The Book of Revelation: Part 15, The 144,ooo

Revelation 7:1-8 (BSB)

The presence of evil, as well as sinful humans, can cause untold devastation and terror in our world, just as we saw when the first four seals were opened: four horses and riders were given permission to conquer, wage war, rule unjustly, and cause death and destruction. But then the fifth seal was opened, and John was shown a picture of faithful martyrs, tucked safely under an altar in the presence of God’s throne room. From that location, they cried out to the Lord, asking Him how long they would have to wait until He avenged their blood. The answer given to them was that they must wait a little while longer until the right time has come. Then the sixth seal was opened, and John was shown a vision of a terrifying earthquake and cosmic events so devastating that the people experiencing it ran to the mountains looking for a place to escape the terror, but there was nowhere to hide. They were so afraid that they cried out to the rocks to fall on them. Despite knowing that terror was coming from the One seated on the throne and from the Lamb, they didn’t ask God for help, even though they said, “the great day of Their wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?”

Is anyone able to withstand it? Is there any escape from God’s judgment? That question is answered in this chapter. We don’t know if this is a new vision John is seeing, or if this is a continuation of what happened when the sixth seal was opened. But however we connect this vision to the sixth seal, we know that the seventh seal is not ready to be opened yet because something else needs to happen first. So, let’s read the first half of chapter 7, and then we’ll look at it in greater detail and see if we can figure it out.

Revelation 7:1-8 says:

1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back its four winds so that no wind would blow on land or sea or on any tree. 

2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, with the seal of the living God. And he called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: 

3 “Do not harm the land or sea or trees until we have placed a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”

4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed, 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel:

5 From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed, 

from the tribe of Reuben 12,000, 

from the tribe of Gad 12,000,

6 from the tribe of Asher 12,000, 

from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000, 

from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000,

7 from the tribe of Simeon 12,000, 

from the tribe of Levi 12,000, 

from the tribe of Issachar 12,000,

8 from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000, 

from the tribe of Joseph 12,000, 

and from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.

Angels holding back the winds? Angels who can harm the land and sea? A seal on people’s foreheads? And something about 144,000 people? This is probably information you’ve heard before, but what does it all mean?

As an angel says to John later in Revelation, “This calls for a mind with wisdom.” So, let’s go back through the passage again, taking it a verse or two at a time. Verse 1 says, “After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back its four winds so that no wind would blow on land or sea or on any tree.”

Did you know that there are other places in Scripture which describe the earth as having four winds? For example, Jeremiah 49:36 says, “I will bring the four winds against Elam from the four corners of the heavens, and I will scatter them to all these winds. There will not be a nation to which Elam’s exiles will not go.” And Daniel 7:2 says, “Daniel declared: ‘In my vision in the night I looked, and suddenly the four winds of heaven were churning up the great sea.’”

Elsewhere, too, we see the Bible describe the earth as having four corners. Isaiah 11:12 says, “He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; He will collect the scattered of Judah from the four corners of the earth.”

Maybe this is why some people mistakenly think the world is flat. But we know the world is not divided up into four flat quadrants, even though we all speak of four directions: north, south, east, and west. We also speak colloquially, saying things like, “in my corner of the world.”

But the Bible has shown us Jesus’ power over the wind before. Remember when Jesus spoke to the wind? He told the wind to stop blowing when the disciples were afraid out on the sea. That tells us that He has all authority over the winds. And this time, in this vision, He is directing the angels to stop the wind until it’s time.

As to how John could “see” this, we don’t know, but the idea seems to be clear: throughout the entire world, the wind was stopped. That would probably mean that no wind was causing any leaves to tremble, no wind was rippling any waves, all flags and sails would have dropped, and no birds could have ridden any currents, because four angels were keeping all winds from blowing.

In this vision, though, because the winds are both literal and symbolic, it seems He wanted the winds of destruction to stop temporarily until His people are secured. Because look at what verses 2-3 say: “And I saw another angel ascending from the east, with the seal of the living God. And he called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: ‘Do not harm the land or sea or trees until we have placed a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.’”

An angel has “the seal of the living God.” And he gives instructions to the other angels holding back the four winds to wait before they do whatever they are going to do next until God’s servants have received a seal on their foreheads.

What’s interesting to me is that we are never told what happens with the four angels who are holding back the winds at the four corners of the earth. John never comes back to them or tells anything further about them. We don’t even know if, after God’s people are sealed, they release the winds again. If the Book of Revelation were a fictional story, then a good editor would have pointed out this loose end. But it’s not a work of fiction. John really did see this vision. Yet, at the same time, because it’s a vision, not everything John sees is supposed to be taken literally. The vision he’s seeing is communicating something through symbolism. I think we don’t hear further about these four particular angels because I don’t think four angels are literally holding back winds at the four corners of the earth. Rather, the vision is telling us that, at any time, Jesus has the power to pause destruction that takes place on earth—He has authority over even the winds. And this time, before His judgment proceeds, He makes sure that His servants are sealed and secured.

The angel says, “Don’t harm the earth yet.” Well, I think we all know from Scripture that the earth will be harmed eventually, because we know there will be a “new earth.” Other places in Revelation say so, and so do multiple verses in Isaiah, but also, 2 Peter 3:3 tells us, “But in keeping with God’s promise, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.”

Have you ever wondered, though, why God would want to harm His beautiful creation and create a new one? I think it’s because when Adam and Eve sinned, a curse came upon the earth. Genesis 3:17-18 says, “Cursed is the ground because of you; through toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it will yield for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.” When God makes a new earth, I think it will be remade so that the earth will be as it was before sin entered it. The curse of sin will be gone.

But the reason the angel says to the other angels not to harm the earth yet is because something important needs to happen first. The angel says, wait “until we have placed a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”

But this brings up an important question: What are these seals in Revelation? Are the seals on the forehead the same sort of seal that is on the scrolls?

I think it’s clear that in both instances, these seals represent authority or a decree given by an authority. Throughout history, kings and nobles of old signed documents by adding a stamp from their signet ring. They would also write down a decree and seal their words with a wax seal to prove that the contents within the document were official and authentic. Today, we rarely use seals, but we will have documents signed by a notary to prove a signature is authentic, and the notary will use an official stamp on the document.

But the other kind of seals we use today are seals that are placed on products. This way, a consumer knows that something has not been tampered with. This is similar to how Matthew 27:66 tells us that when Jesus was placed in the tomb, the Roman guards secured the tomb by sealing it. It signified that no one was to enter the tomb or tamper with it. But as we know, human authorities tried to seal Jesus in the tomb, but when He was resurrected, Jesus broke their seal. He broke through the seal of death.  

That’s why it’s significant that we are told right away, back in chapter 5:9, that only the Lamb is worthy to take the scroll and open its seals. He alone has the authority to open these seals. The seals signify that all these judgements and things that happen are being done under His authority and restrained by His power.

And that’s an idea worth talking about, because it seems like the seals on that seven sealed scroll have prevented terrible things from happening—because once Jesus breaks each seal, then terrible things happen. In John’s vision, each time a seal is opened, evil is given permission or authority to harm people. The first seal is opened, and a rider is given a crown and the authority to conquer. The second seal is opened, and a rider is given a sword and permission to take away peace and cause people to kill each other. The third seal is opened, and a rider carries a pair of scales and is told to harm food prices. The fourth seal is opened, and the rider who we are told is named Death and is followed by Hades, is given authority to kill a fourth of the earth. The fifth seal is opened, and we see souls under the altar, who are crying out for the Lord to avenge their blood. But what the vision doesn’t show us is how they became martyrs. It doesn’t show us how they suffered and were murdered for their faith, we just see where they ended up. So, when the fifth seal was opened, was permission given for believers to be killed? Because then, when the sixth seal is opened, an earthquake happens, the sun is blackened, the moon is blood red, and stars are falling to the earth—all things that happen in nature. And the effect of it all is that people are terrified to such an extreme that they wish they could die. So, did that seal being opened cause nature to bring devastation to earth?

It seems to me, if my interpretation is correct, that when the Lamb opens a seal, He’s allowing the release of evil and destruction. It seems like the seals restrained those things from happening. I think it’s important that we understand how these seals work because now, in this vision John is seeing, we see what happens when God places a seal on something. And we see that God’s seals are always good. It was when He broke a seal open that bad things happened.

And I think we see this pattern carried out in the rest of Revelation. For example, in Revelation 20:3, the devil is thrown into an abyss, and a seal is placed on it so he cannot get out until ‘a thousand years’ have passed.

But God’s seals don’t just lock up evil. Now in chapter 7, we see that God’s seal can also mark someone as His servant. But again, by sealing someone, it keeps something bad from happening to that person. 

This, by the way, is very similar to two other events in Scripture. This seal the angel carries is just like the mark that God told His people to place on their doorways when they were slaves in Egypt. Exodus 12:7 says, “They are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs.” And following that up, verses 12-13 say, “On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn male, both man and beast, and I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a sign; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will fall on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.”

The blood the Israelites placed on their doorways kept them safe from harm. Also, in Ezekiel 9:4, we see a mark being put literally on the foreheads of some of God’s people to keep them safe. God was about to bring judgment against all the people in the city of Jerusalem who were worshiping false idols. Before that happens, it says, “’Go throughout the city of Jerusalem,’ said the LORD, ‘and put a mark on the foreheads of the men sighing and groaning over all the abominations committed there.’”

And something else worth nothing, when it says to place a mark, it actually says to place a “tav,” which is the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. And from ancient pictographs, we know that originally a “tav” was drawn in the shape of a cross (+) or x.

So, in Ezekiel, the people with a mark in the shape of a cross would not be killed. All the idolaters in Jerusalem were about to be killed. And certainly, like every time we see God’s wrath being shown in Scripture, what happens is truly terrifying. And, like most times in Scripture, we see that God uses other people to carry out judgement against people who deserved it. Other times, we see God’s judgement come directly by His hand, like for example, when He would cause the ground to literally open and swallow people up (Numbers 16:32).

But whenever or however God pours out His judgment on someone, they cannot escape it. No one can withstand it. But as Ellicott stated in his commentary, the only ones who can withstand it are those “who are sealed with the seal of the living God.”

Ellicott was correct. John’s vision is showing us that the people who can withstand what happens when the Lord returns in judgment are those who have a seal on their foreheads—a seal that shows they are servants of God. Back in the Old Testament, the blood on the doorposts and the mark on the forehead were visible seals. But in the New Testament, the seals God’s servants receive don’t seem to be literally visible. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1:22 that God has “placed His seal on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a pledge of what is to come.” We don’t have a literal seal on our foreheads, but just like in Ezekiel, we must be sealed in order to belong to Him and escape judgment.

This concept is seen in other verses in Scripture, too. Ephesians 4:30 says, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” And earlier in Ephesians 1:13-14, it says, “And in Him, having heard and believed the word of truth—the gospel of your salvation—you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the pledge of our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession, to the praise of His glory.”

When we have faith in Jesus and believe that He is the promised Messiah who died on the Cross and rose again, triumphing over the power of sin and death, then we—having heard and believed the Word of truth—are sealed with a spiritual seal that proves that we belong to God. Spiritually, we receive that same mark on our persons. Being sealed doesn’t mean that bad things won’t happen to us. The throne was filled with martyrs after all. But being sealed does mean that because of our faith in what Jesus did for us on the Cross, when we die, we will be with Jesus for all eternity.

And this vision that John sees is showing us that God’s people—all people who believe in Jesus Christ—are going to be sealed or marked in such a way that they will not suffer the judgment that is about to happen. And as part of this vision, John hears an angel talk more about this.

Verses 4-8 then gives a list of people who will be sealed. It says: “And I heard the number of those who were sealed, 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel: From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben 12,000, from the tribe of Gad 12,000, from the tribe of Asher 12,000, from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000, from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000, from the tribe of Simeon 12,000, from the tribe of Levi 12,000, from the tribe of Issachar 12,000, from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000, from the tribe of Joseph 12,000, and from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.”

Like most passages in Revelation, there are a lot of different ways to interpret this. As we seek to interpret its meaning, we should remember all the things we’ve learned so far. Even though John is literally seeing all these things happen in a vision, I think we’ve learned that most of what he’s seeing carries a deeper symbolic meaning than what we see on the surface. So, as we examine this list of the tribes of Israel and think about the numbers, we need to think about its greater meaning.

And the first thing we should ask ourselves about this passage is: are we supposed to take this literally?

Ellicott, in his commentary, argues that we shouldn’t limit this passage to ethnic Israelites who have become Christians because, “The sealed ones are explained to be the servants of God; the description which follows proclaims them to be the ‘Israel of God.’ It would be a strange leap away from the subject to introduce a sudden limitation of thought. Nor is there any necessity for doing so. Israelitish and Jewish names are freely adopted by the sacred writers, and used in a spiritual sense without any explanation of such usage; and [Paul] most emphatically laid down the principle that ‘he is not a Jew which is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh, but he is a Jew which is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit and not in the letter’ (Romans 2:28-29); and the principle he applies by affirming that in Christ ‘there is neither Jew nor Greek’ (Galatians 3:28).”

So, I think these numbered people are not just ethnic Jews who become Christians. I think John is using symbolic imagery to tell us about all of God’s people—all servants of God. But at the same time, this passage is very specific in its detail, and so I also don’t think we should skip over it. Twelve different tribes are named, and I can’t help but think they are given in a deliberate order.

N. T. Wright, in his book, Revelation for Everyone, points out that the twelve tribes are listed differently here than they are in Genesis 49 and Deuteronomy 33. In Revelation’s list, it begins with Judah instead of Rueban, Dan is missing and is replaced with Manassah. Wright admits that he doesn’t know why.

Other commentators have pointed these differences out, too. And we can observe that certainly Judah should have first place because of Jesus being a descendent of that tribe, but beyond that, it’s really just speculation. All that to say, I think the numbers here are symbolic. And I agree with Ellicott when he also states that “Twelve is used as the number of those who in every age have been called out to witness for some truth which the world needed,” whether it was the twelve tribes of Israel, the twelve disciples or twelve apostles.

But even if we understand the 144,000 symbolically, I think it’s communicating an important point. John is told there is a specific number of people who are sealed from the twelve tribes of Israel. So, even though the number is symbolic, John is still presenting God’s people as a defined and numbered remnant. Because of that, I think we should keep this passage in mind when we read other passages of scripture, like Romans 11, which many people understand to mean that when Jesus returns, all ethnic Israel will be saved. The imagery here in Revelation creates a problem for that interpretation. Because even if the numbers are symbolic, John is still portraying Israel as a remnant, rather than saying that every individual Israelite will be saved.

Like everything we’ve been reading in this book of Revelation, all the imagery is given on purpose. Everything has a deeper meaning. And that’s exactly what we are going to be shown in the next half of this chapter. But while we shouldn’t take everything to be literal, we shouldn’t dismiss the significance of the symbolic images. Because this is also a powerful rebuttal against the idea of universalism, which supposes that all people will be saved. Clearly that is not true. No matter what these numbers represent, the fact that it’s a finite number, and the fact that only God’s servants receive a seal on the forehead, shows us that only those who worship the Lamb will be saved from His coming judgment. This is consistent with the many other verses in the Bible that show us only those who “believe in the Lord Jesus” will be saved, such as Acts 16:30 states.

But what does this mean for us today? Well, let me ask you the most important question: Have you been sealed?

Those four angels are holding back the winds until all of God’s servants receive a mark on their foreheads. That means that God’s servants will be sealed before the seventh seal is opened. But we know that one day the winds won’t be held back. Jesus will return.

Just as we saw with the blood of the Passover lamb on the doorways, Jesus became the Passover Lamb whose death on the Cross saves us from judgment. Jesus’ death on the Cross provided a way for us to be cleansed from our sins. So, to be sealed with the seal of the living God means that you belong to Him through faith in Jesus Christ—that you have repented of your sins, asked Jesus to forgive you, and have received the Holy Spirit.

If you are not sure if you are sealed, then ask yourself: Is there any evidence that I am a servant of the living God? If Jesus is your Lord and Savior—if you worship the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world—there should be a visible mark on you.

This mark isn’t determined by whether you go to church or not, although that can be evidence.

The true mark of someone who is a servant of God is something that John said has said over and over again in his first epistle. He emphasized that if we truly believe in Jesus, we will love God, love His people, and seek to obey His commands. There will be evidence of the fruit of the Spirit.

But above all things, I want us to remember this: The same Lamb who is coming again in judgment, is the same Lamb who went to the Cross for us so we can be saved. This is why we love Him so much, isn’t it? He did the thing we could not do for ourselves. We could never be worthy to stand before the Lord, so He sacrificed Himself for us, defeating the power of death and cleansing us from our sins, so that we can stand before Him and escape judgment, sealing us with the power of the Holy Spirit who He has placed within us. So let us stand firm and keep our eyes on the Lamb who was slain for us.

Pray: Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending us, Jesus Christ, the Lamb who was slain for our sins. Thank You for making a way for us to be cleansed of our sins so we can stand before You. Please help us by Your Holy Spirit to live consistently each day as a person who is sealed—marked by the Cross of Jesus. Please help us to daily overcome temptation and walk worthy of what has been done for us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.