SERMON ON REVELATION 7:1-9 November 4, 2007

SERMON ON REVELATION 7:1-9, November 4, 2007

Dr. Marshall C. St. John, Pastor
Wayside Presbyterian Church
Signal Mountain, TN 37377

The 144,000 from the Twelve Tribes of Israel

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.

Angel review: Angels are spirits, individually created by God. They are not a "race." Each has no mother or father. They are neither male nor female, for they have no bodies, although they make assume an appearance of having bodies. People do not become angels when they die. Angels never become people. We are all descendents of Adam and Eve, and they were never angels either. The Mormon Church teaches that people were spirits in Heaven before being sent to earth to inhabit bodies, but this is not true. Some angels fell into sin along with Satan, and they are now the demons. Most angels remained true to God, and they are His servants. Part of their work is to watch over people who know Christ. They shall also separate the wheat from the tares at the end of the age. Angels have great powers.

Four corners of the earth: Of course the earth is a globe and has no corners. This was known throughout the Roman empire since the time of the Greek mathematician Eratosthenes (250 BC), who figured the diameter of the earth to 7,850 miles, and was off by less than 100 miles. The first globe of the earth was built by another Greek, Crates of Mallus in 140 BC. Even today writers use the common idiom, the "four corners of the earth."

The point: God is sovereign over the entire earth: North, South, East and West. God controls the winds and the weather. God is in control EVERYWHERE.

Revelation 7:2-3

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."

A seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God....

For the wealthy, a seal was often a gem stone engraved with a name. Less wealthy writers may have used seals carved of wood. A seal was used with hot wax or clay to seal scrolls and envelopes. Sometimes it was meant to protect from prying eyes, and also meant to identify. Does the Bible speak of such a seal in other places?

1. Exodus 28 and 39 speak of gem stones engraved as if they were seals, as part of the garments of the high priest. There were two stones on his shoulders. Each of the stones was engraved like a seal with the names of six of the twelve tribes of Israel. The priest also wore a breastplate containing 12 stones. Each was engraved like a seal, with one of the names of the tribes.

Exodus 39:6-14

6 They mounted the onyx stones in gold filigree settings and engraved them like a seal with the names of the sons of Israel.
7 Then they fastened them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel, as the LORD commanded Moses.
8 They fashioned the breastpiece—the work of a skilled craftsman. They made it like the ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen.
9 It was square—a span long and a span wide—and folded double.
10 Then they mounted four rows of precious stones on it. In the first row there was a ruby, a topaz and a beryl;
11 in the second row a turquoise, a sapphire and an emerald;
12 in the third row a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst;
13 in the fourth row a chrysolite, an onyx and a jasper. They were mounted in gold filigree settings.
14 There were twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.

2. Da 6:17 Daniel was sealed into the lions's den.

A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might not be changed.

3. Matthew 27:62-66 Jesus was sealed into his tomb. 62 The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63 "Sir," they said, "we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first." 65 "Take a guard," Pilate answered. "Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how." 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

4. Romans 4:11

And he (Abraham) received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.

5. I Corinthians 9:2

Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

6. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22

Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

7. Eph 1:13

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.

8. Eph 4:30

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

So what does it mean for a Christian to be sealed? It means that God has marked us. He knows that we belong to Him. The seal is the Holy Spirit Himself. We are 100% secure in our relationship with God, and the Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our safety, and of future blessings.

Who are the 144,000?

Many books and essays have been written to identify the 144,000.

The Jehovah's Witnesses claim that they are the best ones of their religion. Herbert W. Armstrong and Garner Ted Armstrong said they were ten lost tribes of Israel: the United States, Britain, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Holland, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland and other countries.

Some commentators say that the 144,000 are a pictorial representation of the present day Church of Christ.

Personally I believe the explanation is much simpler. Let's read the text again:

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.
9 After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no-one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.

Notice first of all that there are two large groups of people in this passage. Verses 4-8 describe 144,000 Israelites. Verse 9 describes a great multitude from all the other ethnic groups.

I take it then that 144,000 is a symbolic number indicating a mass conversion of Jewish people to faith in Christ, a still future event. There will probably actually be many more than 144,000. The numbers are not meant to be taken literally, because if you do so they contradict. For example, Revelation 7:4 says "from ALL the tribes of Israel." However, if you examine the list of tribes carefully and compare it to Old Testament lists, you will see that one tribe is added that is not usually in the list (Joseph: usually represented by his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh); and one tribe is left out altogether: Dan. So, the point of the list is that a great multitude of the Jews will come to Christ.

Paul predicted the return of the Jews to Christ in Romans chapters ten and eleven:

10:1 ¶ Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.
10:21 But concerning Israel he says, "All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people."
11:1 ¶ I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.
2 God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel:
3 "Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me"?
4 And what was God’s answer to him? "I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal."
5 So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.
11:25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.
26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
27 And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins."
28 As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs,
29 for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.

I believe the uncomplicated message of Paul and John is that someday before the Lord returns, there will be a great number of Jewish people who will recognize Jesus as their Messiah, and who will put their trust in Him.

The Jewish believers are mentioned again in Revelation 14:1-5

1 ¶ Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.
2 And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps.
3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No-one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.
4 These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb.
5 No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.

Revelation 7:9 tells us that the number of the Gentile believers will be even larger than that of the Jewish believers, which stands to reason, since there are so many more Gentiles.

After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no-one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.

Note: What is true for the Jewish believers is also true for the Gentile believers, and vice versa:

They are near the throne and the Lamb.
They wear white robes.
They carry palm branches.
They sing the song of the redeemed.
They were purchased from among men.
They are spiritual virgins.
They are blameless.
They follow the lamb wherever He goes.

We do well to remember what Paul the Apostle told us about Jews and Gentiles who are Christians, and how we are the one people of God:

Romans 4:9-12

9 ¶ Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness.
10 Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before!
11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.
12 And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

Romans 4:16

Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.

Galatians 3:6-9

6 ¶ Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."
7 Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham.
8 The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you."
9 So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

Galatians 3:26-29

26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus,
27 for all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Galatians 6:15-16

15 Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.
16 Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God.

Ephesians 2:11-21

11 ¶ Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men)—
12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
14 ¶ For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,
15 by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace,
16 and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.
17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.
18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow-citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household,
20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.

Hebrews 11:39-40

39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised.
40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

So, what is the point of all this?

1. There is coming a time when a great number of Jewish people will come to Christ as Savior and Lord.
2. There is already, and steadily growing, a great number of Gentiles who have come to Christ.
3. Both Jew and Gentile who trust in Christ are sealed by the Holy Spirit, and are eternally secure.

This is the major message of this passage: We are eternally secure in Christ, because we have been sealed by the Holy Spirit. What is true for the Jewish believers in Revelation seven, is true for ALL Christians. Revelation 13 says that those who follow the anti-christ has his mark, his seal if you will, in their foreheads. We reject his mark, and we are marked instead by the Holy Spirit. It is not a physical mark, but a mark that God can see.

The Bible teaches in many places that we are eternally sealed and secure in the Lord Jesus Christ. In addition to the verses already quoted about the Holy Spirit being our seal, consider....

Philippians 1:4-6

4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy
5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,
6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

John 10:27-29

27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no-one can snatch them out of my hand.
29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no-one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.

Jude 1:1

Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ.

God began our salvation. God will complete our salvation. It is HIS work in us, not OUR work. We are Christ's sheep, of which He is determined to lose NONE. He gives us ETERNAL life, not temporary life. NO-ONE can snatch us from the Father's hand.

The message of Revelation chapter seven is that all God's children, Jew or Gentile, are sealed and secure, and watched over, and kept by God, in spite of whatever horrible circumstances fall upon the earth. In spite of war, violence, famine, poverty, plague, earthquake, the rise or fall of nations; or the persecutions of those who hate God, or any other thing, we are safe in the hands of an all-knowing, all-mighty God, who loves us, and Gave His Son to be our Savior.

Romans 8:37-39

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Amen!