Vision One - The Seven Seals
Revelation Chapter 7
1 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.
Superstition at the time was that winds from the North, South, East, and West were "good" winds, while
winds from the corners (NE, NW, SE, SW) brought trouble. As an example, Paul's boat to Rome in
Acts 27:13-14 left port
because of a south wind, but got into trouble with a northeast wind. The image is a pause before the worst that evil
could do would be released.
Note the continuation in this image of the angels just about to let go of the winds and the earlier question of "how long" by the
martyrs. This interlude answers that the time is now!
2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal [signet ring] 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,
3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
Marking believers goes back to the flight of the Israelites out of Egypt, and is also used in
Ezekiel 9:1-10. In the
first case, death goes to the firstborn of the Egyptian tyrants, but in the second case, death goes to the unfaithful and sinful
residents of Jerusalem. The practice of sealing an item was a sign of ownership, and a way of applying the reputation of the
owner to the item. God's elect will still have to endure the Great Tribulation, but they will have God's care in enduring
it. The message is as victorious and certain as the white robes given to the martyrs in heaven.
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.
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 Nepthalim 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.
This number, 144,000, represents the perfection of God's plan. "12" is a number for completeness,
uniting 4, the earth number, with 3, the trinity. 12 for completeness times 12 for the Israelite tribes times the
abundance of 1000 gives 144,000. The meaning of this number is "very large," just like in verse 9 where an uncountable multitude
of believers gather before the throne. Many want to interpret this list as just being Jews, but early Christian thought, as in
Romans 2:28-29 and
Galatians 3:29, was
that Christians were the true "children of Israel" in covenant with God, just like Jesus responded in
Matthew 12:46-50 that
his followers were his true family.
This listing of the twelve tribes is unusual. Compared to the
Genesis 35:23-26 list
of the children of Jacob, Revelation drops Dan and substitutes Manasseh, and lists Judah first instead of the eldest
son, Reuben. Judah is listed first because Jesus was born into the tribe of Judah. Dan was probably omitted because of the
ongoing reputation since Genesis of the sinfulness of this tribe, and because of a passage in
Jeremiah 8:16 that
was widely interpreted to mean that the Antichrist would come from the tribe of Dan. Also in this substitution is a parallel to
the twelve Disciples, where Judas Iscariot was replaced by Matthias. Notice the incredible way that God makes perfect both
the Tribes, marred by the Antichrist, and the Disciples, marred by the betrayal of Judas Iscariot. When we mess up, we can never
make it right again, but God can make what we ruin perfect!
9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues ...
Notice the completeness of the earth, both in the description and in using four words
to describe all people of the earth.
... stood [immediately] before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
Three images come to mind: first, the white robes and palm branches were signs of victory and joy; second,
the palm branches often signified a coronation; and last, the image of the entry into Jerusalem of Jesus on a donkey while
the crowds waived palm branches. Also see the parallel with the powerful hiding in the rocks at the sixth seal, crying
out, "who can stand before the Lord?" The answer is that we can by accepting God's grace. This parallel emphasizes that
even in the wrath of the Lamb is their hope, that as God cleanses evil from the world, it can be either by eternal separation
or conversion - each person has the choice all the way to the end.
10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
The Greek tenses are clear that salvation has already been achieved. This victory of salvation is not earned
by the multitude, even those who were killed for God - the victory and the coronation are for God and for the Lamb.
11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, 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 unto
our God for ever and ever. Amen.
Notice the first words of the angels are the "amen" affirmation of the praise of the redeemed.
13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have
washed their robes, and made them [forever] white in the blood of the Lamb.
There's a trap we want to avoid in defining "the great tribulation" -- while the imagery references the
tribulations during the opening of these seals, the countless multitudes tell us that those gathered before God are those redeemed
out of the tribulation that all believers face throughout all time in living for God in a sinful world. This affirmation tell us
that the story of Revelation is for now, not just for the end time.
Out image of "blood" is distasteful, representing death. At this time, blood instead was seen as the essence of the life of one,
although losing blood still meant death. While we are appalled at the image of washing in blood, Barclay writes that it was a
part of other religions in the first century. Many Roman soldiers worshipped the god Mithra to be better soldiers. The
initiation into this religion was to shower in the blood of an ox, thus being "reborn" with the strength and bravery of an ox.
The contrast between the "rebirth" of Roman soldiers and the true rebirth of a child of God is an intentional, pointed rebuke
of the Roman empire.
15 Therefore are they before the throne of God,
And serve him day and night in his temple:
And he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell [tabernacle] among them.
16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more;
Neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.
17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed [shepherd] them,
And shall lead them unto living fountains of waters:
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
Note the role that all of the redeemed would take to serve God through worship. In Jewish worship,
normal people were isolated from God -- only the high priest could enter into the Holy of Holies once each year, and others
were separated by varying distances from even the curtain to the Holy of Holies. Here, all of God's followers have full and
constant access to the very throne of God, and all are worthy to serve as priests.
The blessings that God provides to his faithful are incredible! The one about whom
John 1:14 says,
"the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us" will raise His Tabernacle around us.
Isaiah 25:6-10 talks
about the magnificence that God will give his faithful followers, even that He personally will wipe away all their tears. In
Isaiah 49:10, God
will lead his people so that they will never again hunger or thirst or be scorched in the sun. This isn't that we will never have
human needs -- we won't be statues frozen in a timeless equilibrium. Instead, God will fulfill our needs in ways that far exceed
what we can imagine!
8:1 And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.
Even though the early scripture organizers put this into chapter 8, this truly belongs at the end of chapter 7, and
this verse ends the first of the visions that make up John's Revelation.
This ending image can be interpreted in many ways, and we aren't sure which ones were intended. One thought is that the silence
represents complete peace, that creation is completely right with God. Another thought is that God stops the praising and
singing of the angels to hear the prayers of his Redeemed. Many commentators believe that the opening of the seventh
seal reveals the angels with the seven trumpets, so this dramatic pause might emphasize the gravity of the ultimate judgement
of God that is brought forth in the sounding of the trumpets.
I find a parallel in how God dealt with Elijah in the wilderness in
1 Kings 19:9-18. Elijah,
in fear for his life, ran to the wilderness of Horeb. God called him out of his cave to show him rock-splitting winds,
earthquakes, and firestorms, but God didn't reveal Himself to Elijah until He caused "a sound of sheer silence." Out of
that humbling silence came God's reassurance to Elijah to go back to Israel and depend on God's resources.
There may be a prophetic parallel to
Habakkuk 2:20, where
the preacher warns of destruction to those in Israel that reject God's ways and worship idols, that "The Lord is in his holy
temple; let all the earth keep silence before him!"
One purpose of this silence is as a transition into the next vision. If, as I believe, John shows in the breaking of the seventh
seal the completion of God's plan and the End Time of perfect fellowship with God, John still has much more to write. This
dramatic pause provides a literary technique to set up the repetition in the seven trumpets of the message of tribulation and ultimate
victory for God's people.
Interpretation
Part of Lindsey's case for why Revelation is intended for the time just before the second coming is a
parallel between the seals in this vignette and the reference in
Daniel 12:9 of the
message that is to be sealed up until the end time. The issue is whether the message sealed in Daniel is the "true
literal meaning" of the book of revelation, or whether, as I believe, Daniel is saying the same thing in this sealing that
Jesus said when he told the disciples that we must always be ready for only the Father knows when the end shall be.
The 144,000 from the 12 tribes of Israel has caused much debate over the centuries. Some argue that this will seal only Jews
from the tribulation to come, while I believe those who interpret this figuratively as all Christians. For those who believe the
Christians are raptured prior to the Tribulation, this is proof that the point of the Tribulation is to make the remnant of Israel
ready for heaven. Similarly, the number 144,000 has been taken literally often, as in the Jehovah's Witnesses who at one
time taught that only 144,000 people could fit in heaven, and the rest of the believers, who didn't work hard enough to make
this elite list, would be left out.
Van Kampen considers this literal 144,000 as an elite group of "faithful" but "non-believing" Jews who are set aside
for specific tasks later in Revelation, as in 14:4. These 144,000 can't be believers, or they would have been taken in the Rapture
at the sixth seal. However, Jesus knows that they will all ultimately believe and follow him as part of completing the promise
to Abraham, which is why these are sealed.
The fact that the 144,000 appear in both chapter 7 and chapter 14 can be seen as a turning, twisting story line. It can also be
seen as more support for why Revelation was written in cycles, with the repetition building the intensity of the cycles rather
than making for a more interesting plot line.
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