MONDAY
Last week we talked about the judgment of God and how He will remove evil from his good creation. That was a lot of judgment, I know! If you were listening to the book of Revelation being read (more accurately, performed) as one of its original audience members, you would have had many interludes between the descriptions of judgment. These would keep you from getting bummed out with all the judgment, giving you hope as you listen to the drama of God’s redemptive plan unfolding. On the interludes Scot McKnight writes:
“The interludes pull back the curtain, unveiling God’s world, and because of this they are the most significant feature of the book of Revelation for those hearing this message in the seven churches. These glorious interludes mediate the victory of the Lamb for those who remain allegiant to him. Those living in Babylon need the interludes. This is the truth from behind the curtain, now pulled back for a brief moment of revived hope and encouragement.” —McKnight, Matchett, Revelation for the Rest of Us, p. 108
So this week we come to the first interlude. The sixth seal (a description of God’s final judgment) concludes with the question, “…and who can stand?” The question is in reference to who can withstand the great judgment of God and the Lamb. This first interlude is the answer to that question.
Revelation 7 (ESV)
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:
The four angels at the four corners of the earth are told to hold back on unleashing God’s final judgment on evil in his creation (judgment symbolized by the wind).* Another angel then comes on the scene with a seal—not the aquatic mammal with flippers or the elite Naval fighting force, but the stamp of sorts used with wax to close and certify a letter in the ancient world (refer to Ezekiel 9 for this image). The final judgment of God is to be delayed until the angel has sealed the servants of God on their foreheads. This seal signifies the protection and authentication of believers. It signifies that believers belong to God. It is those who have been sealed who can stand amidst the judgment of God.
Note again, as we saw in chapter 5, John hears the number to be 144,000 in verse 4. Tomorrow we will see what he sees after hearing this. For now, it’s important to note that this number is figurative and not to be taken literally. It is 12,000 X 12. The number 12 signifies the kingdom of God and his reign over creation. So this number is referring to believers who will be stewards of God’s kingdom in his new creation.
Then John lists 12,000 from the 12 tribes of Judah.
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.
A few quick notes on this. Judah is listed first instead of Reuben. Reuben was the oldest and therefore should usually be listed first. Judah is listed first because Jesus, the Messiah, was from the tribe of Judah. Also, the tribe of Dan is not listed. Instead Joseph and Manasseh are listed. Joseph’s two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim were each given a portion in the promised land as a way of honoring Joseph. So usually both Manasseh and Ephraim are listed or just Joseph. It’s unclear why Dan is not listed but the most likely answer is that Dan was often associated with idolatry to a greater degree than the other tribes.
Some try to take the 144,000 literally and I don’t have time to get into all the interpretations of this and the problems it causes and the interpretive gymnastics required to make sense of it all.
Some take this list of 144,000 to figuratively stand for Israelites who will be a part of the people of God. This interpretation would be then fulfilling certain interpretations of Romans 11. I think this is unlikely for reasons we will see tomorrow. It is more likely that the 144,000 represents all believers in the era from Christ’s ascension to his return. These are the true people of God consisting of both Jews and Gentiles—the Church.
All the judgment scenes in Revelation can be quite scary. The point of this book, however, is not to cause Christians fear. It is quite the opposite of that. One of the main points of the book is give hope and encouragement to the Christians to remain faithful to Jesus. John is revealing that God will sort out all of the injustice in the world in the end and bring his justice in full. So even if Christians are suffering now, they will be vindicated in the end when they, the faithful witnesses, are the ones who can stand amidst the judgments of God.
*As an important point of Bible interpretation, the ancients did not think of the earth as a globe as it is. They obviously conceived of it as flat. We must make room for this in our method of biblical interpretation. If we interpret Revelation literally as a scientific document we must say that it is in error. However, this is obviously not what Revelation is intending to do. God spoke through the authors of the Bible in forms that they will understand and their original audience will understand.
Reflection
If you believe in Jesus, you are chosen and sealed for salvation. Even if you suffer following Jesus, you do not have to fear the judgment of God in the end. Thank God for putting his seal on your forehead to mark you as his.