Revelation 7:1-8
You may recall in the introduction, there were three divisions of the book of Revelation that we will reiterate again now.
They are the story of Heaven, the story of Earth and the informational chapters. As we examine chapter seven, we will bear in mind this could be an informational chapter. Throughout the book, John is shown things as if they just pop up, yet they are glimpses of the past, the present and future events.
This chapter has been depicted by other teachers as an informational chapter, so we will examine it on that basis.
Verse 1 starts out with the statement “after these things I saw.” Some teachers have understood this to be the next thing to happen or believe it is part of the Sixth Seal event.
Being he said “after these things” gives an indication that this is not the Sixth Seal. Yet it does not fit the Seventh Seal either, so what could this statement mean?
As previously stated it is informational but not in the same sense as some other chapters we will see later in the book. The information is placed in a given time; possibly between the Sixth and Seventh Seals as a timeline not really accounted for.
One example of this is the timeline that we currently live in. We understand from the creation of mankind to the present day six thousand years have passed. On the seventh day God rested; this is a type of the millennial reign of Christ following the Tribulation period.
Based on prophecies in the book of Daniel and others, there is a timeline that agrees with the six thousand year understanding and the upcoming seventh being the reign of Christ. This part of our study will have to be reserved for the next study where we can dig deeper into this.
The point is, the six thousand years since creation have expired and yet there is a seven year Tribulation Period yet to come. It appears we are in a slice of time not accounted for; like a pause. This happened in the seventy weeks of the book of Daniel as well. Again this will be explained in a deeper study.
So here we are, waiting in a pause of time for things to take place that will usher the Church out of here before everything breaks loose. This time between the Sixth and Seventh Seals could be similar to this pause of time; regardless these are events that will take place, so let’s examine them.
The Angels are holding back the four winds until the 144,000 Jewish evangelists are sealed against the destruction to come. In the Bible, wind can depict something good coming from God or it can bring pestilence and destruction.
In verses 2-3 John sees an Angel coming from the East. We can associate this with the Middle East. This Angel has the seal of God. The list of things not to be hurt and the Jewish evangelists being sealed is an indication of the destruction these winds will bring when they are released.
The seal may be something of the same nature as the mark of the beast except it is God’s seal or it could be the Holy Spirit being given unto them which is also a seal noted in Ephesians 1:13. I lean toward the Holy Spirit understanding.
In verses 4-5 John hears the number of the 144,000. Who are these young Jewish converts? In verses 6-8 we are given a list of the Tribes of Israel in which they come from; 12,000 from each of the 12 Tribes.
How do we know they are evangelists? In chapter 14:4-5 we are given a description of them, this is key to our understanding of their identity. The main thing to note is that ‘they follow the Lamb.’ We all know Jesus is the Lamb and if they are following Him and are Jews, it stands to reason they must be Believers.
It also speaks of their character and that there is no guile in their mouths. This denotes that the Word of God must be what they are speaking. We also see after they come on the scene a multitude of people show up in Heaven.
