Chapter 7 follows on from chapter 6. So you should read my post on chapter 6 before reading this one.
I use the eschatological scheme known as historical: spiritual . Under this scheme we allow the Holy Spirit to interpret for us (with reference to other scriptures) what the prophesy means to us today. If the scriptures are for us all then we need to believe that God wrote them to us all whatever era we live in. 1 John 2:27
Below I reproduce the verses of Revelation chapter 7, with my comments following.
Chapter 7 continues under the Sixth Seal
And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.
Revelation 7:1
Here we have a flat square earth?!! Flat Earth? No way!. This is a symbolic way describing God’s reach is everywhere — North, South, East and West. His Spirit (the four winds) reach everywhere. The Greek word πνέω (pneo) means “to breathe hard”. This is the word used in this verse. The Hebrew word רוּחַ (ruach) used for the Holy Spirit means “breath, wind, spirit”.
In Genesis 1:2b And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” The use here is very similar. At the creation God breathed on the earth but here He holds His breath from the earth or sea or trees. He has limited the influence of His Spirit at this late stage as we approach the end of days.
2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,
Revelation 7:2
Note also there are 4 winds (v.1) that by implication are eventually used to judge the earth and the sea. In chapter 6 it was 4 horsemen used to judge the earth and the sea.
In Zechariah chapter 6 we read
1 And I turned, and lifted up my eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass. 2 In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses; 3 And in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot spotted and bay horses. 4 Then I answered and said to the angel that talked with me, What are these, my lord? 5 And the angel answered and said to me, These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the LORD of all the earth. 6 The black horses which are therein go forth into the north country; and the white go forth after them; and the spotted go forth toward the south country. 7 And the bay went forth, and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth: and he said, Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth. So they walked to and fro through the earth.
Zechariah 6:1-7
Again we see the same symbolism used. The 4 horses are symbolic of the four spirits of God which are used by God in judgment. It is interesting that colour of the horses almost matches the 4 horses in chapter 6.
3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
Revelation 7:2,3
The believers need to all be sealed, that is, saved by the Lord, before God unleashes His Spirit on the earth, the seas, and the trees. What follows is judgment via the wrath God on every living creature on the earth, in the seas and the trees but only after all the saints are claimed and protected by God. This sealing by God is the opposite of the sealing by Satan, aka the mark of the beast.
4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
Revelation 7:4
God’s servants are sealed in their foreheads with the seal or mark of God (Ezekiel 9:4). In our case it is with the seal of promise, pledged and purchased by Christ.
13 […Christ.] In whom you also trusted, after that you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that you believed, you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise,
14 Which is the earnest [pledge] of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
Ephesians 1:13,14
Who are the 144,000?
This is a very contentious question in eschatological circles.
5 Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand.
6 Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nephthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand.
7 Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand.
8 Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.
Revelation 7:5-8
No mention of the tribe of Dan, which lost its inheritance. Judges 18:1. These 12 tribes then are representative of the twelve tribes that gained an inheritance. Like the 5 wise virgins (Matthew 25) who gained their inheritance (marriage to their husband in Christ), these tribes represent those believers who were chosen of God.
In chapter 14 verse 3 they are described as “the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth“. It does not describe them as exclusively from Israel (ethnic Jews, that is) but only as the redeemed from the earth, meaning from all nations. Could these verses 5 to 8 be a references to the born-again Jewish believers? Could be. Consider the following.
All saved believers are children of Israel. The true Israel. See Roman 9:6-8. Only those “in Christ” are Israel. God chose His elect regardless of their national origins, Gentile or Jew. There is no privilege to people claiming to worship God as Jews but reject Jesus Christ as Saviour. The message of the Old Testament is all about Jesus Christ. He finished the Old Covenant on the Cross. Judaism therefore is another false/fake religion. Messianic Jews are the faithful Jews who are now born again believers in the Messiah Jesus Christ. There is no discrimination in Christ.
26 For you are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you be Christ’s, then are you Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.
Galatians 3:26-29
Like the unique identity of the two biological sexes, being redeemed in Christ does not change that but there is no distinction between males and females in regards to salvation. In the same way there is no distinction, no privilege to being a Jew or a Gentile in terms of salvation. Salvation makes us all children of Abraham in terms of inheritance of the kingdom of God.
Because of the following verse I tend to believe that the verses 5 – 8 are a reference to those ethnic Jews who have embraced the Lord Jesus Christ as Messiah. No privilege but historical recognition because they came first. The number of 12 groups of 12,000 is symbolic and non-literal. Otherwise you have a problem of exact numbers. No more, no less.
9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
Revelation 7:9
In verse 9 we are told “a great multitude” stood before Christ in “white robes”, symbolising salvation (compare with verses 3:18, 6:11). The “palms in the hands” indicate they are the victors (compare with Matthew 21:8 and Zechariah 9:9).
But note we read “After this I beheld…”. John has another vision of the great multitude from all nations, all ethnic origins, including Jews and Gentiles. So the previous vision of the 144,000 in verses 7:4-8 is a different vision to what follows in verse 7:9. Thus the great multitude includes all faithful ethnically Jewish believers as well as all Gentile believers. There is no distinction between them for salvation, only historically God started with the nation of Israel, but ended with the Gentiles (Acts 13:46).
Therefore the text suggests two cohorts of believers, Jewish and non-Jewish. This is consistent with the two witnesses in chapter 11, which describes the two witnesses as being symbolic of the Jewish and non-Jewish believers. All believers regardless of race are included here. Only by the shed blood of Jesus Christ can any be saved; never by national identity.
I completely reject Christian Zionism and any privileged status for the Jews in scripture. The Bible is a Christian book, not a book on Judaism. It is all about our Lord Jesus Christ, from Genesis to Revelation. Any other interpretation is Judaizing.
Reading from the OT, Jonah was inspired to say:
But I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation [Yeshua] is of the LORD [Yahweh].
Jonah 2:9
Here the word “salvation” is translated from the Hebrew name of Jesus, which literally means salvation. You’ll find more than one hundred occurrences of this in the Old Testament. The word “is” is an insertion by the translators. So the sentence should read: “Yeshua of the Yahweh,” where Yeshua (or Jesus) means salvation, and Yahweh is the name of our God. Jesus and salvation are exclusively owned by our God. There is no other way (John 14:6).
10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb.
11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts [living creatures], and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,
12 Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be to our God for ever and ever. Amen.
Revelation 7:10-12
In the throne room of God everyone is worshipping our God. This indicates the resurrection of the believers, who are taken to heaven to live with the Lord.
13 And one of the elders answered, saying to me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
14 And I said to him, Sir, you knows. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Revelation 7:13,14
Those with white robes are those who have the salvation of God. They have endured much tribulation, persecution and suffering for our Lord name. By washing their robes in the blood of the Lamb they are cleansed of all sin. These people are the saved believers, followers of Jesus Christ. Their is no secret or non-secret pre-Trib rapture. Believers suffer for their faith as they have always done. However, none of our works can save us.
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Titus 3:5
Only by the washing in the blood of the Lamb can anyone be saved. That washing creates in us a new life in Christ. The white robes are the wedding garments of the believers called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.
And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: 12 And he said to him, Friend, how came you in here not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.
Matthew 22:11-14
Without that wedding garment, washed white in the blood of the Lamb, you cannot be saved. The unbelievers are thrown into outer darkness, that is, into hell. And the saved, those who have their wedding garments, ar seen in the throne room of God. These are the saved at the marriage supper of the Lamb.
15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple: and He that sits on the throne shall dwell among them.
16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.
Revelation 7:15,16
The sun will not smite you by day, Nor the moon by night.
Psalm 121:6
The Lord is our shield. He protects us from all attacks. There is nothing that can hurt or destroys in the throne room of God.
17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them to living fountains [springs] of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
Revelation 7:17
King Jesus Christ, on the throne, provides the living fountains of water from which the saved eternally drink. This is the Water of Life — Jesus our Lord.
And he showed me a pure river of the Water of Life, clear as crystal, [flowing] out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
Revelation 22:1
Jesus is our shepherd which is the role of the pastor in a church. He is the one and only Shepherd over His flock.
And I will set up one Shepherd over them, and He shall feed them, even My servant David [Jesus Christ]. He shall feed them, and He shall be their Shepherd. 24 And I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David [Jesus Christ] a prince among them. I, the Lord, have spoken it.
Ezekiel 34:23,24
To be continued in chapter 8.
Recommended Reading
- Revelation 1-3
- Revelation 2 & 3: Jesus on the Synagogue of Satan
- Revelation 4
- Revelation 5
- Revelation 6: The White Horseman Brings Toxic Death Shots
- Revelation 6: The Four Horsemen Bring Global Depopulation
- Revelation 7: The Saints Are Sealed
- Revelation 8: 7th Seal Opened
- Revelation 9: Abyss Opened
- Revelation 10: The Little Book
- Revelation 11: The Two Witnesses
- Revelation 12: Believers in the Wilderness
- Revelation 13: The Mark of the Beast
- Revelation 14: The Final Harvest
- Revelation 15 and 16: The 7 Vials of the Wrath of God
- Revelation 17: Babylon the Great
- Revelation 18: Come Out of Babylon
- Revelation 19: Marriage Supper of the Lamb
- Revelation 20: Great White Throne Judgment
- Revelation 20: The Church Age
- Revelation 21: New Heaven and New Earth
- Revelation 22: Jesus the Tree of Life
Recommended Reading
- Book: Apocalypse Now: On the Revelation of Jesus Christ
- Book: Merchants of Death: Global Oligarchs and Their War On Humanity
Follow me
- Telegram.org: @GideonHartnett
- Facebook: Gideon Hartnett
- X (Twitter): @gideon195203
To be notified by email put your email address in the box at the bottom of your screen. You’ll get an email each time we publish a new article.
Click this image to make a secure Donation (Stripe) !
Bible Science Forum 
2 responses to “Revelation 7: The Saints Are Sealed”
When you say all true believers are Israel, are you referring to us believers today or the Tribulation saints?
LikeLike
I am saying that it is all believers regardless of when they lived and died. That includes all those who are washed in the blood of the Lamb from when Christ walked the Earth to those who died in great tribulation during those last 3.5 years as described in Revelation 11 and 12. The point is that there is no special category of tribulation saints as all saints through most ages on Earth have suffered under persecution and tribulation. In chapter 14 verse 3 they are described as “the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth”. That is it. No other qualification is given or needed.
LikeLike