished.
Part of the answer, is that Jesus has freed us from our sins by his blood (Revelation 1:5).
Another part of the answer, is that Jesus has purchased us, making us a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, who serve God.
A third way to explain it, is that Jesus has conquered Death and Hades, and now has the key to both (Revelation 1:18).
A fourth way to explain it, and this idea is central to much of what follows, is that Jesus has received this sealed book/scroll. He alone, because of his life, death, and resurrection, was worthy to receive the scroll. And this scroll contains God's plan for the world. So you can say, basically, that God's plan for the world was on pause. Heaven and earth were a bit stuck. And Jesus, as Lion-Lamb, hits the play button. God's plan for the world can now make progress.
Now, there's a lot of debate about how we should read these next several chapters in Revelation. Almost everyone would say that they show God's plan being carried out. But people disagree on how to interpret it.
We are about to read three different sets of visions (adapted from Louis Brighton, Revelation, 151, with one huge difference-- he thinks 6:12-17 IS the end):
First Vision: Seven Seals Second Vision: Seven Trumpets Third Vision: Seven Censers
Scenes 1-5: Seals 1-5 Scenes 1-5: Trumpets 1-5 Scenes 1-5: Censers 1-5
(6:1-11) (8:6-9:12) (15:1-16:11)
(no battle scene) Scene 6: Sixth Trumpet, Great Battle Scene 6: Sixth Censer, Battle
Scene 6: Sixth Seal, Almost Scene 7: Seventh Trumpet, End Scene 7: Seventh Censer, End
End of This World? (6:12-17) of This World (11:15-19) of This World (16:17-21)
Scene 7: 7th Seal Introduces
the 2nd Vision (8:1-5)
The question that's debated, is how these three different sets of visions fit together. I grew up in an evangelical tradition that tries its very best to read Revelation as a chronological timeline, with one thing happening after another. The trumpets chronologically follow after the seals. The censers/bowls, chronologically follow after the trumpets.
But when you read NT scholars, there is a broad consensus that this is a mistake. It doesn't work. So it's better, probably, to think of these three visions as broadly [but not completely] overlapping. Each of these three visions paints a picture of the time between Jesus' ascension to heaven, and Jesus' return. Other parts of what we are
going to read, have happened in the past. It's complicated.
But what we will see, is that we are living in the time of Scenes 1-5. The church, for almost 2,000 years, has been living in the beginnings of the birth pains, that mark the end of this world. We are not living in the end. The end is still in the future (Mark 13:7-8). But we are very close to the end.
As we read, we are going to hear about things like earthquakes, and famines, and wars, and disease. And some of you might be tempted to read Revelation in one hand, and a newspaper in the other. You'll find yourself thinking about the Ebola virus, or Covid, or earthquakes in Syria and Turkey, or the war in Ukraine. You might assume that these things are evidence that we are living in the last days before Jesus' return, in a way that the church for 2000 years has not.
But the picture Revelation paints for us, is the common experience of the church that's run for 2000 years. We will see ourselves in the book, to be sure, but we will do so in the same way that church has seen itself over since Jesus ascended.
Now, if I'm right, what's the goal of this section of Revelation?
Let me read something from Louis Brighton:
"The events displayed in the three visions are not given for the purpose of predicting particular events in human history. Rather, they are presented so as to portray conditions, circumstances, situations, environments, and contexts in which people find themselves during the time period covered . . . The purpose is to move all people to repentance and faith before the End" (Louis Brighton, Revelation, 150-51).
If we think about these visions in light of the introductory letters, we will see that some Christians need to repent. Some need to recommit themselves to Jesus as King. Some, simply need to be encouraged to hang on, despite all their hardship, and conquer through obedience, and faithful testimony about Jesus. Every Christian, and every church, needs different things. And these visions give us what we need to hear, to be faithful and committed to God, and to the Lion-Lamb.
There's one other thing I should say before we dive in. The only way we are going to hear these chapters correctly, is if we understand that they were not originally written to us. John is addressing seven churches living in Asia, in the first century, under the Roman empire. Keeping this is mind might be hard, but it's part of the key to hearing these chapters correctly.
Now, I don't necessarily expect any of you to believe anything I just said. If you find yourself having mental reservations, that's completely okay. This is something I will have to prove to you, and that's completely fair. All I'll ask, is that you try to be a little open-minded, and that you understand that everything I've just said is probably the dominant position of NT scholarship.
So. Jesus is worthy to break the seals, and open up the book. God's plan for the world begins to make progress.
And what we are going to see, very quickly, is that God's plan for the world involves judgment. God, right now-- not just in the distant future-- is bringing judgment on the earth. And as we read, wrestle with whether or not this is good news. Is this terrifying, or encouraging?
So John is still in heaven, still in God's throne room. And this is what he sees, verse 1-2:
(1) and I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals,
and I heard one of the four living creatures saying like the sound of thunder,
"Come!",
(2) and I saw,
and LOOK! A white horse!,
and the one seated upon it having a bow,
and a crown was given to him,
and he went out conquering,
and in order that he would conquer,
So the Lamb opens the first seal, and out comes a rider on a white horse, armed with a bow, crown on his head, to go out conquering.
Is this a good thing? Is this encouraging, or scary?
I think it's sort of both. If we were first century Roman Christians, we'd pick up the scary part of this immediately. On the eastern edge of the empire, was the Parthians. And the Parthians were well-known for their horse archers [and every Parthian army apparently always made sure to have some white horses it, for what it's worth]. Fast, deadly, hard to defeat, hard to kill. And the Parthians were certainly not part of the Roman empire. They were a threat, above all else.
At the same time, the overall feel of this first rider should feel positive (h/t Boxall?). The horse's color is white, which we've already seen is the color of holiness, and victory. A crown is given to this rider, just like a crown is promised to those of us who faithfully endure. And this rider goes out to conquer, just as Jesus has conquered, and just as Jesus calls us to conquer. All of this language-- the white, the crown, the conquering-- is positive language (at this point in the book).
In the end, if you were a first century Roman Christian, the question of whether this rider is scary, or encouraging, comes down to your focus in life. If you identify yourself as a citizen of the decaying superpower called Rome, and you live a compromised life (Revelation 2:20-23), then this is terrifying.
But if you identify, above all else, with the Lamb, and with God's kingdom, then the white horse should be an encouragement. If the Lamb sends out this conquering rider, we should assume that he is fighting, conquering, for us.
With this, we come to verse 3, the second horseman of the apocalypse:
(3) and when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying,
"Come!,"
(4) and another horse-- fiery red-- came out,
and the one seated upon it-- it was given to him to take the peace from the earth,
and in order that one another, they would slaughter,
and it was given to him a large sword,
One of the main goals of the Roman empire, was to bring peace throughout the kingdom. The goal was to have secure borders, free from external threats. And within those borders, the goal was that Romans would live in peace with one another. This even has a fancy Latin name-- Pax Romana.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pax_Romana
And the Lamb sends out the second rider, to take peace away. Instead, people would slaughter one another.
And to this end, the second rider is given a sword.
When we read about these first two riders together, we see that there's a shared, overlapping mission. These two riders, working together, are going to kill lots of people. And they will make it so that people, kill lots of people. They will make the world a violent, dangerous place. And they do this, in obedience to the Lamb.
Third seal, verse 5:
(5) and when he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying,
"Come!,"
and I saw,
and LOOK! A black horse!,
and the one seated upon it having a balance scale in his hand,
(6) and I heard as a voice in the middle of the four living creatures saying,
"A quart of wheat for a denarius (a day's wage),
and three quarts of barley for a denarius,
and the olive oil and the wine don't harm,"
The opening of the third seal, leads to the third living creature speaking, which leads to a third rider coming. And what this rider brings, is inflation. A quart of wheat is what one person needs, to survive one day. And a denarius, is a day's wage. So my wife and I could work all day, and make just enough money to feed ourselves with wheat. There's nothing extra for shelter, or clothing, or anything, unless we work longer hours than a typical work day. Or, we could buy an inferior food-- barley-- and almost make it financially.
At the same time, there's plenty of olive oil and wine. Scholars disagree about how to understand this. A few people argue that olive oil and wine are luxury items. And so what this rider does, basically, is make it so that the things you need, you can hardly afford. And the things you don't need, are reasonably priced. Maybe it's a bit like how TVs are cheap, and food is expensive.
But most scholars, I think, would say that olive oil and wine weren't really luxuries. They were a normal part of life. And the reason they are excluded, is because the Lamb is softening the judgment. Things are not as bad as they could be.
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Craig Koester, Revelation, 397:
Some interpreters suggest that oil and wine were luxury items (Reddish), but this is not the case. Both rich and poor, and even slaves, regularly consumed oil and wine (Deut 7:13; 1 Kgs 17:12; Lam 2:12; Joel 1:10; Cato, Agr. 56–58). In times of shortage, however, people would purchase bread before other foodstuffs.
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And if you think about these three foods together-- barley, and olive oil, and wine, you can picture this. You maybe live in a world with rampant inflation, where you find yourself having to cut back, and buy inferior food. You might be horrified at how much of your budget goes to pay for food. But at the end of the day, as tough as things are, you can still make yourself a nice olive oil dip for your bread. And you can still finish off your humble supper with a bottle of red wine. It sounds a bit like the first course, at a nice restaurant. And you just have to not think about the missing steak, in the second course. I don't want to make light of this. Inflation is not a joking matter for any of us. But the point Revelation makes here, with the oil and the wine, is that things could be worse.
So what we see from this third horse, is that God's plan for the world, that Jesus unlocks, includes shortages, and inflation. These things are Jesus' judgment on the world. And these are things that naturally go with warfare. Scarcity, and inflation, tend to be byproducts of war.
Verse 7-8, fourth horse:
(7) and when he opened the fourth seal, I heard a voice of the fourth living creature saying,
"Come!,"
(8) and I saw,
and LOOK! A pale green/deathly horse!,
and the one seated on it-- its name is Death--
and the Hades was following after him,
and it was given to them authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill by the sword and by famine and by pestilence and by the wild animals of the earth,
Here again, we see a broad overlap between this fourth horse, and the other three. The fourth rider is Death, with Hades following after. And Death is given authority over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, and famine, and pestilence, and wild animals. Lots of people are going to die, in lots of different ways.
At the same time, we see again that God's judgment is limited. As bad as things sound, only a fourth of the earth is said to be killed by these things. I don't think we are supposed to take this literally, like God gets out a calculator. Numbers in Revelation don't work like that. But the point, is that the judgment is limited.
And all of this judgment, again, is God's plan, carried out by the Lamb.
This brings us to verse 9-11, the fifth seal. Here, we find our attention shifting. We see things in heaven, not earth:
(9) and when he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls/lives of the ones having been slaughtered
because of the word of God
and because of the testimony which they had,
(10) and they cried out with a great voice saying,
"How long, O Master-- The Holy and True One-- will you not judge
and will you not avenge our blood from the ones dwelling upon the earth?,"
(11) and it was given to each of them a white robe,
and it was said to them that they should rest yet a short time until they were filled/completed-- also/even their fellow slaves, and their brothers-- the ones about to be killed as also/even they [were],
When these martyrs died, it's like they were sacrificed on God's heavenly altar (the heavenly duplicate of the earthly altar). Their blood/life flowed down, under the altar. And they cried out, from there, wanting God to judge, and wanting God to avenge their blood. They wanted to know "how long."
How should we understand this seal?
I think this seal comes, as a response to the first four seals. God's judgment has already been set in motion. God is sending war, and inflation, and famine, and pestilence, upon the world, as an act of judgment. But God's judgment has been limited. The inflation, isn't as bad as it could be. The wars, and violence, and famine, and pestilence, could be worse. God has not yet made things fully right.
And the martyrs want more. The types of judgment God is bringing are not enough.
And God doesn't disagree with them. Something more is needed. But the time is not yet right. Something needs to be "filled."
But what needs to be filled? It's debated, but I think (with maybe the majority) that there is a full number of martyrs that needs to be filled, before the final judgment. Their fellow brothers in Christ, and fellow slaves (co-slaves), need to join them first.
Hearing this should make us pause. When we read stories about people Antipas being martyred (Revelation 2:13), we need to realize that these are not just old stories. There is a high cost to being Jesus' disciple, and that cost sometimes includes your very life. For 2,000 years, some of God's people have found themselves faithful up to death. They've been sacrificed on God's altar, with their blood pouring out on it. They've found themselves joining this group, asking how long. And the day may come, when we join them.
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Gerhard Krodel, Revelation, pg. 172, helpfully notes that "the ones dwelling upon the earth" (Revelation 3:10; 6:10; 8:13; 11:10; 13:8, 12, 14; 17:8) signifies "idolaters, opponents of God and the Lamb and of his faithful people" (pg. 172). It doesn't signify God's people, and we aren't expected to hear ourselves in this category.
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So the martyrs cry out for judgment, and vengeance, and in response, Jesus opens the sixth of seven seals.
Verse 12-17:
(12) and I saw when he opened the sixth scroll,
and a great earthquake became (=occurred),
and the sun became (same word) black as a sackcloth made of hair,
and the whole moon became like blood,
(13) and the stars of heaven fell toward the earth,
like a fig tree throws its unripe figs,
[when] by a great wind being shaken,
(14) and the heaven was split like a scroll being rolled up,
and every mountain and island from their places were removed,
(15) and the kings of the earth and the ones of high rank and the military leaders and the rich and the powerful and every slave and free person hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains,
(16) and they say to the mountains and to the rocks,
"Fall upon us,
and hide us from the face of the one seated upon the throne
and from the wrath of the lamb,
(17) because the great day of their wrath has come,
and who is able to stand?"
The first thing I'd like you to see in these verses, is the inconsistency. In verse 14, every mountain is removed.
Now hop to down verse 16. They say to the mountains, fall upon us.
If every mountain is removed, how can mountains fall on people?
This little inconsistency is another clue about how we are expected to read this book. We can't get caught up in trying to read things as literally as possible. That's not the kind of book Revelation is. Revelation paints pictures. It's more like abstract art. And we are supposed to let those pictures hit us. We are supposed to feel them, and not pick them apart.
So what are we supposed to feel, when we read the sixth seal being opened? It seems like we are reading about the end of the world here. We are no longer reading about events from the first century, or from our century. We no longer see ourselves here. This is something different. Something more. Heaven and earth are disappearing. God, and the Lamb, are furious with the world. The great day of their wrath has come, and everyone dwelling on the earth hides, and wants to die.
Are we ready for this?
My guess is that we are a lot like the first century Roman readers. We want justice. We want vengeance. We want God, and the Lamb, to fully exercise their authority over the earth. And these are good desires. This is legitimate.
But can we handle the sixth seal? Can we handle the wrath of God, and the Lamb?
Who can stand? (Craig Koester points to 1 Sam 6:20; Ps 76:7; Nah 1:6; Mal 3:2, as verses asking the same question)
Can we? Can God's people?
That's the note the sixth seal leaves us on. And that's the note, that we end on this morning. Who can stand before the wrath of God, and the Lamb?
So when we take a step back, and think about chapter 6 as a whole, what do we see?
Let's start, by thinking about Jesus.
Jesus, through his sacrificial death, resurrection, and ascension, was worthy to open the seals that locked God's plan for us, and for the world. Once Jesus ascended, he received the book, and God's plan pushed forward.
We know a lot about God's plan from the letters to the seven churches. If we are faithful, and live holy lives, the day is coming when we will inherit the earth. We will be crowned. We will receive eternal life in God's kingdom.
But the path to all of that happening, is the path of wrath and judgment on the ones dwelling on earth.
As we look around the world, we can see the beginnings of the birth pains of the end. We see wars. We see people slaughtering each other. We see inflation. We see famine. We see deadly disease.
And when we see these things, Revelation teaches us to see them as the wrath of God, and of the Lamb. God and the Lamb are actively creating a world that's scary, and feels like it's falling apart. No one is really ever safe. No superpower-- not even a Rome, or a U.S.-- can create peace, or prosperity, or security, for its citizens. The four riders make sure that this will prove impossible.
So when we look at life falling apart, John wants us to be encouraged. These are good things. These are signs that God is fighting for his church. These are signs that God's plan has been set in motion.
So we maybe wonder, why the delay? Why do we see God's wrath in a limited fashion now? We ask ourselves,
"How long until God will fully judge the world?"
As we keep reading Revelation, we will see that the reason God is delaying, is because He is giving the world (Revelation 9:20-21), and the churches (Revelation 2:5), time to repent.
God is giving all of us a chance, right now, to stop, and think. This is our chance to see that all the things we maybe put our trust in-- money (Revelation 3:17), idols, government, a full freezer-- can't protect us. God is in the business of toppling superpowers. Even if you live in a decaying superpower like the U.S., away from the big cities, you will never really safe from all the effects of conquest, and bloodshed, and inflation, and famine, and disease.
If you aren't part of God's people, or if you've abandoned your first love, you have a choice to make. You can hang on. You can trust in things that can't protect you. You can continue to worship idols, and be sexually immoral, and go your own way. Or you can understand that God's wrath, up to this point, is designed to steer you back to him. You can turn from your sin. Submit to God, and to the Lamb. Repent.
And John wants you to know, that one day it will be even worse. The great day of wrath, is a truly terrible day. So this is your window to repent.
If you are living faithfully, chapter 6 is still scary. You still find yourself wondering, maybe, who can stand? Can God's people survive God's wrath on the world?
But when you find yourselves desperate for God's justice, and for God to make things right, Revelation 6 is the perfect chapter. When you read the news, understand that you are seeing God's plan set in motion. Hang on. Be patient, as you wait for the full number of martyrs. And trust that God's kingdom, is no shaky superpower. God's army can't be defeated. What God plans, He will carry out.
Translation:
(1) and I saw when the lamb opened one of the seven seals,
and I heard one of the four living creatures saying like the sound of thunder,
"Come!",
(2) and I saw,
and LOOK! A white horse!,
and the one seated upon it having a bow,
and a crown was given to him,
and he went out conquering,
and in order that he would conquer,
(3) and when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying,
"Come!,"
(4) and another horse-- fiery red-- came out,
and the one seated upon it-- it was given to him to take the peace from the earth,
and in order that one another, they would slaughter,
and it was given to him a large sword,
(5) and when he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying,
"Come!,"
and I saw,
and LOOK! A black horse!,
and the one seated upon it having a balance scale in his hand,
(6) and I heard as a voice in the middle of the four living creatures saying,
"A quart of wheat for a denarius,
and three quarts of barley for a denarius,
and the olive oil and the wine don't harm,"
(7) and when he opened the fourth seal, I heard a voice of the fourth living creature saying,
"Come!,"
(8) and I saw,
and LOOK! A pale green/deathly horse!,
and the one seated on it-- its name is Death--
and the Hades was following after him,
and it was given to them authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill by the sword and by famine and by pestilence and by the wild animals of the earth,
(9) and when he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of the ones having been slaughtered
because of the word of God
and because of the testimony which they had,
(10) and they cried out with a great voice saying,
"How long, O Master-- The Holy and True One-- will you not judge
and will you not avenge our blood from the ones dwelling upon the earth?,"
(11) and it was given to each of them a white robe,
and it was said to them that they should rest yet a short time until they were filled-- both their fellow slaves, and their brothers-- the ones about to be killed as also they [were],
(12) and I saw when he opened the sixth scroll,
and a great earthquake became (=occurred),
and the sun became (same word) black as a sackcloth made of hair,
and the whole moon became like blood,
(13) and the stars of heaven fell toward the earth,
like a fig tree throws its unripe figs,
[when] by a great wind being shaken,
(14) and the heaven was split like a scroll being rolled up,
and every mountain and island from their places were removed,
(15) and the kings of the earth and the ones of high rank and the military leaders and the rich and the powerful and every slave and free person hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains,
(16) and they say to the mountains and to the rocks,
"Fall upon us,
and hide us from the face of the one seated upon the throne
and from the wrath of the lamb,
(17) because the great day of their wrath has come,
and who is able to stand?"
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Notes on verse 9:
Craig Koester, Revelation, 399, on souls:
the souls. Revelation pictures the martyrs’ souls (psychai) between their deaths and final resurrection. Some people thought of the soul as an immortal element trapped in a perishable body, so death released the soul from its prison for life with God or the gods (Seneca the Younger, Ep. 102.22). Revelation, however, refrains from calling the soul immortal and emphasizes that creatures with “souls” do die (Rev 8:9; 12:11; 16:3; 20:4). Death does not release the soul to immortality but leads to a period of waiting in the care of God. Revelation locates the souls under the altar, while other sources picture them being kept in chambers (L.A.B. 23:13; 4 Ezra 4:35; 7:32; 2 Bar. 30:1–2). The final resurrection does not involve clothing disembodied souls with new bodies (Josephus, J.W. 3.372–74) but bringing souls to life (ezesan) in a newly embodied way (COMMENT on Rev 20:4–5; cf. Schwindt, “Klageruf,” 121; Wright, Resurrection, 201).
ME: In Revelation, sea creatures are described as "having souls" (Revelation 8:9), and as being living "souls" (Revelation 16:3).
Martyrs are people who don't love "their souls" until/up to death (Revelation 12:11).
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A note on an alternative understanding of what's "filled/completed":
One of the other dominant views on the "fullness" draws from extrabiblical literature, which expects of a fullness/completeness to the number of God's people, rather than the full number of martyrs. But I think the "also" points to others who will join them, becoming martyrs like them:
2 Esdras 2:37-41, NRSV:
the Lord has entrusted to you and be joyful, giving thanks to him who has called you to the celestial kingdoms. 38 Rise, stand erect and see the number of those who have been sealed at the feast of the Lord. 39 Those who have departed from the shadow of this age have received glorious garments from the Lord. 40 Take again your full number, O Zion, and close the list of your people who are clothed in white, who have fulfilled the law of the Lord. 41 The number of your children, whom you desired, is now complete; implore the Lord’s authority that your people, who have been called from the beginning, may be made holy.”
1 Enoch 47:1-4 (NRSV):
47 1 “In those days, the prayers of the righteous ascended into heaven, and the blood of the righteous from the earth before the Lord of the Spirits. 2 There shall be days when all the holy ones who dwell in the heavens above shall dwell (together). And with one voice, they shall supplicate and pray—glorifying, praising, and blessing the name of the Lord of the Spirits—on behalf of the blood of the righteous ones which has been shed. Their prayers shall not stop from exhaustion before the Lord of the Spirits—neither will they relax forever—(until)f judgment is executed for them.” 3 In those days, I saw him—the Antecedent of Time, while he was sitting upon the throne of his glory, and the books of the living ones were open before him. And all his power in heaven above and his escorts stood before him. 4 The hearts of the holy ones are filled with joy, because the number of the righteous has been offered, the prayers of the righteous ones have been heard, and the blood of the righteous has been admitted before the Lord of the Spirits.
4 Ezra 4:33-37 NRSV:
33 Then I answered and said, “How long? When will these things be? Why are our years few and evil?” 34 He answered me and said, “Do not be in a greater hurry than the Most High. You, indeed, are in a hurry for yourself, but the Highest is in a hurry on behalf of many. 35 Did not the souls of the righteous in their chambers ask about these matters, saying, ‘How long are we to remain here? And when will the harvest of our reward come?’ 36 And the archangel Jeremiel answered and said, ‘When the number of those like yourselves is completed; for he has weighed the age in the balance, 37 and measured the times by measure, and numbered the times by number; and he will not move or arouse them until that measure is fulfilled.’ ”
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