1. The Book of Revelation 4/15/2007
Lesson 7
How Long, Sovereign Lord? (Part 2)
Amen! Hallelujah! – A Study of the Book of Revelation
By Dale Wells
Text: Rev 7.1-7.17
THE SEALING OF 144,000
Rev 7:1-8 WEB
After this, I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth,
holding the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the
earth, or on the sea, or on any tree. I saw another angel ascend from
the sunrise, having the seal of the living God. He cried with a loud voice
to the four angels to whom it was given to harm the earth and the sea,
saying, "Don't harm the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, until we
have sealed the bondservants of our God on their foreheads!" I heard
the number of those who were sealed, one hundred forty-four
thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel: Of the tribe
of Judah were sealed twelve thousand, Of the tribe of Reuben twelve
thousand, Of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand, Of the tribe of Asher
twelve thousand, Of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand, Of the tribe
of Manasseh twelve thousand, Of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand,
Of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand, Of the tribe of Issachar twelve
thousand, Of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand, Of the tribe of
Joseph twelve thousand, Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve
thousand.
Lesson 7 1

2. The Book of Revelation 4/15/2007
This is an interlude between the sixth
and seventh seals
It asks the question: "What
will happen to God's people
when he executes his
judgment on his enemies?"
The scene begins with four
angels holding back the
winds to delay God's
judgment for a time.
The picture of God using the
four winds as agents of his
judgment are seen in various
places in the Old Testament
prophets.
The prophets use wind to describe
God's judgment on Judah
Jer 4:11-12 WEB At that time shall it be said to this people and
to Jerusalem, A hot wind from the bare heights in the wilderness
toward the daughter of my people, not to winnow, nor to
cleanse; a full wind from these shall come for me: now will I also
utter judgments against them.
Jer 18:17 WEB I will scatter them as with an east wind before
the enemy; I will show them the back, and not the face, in the
day of their calamity.
Wind describes God's judgment of
Elam
Jer 49:34-38 WEB The word of Yahweh that came to Jeremiah the
prophet concerning Elam, in the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah ..,
Thus says Yahweh of Hosts: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam On
Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of the sky, and
will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation
where the outcasts of Elam shall not come. I will cause Elam to be
dismayed before their enemies, and before those who seek their life;
and I will bring evil on them, even my fierce anger, says Yahweh; and I
will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them; and I will
set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from there king and princes
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3. The Book of Revelation 4/15/2007
Wind also describes God's judgment
of the north
Zec 6:1-8 WEB I saw four
chariots In the first were red
horses; in the second black
horses; in the third white horses;
and in the fourth dappled horses,
all of them powerful. Then I asked
the angel who talked with me, "What
are these, my lord?" The angel
answered me, "These are the four
winds of the sky, which go forth
from standing before the Lord of all
the earth " The strong went out,
and sought to go that they might
walk back and forth through the
earth: and he said, "Go around and
through the earth!" Then he
called to me, and spoke to me,
saying, "Behold, those who go
toward the north country have
quieted my spirit in the north
country."
The primary OT background for this
scene is found in Ezekiel 9:1-11
Eze 9:1-11 WEB Then he cried Cause you them that have charge over the
city to draw near, every man with his destroying weapon Behold, six men
came from the way of the upper gate every man with his slaughter weapon
and one man clothed in linen, with a writer's inkhorn ... They went in, and
stood beside the brazen altar and he called to the man clothed in linen ...
Yahweh said to him, Go through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark on
the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry over all the abominations that
are done in it. To the others he said Go you through the city after him, and
strike: don't let your eye spare, neither have you pity; kill utterly the old man, the
young man and the virgin, and little children and women; but don't come near
any man on whom is the mark: and begin at my sanctuary ...
The prophet sees armed guards
taking stations at the temple
While they wait, a scribe goes throughout Jerusalem, placing a
mark on the foreheads of godly people who grieve because of
the corruption of Jerusalem
When all the godly are marked, the guards are told to start at the
temple and to kill everyone who doesn't have the mark
The vision is designed to assure the godly that they will be
preserved when God hammers Jerusalem with the sword of
Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC
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4. The Book of Revelation 4/15/2007
In Revelation 7, John sees a similar
vision
The winds are held back.
God’s seal of approval is
placed on his people before
he hammers his enemies.
This assures that God can
take care of his own while
dealing with his enemies.
2Ti 2:19 WEB However
God's firm foundation
stands, having this seal,
"The Lord knows those who
are his," and, "Let every one
who names the name of the
Lord depart from
unrighteousness."
But why are we told that 144,000 are
sealed?
This is intended to make us
think of the numbers 12 and
1000, because we are told
that the 144,000 consists of
12,000 from each of the 12
tribes.
In other words, the 144,000
consists of 12 X 12 X 1000.
Remember that 12 and its multiples
are used to identify God’s people
When we think of God's people in the Old Testament, we think of the
twelve patriarchs and the twelve tribes. When we think of God's people
in the New Testament, we think of the twelve apostles. We've already
seen God's redeemed people depicted as twenty-four elders sitting on
thrones around God's throne in heaven and we identified them as the
redeemed under the old and new covenants.
Rev 4:4 WEB Around the throne were twenty-four thrones. On the
thrones were twenty-four elders sitting, dressed in white garments, with
crowns of gold on their heads.
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5. The Book of Revelation 4/15/2007
What will happen to God's people
when he destroys his enemies?
God knows those who are
his and he will preserve
them. But the reader might
wonder whether the godly
might be overlooked and fall
victim to God's judgment?
144,000 is designed to
assure the godly that God
doesn't make mistakes.
How many of God’s people
are going to get sealed &
protected? All of them!
How many are going to slip
through the cracks? None of
them!
Numbers are important in apocalyptic
literature
For example 1,000 signifies "all" of something. Psalms uses the
number to assert that all cattle in the world belong to God
Psa 50:9-11 WEB I have no need for a bull from your stall, Nor
male goats from your pens. For every animal of the forest is
mine, And the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of
the mountains. The wild animals of the field are mine.
When the Lord says "the cattle on 1,000 hills" belong to him,
that is tantamount to saying "all the cattle" belong to him
Numbers are significant to us, too
How many of us haven't said
to wayward children “I’ve told
you a thousand times” to do
or not do something.
We seldom think about the
fact that we use a dozen to
describe a complete set of
something, or that we
habitually do not have a
thirteenth floor in a hotel.
These are carry-overs that
remind us that numbers
have a symbolic significance
to us, as well.
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6. The Book of Revelation 4/15/2007
12,000 each from 12 tribes means all
of God's people were sealed
But why just seal individuals
from Israel?
And why not from all of the
tribes?
Numbers are figurative, not
literal – they are not intended
to be precise
For example, here it would
be easy to overlook the fact
that there were actually
thirteen tribes of Israel - not
twelve.
Check it out
We speak of twelve patriarchs, because Jacob had twelve sons.
We also know that there were twelve land divisions in the
Promised Land.
But there were actually thirteen tribes.
The patriarchs are not the same as
the tribes
Before Jacob died, he adopted Joseph's sons, Manasseh and
Ephraim, in place of Joseph.
Gen 48:1-22 WEB It happened after these things, that someone
said to Joseph, "Behold, your father is sick." He took with him
his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. Israel strengthened
himself, and sat on the bed. Jacob said to Joseph, " Now your
two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I
came to you into Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh, even
as Reuben and Simeon, will be mine.
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7. The Book of Revelation 4/15/2007
As a result, there was no tribe of
Joseph
In the place of Joseph, there
were two tribes of Manasseh
and Ephraim.
Thus, even though Jacob
had twelve sons, Israel
actually was divided into
thirteen tribes.
In the list in Revelation 7, the
tribe of Joseph refers to
Ephraim, since Manasseh is
listed separately. This is
consistent with other OT
references.
OT references to a tribe of Joseph
refer to one – or both – of his sons
It could be a reference to both Ephraim and Manasseh
Jos 18:11 WEB The lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin
came up according to their families. The border of their lot went out
between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph.
Or it could be a reference to Ephraim, alone
Psa 78:67 WEB Moreover he rejected the tent of Joseph, and didn't
choose the tribe of Ephraim
There were only twelve land divisions
in the Promised Land
But there was no land
division assigned to the tribe
of Levi.
Jos 13:14 WEB Only to the
tribe of Levi he gave no
inheritance; the offerings of
Yahweh, the God of Israel,
made by fire are his
inheritance, as he spoke to
him.
Jos 13:33 WEB But to the
tribe of Levi Moses gave no
inheritance: Yahweh, the
God of Israel, is their
inheritance, as he spoke to
them.
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8. The Book of Revelation 4/15/2007
So there were 12 patriarchs and 12
land divisions, but 13 tribes
In Revelation 7, you have to look closely to find that one of the
tribes is missing.
When John recites 12,000 from each of the twelve tribes, he
lists Ephraim as Joseph and leaves Dan out of the list, entirely.
Why would that be? Is it because there is no one from the tribe
of Dan who is godly?
No, rather, it is because the purpose of the numbers is not to
mathematically quantify the godly.
Remember that the ancients did not
view numbers as we do
Matthew left out names in
order to list 14 generations
between Abraham & David,
David & the Exile, & the
Exile & Jesus.
Mat 1:17 WEB So all the
generations from Abraham
to David are fourteen
generations; from David to
the exile to Babylon
fourteen generations; and
from the carrying away to
Babylon to the Christ,
fourteen generations.
He wanted the reader to see
the number 14 the number of
David’s name.
Don't take 144,000 literally and don't
look for 12,000 each from 12 tribes
The point is: God knows his
people & doesn't miss even one
He protects every godly saint
Why 144,000 from Israel?
Were there no godly Gentiles
around?
By now, Christian writers have
taken to considering the church
as the real Israel of God.
Gal 6:15-16 WEB For in Christ
Jesus neither is circumcision
anything, nor uncircumcision,
but a new creation. As many as
walk by this rule, peace and
mercy be on them, on God's
Israel.
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9. The Book of Revelation 4/15/2007
Paul was pointing out the futility of
Judaism and the superiority of Christ
Being a Jew, or not being a Jew doesn't matter. All that matters is being
in Christ.
Phi 3:3-7 WEB For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit,
and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh; though I
myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If any other man thinks that
he has confidence in the flesh, I yet more: circumcised the eighth day, of
the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews;
concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the assembly;
concerning the righteousness which is in the law, found blameless.
However, what things were gain to me, these have I counted loss for Christ.
Jesus' brother described Christians
as "12 tribes of the dispersion"
Jam 1:1 WEB James, a
servant of God and of the
Lord Jesus Christ, to the
twelve tribes which are in the
Dispersion: Greetings.
Likewise, when John speaks
of the 144,000 as the tribes
of Israel, that is not literal
He is speaking of Christians
- Jew and Gentile - who are
sealed for protection in the
day of tribulation associated
with God's judgments
THE GREAT MULTITUDE
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10. The Book of Revelation 4/15/2007
Rev 7:9-17 WEB
After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could
number, out of every nation and of all tribes, peoples, and languages, standing
before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, with palm
branches in their hands. They cried with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation be to
our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" All the angels were standing
around the throne, the elders, and the four living creatures; and they fell on their
faces before his throne, and worshiped God, saying, "Amen! Blessing, glory,
wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might, be to our God forever and ever!
Amen." One of the elders answered, saying to me, "These who are arrayed in
white robes, who are they, and from where did they come?" I told him, "My lord,
you know." He said to me, "These are those who came out of the great
tribulation. They washed their robes, and made them white in the Lamb's blood.
Therefore they are before the throne of God, they serve him day and night in his
temple. He who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. They will never
be hungry, neither thirsty any more; neither will the sun beat on them, nor any
heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shepherds them, and leads
them to springs of waters of life. And God will wipe away every tear from their
eyes."
If the 144,000 is the church on earth,
who is the great multitude of 7:9-17?
Some writers say that the
144,000 represent the
redeemed of the Jews and
that the great multitude
represents the redeemed of
the Gentiles.
They point to the fact that the
144,000 come from the
tribes of Israel and that the
great multitude comes from
"every nation, tribe, people
and language".
There is something that is more
compelling
The 144,000 are on earth; the great multitude is in heaven
The great multitude is "before the throne and before the Lamb, "
wearing white robes, praising God and the Lamb.
The 144,000 were sealed for protection while still on earth.
The 144,000 are the redeemed facing distress on earth; the
great multitude is the redeemed after the distress of the earth is
behind them.
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11. The Book of Revelation 4/15/2007
An elder asks "who are they, and
from where did they come?"
John doesn't know the
answer; the elder gives it:
they are the overcomers
enjoying their reward.
Rev 7:13-14 WEB One of
the elders answered, saying
to me, "These who are
arrayed in white robes, who
are they, and from where did
they come?" I told him, "My
lord, you know." He said to
me, "These are those who
came out of the great
tribulation. They washed
their robes, and made them
white in the Lamb's blood.
These are the martyrs we saw under
the altar in the fifth seal
Rev 6:9-11 WEB When he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath
the altar the souls of those who had been killed for the Word of
God, and for the testimony of the Lamb which they had. (10) They
cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, Master, the holy and
true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on
the earth?" (11) A long white robe was given to each of them.
They were told that they should rest yet for a while, until their fellow
servants and their brothers, who would also be killed even as they
were, should complete their course.
The 144,000 are on earth; the great
multitude is in heaven
The 144,000 saints face persecution and are promised God's protection
The great multitude are saints who have gone on to their reward.
Both may be the same group from two perspectives:
From earth's viewpoint, they are protected and preserved by God
From heaven's viewpoint, their reward is already secured
Even if they are not the same group at the moment, the 144,000 will
become a part of the great multitude if they are faithful to death
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12. The Book of Revelation 4/15/2007
Shifting vantage points is a common
feature of apocalyptic writings
It is seen in elsewhere in Revelation.
Remember that John saw Jesus ascend to heaven in Acts 1, but
in Revelation 5, he saw the same scene from heaven's
viewpoint, as the Lamb enters the throne room of God.
In Revelation 1:9ff, John sees Jesus
walking in heaven's tabernacle
In that scene, he is
inspecting the lampstands
that he identifies as the
churches.
Then, in Revelation 2-3, he
sends a message to each of
the churches on earth in the
seven cities.
The vision is of Jesus
walking among his churches,
but the messages are sent
from heaven to earth.
Revelation 12 shifts from earth to
heaven and back to earth
First, the Dragon (identified as Satan) seeks to devour the child
of the woman.
When he is unsuccessful, he chases the child into heaven.
When he loses the conflict in heaven, he pursues her other
children on earth.
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13. The Book of Revelation 4/15/2007
Other passages refer to activities in
heaven that have an effect on earth
Daniel 10 gives insight into this
Daniel's prayers are interrupted
by an angel who tells Daniel
that he had intended to come to
set Daniel's mind at ease
earlier, but he had been
detained by conflict with the
Prince of Persia
Michael showed up to take over
the fight with the Persian prince,
so that the angel could make his
trip to see Daniel
Then, the angel leaves Daniel to
join Michael in the fight against
the Prince of Persia
He goes on to say "when I go,
the prince of Greece will come"
Dan 10:10-13 WEB
Behold, a hand touched me, which set me on my knees and on the
palms of my hands. He said to me, Daniel, you man greatly beloved,
understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright; for to you
am I now sent. When he had spoken this word to me, I stood trembling.
Then said he to me, Don't be afraid, Daniel; for from the first day that
you did set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before
your God, your words were heard: and I am come for your words' sake.
But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days;
but, behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me: and I
remained there with the kings of Persia.
Dan 10:20-21 WEB Then he said, "Do you know why I have come to
you? Now I will return to fight with the prince of Persia. When I go forth,
behold, the prince of Greece shall come. But I will tell you that which is
inscribed in the writing of truth: and there is none who holds with me
against these, but Michael your prince."
Cyrus, the Persian king thought he
was fighting Alexander the Great
He didn't know he was in a heavenly conflict, involving angels,
that was designed to bring down Persia and to elevate Greece!
This fulfills the vision of a ram and a goat in Daniel 8
Dan 8:19-21 WEB He said, Behold, I will make you know what
shall be in the latter time of the indignation; for it belongs to the
appointed time of the end. (20) The ram which you saw, that had
the two horns, they are the kings of Media and Persia. (21) The
rough male goat is the king of Greece: and the great horn that is
between his eyes is the first king.
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14. The Book of Revelation 4/15/2007
Revelation 7 presents two
perspectives of one common theme
The message is the same, whether you look at it from the
vantage point of godly people on earth (the 144,000) or godly
people who have gone on to their reward (the great multitude)
The message is this: God is able to protect and preserve his
people here - and he is able to provide for them hereafter!
Lesson 7 14