seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Revelation 7:1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, 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.” 4 Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.
5 From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed,
from the tribe of Reuben 12,000,
from the tribe of Gad 12,000,
6 from the tribe of Asher 12,000,
from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000,
from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000,
7 from the tribe of Simeon 12,000,
from the tribe of Levi 12,000,
from the tribe of Issachar 12,000,
8 from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000,
from the tribe of Joseph 12,000,
from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.
This is from the commentary.Four angels standing at the four corners of the earth: The phrase four corners of the earth is an ancient (and sometimes modern) equivalent to the idea of “the four points of the compass.” The idea is that these angels effect the entire earth.
Another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: Another angel had a seal, and he sealed the people of God. In the ancient world, such seals were familiar. A king or a property owner could use a seal to show ownership or authenticity.
The servants of our God: We are not told what exactly their service is, but the 144,000 are sealed for a specific and unique purpose. However, the general idea of being sealed is not limited to them.
Of the tribe of: In this listing of the tribes, the tribe of Dan is left out. Some think this is because Dan is the tribe of the Antichrist, based on Daniel 11:37 and Jeremiah 8:16. This may or may not be the case, but without doubt, Dan was the tribe that introduced idolatry into the nation of Israel (Genesis 49:17; Judges 18:30).
Of the tribe of: This list is also interesting in the way that the tribe of Ephraim is referred to, but only indirectly. The tribe of Joseph is mentioned, but Joseph was represented by two tribes: Ephraim and Manasseh. Since the tribe of Manasseh is mentioned, by elimination, the tribe of Joseph must mean the tribe of Ephraim — who is listed, but not by name.
It is best to see the 144,000 as specifically chosen Jewish people who come to faith in Jesus, protectively sealed throughout the tribulation as a sign.
“They are not a part of the Church proper; for their repentance comes too late for that. They are a superaddition to the Church — a supplementary body — near and precious to Christ, but made up after the proper Church has finished its course.” (Seiss)
Those of us who are Christians now... will be gone [hopefully] before the Seventh Seal is popped and the plan goes to work. The 144,000, as I read it, is a new group made up of those who came to their senses too late to catch the first gathering of Believers. Usually, in a movie, this would be the guy who, in the middle of massive confusion, hits his knees and say "You really are the Son of God!"
I think the Angel in verse 2 is saying "hold up.... make sure we have all the Christians before you go any further... there are new converts that need to be sealed!" I think when they are sealed, they are protected. These are our brothers and sisters who slept late... And don't we all have brothers and sisters who are always late? I'm the oldest of five kids... I always had to hang back to pick up one of them.
Before Jesus pops that Seventh Seal, He want to make sure all His brothers and sisters are sealed.
Sealed and Safe... that's what they will be... Sealed and Safe.
