Revelation 7:1-8--The 144,000 of Israel Sealed

Revelation 7:1-8
English Standard Version

The 144,000 of Israel Sealed
7 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.

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The time of Great Tribulation is about to begin!  As four angels prepare for the judgments by holding back the winds from all directions so that everything will be quiet and still, another angel, who seems to have authority over them, orders them not to begin until the people of God have been sealed.  This seal is to mark them to keep them safe from being caught up in the judgment that is to come.  It is uncertain if this mark is going to be something that man can see or if only the angels and God will be able to see it, but this is the thing that the Mark of the Beast is meant to counterfeit.  Satan and the Antichrist will try to mark their people to try to protect them from the coming judgment.  If something is marked with a seal t not only showed ownership and that something is official, but it also says, "You are going to have to answer to the owner (or the other authority who sealed the document) if you tamper with this person or thing."  God is able to both protect those He seals and punish any who seek to harm or tamper with those who belong to Him.  Satan has no power or authority over God to make such claims that carry any weight.  Satan may be able to threaten the unsaved men of this world and the demons that follow him that he has been given power and authority over for a time, but he has no power or authority over the angels in heaven or the citizens of the kingdom of heaven or the King of heaven and earth and all that is in them.

So then, who is it that is sealed exactly?  There are 144,000 witnesses (martyrs) who will be sealed--remember that Jesus recently said that the full number had not been added to the number of those who died for Him and His Word?  These are the Tribulation saints that remain.  Notice they are all from ethnic Israel.  Though we have no idea who is from what tribe anymore, God knows, and He has preserved 12,000 from the tribes of Judah, Reuben, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph (Ephraim), and Benjamin.  Notice that Levi is in the list who is not usually counted among any census, which means there is one tribe from whom there are no witnesses for the Lord--the tribe of Dan.  They were apostate and led the people into idolatry and all kinds of wickedness.  We will not see them mentioned here or in any of the references to the Millennial Kingdom or the New Heavens and the New Earth later.  It appears they forfeited their inheritance much like Judas though one of the Twelve turned away and is not part of the kingdom of heaven.

The fact that ethic Israel continues to be a part of God's plan to the very end brings much consternation to people who do not understand the purpose of "The time of the Gentiles" that was to make ethnic Israel jealous (see Romans 11), but was never meant to keep the gospel from them.  Notice these Messianic Jews already exist before the Tribulation, and they are not going to be removed before the Tribulation.  I don't believe they were "left behind," but that the Rapture has not yet happened.

I know there are many who believe that all Christians will be removed prior to this time of judgment as if removal is God's only means of protecting us from the coming judgment, but God did not remove Noah from the earth to protect him and his family from the coming Flood, He placed Noah and his family inside the Ark (which is the picture used by Peter to describe how the Lord will protect His people in the coming Day of the Lord).  The LORD did not remove Rahab from Jericho, but miraculous caused her home to be saved when He made all the walls fall in on the people.  Only the small portion of the wall where she lived was kept safe so that she and all those who gathered with her in the house that was marked by the scarlet cord (signifying those who are marked by the blood of the Lamb) were saved.  It was the same way for the people of Israel on the night that the LORD made them a nation, the Passover.  He did not remove them from Egypt to keep them safe from the Tenth plague (or any of the other plagues for that matter where He made a distinction between the land of Goshen where His people lived and the rest of Egypt), but instead He kept safe from judgment those who marked their doorposts with the blood of the Passover Lamb.  The LORD did remove Lot and his family from Sodom and Gomorrah before that time of judgment and it seems that God will again tell His people to flee from Jerusalem to a place of protection that He has prepared for them before judgment is to be poured out on that city.  (See Matthew 24:15-31).

Along with that passage in Matthew, why is Jesus telling His disciples (the Church) to watch out for the abomination that causes desolation if we aren't going to be around to see it because we have been raptured away? Since the Antichrist is revealed in the middle of the seven years of Tribulation, the Church seems to be around at least that long, and this passage fits with that as Christ still has His witnesses that are to go forth and proclaim the gospel to all peoples of all nations.  He once again chooses the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the people from whom Jesus descended to be His envoys and ambassadors.  They will go forth once more to proclaim the message of the Messiah to the whole world just as God chose them to do when they were authors of the Old Testament and New Testament books of the Bible--He chose from this group of men to be His Prophets and Apostles, and now He has chosen to use them again to be His witnesses in one of these final acts of grace before the time comes for the cup of God's wrath to be poured out on the unbelieving, wicked world.  All men will be "without excuse" when that day comes, not just because of the natural revelation that we are told about in Romans 1:20, but God will supernaturally send His 144,000 chosen witnesses from among His chosen people to bring the most important message to all the people of the world.

We'll see next time that this evangelism campaign was successful.  In the very next passage, we see people from every tribe, tongue and nation singing what we know as the Revelation Song.  I do not believe that the world kills all of the righteous (though they will certainly seek to do so) as we still see a harvest of the righteous (I believe this to be the Rapture) in Revelation 14:14 (these 144,000 from this chapter are mentioned again that the beginning of chapter 14 and they are mentioned, though not by number as those who gave their lives during the Tribulation in 7:13-14.

There is definitely coming a day when there will be no more opportunity for salvation, but for now we need to be more concerned with the fact that death also closes that door of opportunity for us.  See Hebrews 4:6-7 which applies to both groups of people--those who delay until death and those during these days were are talking about here who harden their hearts and refuse to believe the message these witnesses bring.

6 Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, 7 again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted,

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts.”
​(Hebrews 4:6-7)

Choose to say "Yes" to the Lord today and do no resist Him, for then you will never have to fear that judgment that is to come in the following chapters of this book.  Instead, you will be able to look forward to the blessings that are being prepared for God's people.