In Revelation 7 we find an interlude, that is, a break or pause in the
unveiling of the seven seals. This chapter answers the question found in 6:17,
“Who can stand?” and even though the visions we find here were given subsequently
to those in chapter 6 (see 7:1: “After this I saw….”), what they depict appears
to come chronologically before what Revelation 6 depicts. Chapter 7, then, we
also could describe as an extended parenthesis between the material of
Revelation 6 and that of Revelation 8 (between seals 6 and 7). We know this for
three reasons.
To begin, when we read Revelation 7:1-8 in light of the larger context
of Revelation, we discover it is parallel with 14:1-5 (another indication that
the book recapitulates visions of this entire present church age). There we
read:
Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb,
and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their
foreheads. 2 And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and
like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of
harpists playing on their harps, 3 and they were singing a new song before the
throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could
learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4 It
is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It
is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from
mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, 5 and in their mouth no lie was
found, for they are blameless.
Compare that passage with the first half of this Revelation 7 interlude
(verses 1-8):
After this 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. 2 Then I saw another
angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God,
and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to
harm earth and sea, 3 saying,
“Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the
servants of our God on their foreheads.” 4 And
I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons
of Israel:
5 12,000 from the tribe of Judah
were sealed,
12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,
12,000 from the tribe of Gad,
6 12,000 from the tribe of Asher,
12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,
12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,
7 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,
12,000 from the tribe of Levi,
12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,
8 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,
12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,
12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.
12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,
12,000 from the tribe of Gad,
6 12,000 from the tribe of Asher,
12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,
12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,
7 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,
12,000 from the tribe of Levi,
12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,
8 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,
12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,
12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.
This parallelism between the two passages may not mean much to us until
we grasp that 14:1-5 is also parallel to Revelation 5:9-10 ( “And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are you to take
the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you
ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,
and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign
on the earth.’”). To see this parallelism more clearly, compare this with Revelation
14:3-4. There, of the 144,000, it is written:
“who had been redeemed from the earth…. It is these who follow the Lamb
wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God
and the Lamb….”
The second reason we know that this Revelation 7 interlude goes back
and reveals truths that take place before the material of Revelation 6, has to
do with the parallel nature of Revelation 7:9-10 (“After this I looked, and
behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all
tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the
Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out
with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to
the Lamb!’”) with Revelation 5:9-10 (“And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy
are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by
your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people
and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they
shall reign on the earth.’”). Both of these first two reasons make us lean in
the direction that what is being seen, heard, and written about in chapter
seven precedes what happens in chapter six.
As convincing as these first two reasons are for understanding the
Revelation 7 visions as going back and revealing truths previous to the events
depicted in Revelation 6, the third reason is even more convincing. When we
understand that “the four winds of the earth” (Rev. 7:1) are another way of
depicting the four horsemen of Rev. 6:1-8 (see Jer. 49:36; Dan. 8:8; 11:4; Mt.
24:31; Mk. 13:27), we now clearly see that the four godly angels of 7:1 are
holding back the four horsemen and the events of judgment, discipline, and
trial they unleash in chapter 6. This understanding is confirmed even more in
Rev. 7:2, where it is affirmed that “the four angels who had been given power
to harm earth and sea” are held back from their tasks until the people of God
are sealed. These four evil angels, then, are equated with the four horsemen
of 6:1-8. The sealing of Rev. 7:2-8 must
take place before those events happens. Evidently, the sealing of the people of
Revelation 7:2-8 must take place in a manner that will, in some way, help the
people depicted in this passage against the events of 6:1-8. We turn now to
discovering what this help involves.
The Sealing Of Revelation 7:1-8:
Security In The Face Of Great Hostility
In Revelation 7:1 we read: “After this 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.” We have already
discovered that the “four winds of the earth” are another way of referring to
the four horsemen of 6:1-8. We also must not miss that the vision of these four
angels standing “at the four corners of the earth” is communicating that they
are given an authority over the entire world. This is evident from Isaiah 11:12
(speaking of Messiah: “He will raise a signal for the nations and…gather the
dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth”); Ezekiel 7:2 (speaking
of the coming of the day of the Lord’s wrath: “The end has come upon the four
corners of the land”); and Revelation 20:8 (speaking of the end of this age and
Satan’s world-wide deception, we read: “[he] will come out to deceive the
nations that are at the four corners of the earth”).
As we have already discovered, what these four godly angels are doing
throughout the entire world is making sure that the people depicted in verses
2-8 (“the servants of our God,” v. 3) are sealed in a manner that helps them
against the judgments, disciplines, and trials of Revelation 6:1-8. Consider
Revelation 7:2-4: “Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the
sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the
four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, 3 saying, ‘Do not
harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of
our God on their foreheads.’”
There are a number of truths that help us see that this sealing
signifies God’s saving and preserving of his true saints throughout this church
age from denying Christ and thus falling short of their eternal reward in the face
of the horrible demonic events[1] of
this church age that are depicted in Revelation 6:1-8:
·
The background to the sealing is Ezekiel 9:4-6. In
that passage the prophet Ezekiel has seen several visions that reveal the deep
and horrible idolatry present in Judah, which display they are deserving of
judgment. As a result, he is shown a vision of idolaters being put to death in
Ezekiel 9. However, those who have hated the idolatry and not given into it are
marked on the forehead, which reveals they are true believers and should be
protected from the judgment. These three verses read: “And the Lord said to
him, ‘Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads
of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in
it.’ 5 And to the others he said in my hearing, ‘Pass through the city after
him, and strike. Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. 6 Kill
old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but touch
no one on whom is the mark. And begin at my sanctuary.’ So they began with the
elders who were before the house.” This
Old Testament background to the sealing here suggests to us that we should
expect the recipients of the seal to be protected from divine judgment. Nowhere
does Revelation argue that believers are promised protection from physical
harm, trials, or persecution. In fact, it is affirmed over and over that
believers will face these things in this age. Yet, what is promised is that God
will keep his people from being destroyed in the ultimate sense by Satan and/or
sin while they face such things (see Rev. 3:10, esp. in light of John 17:15).
·
The background to the sealing is also found in
the sealing of ancient kings with their signet ring, an action that shows a
document or other item belongs to that king.[2]
·
According to Revelation 3:12 and 14:1, the seal
is the name of the Lamb and the Father, as well as “the new Jerusalem, which
comes down from my God out of heaven” (Rev. 3:12). Since the new Jerusalem is
the bride of Christ (19:7; 21:2), and so the people of God, this is an
indication that those who are sealed are those who belong to the Father and the
Son/Lamb. This is because they have received and rested upon Jesus Christ as
their Savior. This fits with the reality that this same group of people is
spoken of as the “ransomed people for God” (5:9), that is, “a great
multitude…from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages,
standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes…[with]
Salvation…[who] have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the
Lamb” (Rev. 7:9-14). They are also described as those “who had been redeemed
form the earth…who follow the Lamb wherever he goes…[who] have been redeemed
from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb…” (Rev. 14:3-4).[3]
What is more, these are those who persevere, who conquer and remain faithful to
their Lord (Rev. 3:11-12). Part of what is being affirmed, then, is that
because of God’s saving and preserving work, saints can genuine endure (they
can be secure and remain faithful).
·
The sealing, then, is depicting God’s salvation
and preservation of his people (“the servants of God,” Rev. 7:3) in the face of
the horrible and hostile events that happen throughout this church age, events that
include the opposition and persecution of Christians by the world. Since
believer and unbeliever alike face the phenomena of Revelation 6:1-8—yet for
different reasons and with different results (as we saw last week), the sealing
does not necessarily involve security against physical harm.
·
The people being sealed, as we are about to see,
depict all believers throughout this church age—i.e. the entire New Testament
Church. We will turn to that discovery now.[4]
The Identity Of The 144,000: The
New Covenant Israel (The New Testament Church)
So far, what we have seen about the sealed people lead us to assume
they are believers everywhere throughout this church age. This is especially
the case in light of all the parallels we have seen with these people (3:12;
5:9-10; 7:9-10; 14:1-5). However, we dare not miss that if these are parallels,
those believers pictured in Rev. 7:9 are described as “a great multitude no one
could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages….”
If this is the case, then, how do we square this with the number 144,000 in
verses 4-8? Also, how do we square the
language that suggest these persons are from all over the world with the
language in verses 4-8 that suggests these persons are Israelites? The answer, in both cases, is that we are
dealing with figurative language.
For this conclusion we can also provide more evidence. First, let’s
consider the tribal or Israelite language. Verses 4-8 read:
And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed
from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed,
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 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.
There are several irregularities in the listing of these tribes—irregularities
that lead us away from merely seeing this group literally as referring to
ethnic Jews and toward a view that sees the group as God’s true believers, Jew
and Gentile—and all of which are
succinctly summarized by commentator Dennis Johnson:
The selection and order of the 12 tribes suggest that the
144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel have symbolic
significance, representing the church…. These are not Jacob’s sons, for Dan is
omitted and Manasseh included. They are not the tribes that inherited land in
Canaan, for Dan is omitted, Levi (the priestly tribe) is included, and Joseph
is listed instead of his son Ephraim. Judah, the tribe of the Messiah (5:5),
appears first rather than Reuben, the firstborn. When 7:5–8 is compared with
the list of Jacob’s sons in Gen. 35:22–26, the promotion of tribes descended
from concubines Bilhah and Zilpah (Gad, Asher, Naphtali) over the sons of Leah
and Rachel suggests that those once excluded from privilege are now included.
I agree with Johnson that the irregularities in the list, seen in the
near and far contexts, lead us to believe that what is being pictured here is
the new or true Israel, the New Covenant people of God, made up of Jews and
Gentiles and a people across the centuries of this current age. After all, this
reality is exactly what the Old Testament prophesied (Psalm 87; Isaiah 56) and
the New Testament affirms has taken place—namely that Gentiles who believe in
Jesus Christ are full heirs with Jews who believe in Jesus Christ and now
comprise God’s one people (Eph. 2:11-21; 3:2-13; 1 Peter 2:4-10). Such also is
the teaching of Revelation (3:9; 11:1-14; 12:1-17; 14:1-5; 15:1-4; 19:1-6; 21:12,
14).
Yet, we still have the 12,000 from each tribe that adds up to 144,000.
What are we to make of these numbers? To begin, we need to keep in mind the prevalence
of the figurative use of numbers in the book of Revelation. Beyond this, we
need to keep in mind the figurative use of 12, 12,000, and 144 elsewhere in
Revelation. In Revelation 21:12-14 we learn that the vision John received of
the New Jerusalem in contains twelve gates with the names of the twelve tribes
on them and twelve foundations under the city wall with the names of the twelve
apostles on them. This appears to symbolize that the new Jerusalem is comprised
of the Old and New Covenant people of God.
In this context we also see the city is a cube in its dimensions, that
cubed measurement being 12,000 stadia (1,380 miles)—suggesting it is all the
place of full fellowship with and the presence of God (the Holy of Holies,
which itself was a cube in its dimensions, 1 Kings 6:20). Given what we have
just seen, most likely, the reader is intended to see that 12,000 as a multiple
of 12 x 1,000. In other words, the 12 reminds the reader of what we just saw in
the twelve tribes and twelve apostles—i.e. these are the full people of God. The fact that it is
multiplied by 1,000 most likely emphasizes the fullness to a greater degree.
Finally, in that same Revelation 21 passage we learn the wall of the
city is 144 cubits (this may be its thickness and height), which is about 216
feet. The 144, though, is 12x12. Again, this most likely is suggesting this is
the place of the full people of God who are fully protected and secure.[5]
If I am correct in this understanding of Revelation’s figurative use of
numbers in general and the use of the number 12 and 1,000 in particular, what
we have here is a strong emphasis on the full number of the people of God: 12 x
12 x 1,000 =144,000.
Conclusion
So, what is being revealed here in Revelation 7:1-8 is that even though
the people of God in this church age face a cursed world with all the trials
taking place in it, as well as push back from the world at best and full-blown
persecution at worst, God has promised his people that he will not only apply
the redemption Christ accomplished, but will continue to apply it and to
preserve them so that they can persevere in their faith—not falling short of
their eternal reward.
This first half of the Revelation 7 interlude or parenthesis, then,
gives a similar promise we find in Luke 18:16-19, a discourse by Jesus that
tells of the same events and phenomena covered in Revelation 6-7: “You will be
delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some
of you they will put to death. You will be hated by all for my name's sake. But
not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your
lives.” There it is affirmed that though Christians will lose their lives in
this age because of persecution, nevertheless, they will not be destroyed in
the ultimate sense. In other words, in the ultimate sense, when it comes to a
person’s relationship to God and their eternal reward, “not a hair of your head
will perish,” and so they will gain full life through their endurance.
In the next blog post I will look at the second half of this Revelation
7 interlude (verses 9-17), which reveals the heavenly existence and response of
those believers who have been saved, preserved, and so have their eternal
reward, those who have come out of the tribulation of this life.
Joyfully United To Christ and Secure With You In The Face Of Hostility,
Tom
[1] We have already seen that,
in accordance with the throne room visions of Revelation 4-5, the events
depicted in these chapters of Revelation in general and in the seven seals in
particular, take place ultimately because God has ordained them. It is said in
regard to the evil spirits in the first four seals in Revelation that it “was
given” to them to do what they are doing (Rev. 6:4, 8; 7:2). This means that
though they are fully doing what they desire and they have moral responsibility
in it (and so this is why I say they are “demonic”), they can do what they are
doing because God has ordained to permit them to do it. God is permitting what
he hates to accomplish things he loves.
[3] The name of the Lamb and the
Father on the foreheads of the 144,000 in Rev. 14:1-5 is placed in opposition
to the mark of the beast on the right hand or forehead, which shows such
persons worship the image of the beast (Rev. 13:15-18). As such, those marked
with the name of the Lamb and Father are most likely those who worship the
Father and Lamb!
[4]
If we have understood this text correctly and the vision here in 7:1-8 is to
suggest that all true believers of this age are protected by God against
falling and failing in the ultimate way, then we are not to take the
particulars of the relationship of the chapter seven vision to that of chapter
six (seven precedes six), we are not to take this so literally that the sealing
for all people must chronologically precede all the trials, persecution, and
judgment of Revelation six. The point of the relationship is that all genuine
believers facing these things in this age are truly sealed and protected.
[5]
Another New Testament text that supports this understanding is Acts 1:12-26,
where Luke records the choice of Matthias to take the place of Judas Iscariot
as an apostle so that the number of apostles could be full. Why was it important
to be at twelve and not eleven? Most
likely, because Luke wants readers to see the apostles (representative of the
New Covenant people of God) as connected into the twelve tribes of Israel. In
other words, the New Testament Church is the New Israel. This is also supported
by language in Acts 2 that suggests the Day of Pentecost (and the coming of the
Spirit upon the New Testament Church) was to be seen as parallel to God
bringing his glory and presence upon the Old Covenant Temple (compare 2 Chronicles
7:1 with Acts 2:3), which suggests that the New Covenant people of God comprise
the end-times temple of God (an emphasis also seen in Revelation).
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