The End Time Bible Commentary

The Sealing of 144,000 from the Tribes of Israel (v1-8)
In verse 1, John begins, "After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth…" The words "After this…" would seem to indicate that what John sees here in chapter 7 follows chronologically after the sixth seal and is completed before the opening of the seventh seal in chapter 8. There is no obvious break in the chronological section described by the seven seals.

The four angels are stationed at the four corners of the earth, in other words at the north, east, south and west. They are holding back the wind so that it cannot blow on the earth, on the sea, or on the trees (v1). They have power to harm the land and the sea, but the angel of the seventh seal announces that they first need to seal the foreheads of God's servants (v2-3). These four angels are the angels of the first four trumpets (Revelation 8:6-12). Later, at the fifth trumpet (Revelation 9:4), locusts are told only to harm people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. John hears the number of God's servants to be 144,000, with 12,000 from each of the tribes of Israel (v4-8).

Given that so many scriptures prophesy God's end-time restoration of the twelve tribes and their reunification as one nation under Messiah's rule (Isaiah 11:10-16, 14:1-2, 19:24, 27:9, 65:9, Jeremiah 3:16-18, 30:1-24, 31:1-40, 33:1-26, Ezekiel 36:1-38, 37:1-28, 39:21-29, Hosea 2:14-23, 3:5, Amos 9:11-15, Obadiah 1:15-21, Micah 5:3-9, Nahum 2:2, Zephaniah 3:8-20, Zechariah 9:10-16, 10:3-12, 12:1-14, 14:5-21, Romans 11:17-32), it seems clear to me that these are literal descendants of the twelve tribes of Israel. Why else does John name each of the twelve tribes?

Interestingly, the tribe of Dan is omitted, but John still lists twelve tribes. Joseph (Ephraim) and Manasseh count as two tribes, since Joseph received the rights of the firstborn and inherited a double portion (1 Chronicles 5:1). In most Old Testament listings of the twelve tribes, it is Levi that is omitted, since the Levites became Israel's priests and did not inherit a tribal territory like the rest of the tribes. If Dan's omission is something of a snub, it may be because of their historic association with idolatry (Judges 18:30, 1 Kings 12:30). However, in the land distribution of Millennial Israel in Ezekiel 48:2, Dan is included.

The ten northern tribes of Israel were exiled by Assyria in 722 BC, and never returned. Instead, they assimilated into the nations where they were scattered, and eventually lost their identity as Israelite tribes. Today they are referred to as the lost ten tribes, but they are not lost to God. According to 2 Kings 17:5-6 and 1 Chronicles 5:26, they were settled along the River Habor, and among the cities of the Medes. The River Habor is known today as the Al-Khabour River and is a tributary of the River Euphrates, in north-eastern Syria. The Medes were an ancient Iranian people group located on the east side of the River Tigris. So the descendants of the lost tribes of Israel are likely to be most concentrated around Syria, Iraq, Iran and Turkey, and that many modern-day Kurds are among them since they come from these same regions. It is also likely that the majority are Muslims today. But God is able to reveal himself to Muslims. When he does so, it is often through dreams and visions. John's vision here in Revelation 7 indicates that God will send his angel to seal a remnant of 12,000 from each tribe. It is likely that those who are sealed in this way will have some awareness of their angelic encounter. Speaking of their end-time restoration, Jeremiah 31:3 says, "In a faraway land the Lord will manifest himself to them. He will say to them, ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love'." See also my commentary on Isaiah 63:7-18, which seems to be a prayer by the lost tribes for God to intervene on their behalf. According to 2 Chronicles 30:1-31:6, the Assyrians also left a remnant of Israelites in the land of the northern kingdom. In the New Testament, their descendants feature as the Samaritans. Jesus reached out to them through the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4). Many more Samaritans turned to Christ during the ministry of the Apostles (Acts 8:14). Describing the restoration of Israel and Judah at the second coming, Isaiah 11:11 says, "At that time the sovereign master will again lift his hand to reclaim the remnant of his people from Assyria (eastern Turkey, Syria, northern Iraq), Egypt, Pathros (southern Egypt), Cush (Sudan and Ethiopia), Elam (Iran), Shinar (southern Iraq), Hamath (Lebanon and Syria), and the seacoasts (Mediterranean countries and possibly Britain)."

The tribes of the southern kingdom of Judah, namely Judah, Benjamin and some from Levi, were exiled to Babylon in 586 BC, but were allowed to return after Cyrus the Persian conquered Babylon in 539 BC. The Jews are their descendants. The Jews were exiled again by the Romans after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, resulting from the Great Jewish Revolt of 66-67 AD, and in 135 AD after the Bar Kokhba Revolt. Their modern-day return which began in the 1880's, followed shortly thereafter by the formation of the modern Zionist movement, led to the creation of the State of Israel on 14 May 1948.

It appears from Revelation 9:4 that God's purpose in sealing the 144,000 is primarily to protect them during the day of wrath while the trumpet and bowl judgments are released upon the earth, and that they remain on earth after the rapture of believing Christians (as portrayed in verses 9-17). In Ezekiel 36:22-38, God explains that he will restore the tribes of Israel for the sake of his reputation, and in order that the world might know him as Lord through his deliverance of Israel. In Isaiah 66:19 he says that he will perform a mighty act among them, and then send them to the nations to tell of his splendour. If most of those sealed are Muslims until this point and, are living in Antichrist's empire, they will need a very real conversion experience to draw them out of Islam, and then protection from persecution by Antichrist and his followers, as well as from the natural disasters that result from God's judgments being released.


A Great Multitude from Every Nation, Tribe, People and Language (v9-17)
Having seen the sealing of the 144,000 who are Israelites, John now sees "an enormous crowd that no one could count, made up of persons from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb dressed in long white robes, and with palm branches in their hands" (v9). This prompts the obvious question in verse 13, "…who are they and where have they come from?" John is told in verses 14-17, "These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb! For this reason they are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple, and the one seated on the throne will shelter them. They will never go hungry or be thirsty again, and the sun will not beat down on them, nor any burning heat, because the Lamb in the middle of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." In other words, these are Christians who have been raptured up to heaven following Christ's second coming (Matthew 24:29-31, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, 2 Thessalonians 2:1). So before the Day of Wrath, which begins after his coming at the sixth seal (Revelation 6:17), God protects Christians by rapturing us to heaven (1 Thessalonians 5:9), and the people of Israel who remain on earth are protected by some kind of supernatural divine seal. According to verse 10, "They were shouting out in a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God, to the one seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!”" Given that the one seated on the throne, and the Lamb, are visible to everyone on earth at this point as they look up at the sky (Revelation 6:14-17), it is reasonable to assume that this enormous crowd of raptured Christians worshipping around the throne are also visible from earth. Hebrews 12:1 speaks of us being "surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses", and it is possible that as people look up, these raptured Christians will literally resemble a great cloud around God's throne. At his trial, Jesus told the high priest, "…from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matthew 26:64). By saying this, he was identifying himself as the "one like a son of man" in the exaltation and coronation scene of Daniel 7:13-14. John's description of persons from every nation, tribe, people and language (v9) also points us to the fulfilment of this same scene.

In verses 11 to 12, we see that all the angels, the twenty four elders and the four living creatures are still around the throne as in chapters 4 and 5. Considering that there are a hundred million angels (Revelation 5:11), this would be an enormous crowd even without the Christians. All of them prostrate themselves before the throne and worship God.

Their white robes in verses 9 and 14 signify that their sins have been washed away and they have been clothed in Christ's righteousness, enabling them to serve God night and day in his heavenly temple. The description of them holding palm branches and proclaiming 'Salvation belongs to our God' also reminds us of Palm Sunday. It is like a prophetic drama, looking forward to Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem that will soon take place, not in heaven but on earth (Psalm 24:7-10, Psalm 118:26-27, Matthew 23:39). Those who were martyred during the fifth seal were also given white robes to wear (Revelation 6:11).

In verse 14 we are told they "have come out of the great tribulation", meaning they have suffered through it but have now been delivered. It is said that God 'will shelter them'. They will never go hungry or thirsty again. The sun will not beat down on them, nor any burning heat. This contrasts with their experiences during the great tribulation. They are not people who have been evacuated in a pre-tribulation rapture before all the trouble started! They have gone through at least the early part of the great tribulation. Some have been martyred, and the rest have now been delivered out of it by the rapture. This fits with the order of events presented by Jesus in Matthew 24:29-31 - tribulation, then second coming, then rapture. Christians must be prepared to suffer and even be martyred during the tribulation. In Matthew 24:9, Jesus warned, "Then they will hand you over to be persecuted and will kill you. You will be hated by all the nations because of my name". And in Revelation 20:4-6, John sees 'the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God'. But we need not fear God's judgments that will occur during the day of wrath, as we will be raptured before the start of the trumpet and bowl judgments.

In verse 17, these martyrs are comforted and cared for by Jesus who shepherds and leads them to springs of living water, and by God the Father who wipes away every tear from their eyes. As Messiah, Jesus is portrayed as the Good Shepherd in Isaiah 40:11, Jeremiah 23:1-4, Ezekiel 34:11-12, Micah 2:12-13, 4:6-7, 7:14, John 10:11-16. In the present age, springs of living water represent the blessings that we can experience as believers through the Holy Spirit living within us (Isaiah 55:1, 58:11, John 4:10, 7:37-39). During our heavenly experience after the rapture, these springs may have a more tangible fulfilment.

Jew vs. Gentile?
Given the portrayal in this chapter of 144,000 Israelites who are sealed, as opposed to the enormous crowd from every nation, tribe, language and people who are raptured, it is tempting to see the latter group as Gentile. However, it is important to remember that both Jews and Gentiles make up the Church as 'one new man' (Ephesians 2:15). When the Church was established at Pentecost, it began as an entirely Jewish movement. After some time the door of salvation was opened to Gentiles, and over the centuries the Church lost its Jewish identity, with its Jewish believers being assimilated into the Church. But it is a mistake to think of the end-time Church as a Gentile body. After the rapture, Christ's mission is to rescue the many unsaved Israelites who remain on earth, restore them to faith, lead them back to the promised land, defeat the Antichrist, and establish his Millennial reign over the entire world. We also see in Revelation 14:6, that after the rapture an angel flying overhead proclaims the gospel to non-Israelites, giving people from every nation, tribe and language a further opportunity to believe in Jesus and be saved.