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The Book of Revelation
Chapter Seven


Preface

Chapter 7 is one of the parenthetical chapters of the book of Revelation. It falls between the opening of the sixth and the seventh seals. This chapter begins with a flashback to the beginning of the Tribulation to show that God sets His grace in motion before any of His judgments are allowed to begin. This chapter introduces the reader to God’s 144,000 Jewish Tribulation Witnesses. Since all believers upon the earth are extracted at the Rapture, new witnesses must be raised up immediately.

It is not known exactly how the conversion of these 144,000 Israelites is affected, but it comes by means of the Holy Spirit and may happen much like the conversion of the Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus. One may wonder why these are Jews, but remember this:

    1. In approximate three-fourths of the Bible the focus is on the Israelite people, starting with Genesis 11 and continuing uninterrupted through the Gospel of Luke. Even Hebrews and James have a strong Jewish emphasis.

    2. God personally selected Abraham to produce a unique race of people, the Jews, for the following purposes.

      3.         a.   To receive and record God’s revelation to man
              b.   To protect and preserve the purity of God’s inspired and recorded Word
              c.   To witness to a pagan world of the one true God
              d.   To provide a human family line through which the Messiah would come


It is only through God’s grace that He has allowed a temporary “partial blindness” (or a “partial hardening” in the NIV) to come upon Israel until the “fullness of the Gentiles” (or “full number of the Gentiles”) is brought in (Romans 11:25). All Gentiles should always be cognizant that the Jews are “God’s chosen people.” All Gentiles should always remember that blessings come or go depending on how the Israeli race is treated (Genesis 12). This is certainly vital today given current events.

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.

This chapter introduces two different companies of believers, which come out of the Tribulation Period; and may, in part, be a partial answer to the question posed in the last verse of chapter 6 (“who can stand?”).

The four angels here spoken of have distinct and specific functions in the administration of God’s judgments upon the earth. The expression “four corners of the earth” is not meant to convey that the earth is a square. It is another way of saying that these angels are positioned at the four points of the compass, i.e., north, south, east and west.

There are three classes of angels, which are (1) those who remain faithful to God, (2) those who became unfaithful to God and follow and work for Satan and (3) those whom are bound and imprisoned - only to be released for a specific purpose in God’s time (Revelation 9:14, 15). The four angels who have control over the winds of the earth for the purpose of harming the land and the sea (verse 2), which we are introduced to here, may be of type one or type three - we aren’t told. But for sure they are an extension of the judgment hand of God upon the earth. Here in the first verse of this chapter we see them holding back the four winds from blowing on the land, on the sea or any tree. As we proceed through this marvelous book, we will see other angels who God uses to administer His master plan. Such is the case in the next verse.

Revelation 7:2, 3
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: "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."

From the east another angel appears to administer the Seal of God on a special class of people. He calls out to the “angels of the winds” who had been given power to “harm the land and the sea” and instructs them not to harm the land or the sea or the trees until he places the Seal of God on the foreheads of God’s servants. The King James Version translates “in the forehead,” but the Greek word epi is accurately translated by most Greek scholars as “on” or “upon.”

Our Lord Jesus Christ informed His disciples when they inquired as to the “end of the age” that there would be an evangelistic effort that would reach the entire world and then the end would come. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:14)

These 144,000 Jews would be a major part of this evangelistic effort. Although there are some who would have you believe that the “gospel of the kingdom” spoken of in this verse is other than faith alone in Christ alone for one’s personal salvation, it is clear in God’s Word that there is only one gospel, and this will be the gospel that is preached “in the whole world as a testimony to all nations” during the Tribulation Period.

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel - which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! (Galatians 1:6-9)

In ancient times a “seal,” which usually was by imprint in wax by a signet ring, was a permanent mark (1) signifying ownership and (2) guarantying protection. Since Pentecost the Holy Spirit “seals” (same Greek word) every believer (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 4:30). This work of the Holy Spirit, which is performed at the very instant a person accepts by faith Jesus Christ, is what permanently unites the believer in a spiritual union with Christ. Remember that Christianity is not a “religion!” It is a “union” or “relationship” with Jesus Christ.

Why the seal is imprinted on or upon the foreheads of these Jews is not known. We also are not told if the seal is visible; although, because it is designated “on” or “upon” the “forehead,” it may be logically argued that it is visible. Certainly at the near end of the age, this would not be the time for God’s servants to be timid and seek concealment. Later in the book we will find that all those who follow the Antichrist will receive Satan’s seal (Revelation 13:14-18), which will be visible and which will be the sign of the Antichrist’s one-world government’s approval to purchase food, medicine and conduct trade. Most likely this will be a time when due to the visible seals employed by both God and Satan, it will be easy to distinguish who is and who is not a “child of God.” Because of this, there will be quick and sure torture and death for those who stand for God, hence, the “great multitude in verse 9.

Revelation 7:4-8
Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel. From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben 12,000, from the tribe of Gad 12,000, from the tribe of Asher 12,000, from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000, from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000, from the tribe of Simeon 12,000, from the tribe of Levi 12,000, from the tribe of Issachar 12,000, from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000, from the tribe of Joseph 12,000, from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.

You may be certain that these 144,000 servants of God are not “Jehovah’s Witnesses,” “Mormons” or any other weird sect. The Word of God is clear here. They are Jews from the twelve tribes of Israel. Whether or not most Jews of today know from which tribe they come really doesn’t matter. God knows from which tribe every single Jew comes who has or will ever live. During the Tribulation God will purposely and unerringly select 12,000 from each of the twelve tribes.

You will notice that two of the original tribes - Dan and Ephraim - are missing and are replaced by two others. Some scholars believe the tribe of Dan is missing because the “False Prophet,” who is a Jew, will descend from the tribe of Dan. This may in fact be the meaning of Genesis 49:17; Dan will be a serpent by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse's heels so that its rider tumbles backward. It is also believed that Ephraim is left out because that tribe led the cause resulting in the civil war that was responsible for the division of the ten tribes of the North from the two in the South. Also, the tribes of Dan and Ephraim were the first to lead Israel into idolatry. It is for these reasons that the tribe of Levi is substituted for Dan, and Joseph (Ephraim’s father) is substituted for Ephraim.

The Greek word doulos is used to translate “servant” in verse 3, which refers to the 144,000, just as it is used by both Paul and James when they refer to themselves as servants, i.e., “bond-slaves” of Jesus Christ. The primary purpose for a “servant of Jesus Christ” is to reach the lost with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is so for those of yesterday, today and tomorrow. This will be the mission of the 144,000 Jews we see here selected by God during the Tribulation Period. They will reach those who have not yet had the opportunity to hear and reject God’s grace message or to succumb to the “counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders” of the Antichrist (2 Thessalonians 2:9). That they will be successful in communicating the Gospel of Christ is seen from their abundant results as seen in the following verses.

You may be sure that these 144,000 Tribulation Jewish witnesses are empowered for their duty by the Holy Spirit. Even though the Holy Spirit as part of the Church is taken from the earth by way of the Rapture, God’s Spirit continues to minister in all His power during the Tribulation Period. He not only empowers believers, but He also affects the salvation of those who by faith alone accept Jesus Christ as personal savior. We can never forget that the Holy Spirit is God and therefore is omnipresent throughout all creation and eternity. During the Tribulation He is just as limitless as He is before and after this period of time.

Revelation 7:9, 10
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. And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb."<

This vast multitude of believers in Christ who are also martyrs of the Tribulation is the result of the great witness performed in part by the 144,000 Jewish servants that are sealed in verse 3 and turned lose during the early part of the Tribulation Period. Some Bible scholars believe these believers are only Gentiles, and this may be; nevertheless, the word translated “tribe” appears to indicate that they are both Gentiles and Jews.

Tim LaHaye suggests that they represent more saved than during all other times in history, i.e., more converted than in the entire Church dispensation. He supports this conclusion by combining the following factors:

    1. Effects of the Rapture on the world

    2. 144,000 witnesses like the Apostle Paul

    3. The ministry of the Holy Spirit like on the day of Pentecost (Joel 2:28-30)

    4. The chaotic conditions designed by God to shake humanity’s false sense of security

    5. The world’s largest population ever


He may be correct. For sure they are so many that no man can count them. They are standing before the Throne of God and in front of the Lamb of God, they are wearing the white robes of righteousness (of Christ), they have palm branches in their hands and they are praising God and the Son of God.

Revelation 7:11, 12
All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”

Joining in the praise service by the great multitude of Tribulation saints are the angels, the elders and the four living creatures. Their focus is, as it will be for all of eternity, on God. To Him they attribute (1) praise, (2) glory, (3) wisdom, (4) thanks, (5) honor, (6) power and (7) strength.

Revelation 7:13, 14
Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes--who are they, and where did they come from?" I answered, "Sir, you know." And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

One of the elders then poses a question to John, only to answer it. He clearly reveals the exact identity of this great multitude before the Throne of God. He states they are those who have come out of the “great tribulation” and have “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

Clearly they are those who during the Tribulation Period have accepted by faith alone Christ alone for their own personal salvation. What is most important is that here again the “blood” is brought to the forefront of John’s revelation. The concept of salvation by way of blood was first introduced in the book of Genesis (3:21) and is carried throughout the entire Bible from book-to-book until the very end of Revelation (19:13). Whenever blood is mentioned in reference to one’s salvation or the covering of sin, it represents the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary whereby He took our sins and by being our substitute for the punishment of our sins we can by faith alone in Him receive permanently eternal life.

In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. (Hebrews 9:22)

Revelation 7:15-17
Therefore, "they are before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tent over them. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; He will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

The following applies to those who have been saved during the Tribulation Period:

    1. They have position - before the throne of God

    2. They have purpose - they serve God day and night in His temple

    3. They have shelter and protection - God spreads His tent over them

    4. They have fulfillment and comfort - they no longer will experience hunger, thirst or physical discomfort, such as from heat

    5. They have security - from Christ their Shepherd who is centered on the throne

    6. They have refreshment - from springs of living water

    7. They have eternal joy and contentment - because God will wipe away every tear from their eyes


This last point is similarly extended to the Church after the Great White Throne Judgment in Revelation 21:4. What it exactly means is uncertain. It could very well mean that God out of His mercy will remove our capacity to recall unpleasant memories, e.g., our failures to serve Him and our lost loved ones and their eternal suffering.

The bottom line is that through faith alone in Christ alone, any person will truly experience an eternity before God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ in an unbelievable glorious state of being. It truly will be Heaven.