Revelation 7: God places a seal of protection on his people.
Revelation 7: After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the land, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: 3 “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”
9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” 11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying:
“Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”
13 Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?” 14 I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore, “they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. 16 ‘Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them,’ nor any scorching heat.
17 For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”
Revelation 7:1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the land, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: 3 “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”
In the midst of all of this death and destruction God now shows the Church that he is going to mark them for their protection. The mark or seal shows ownership and protection by God. A good example of this is found in the Passover story.
When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down. Exodus 12:21-23
In Ezekiel 9:3-6 the believers are marked for protection prior to judgment on the unbelievers. The mark they received was the Hebrew letter tav, the ancient form of which was +, the cross. Tertullian 200 A.D, wrote that in doing this God had shown through Ezekiel, “the very form of the cross.”
In Exodus 28:36 the High Priest’s forehead is marked, “Holy to The Lord.” And in Deuteronomy 6:6-8 all of God’s people are sealed on the forehead with the law.
Finally, Christians have all been sealed by God through baptism, the seal of the Spirit; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, Galatians 3:27, Ephesians 1:13-14 & 4:3
Revelation 7:4 Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.
From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed,
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 12,000.
Judgment will be poured out on the apostates, those who did not keep the Old Covenant, those responsible for the crucifixion of the Son, but God’s faithful servants, the true children of Abraham, will be spared. Remember the first Christians were all Jews who accepted Christ as the Messiah. And among their number were even members of the religious ruling class, the Pharisees. Acts 15:5
As James taught, James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings. James 1:1. 144,000 is symbolic of the fact that God had chosen a remnant out of which the church was formed.
See also Romans 9:27-28
1,000 was the basic military division in Israel. Numbers 31:1-5, 2 Samuel 18:1, I Chronicles 12:20
In terms of these Old Testament images, as John hears the names of the tribes called out, he is hearing the military roll call of the Lord of Hosts. There were 12 tribes each with 12 divisions of 1,000. Keep in mind that in the Bible the number 1,000 was the symbol for vastness, for example, God owns the cattle on a thousand hills, meaning that God owns all the cattle. Psalm 50:10, 68:17, 84:10, 90:4, Deuteronomy 1:11, 7:9
As Micah prophesied, from Bethlehem would come the one to be ruler.
Now gather yourself in troops, O daughter of troops; He has laid siege against us; They will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek. The Coming Messiah
2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting…
For now He shall be great
To the ends of the earth;
5 And this One shall be peace…
7 Then the remnant of Jacob
Shall be in the midst of many peoples… Micah 5:1-5
And, of course that prophesy was fulfilled in as much as Jesus, the Messiah, was born in Bethlehem.
Revelation 7:9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands
The Covenant promises to Israel find their fulfillment in the salvation of the world. An innumerable multitude of the redeemed from every nation, the Church, worship before the throne of God. Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Genesis 15:5, 22:17-18
It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth. Isaiah 49:6
For more than a century, Christianity has, unfortunately succumbed to defeatism; putting more weight in the depravity of man than in the sovereignty of Jesus Christ who has told us that he reigns over the nations. But Christians did not always share our “modern” defeatist theology.
“You must not fancy then, that God sits helplessly by while the world, which he has created for himself, hurtles hopelessly to destruction, and he is only able to snatch with difficulty here and there a brand from the universal burning… Through all the years one increasing purpose runs; the kingdoms of the earth become ever more and more the Kingdom of our God and his Christ.” Benjamin Warfield, “Biblical and Theological Studies”
“I myself believe that King Jesus will reign, and the idols be utterly abolished; but I expect the same power which turned the world upside down once will still continue to do it. The Holy Ghost would never suffer the imputation to rest upon his holy name that he was not able to convert the world.” Charles Spurgeon, Still Waters Revival Books, swrb.com
Revelation 7:13 Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?”
14 I answered, “Sir, you know.”
And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Jesus had warned his disciples about the coming great tribulation Matthew 24:21, Mark 13:19, Luke 21, a tribulation that would take place during the lifetime of the current generation Matthew 24:34, Mark 13:30, Luke 21:32, the greatest tribulation that Israel was to ever experience Matthew 24:21, Mark 13:19
The First Century Christians reading Revelation learned that they were not an insignificant, tiny, forgotten group of persecuted people; rather, they were a vast throng of conquerors, standing in white robes, washed clean in by the blood of the Lamb, their Creator, sustainer, and Savior, before the Heavenly Throne of God.
“The remarkable thing is that although Christians were by no means numerous till after the middle of the second century, they recognized that Christianity formed the central point of humanity… It is truly amazing that a tiny set of people should confront the entire strength of the Roman Empire.” Adolfo Harnack, “The Mission and Expansion of Christianity in the First Three Centuries”
In the time of my favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you; I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances,
9 to say to the captives, ‘Come out,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!’ “They will feed beside the roads and find pasture on every barren hill.
10 They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water.
11 I will turn all my mountains into roads, and my highways will be raised up.
12 See, they will come from afar— some from the north, some from the west, some from the region of Aswan.”
13 Shout for joy, you heavens; rejoice, you earth; burst into song, you mountains! For the Lord comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones. Isaiah 49:8-13
As Promised in prophesy, God had provided comfort and compassion for his New Covenant community. They have been cleansed and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
The same is true for Christians today. No matter what circumstances you are facing, no matter what temptation is enticing you, never lose sight that Christ has sealed you. Never lose heart. You are never alone. You belong to Christ. He bought you at great price.
I Corinthians 6:20 Tell the world!