Rev 7

Revelation ch 7

D. Those who will be saved in the Great Tribulation (chap. 7)

1. the sealing of the 144,000 of Israel (7:1–8)

Revelation 7:1–3 NLT

Then I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds so they did not blow on the earth or the sea, or even on any tree. And I saw another angel coming up from the east, carrying the seal of the living God. And he shouted to those four angels, who had been given power to harm land and sea, “Wait! Don’t harm the land or the sea or the trees until we have placed the seal of God on the foreheads of his servants.”

The question was raised in 6:17 whether any would be saved in the Tribulation. This is answered in this chapter, and two classes of the saved are mentioned specifically: (1) those who are saved in Israel, (2) those of all nations who, though saved spiritually, are martyred.

Four angels were told to withhold judgment on the earth until the servants of … God were sealed (v. 3).

The seal on their foreheads symbolizes protection and ownership and God’s intention to protect the 12 tribes that are mentioned, much as He protected Noah from the Flood, Israel from the plagues of Egypt, and Rahab and her household in Jericho.

Revelation 7:4–8 NLT

And I heard how many were marked with the seal of God—144,000 were sealed from all the tribes of Israel: from Judah 12,000 from Reuben 12,000 from Gad 12,000 from Asher 12,000 from Naphtali 12,000 from Manasseh 12,000 from Simeon 12,000 from Levi 12,000 from Issachar 12,000 from Zebulun 12,000 from Joseph 12,000 from Benjamin 12,000

John heard the names of 12 tribes with 12,000 from each tribe … sealed and thus protected. The 12 tribes are not “lost” as some contend. Attempts have been made to identify the 12 tribes here with the church, mostly to avoid the implication that this is literally Israel.

The fact that specific tribes were mentioned and specific numbers from each tribe were indicated would seem to remove this from the symbolic and to justify literal interpretation.

If God intended these verses to represent Israel literally, He would have used this means.

Nowhere else in the Bible do a dozen references to the 12 tribes mean the church. Obviously Israel will be in the Tribulation, and though men do not know the identification of each tribe today, certainly God knows.

Much speculation has arisen about why the tribe of Dan is omitted. Joseph and one of his two sons, Manasseh, are listed, but Ephraim, Joseph’s other son, is omitted. Thus if Dan were included, there would have been 13 tribes.

According to J.B. Smith, Scripture contains 29 lists of the tribes of Israel in the Old and New Testaments and in no case are more than 12 tribes mentioned (A Revelation of Jesus Christ, p. 130). The tribe omitted was usually Levi, from which the priesthood came.

Inasmuch as it is normal to have only 12 and not 13 tribes, the omission of Dan is not significant. Perhaps Dan was omitted here because it was one of the first tribes to go into idolatry (Jud. 18:30; cf. 1 Kings 12:28–29). However, Dan is mentioned in Ezekiel 48:2 in the millennial land distribution. The most important fact taught here is that God continues to watch over Israel even in the time of Israel’s great distress. There is no justification whatever for spiritualizing either the number or the names of the tribes in this passage, to make them represent the church.

2. the multitude of martyrs (7:9–17)

Revelation 7:9–12 NLT

After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. And they were shouting with a great roar, “Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living beings. And they fell before the throne with their faces to the ground and worshiped God. They sang, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength belong to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

7:9–12. Then John saw a multitude of people from every nation, tribe, people, and language, who were standing before the throne (i.e., before God the Father) and in front of the Lamb (i.e., God the Son). This is the same group mentioned in 6:9, but here they were wearing white robes and holding palm branches, apparently signifying righteous triumph. As this multitude ascribed salvation to God and to the Lamb, all the angels, the 24 elders, and the 4 living creatures joined them in worship as they did in 5:9–10.

Revelation 7:13–17 NLT

Then one of the twenty-four elders asked me, “Who are these who are clothed in white? Where did they come from?” And I said to him, “Sir, you are the one who knows.” Then he said to me, “These are the ones who died in the great tribulation. They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white. “That is why they stand in front of God’s throne and serve him day and night in his Temple. And he who sits on the throne will give them shelter. They will never again be hungry or thirsty; they will never be scorched by the heat of the sun. For the Lamb on the throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”

7:13–17. One of the 24 elders asked about the origin of those who stood in white robes.

Is it not significant that if the 24 elders represent the church these described here are a different group of the saved? When John indicated that he did not know the answer (v. 14a) the elder himself answered the question as to who this multitude was and where they came from: 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.

It seems evident that these “who have come out of the Great Tribulation” have been martyred and were then safe in heaven. They were given the special privilege of being before God’s throne and serving Him day and night in His temple. They were protected by God Himself and never again would they experience hunger … thirst, or scorching heat, with the implication that this was their experience of suffering on earth.

They were under the special shepherd-care of the Lamb and were drinking from springs of living water.

The narration concludes with the comforting truth that all their tears would be wiped away.

The two groups seen by John were the 144,000 Israelites and a great multitude from every nation, including some Israelites who were not thus protected and who were martyred in the Great Tribulation.

A natural explanation of these two groups is that neither represents the church, the body of Christ in the present Age, because both groups are distinguished from the 24 elders and neither group is clearly identified with the church in this present dispensation.

The events of this chapter, like those in other chapters to follow, do not advance the narrative but are a pause in the description of the events to spotlight a concentrated revelation on a special feature, in this case the answer to the question of 6:17, “Who can stand?”

Though the chapters of Revelation are not all in chronological sequence, chapter 7 depicts a scene in heaven which precedes the second coming of Christ to the earth.

Those seen in heaven were said to “come out of the Great Tribulation” (v. 14). The chapter accordingly indicates how they will be marvelously blessed in heaven after their trials on earth. The 144,000 will appear again (14:1–5), and the multitude of martyrs who were killed for refusing to worship the beast appear again at the time of the resurrection in 20:4. That they are not millennial saints should be evident from the fact that they will be in heaven before God’s throne, and will have been resurrected.

E. The opening of the seventh seal and the introduction of the seven trumpets (chaps. 8–9

1. the opening of the seventh seal (8:1)