Revelation 7:1-8

Slide 1 Revelation 7: 1-8 The 144,000 of Israel Sealed

As the tribulation begins, the church is safely with Jesus in heaven. The Lord is preparing His witnesses to gather Israel, His chosen people. These will be sealed; saved for a time to win souls during the tribulation.

Isaiah 11:12 He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Slide 2 Revelation 7: ¹After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth,

 The four corners of the earth are the four points of the compass; this expression would mean all encompassing, global events.

Mark 13:27 And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.

Slide 3 Revelation 7: holding back the four winds of the earth that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree.

Angels are associated with the forces of nature: the winds, the heavens, the sun. God is creator and controls the angels and all of nature.

Jeremiah 25:32 See, declares the Lord Almighty, the punishment shall go from nation to nation—a great whirlwind of wrath shall rise against the farthest corners of the earth.

Slide 4 Revelation 7: 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,

Ezekiel 43:2 ² And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east; and His voice was like a noise of many waters, and the earth shined with His glory.

Matthew 24:27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.

Slide 5 This is a different angel from the four that are holding back the four winds. Notice the direction that it comes from. The east denotes that this angel comes from and is dispatched by God.  

Winds in Bible prophecy represent war, violence, bloodshed, and strife. Therefore these angels are holding back calamities that God will bring upon the entire earth during the 7 trumpet judgments.

Slide 6 Revelation 7: ³ saying, "Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads."

What do you think the seal of the Living God would look like? The 666 will be the seal placed on the forehead of those who worship the beast. However we do not know if this seal will be visible. As Christians were too are sealed by the Holy Spirit.

Revelation 7: ⁴And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel: verses 5-8             

Slide 7 Again we are at a place of widely divergent interpretations. While other views exist, the two most prominent are that the 144,000 referred to here are (a) quite literally 144,000 Jews—12,000 from each of the 12 tribes, or (b) a figurative reference to a vast number of saved saints (Christians). In either case, God protects His own. CBS TH

Jeremiah 30:3-4 For behold, days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel and Judah, says the LORD, and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall take possession of it."          These are the words that the LORD spoke concerning Israel and Judah:

Slide 8 *Pastor Allen’s message Sunday night Genesis 29 told how Jacob married Leah and Rachel. God had favor on Leah because Jacob loved Rachel. Each wife wanted more sons so they gave their handmaidens to Jacob. Each maid added 2 sons each to the lineage of Jacob called Israel.

You will remember the story of the robe of many colors that Jacob gave to his favorite son.  Joseph wore his special coat to check on his brothers who were watching the flock. Enraged by his arrogance the plan was hatched to kill him. Judah convinced his brothers to sell Joseph to Ishmaelites traders. Remember Ishmael was the son of Abraham by Hagar. Joseph eventually ended up working for the Pharaoh. He saved the land of Egypt from the famine and in turn saved the entire nation of Israel.

Slide 9 Genesis 45:4-7 So Joseph said to his brothers, …."I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve…for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors.

Genesis 47: Jacob's Family Settles in Goshen

¹So Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, "My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan. They are now in the land of Goshen." ¹¹ Then Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.

Slide 10 Revelation 7:5-8

·        12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed, Leah 4th

·        12,000 from the tribe of Reuben, Leah 1st

·        12,000 from the tribe of Gad,  Zilpah 

·        12,000 from the tribe of Asher, Zilpah

·        12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali, Bilhah 6^th (Dan 5^th)

·        12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh, Joseph’s son and Ephraim

·        12,000 from the tribe of Simeon, Leah 2nd

·        12,000 from the tribe of Levi, Leah 3rd

·        12,000 from the tribe of Issachar, Leah

·        12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun, Leah

·        12,000 from the tribe of Joseph, Rachel

·        12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed. Rachel

The difference between the two lists is that, the names of Ephraim and Dan have been left out and the names of Joseph and Levi being added in. The reason for excluding Ephraim is that they were heavily into idolatry. (Hosea 4:17) Dan was regarded as backbiters (Genesis 49:17) and there will be no backbiters/gossipers in heaven. (Romans 1:28-32) Revelation Unveiled

Genesis 48:1-5 ¹After this, Joseph was told, "Behold, your father is ill." So he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. ²And it was told to Jacob, "Your son Joseph has come to you." Then Israel summoned his strength and sat up in bed.

³And Jacob said to Joseph, "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, ⁴and said to me, 'Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples and will give this land to your offspring after you for an everlasting possession.'

⁵And now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are.

After Joshua lead the children of Israel into Canaan. Each tribe was assigned to a specific area of land as shown by this map of the Holy Land. Since the Levites cared for the temple. Their tribe did not live in a tract of land together. Levites were spread around the between the tribes

Slide 11 Joshua 14:4 For the children of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim: therefore they gave no part unto the Levites in the land, save cities to dwell in, with their suburbs for their cattle and for their substance.

“It is best to see the 144,000 as specifically chosen Jewish people who come to faith in Jesus, protectively sealed throughout the tribulation as a sign. They are the beginning harvest of the salvation of Israel (Romans 11:1, Romans 11:26, Matthew 23:37-39).” David Guzik

  "They are not a part of the Church proper; for their repentance comes too late for that. They are a super addition to the Church - a supplementary body - near and precious to Christ, but made up after the proper Church has finished its course." (Seiss)

·        Revelation Illustrated Pat Marvenko Smith is a free-lance commercial illustrator and designer whose career has spanned over 25 years.

·        Community Bible Study Revelation Teaching Help

·        John F. Walvoord (May 1, 1910 – December 20, 2002), was a Christian theologian, pastor, and president of Dallas Theological Seminary from 1952 to 1986

·        Photo on PPT Copyright © 1998-2014 By Tim Warner, all rights reserved. All materials on Answers in Revelation(except logos and icons) may be freely reproduced and distributed for teaching and study purposes, provided proper credit is given.

·        David Jeremiah in his book Agents of the Apocalypse