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Sealed Saints & A Great Multitude
Revelation 7
Introduction: Over 600 years has passed since an angel told Daniel to “shut up the words and seal the scroll until the time of the end” (12:4). When the Lamb took the scroll out of the hand of the one who sits on the throne, all heaven, earth, and those under the earth exploded in praise and joy to finally learn the outcome of Daniel’s scroll.
In chapter 6, the Lamb opened the first six seals of the scroll revealing coming judgments on the powers persecuting and killing God’s saints.
As we approach chapter 7 and await the opening of the seventh seal (ch. 8), we need to keep in mind that the opening of the seals and the judgments they reveal are not intended to be chronologically timed events. From the perspective of the original hearers, these were future events, future judgments on those who persecute them. It is enough to know that they will happen. It was not necessary to know “when,” except to know that John was told these things “must soon take place” (1:1).
- 144,000 of Israel Sealed
- To prepare ourselves for God’s servants being sealed, note 6:9-11. Those who had been killed for the word of God and their testimony ask how long before the blood is avenged. They are told to rest a little longer until more of their fellow servants are killed. Then the future judgment scene of 6:12-17 is revealed. But before God’s judgment takes place, the saints must be protected.
- Now look carefully at 6:17 and the question: the great day of the wrath of the God and the Lamb has come, “and who can stand?” Compare this to 7:9: after the saints are sealed, a great multitude are standing before the throne. The question is answered. Those who can “stand” are those who serve God and are clothed in white robes.
- Therefore, chapter 7 should be seen as parenthetical, a pause in between the sixth and seventh seal. The Lord promised the Christians at Philadelphia that he would “protect them from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.” This would explain the “sealing” of the saints.
- 7:1-3
- “Four angels holding back the four winds of heaven” refer the coming judgments. The four winds are also seen in Zechariah 6:5 and were used to punish the nations of the north who had troubled Israel. The angels are restraining these judgments until the saints can be sealed
- The sealing of the saints is parallel to Ezekiel 9 when God prepared to destroy Jerusalem and the nation but first protected the righteous: “Bring near the executioners of the city, each with his destroying weapon in his hand…And the LORD said to him, ‘Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.’ And to the others he said in my hearing, ‘Pass through the city after him, and strike. Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. Kill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but touch no one on whom is the mark. And begin at my sanctuary.’ So they began with the elders who were before the house” (Ezekiel 9:4–6).
- Therefore, the sealing is a sign of ownership and protection. Later in 9:4, when a locust plague is announced, they are told to “harm only those who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.” Paul said when we come to Christ, “we are sealed with the promised Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 1:13).
- 7:4-8
- The number sealed is 144,000. The number is not literal, otherwise we would have to identify them as only 12,000 ethnic Jews from 12 tribes of Israel. Further, you will notice that there is a “tribe of Joseph” but no tribe of Dan (possibly because Dan was not an exemplary tribe). Instead, the number is figurative of the perfect number of the saved, a multiple of 10 (power) and 12 (religious).
- Remember, in verse 3, those who are being sealed are the servants of God.
- Someone may say, what about those who have already been martyred or who have died in Christ? The answer is in the follow section.
- The Great Multitude (7:9-17)
- The description of the multitude indicates they have already won the victory. They have conquered and proof of their victory is that they are clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands – a reference to palm branches carried during the feast of Tabernacles that signified celebration and rejoicing (Lev. 23:40-41).
- Ultimately, this group is not necessarily different from the perfect number of the saved (144,000), but simply a different perspective of how this same group will be rewarded. Therefore, 144,000 are the perfect number of saved who are spiritually sealed/protected. The great multitude are proof that once the tribulation was over, the saved were protected and victorious.
- Verses 10-12 Join the 24 elders and the living creatures around the throne praising God! These victorious saints give glory and honor to God and to the Lamb for the salvation they have received.
- Verse 13: “Who are these…” “The ones coming out of the Great Tribulation.” This phrase is used only one other time in scripture to describe a broad judgment, and that was predicted by Jesus concerning Jerusalem/Israel in Matthew 24:21, “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.”
This is exactly what Daniel predicted concerning Jerusalem/Israel in 12:1, “And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people will be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book.” - Therefore, the great multitude are those who endured faithfully through the great tribulation (destruction of Jerusalem/Israel and the affect that had on the whole world) and are now dead either by martyrdom or being faithful until and including death.
- If we wonder why the fall of Jerusalem/Israel would affect Christians in other parts of the empire, while we do not have much in terms of secular historical records, consider Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 7:29-31, “This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now one, let those who have wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.” (About 55 AD)
- Therefore, whatever the details are, it is clear that for Christians anywhere in the empire, the world was about to change for the worse so remarkably that Paul urged the Corinthians not to marry!
- Victorious Saints Before the Throne
- What comfort to read of what these victorious saints are experiencing! All of their suffering was worth it.
- Look at the blessings of conquering and overcoming:
- “Before the throne of God” Access into the very presence of God.
- “Serve him day and night in his temple” What an honor!
- God will “shelter them with his presence” No evil can touch them.
- No more hunger, thirst, sun striking them, or scorching heat. They have come into God’s paradise. It is perfect.
- “The Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd guiding them to springs of living water.” Abundant life.
- “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” The typical trials and pain of this life is all over. There is complete comfort in the presence of God.
Conclusion: As we have seen time and again in Revelation. We have two choices. There are two kingdoms: the kingdom of Satan and the Kingdom of God and Christ. There is no in between. We cannot be Lukewarm Laodicea, or Sleeping Sardis, or “Immoral Thyatira.”
Berry Kercheville