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Chapter 4 opened this vision with a picture of God on His throne and
being worshipped by all creation. Chapter 5 introduced Jesus
Christ as the one worthy redeemer, qualified to reveal the will of
God and likewise being worshipped. Chapter 6 is the picture of
our redeemer revealing the coming of the redemption and
righteousness of God, followed closely by the enemies of it and a
step by step progression which brings us to the point at which God's
fearful judgment upon the earth is imminent.
In times past, God's wrath upon nations
such as Sodom and Gomorrah, or in the case of the great flood, the
destruction was sudden and total. But in these examples and
many others, we see a period of time given where any who would be
righteous had the opportunity to avoid destruction. The people
of Sodom and Gomorrah had an opportunity to be spared if only a
handful of righteous could be found. Noah was a preacher of
righteousness all during the time he constructed the ark on which
the entire hope of mankind relied (2 Peter 2:5). It took a
hundred years to build the ark and during that time he preached to
the masses. The unrighteous who lived at the time of the great
flood had a hundred years to repent.
We see from a study of the deliverance of
the promised land to the Israelites that God would not let the
Canaanites be destroyed until after there was no hope of any of them
being found righteous. In Genesis 15:16 and context, we have
God speaking to Abraham in a dream where He was giving Abraham
certain facts surrounding the land his descendants would inherit: "But
in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the
iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full." Backing up to
Genesis 15:13, we see God telling Abraham his descendants would be
enslaved for 400 years while this was taking place. The word
"Amorite" was used there as a term for the pre-Israelite population of Canaan.
When the Israelites arrived at the Jordan river after 40 years of
wandering in the wilderness, the Amorites of old were then
identified as the Canaanites of the time.
What we see in Revelation chapter 7 is a
parallel of God's actions toward a people who are about to be
destroyed. God will wait to utterly destroy a nation until
there are no more souls among them who can be saved. God is
longsuffering and is not willing that any should perish.
In this we see the tremendous love that God exhibits towards the
lost. Inspiration teaches us that while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). We also see that God places a
high priority on the souls of the lost. He left the Israelites
in bondage for four hundred years while the Canaanites degraded
themselves completely into idolatry. Only after the Canaanites
had utterly abandoned God's righteousness and there was no more
potential for the salvation of souls were they driven out. If
the people of Canaan had been destroyed while there was yet any
potential for righteousness, then souls would have been lost that
otherwise would have been saved if God would not have destroyed
them.
As evil and idolatrous as the Roman Empire
was, there were souls among them that were righteous and there were
those who would eventually turn to righteousness before everything
was said and done. The faithful Christians, despite the
persecution against them, were spreading the gospel, reaching the
lost and helping people find their way out of idolatry and into the
truth of God's righteousness. We must keep in mind that God
has a much broader perspective on things than we do. We are
limited in our knowledge of the here and the now and what has been.
God sees all that plus what will happen in the future. he
knows if someone will respond to the truth tomorrow, or the next
day, or the next. He knows who is going to respond to the
opportunity for salvation and He wants them to be saved. And
if God had swept in and utterly destroyed the Roman Empire while
there were yet souls who would turn to God, then He would have
destroyed their hope for salvation.
God so loved the world that He sacrificed
the fleshly life of His only Son that whosever sought righteousness
could have eternal life. John 3:16 does not limit God's love
to only the saved, but encompasses all of His creation. He
loves the sinners and the saved alike. And we who are
Christians must realize this and realize also that God who was
willing to sacrifice the life of His Son, is willing also to
sacrifice the lives of His saints to the purpose of the salvation of
man. Saving the eternal souls of the lost is more important in
the eternal purpose of God than the fleshly lives of His Son and the
saved.
And with that thought in mind, we are going
to use that as the backdrop for how we look at the 7th chapter of
Revelation. Yes God is in charge, Yes He will punish and
eventually destroy the Roman Empire for all the evil, pain and
suffering they inflicted on the Christians, but not until their work
on earth was complete and all the souls that could be saved were, "And
there was given them to each one a white robe; and it was said unto
them, that they should rest yet for a little time, until their
fellow-servants also and their brethren, who should be killed even
as they were, should have fulfilled (their course)"
(Revelation 6:11).
Who will be able to stand against God's
judgment? "Wherefore take up the whole armor of God, that
ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all,
to stand" (Ephesians 6:13). While this is a picture of the
last day when all of the creation is judged, the answer is still
applicable; the righteous will stand in the end.
Revelation 7:1
"After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the
earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that no wind should blow
on the earth, or on the sea, or upon any tree."
Here we have the number
four used multiple
times which was symbolic of the world in which we live. We see
the four corners of the earth, the four winds coming from all
directions being overseen by four angels. This is figurative
for the entire world which in the minds of the 1st century readers
encompasses all of the Roman Empire and the nations it was unable to
conquer such as the Parthians. The
winds are an Old Testament
symbol which was a figure of divine retribution. The winds
being held back by the angels was the wrath of God on the enemies of
righteousness. And we have a vivid picture in the account of
the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah what can happen when the winds
of God's retribution are released.
We also notice that God's wrath is aimed at
natural things of the earth. We learn in later accounts of
John's visions that God used natural calamities to pour out His
retribution on the persecutors of the Christians. History
records many devastating earthquakes and other natural disasters
which occurred in the first century which can be associated with the
Revelation. For example great earthquakes destroyed several
cities in Asia Minor at different times and let's not forget the
eruption of Mt. Vesuvius which utterly obliterated the cities of
Pompeii and Herculaneum in the first century. Dealing with the
consequences of these natural disasters seriously depleted the
resources of the Roman Empire and were contributing factors to its ultimate downfall.
Revelation 7:2-3
"And I saw another angel ascend from the sunrising, having the
seal of the living God: and he cried with a great voice to the four
angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till
we shall have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads."
The angels who have the power to bring God's retribution upon the
earth are told to wait until the servants of God are sealed.
The word "sealed" is translated from the Greek word sphragizo
(sfrag-id'-zo); which means to stamp (with a signet or private mark)
for security or preservation (literally or figuratively). This
is the same word used in John 6:27; "Labour not for the meat
which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting
life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the
Father sealed", and in Ephesians 1:13, "In whom ye also
trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with
that holy Spirit of promise". When any person believes and
obeys the gospel, they are said by scripture to be "sealed"
or "marked for preservation". God's retribution on the
earth was to be postponed until all of God's servants were marked
for preservation. As we saw in Ephesians 1:13, this sealing
occurs at the moment of one's conversion, so the servants of God who
are to be marked for identification include those who who will
respond to the gospel and become Christians as well as those who
already had.
Being sealed on the forehead is not to be
taken literally. Paul taught in 2 Timothy 2:19, "Nevertheless
the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord
knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name
of Christ depart from iniquity." All Christian have the
assurance that God knows who His children are and that they are in
fellowship with God the Father and with Jesus Christ, (1 John 1:3),
so it follows to reason that God knows His children on a personal
level. Anyone whom God knows and fellowships is identified for
preservation. Being sealed on the forehead therefore means to
be recognized by face on sight.
Revelation 7:4
"And I heard the number of them that were sealed, a hundred and
forty and four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children
of Israel"
The number 144,000 is the number 12, which is a symbol for organized
religion, multiplied by the number 1000 which is the number 10
multiplied by itself three times. The number 10 is the number
for completeness and the number 3 was symbolic for God. This
brings the number to 12,000. This number is then multiplied
again by 12 which is the number for organized religion which brings
it to 144,000. Another way of expressing this figurative number is
"the total sum of all God's children from all nations."
Some religious organizations today try and
literalize this number saying this is all that will be in heaven.
They fail to read just a few sentences onward where John sees the
same group of people in
this same vision, "a great multitude, which no man could number,
out of every nation and of (all) tribes and peoples and tongues,
standing before the throne and before the Lamb." One must
ask why anyone would literalize the 144,000 and then turn around and
ignore the innumerable multitudes of the saved out of every nation
of the earth standing before the throne of God. So often it is
the case that Revelation explains itself but one has to look at the
whole vision, taking into consideration all of what is happening,
not just isolated components of them and then trying to build a
doctrine out of it. The symbolic language in Revelation must be interpreted in light of
what the rest of scripture says, not the other way around.
Revelation 7:5-8
"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."
Of interest here is that verse 4 closed
with the words "sealed out of every tribe of the children of
Israel". The twelve tribes listed are not the complete
list of the actual patriarchs of the 12 tribes of old Israel.
Ephraim and Dan are not mentioned. They were replaced with
Levi who did not receive a land inheritance and Joseph, the father
of Manasseh and Ephraim who were two of the Patriarchs. So we
can rule out the original tribes of Israel and the original children
of Israel as being the subjects of this vision. The Israel in
view here is the spiritual house of Israel, not the old Israel.
the term "house of Israel" occurs in the old testament 146
times in reference to old Israel. The New Testament Israel is
referred to as a spiritual house in 1 Peter 2:5 so we see a contrast
between the old Israel and the new. The Israel in view here in
John's vision is the Israel of the new testament which included all
the gentiles. "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into
one body , whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or
free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit" (1
Corinthians 12:13). The "children of Israel" under the
new covenant is the body of Christ. Also known as the kingdom
of Christ (Ephesians 5:5, Colossians 1:13), the body of Christ
(Romans 12:5, 1 Corinthians 12:27), and the church of Christ (Romans
16:16).
Revelation 7:9
"After these things I saw, and behold, a great multitude, which
no man could number, out of every nation and of (all) tribes and
peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb,
arrayed in white robes, and palms in their hands"
As soon as John is finished describing the sealing of the children
of Israel under the new covenant, the scene switches immediately
back to the throne room of God where we get a vision of all the
saved of all the ages.
Keeping in mind this is the answer to the
question "who will be able to stand?", this is a picture of
the souls who will be preserved and will be able to stand through
God's retribution on the unrighteous. The fact that every
single one of them came from what was referred to as a "tribe of
Israel" indicates that only the children of God will be preserved.
This effectively leaves out everybody else.
Those who are arrayed in white robes is
explained fully in verse 14. The palms they are holding is an
Old Testament symbol taken from the Feast of Tabernacles and
represents the joy resulting from deliverance and the peace which
comes from assurance of future preservation.
Revelation 7:10
"and they cry with a great voice, saying, Salvation unto our God
who sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb."
The persecution of the Christians living under the Roman Empire was
horrendous. They were starved, discriminated against, beaten,
enslaved, captured and killed just for being Christians. It
looked like oppression was coming from every conceivable direction
and nothing could save them. The immediate application for
them was that there was indeed salvation from the persecution, but
only through God's plan of redemption. The application for all
is that the terms for salvation of all mankind is only through
God and the sacrifice of the Lamb, His Son for the sins of all.
The first century Christians were needing saved from their immediate
circumstances, but that was secondary in importance to being saved
from eternal destruction. This is the salvation which is of
the utmost importance.
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and
the truth, and the life: no one cometh unto the Father, but by me"
(John 14:6). "And in none other is there salvation: for
neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among
men, wherein we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
Revelation 7:11-12
"And all the angels were standing round about the throne, and
(about) the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell
before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving,
and honor, and power, and might, (be) unto our God for ever and
ever. Amen."
This is another vision of the worship of God in His throne room.
Interestingly, there are seven attributes given to God here in
praise. Likewise in the throne scene in Revelation 5:12, there
were seven given by the angels to Jesus as well. This cannot
be a mere coincidence and serves to symbolize the sevenfold
perfection of God.
Revelation 7:13
"And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, These that are
arrayed in white robes, who are they, and whence came they?"
One of the elders in John's vision asked him who those in the white
robes were and where they came from. This question was asked
so that it would be answered. This is one of those times when
the visions explain themselves. The forthcoming answer will
serve to identify the 144,000 as those who were of the great
innumerable multitude clothed in white and standing before the
throne of God. The words used to explain these victorious
saints make up some of the most beautiful imagery in all of the
Revelation. This is a wonderful and comforting picture of what
awaits not only the 1st century Christians, but all who come through
the trials of life and emerge triumphant over the evil influences of
sin.
Revelation 7:14
"And I say unto him, My lord, thou knowest. And he said to me,
These are they that come of the great tribulation, and they washed
their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."
The great tribulation in view here is the persecution of the saints
under the Roman Empire. Those who shall stand are the ones who
come through the great persecution, faithful unto death. The
sacrificial blood of Jesus washed away all their sins and they are
clothed in righteousness, having their garments without spot, white
and free of the darkness of sin.
Revelation 7:15
"Therefore are they before the throne of God; and they serve him
day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall
spread his tabernacle over them."
And because they were arrayed in white robes they are envisioned
before the throne of God where they serve him constantly.
There is no day and night in heaven as we know it. This is
merely a figure of speech meant to form a picture of perpetual
worship to God.
The tabernacle spread over them by God is
an old testament figure of the old tabernacle where the Israelites
worshipped before the first temple was built. The
tabernacle was where God dwelt among the Israelites. Having
His tabernacle spread over them would then mean that they are
sheltered in the dwelling place of God. "LORD, who shall
abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that
walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth
in his heart" (Psalms 15:1-2). The entire 15th Psalm is a
description of who will dwell in the tabernacle of God.
Revelation 7:16
"They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither
shall the sun strike upon them, nor any heat"
These are pictures of various persecutions under which the
Christians were living as described in the fourth seal. The
hunger and the thirst they went through was very real.
Christians were denied the ability to work good jobs and to buy or
sell in the Roman Empire. Hunger was a very common trial for
them. The sun or heat spoken of is probably an illusion to the
fact that many of them were burned to death. History records
that Nero would douse Christians in a flammable substance and set
them on fire in his garden at night, using their burning bodies as
night lights while he drove his chariot among them. We don't
know this for a certainty but tradition has it that Antipas, God's
faithful martyr was publicly burned to death in the streets of
Pergamum.
Revelation 7:17
"for the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall be their
shepherd, and shall guide them unto fountains of waters of life: and
God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes."
Jesus described Himself as the "good shepherd" that "giveth
His life for the sheep" (John 10:11). The Psalmist wrote,
"The Lord is my shepherd" who leads me "beside the still
waters" (Psalm 23). Jesus is well known in the minds of
His children as the lamb and the shepherd who gave His life so that
His sheep could live.
There will be no tears in heaven, God
having removed all cause for sorrow. Consider not only the
tears of those who were martyred for Christ, but also the tears of
those whose loved ones died leaving them without their fathers, or
mothers, or wives or husbands. Think about the destitute
survivors whose husbands and fathers were slain, all their
possessions taken, leaving them bereaved, alone and without any
means of support. Think about the families who saw their loved
ones torn to shreds by wild beasts in the Coliseum for the
entertainment of the Romans. Think about the families whose
fathers were forced to fight the gladiators and die in front of tens
of thousands of jeering Romans. Imagine how hard that would be
and imagine the tears of grief and despair. All of this sorrow
will be forever gone for those who overcome and emerge triumphant.
God Himself is pictured here as wiping the tears from the eyes of
His children. What a beautiful and comforting picture this is
for any Christian but especially to those who are suffering greatly
because of their faith.
The fountains of the waters of life.
Fountains suggest that the living waters are plentiful and the
waters of life is reminiscent of Jesus' words to the Samaritan woman
He spoke with at Jacob's well: "Jesus answered and said unto her,
Every one that drinketh of this water shall thirst again: but
whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never
thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a
well of water springing up unto eternal life" (John 4:13-14).
So many times in Revelation, John sees the faithful in the throne
room of God. There are those in the world today who try and
use these visions to set forth the teaching that all Christians who
have died are presently in heaven. We must keep in mind that
the Revelation is purposefully symbolized for the protection of the
first readers who were living during the great persecution of the
Roman Empire and therefore the language is obscured. Biblical
teaching elsewhere in scripture places the souls of the faithful
dead in a place of paradise within the Hadean realm where they await
the coming of Jesus. The saved thief on the cross joined Jesus
in paradise (Luke 23:43) and we know from other scripture that Jesus
went to Hades after His death on the cross (Acts 2:27).
Lazarus and the rich man likewise went to Hades upon their deaths
(Luke 16:23). The rich man was in torment while Lazarus was
pictured in a place of comfort in Abraham's bosom. Inspiration
records a conversation between Abraham and the lost rich man.
Nowhere in scripture does it even remotely hint that those in their
final destination of Hell will be engaging those in Heaven in
conversations. Hell, (Gehenna), is described in scripture as
eternal and total separation from God forever.
In Acts 2:34 we read that "David is not
ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto
my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand". Jesus Christ is the
only one who has been resurrected from the Hadean realm and has
ascended to Heaven. The faithful dead have not yet been
resurrected and are therefore awaiting this event in the paradise
section of the Hadean realm.
John 5:28-29
"Marvel not at this: for the hour cometh, in which all that are
in the tombs shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that
have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have
done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment." This event
has not yet occurred therefore nobody but Jesus has ascended to
heaven.
It is often the case in Revelation that
events which are to happen in the future are visualized as having
already been accomplished. This is to give the impression of
the absolute surety of the event. Notice later on in John's
visions that an angel declares, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the
great, that hath made all the nations to drink of the wine of the
wrath of her fornication" (Revelation 14:8). The Babylon
here is a figure for the Roman Empire and God's angel declares it's
downfall as having already occurred. The downfall of the
empire is so sure that it is spoken of in past tense terms.
Likewise the gathering of God's saints about Him in Heaven is so
sure that it is spoken of in the same past tense terms. It is
also significant to note within the vision itself that the scene
switches from the saints on earth under the persecution immediately
to the throne room where they were again pictured in the presence of
God while in reality many of the 144,000 were still living on earth,
some who were yet to respond to the gospel and come into fellowship
with God.
Summary Paraphrase
Revelation 7
And after these things I saw four angels standing at the four
corners of the earth, holding back God's retribution like the wind so that
it would not descend on the earth nor the sea nor on the trees.
And then I saw another angel ascending from the direction of the
rising sun with a message from God. And he cried with a loud
voice to the four angels who were commanded to bring God's judgment
upon the earth, saying, "Do no harm to the earth, neither the sea,
nor the trees, until all the faithful servants of our God are
saved."
And I heard the number of God's children which were
redeemed: and there
were great multitudes of them from among all the corners of the
earth. From each and every nation of the earth, both
Jews and Gentiles, all of those who would be redeemed were found and
saved. And after this I saw them all again in a vision before
the Throne of God and there were so many that no man could number
them. They were standing before the throne of God, with the
Father and with Jesus, clothed with righteousness, having been
delivered from their persecutors and now at peace.
And they all cried in unison, "Salvation
comes only from God on His throne and from His Son." And then
all the angels standing round about God's throne and all the elders
and all the redeemed fell on their faces and worshipped God saying
"Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and
honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Be
it so."
And one of the elders asked me, "Who are
these which are clothed in righteousness and from where did they
come?" And I answered him, "Sir, you know these things" And then he
said to me, "These are they which were faithful unto death through
the great persecution, and have washed their robes, and made them
white in the sacrificial blood of the Son of God. And now they
are the only ones of earth who will be able to stand and they shall
serve God day and night in His temple: and He shall shelter them
where He dwells. They will never again go hungry or thirsty,
neither will they ever again suffer under the persecution of the
unrighteous. Because Jesus, the good shepherd who is enthroned
at the right hand of God shall make sure they are fed and He will
lead them to fountains of the waters of life and God Himself
shall wipe all the tears of tribulation from their eyes.
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