Revelation Study Series 12 - God’s Mysterious Plan Fulfilled (Chapter 7)
01.16.22
Message…
Revelation 7
1 Then I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds so they did not blow on the earth or the sea, or even on any tree.
2 And I saw another angel coming up from the east, carrying the seal of the living God. And he shouted to those four angels, who had been given power to harm land and sea,
3 “Wait! Don’t harm the land or the sea or the trees until we have placed the seal of God on the foreheads of His servants.”
4 And I heard how many were marked with the seal of God—144,000 were sealed from all the tribes of Israel:
5 from Judah 12,000
from Reuben 12,000
from Gad 12,000
6 from Asher 12,000
from Naphtali 12,000
from Manasseh 12,000
7 from Simeon 12,000
from Levi 12,000
from Issachar 12,000
8 from Zebulun 12,000
from Joseph 12,000
from Benjamin 12,000
We are going to talk today about this 144,000.
There are some who believe that they will be one of the 144,000. There are some who teach that you can be, or need to be one of the 144,000.
Before we get there and answer this, understand…
The Great Tribulation is the seven year period of time like there has never been, nor ever will be again. God will pour out His wrath upon the earth before His Second Coming.
Matt. 24:22 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.
John sees four angels at the four corners (North, South, East, West) holding back the wind of God’s righteous judgment, wrath, and destruction.
It appears from vs. 3 that this event takes place before the seventh seal is broken which begins in chapter 8…
Revelation 7:3
“Wait! Don’t harm the land or the sea or the trees until we have placed the seal of God on the foreheads of His servants.”
At some point during the Tribulation period these elect of God are saved/sealed. Notice the seal is on their foreheads. ?(We will talk more about this in ch. 14.)
It is clearly spelled out who the 144,000 are…
Revelation 7:4-8
4 And I heard how many were marked with the seal of God—144,000 were sealed from all the tribes of Israel:
5 from Judah 12,000
from Reuben 12,000
from Gad 12,000
6 from Asher 12,000
from Naphtali 12,000
from Manasseh 12,000
7 from Simeon 12,000
from Levi 12,000
from Issachar 12,000
8 from Zebulun 12,000
from Joseph 12,000
from Benjamin 12,000
So, who are the 144,000?
There are some interesting observations about this list.
The order of the tribes here in Revelation is not by birth. Judah is listed first, but was not the firstborn. (Reuban was.) Obviously, Jesus was from the tribe of Judah.
The tribe of Dan is not listed.
Ephraim and Manasseh were Joseph’s sons. They were promised by Jacob a double portion of the promised land. Manasseh is listed while Ephraim is not listed.
There are many theories as to why Dan and Ephraim are not on the list. Both of them committed sin with idolatry worship, which could be why they are not listed.
(However, even with that being said Ezek. 38 list’s the Tribe of Dan with the Millennial Kingdom.)
There is no specific or further explanation from scripture, so we cannot be definitive or dogmatic with an answer as to why they are not in this list.
Deuteronomy 29:29
“The LORD our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that He has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions.
What is definitive is that to be part of the 144,000 …
You must be a Jew.
You must be of one of these tribes listed here.
And, you must be living during the Tribulation.
All of those things must be true…as well as, You must accept Jesus Christ for salvation!
And, on top of those things…
Rev 14:1-5
1 Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father's name written on their foreheads.
2 And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps.
3 They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth.
4 These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.
5 And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God.
So, to be part of the 144,000…
You must be a Jew.
You must be of one of these tribes listed in Rev. ch. 7.
You must be living during the Tribulation.
You must be a virgin.
You must have God’s seal of salvation!
So, it is impossible for a Gentile to be part of the 144,000.
It is impossible for anyone who is not a Jew and not living during the Tribulation to be part of the 144,000.
It is impossible for anyone who has had sex to be one of the 144,000. ?So, how about that?
Any other teaching is in error, ignorance, or heresy because it is against scripture!
This does not mean that these Jews are the only ones saved during the Tribulation.
In fact, these 144,000 will become witnesses, evangelists who preach the Gospel of Christ unto salvation!
As a result of their testimony and evangelistic work many will come to be saved!
Revelation 7:9-12
9 After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands.
10 And they were shouting with a great roar,
“Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne
and from the Lamb!”
11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living beings. And they fell before the throne with their faces to the ground and worshiped God.
12 They sang,
“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom
and thanksgiving and honor
and power and strength belong to our God
forever and ever! Amen.”
John saw a “vast” number of people, “too great to count”. They stood before the Throne!
They were from every tribe, nation, and people group. They came from every spoken language.
It has been said that there are over 6,500 languages spoken today. ?(Busuu is a language of Cameroon that is only spoken by 8 people!)
https://blog.busuu.com/most-spoken-languages-in-the-world/
They were clothed in white, holding palm branches, shouting, “Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!”
Revelation 7:13-14
13 Then one of the twenty-four elders asked me, “Who are these who are clothed in white? Where did they come from?”
14 And I said to him, “Sir, you are the one who knows.”
Then he said to me, “These are the ones who died in the great tribulation. They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white.
I cannot emphasize enough that the Great Tribulation is a specific event. It is a real thing! It will last seven years.
It will start after the rapture and will end with Jesus' return to this earth.
It will be like nothing before it! God’s wrath and judgment will be poured out, however many will be saved!
They will also be killed for their decision! They will not take the mark of the beast and they will be killed/martyred for it!
“...These people didn’t go with the raptured church, since they were not yet saved. During the 7-year period they will be saved, martyred, and enter heaven. Though it is a time of unparalleled judgment, it is also a time of unparalleled grace in salvation…” -JMSB
Revelation 7:15-17
15 “That is why they stand in front of God’s throne
and serve Him day and night in His Temple.
And He who sits on the throne
will give them shelter.
16 They will never again be hungry or thirsty;
they will never be scorched by the heat of the sun.
17 For the Lamb on the throne
will be their Shepherd.
He will lead them to springs of life-giving water.
And God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”
The time of Tribulation will be a time of great sorrow, destruction, anguish, fear, torment and suffering.
God will wipe the tears of those memories away for those that choose Him!
Life Application…
God preserves those that are His.
God keeps His promises to those that are His.
God has a purpose for those that are His.
God works according to His timing for those that are His.
Those are great truths, however..
Today’s Message also comes with Warning…
While you won’t be part of the 144,000, it is possible that you could enter the Great Tribulation!
You do not want to enter the Tribulation period…period!!!
You do not have to fear doing so if you are saved, for you will be raptured out!
However if you are not saved…you should be afraid!
Those entering the time of the Great Tribulation who had the opportunity to believe the truth of God, from God…will believe a lie from satan.
The Bible speaks of the Anti-Christ during the time of the Tribulation. he will demand to be worshiped as God.
2 Thessalonians 2:9-12
9 This man will come to do the work of satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles.
10 He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them.
11 So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies.
12 Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth.
Do not put off a decision for Christ!
2 Cor. 6:2
For God says, “At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.” Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation.
Do not put off your worship of Him!
Do not put off your obedience!
Do not put off living for Him!
Do not put off any decision for Him!
Do not live by what someone has told you…live only by what God has revealed to you through His Word!
Deuteronomy 29:29
“The LORD our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that He has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions.
