October 7, 2014 Revelation Chapter 7

Revelation Chapter 7

Originally posted Wednesday December 17, 2008

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

There were seven seals to be opened by the lamb. We have read of six and the resulting series of cataclysmic events. The earth was ravaged by the four horsemen of the apocalypse with war, civil strife and anarchy, economic collapse, pestilence and the dissolution of the cosmos. At the end the world is cowering in fear of the "great day of wrath" that has come upon it. All that is left is the opening of the seventh seal which will usher in the Parousia, resurrection, judgment and final salvation for the righteous or condemnation for the rest of humanity. Judgment is complete. Or is it? In a skillful literary turn John pauses. He creates an intermission in the unfolding drama which he will resume in chapter 8. Instead of breaking the seventh seal he writes his vision of the sealing (identifying) of the faithful "servants of (faithful to) God." The emphasis is on the symbolically large numbers of those to be sealed from the twelve tribes of Israel and the uncountable multitude from every nation of the world gathering to worship God and the Lamb. For now his vision is not more carnage; it is the sealing of God's servants, the church universal. If we were one of the many churches experiencing persecution we might believe we were alone and insignificant, meeting in houses, harassed and despised by their neighbors. What John wants to portray is the larger church of which his readers are a part, working together to serve God's purpose of salvation in the world.

In the interlude John sees the four angels who control the winds at the four corners of the earth (Ezek. 7:2, 37:9; Zech. 6:5). They have been given the power to unleash the winds against the earth, sea and trees. At the same time he sees another angel. This angel is rising from the morning sun and has the seal of God. With a loud shout of authority he orders the four angels to hold back the winds until he has marked the foreheads of the servants of God with God's seal (see Ezek. 9:4-5). The typical use of "seal" in the New Testament is a reference to the favor of God (Eph. 1:13, 4:30; 2 Cor. 1:22). It was a metaphor for the believers' baptism by which the believer became marked by the Holy Spirit as belonging to God. As such it has implications relating to the return of Christ who collects together those who are sealed. There is no mention of this seal being visible. As one might expect, God knows God's own. This seal or mark stands in opposition to the mark of the beast which we will encounter later.

The number sealed "out of every tribe of Israel" is 144,000 - a complete number derived from 12 tribes of Israel times 12 apostles of the new Israel times 1,000. This is the military number of soldiers in a division (but also is symbolic, meaning a very large number). In John's view there certainly were Jewish Christians who would be sealed. Here the reference is to Christians in general - Jewish and Gentile. The Church was by this time considered to be an extension of the old Israel if not its replacement as the fulfillment of God's promise to Israel. In addition, there were no longer any fixed geographic or ethnic distinctions among tribal groups other than for the Levites who were the priests. That being said, and remembering that the number is purely symbolic, it does refer to those Christians who are living and are part of the existing churches of John's time. Describing the vision is John's way of giving reassurance to a suffering church that their present as well as their future is with God. His inclusion of military terminology to describe their number reminds them they are at the forefront of an earthly struggle against evil. They are, as some writers refer to them, the church militant.

Revelation, Chapter 7:9-17 The Multitude from Every Nation

John's vision moves to a new scene in which he sees an uncountable multitude from all the nations of the world. They are standing before the throne and the Lamb and are dressed in white robes. Holding the palm branches of celebration they shout praises of God and the Lamb. Joined by angels, elders and living creatures, they join together in worshipping and praising God. John's does not write that this multitude was sealed by the angel. That they are in heaven and are dressed in white robes indicates that these are martyrs and other Christians who have already died of other causes. In a way similar to the souls John sees under the altar, this gives added assurance to his readers that death brings some form of immediate presence in heaven. It will not be until the judgment that whatever form a heavenly body takes will be given to them.

John is told that this multitude standing before God consists of those who "have come out of the great ordeal" as martyrs. That their robes have been made white by the blood of the Lamb is a reference to the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. For John faith in Christ crucified brings purification and holiness. Thus believers cannot boast of having received such a white robe on their own merits or even their possible death as a martyr, but only by the grace of God. Even though the elder has told John that those of the multitude "have come" out of the ordeal, the ordeal is happening among the churches in John's present time. The ordeal is the struggle in which all Christians are drawn up for battle. The vision looks to the time when those who die in the struggle will be with God. It will be a time of worship, without hunger or thirst or scorching heat, with the Lamb as their shepherd to guide them to the waters of life, and "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." They are the Church Triumphant with Christ the Lamb as her center. There are no promises here that believers will be protected from harm or death during the "great ordeal," but by way of the ordeal they will be with God.