Revelation #23

This morning we move into Chapter 7!



Revelation 7:1-8



The 144,000 of Israel Sealed

1After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. 2Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, 3saying, "Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants[a] of our God on their foreheads." 4And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

512,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed,12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,12,000 from the tribe of Gad, 612,000 from the tribe of Asher,12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh, 712,000 from the tribe of Simeon,12,000 from the tribe of Levi,12,000 from the tribe of Issachar, 812,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.



Chapter seven is clarifying for us something also happening in the tribulation. Verses 1-8 are speaking to the Jews while verses 9-17 are speaking to the gentiles. Also note no seals are broken in this chapter which is another clus that this chapter is giving us added information.



Verse 1 says John saw four angels. the number four is the number of this world. These angles are standing at the four corners of the earth...N,S,E,W. The angles are holding back the four winds of the earth. These four winds are the weather. As you can see that no wind is able to blow! In verse 2 we see another angel ascending from the rising sun with the seal of the living God. This seal marks ownership. It symbolizes God's ownership. The seal show us three things...1. Possession by God, 2. Protection by God, 3. Preservation by God. The angel then calls out to the four angels saying don't let the wind go until God's servants are sealed! They a symbol on their foreheads as told to us in verse 3. This symbol is the name of Jesus and God as told in Rev. 14:1! Just as a refresher....do you know what the believer is sealed with? The Holy Spirit! Provides us with the same three things mentioned earlier. In verse 4 we are told the number sealed....144,000. These are Jews saved during the tribulation. Many folks believe the purpose of the 144,000 will be to evangelize the Jews during the tribulation. Then in verses 5-8 we see the number from each tribe of Israel that is sealed.



Many wonder if God has forsaken the Jews because of their rejection of Him but let me give you two verses to show you this is not the case!



Romans 11

The Remnant of Israel

1I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin.



and this verse:



Romans 11:25



The Mystery of Israel’s Salvation

25 Lest you be wise in your own sight, I want you to understand this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.



From the time the Jews rejected Jesus until fullness of the gentiles there has been a partial spiritual blindness placed upon the Jews. He says "partial" because some Jews have accepted Christ but the nation as a whole has not turned towards Him. The fullness of the gentiles occurs when the rapture takes place.



Lots of info to grab onto this morning!



Tom