By Christopher VanDusen
As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ look at the rampant evil around us, especially the persecution of Christians, we can take comfort from the fact that God punishes those who hate Him, and those who hate His people. However, we also realize that the punishment of unbelievers involves with it the destruction of the earth, both now, as a result of the sins of people, and at the end of the world. So how do we know that we won’t be harmed as well in God’s judgment on His enemies through the destruction of this earth? The apostle John sees the answers to this question in Revelation 7.
In the 7th chapter of Revelation, John has just seen the Lord Jesus, represented as a Lamb, begin to unseal a scroll in His hand. He had taken this scroll from God the Father, who was seated on His throne in heaven, because He conquered the world, sin, and Satan through His sacrificial death on the cross. By suffering and dying, He redeemed sinners for God, in order to make them a kingdom of priests for God. As the risen King of the universe, He now has the right and responsibility of learning God’s plan for the church, and for the transition from the current universe, to the next one. This plan is contained in the scroll He took from God, which John needs to learn, so he can make it known to seven churches that are under his care.
The Lamb breaks six of seven seals that seal the scroll shut. With the breaking of each seal, John sees a symbol of an event that Jesus has control over. The first four events are things that affect almost everyone in the world. The first is the conquest of nations by rulers. The second is war and murder. The third is economic disaster, resulting in malnutrition and starvation. The last is natural disaster and death. Then, John sees the souls of Christian martyrs, who have been murdered for their preaching of the gospel, being assured that their murderers will be punished once the determined number of Christians are martyred. Finally, he sees a vision of the destruction of the universe, resulting in the Christians’ persecutors fearfully lamenting the coming of God’s judgment on them.
It’s this judgment, which comes through the destruction of the present world at the end of history, which is the background of Revelation 7:
“After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. 2 Then 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, 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.” 4 And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
5 12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed,
12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,
12,000 from the tribe of Gad,
6 12,000 from the tribe of Asher,
12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,
12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,
7 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,
12,000 from the tribe of Levi,
12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,
8 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,
12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,
12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.
9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 “Therefore they are before the throne of God,
and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
the sun shall not strike them,
nor any scorching heat.
17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.””
In this chapter, John sees seven things that show him why and how God’s people are protected from the judgment of unbelievers through the destruction of the universe:
- He Sees Five Suppressors of Judgment (vss. 1-3)
- He Sees 144,000 Sealed from Jacob (vss. 4-8)
- He Sees a Family Sacrificing to Jesus (vss. 9-12)
- He’s Shown that the Faithful are Sanctified from Judgment (vss. 13-14)
- He’s Shown that they Fellowship with the Sovereign (v. 15)
- He’s Shown that they’re Free from Suffering (v. 16)
- He’s Shown that they Follow the Shepherd Jesus (v. 17)
John Sees Five Suppressors of Judgment
In the first three verses, John sees the persons who protect God’s people from destruction:
“After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. Then 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, saying, ‘Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.’”
The first thing John sees is “four angels” who are “standing at the four corners of the earth”. The “four corners of the earth” represent the four directions of north, south, east, and west, which encompass the entire earth. So, around the earth, these angels hold back “the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree”. Obviously, these winds can’t be literal winds, since this event is taking place before the end of the world, and winds will still blow up until that time. Rather, these winds represent the destructive power that God will use to destroy the earth. Before that time, He has tasked some of His angels with having some control over natural forces, so the world isn’t destroyed.
Next, John sees another angel that gives the others God’s orders for them. He’s “ascending from the rising of the sun”. Since the sunrise foretells a new day on earth, the fact that he comes from the direction of the sunrise means that he’s coming to announce the preservation of the earth. But he carries “the seal of the living God”, like the wax seals that held the Lamb’s scroll shut. The order that he gives to the four angels, whom John reveals “had been given power to harm earth and sea”, is to refrain from doing this “until [they’ve] sealed the servants of [their] God on their foreheads”. The ESV mistranslates the Greek word doulos as “servants” here, even though it literally means “slaves”. So what is the seal for? For marking God’s slaves as those who belong to Him, and are not to be harmed along with “the earth and the sea”, and “the trees.
John Sees 144,000 Sealed from Jacob
In verses 4-8, John hears how many are sealed, and what family they belong to:
“And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
5 12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed,
12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,
12,000 from the tribe of Gad,
6 12,000 from the tribe of Asher,
12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,
12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,
7 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,
12,000 from the tribe of Levi,
12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,
8 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,
12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,
12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.”
When interpreting this passage, we need to keep in mind that basically every number in Revelation is symbolic. Therefore, we can rest assured that these numbers are symbolic. And if the numbers of these groups are symbolic, it follows quite logically that the groups themselves are symbolic.
Further, we’ve already taken note of the fact that the angels seal God’s slaves in preparation for the destruction of the earth, so this sealing shouldn’t be limited to a mere 144,000 of God’s people sometime in the future.
So, what do these numbers represent? When interpreting the “24 elders” who sit on thrones around God’s throne, with crowns on their heads, and dressed in white robes, it makes the best sense to see them as representing the saints who “reign with Christ”, and walk with Him “in white”, as Jesus promises those who conquer the world in verse 4 of chapter 3. Thus, the number 24 isn’t a literal 24 people, but is two groups of 12. The number 12 obviously has great significance in the Bible, since there were 12 tribes of Israel, as well as 12 apostles. Hence, the number 12 represents God’s people in general.
But rather than 12, John hears twelve thousand who are sealed from “every tribe of the sons of Israel”. Again, this represents something. 12,000 equals 12 multiplied by one thousand, and the number 1,000 is also significant in Scripture. In 2 Peter 3:8, the apostle Peter says that “with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (ESV). Obviously, he doesn’t mean that one day literally is a thousand years to the Lord, but rather, one day is simply like a “big” number. That’s the way the number 1,000 is used in our passage in Revelation. The fact that there are thousands of people sealed from each tribe simply means that there are a lot of people sealed. And since it’s twelve thousand, we know that these numbers represent the number of God’s people in general.
But are these people literally “from every tribe of the sons of Israel”? Again, we have to consider that, if the number is symbolic, why would the tribes be literal? Just as Jesus chose 12 apostles to represent God’s new people of the church, so the number twelve thousand represents God’s new people of the church, as John’s next vision confirms, since it’s a vision of the same people. The fact that “every” tribe of Israel, God’s Old Testament people, is listed, just means that every “tribe” of the earth is represented by those who are sealed by God.
John Sees a Family Sacrificing to Jesus
John has just heard how many, and who, are sealed by the angels, but now he sees the people that are sealed, and what their response is to this sealing in verses 9-12:
“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’ And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, ‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.’”
First, John describes the number of God’s people that he sees. It’s “a great multitude that no one could number”. Whereas he’s just heard of a symbolic representation of a large number of God’s people, now he sees what the 144,000 really meant — a countless number. Next, he describes the types of people he sees. They’re “from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages”. Again, he’s just heard that God’s sealed people are “from every tribe of the sons of Israel”, but now he sees that this representation of God’s people in Old Testament term is really “every tribe” of the whole earth.
Third, John sees the position of these people. They’re “standing before [God’s] throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands”. The fact that they’re in front of God’s throne, and in front of Jesus, means that they have immediate access to God’s presence. Why? Because they’re “clothed in white robes”, picturing their purity, innocence, and holiness. The presence of palm branches in their hands is an allusion to the Jewish custom of waving such branches when praising God. It has its background in Israel’s wilderness wanderings, during which the Feast of Tabernacles was instituted. During this feast, they would make tents out of palm branches to remind them of God’s care for them in the desert. In a similar way, the multitude of people that John sees wave palm branches to remind them, and him, of God’s care for them in the desert of this world.
Finally, John records how this multitude praises God by saying that they’re “crying out with a loud voice . . . ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” This is the salvation from God’s wrath on the earth that they were sealed from. It “belongs” to the God who’s in control of the universe, and to the Lamb who was sacrificed, since They’re the Ones who gave salvation to this multitude.
In response to the praise of God’s sealed multitude, angels that are “standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures” fall “on their faces before the throne” and worship God. How do they worship God? By agreeing that salvation belongs to God and the Lamb, and by adding that “blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might” also belong to God “forever”.
But what exactly do the angels say God deserves? First, he deserves “blessing”, which literally means “happiness”, or what makes someone happy. In God’s case, what makes Him happy is worship. Second, He’ll get “glory”, or “recognition”. Third, He’ll have “wisdom”, or knowledge of how the universe works, and how to control it. Fourth, He’ll get “thanksgiving”, or the acknowledgment of His goodness toward people. Fifth, He’ll get “honor”, or the highest esteem and respect. Finally, He’ll have “power and might”, or control over the universe, and opportunities to put that control on display. God will get all these things forever because He’s the One who saved the multitude from every group of people on earth, sealing them as His own, and protecting them from the destruction of the world.
John is Shown that the Faithful are Sanctified from Judgment
In verses 13-14, one of God’s human servants, pictured as a mature, male ruler, comes to John and explains the origin and character of the multitude:
“Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, ‘Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?’ I said to him, ‘Sir, you know.’ And he said to me, ‘These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’”
Obviously, the elder’s question is “rhetorical”, since he doesn’t expect John to know who the multitude consists of. His question is designed to draw both John’s, and the reader’s, attention, to the fact that the multitude are “clothed in white robes”, and have “come” from something significant. The emphasis on their white robes points out their holy character, while the second aspect links them to the anticipated judgment on the earth by the first four angels. In response to the elder’s question, John invites him to explain who the multitude is by confessing that he knows the answer.
First, the multitude “are the ones coming out of the great tribulation”. The word “tribulation” literally means “trouble”, and is used multiple times in the New Testament. Jesus told His disciples on the night of His arrest that “in this world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33). The apostle Paul told new Christians that “through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). Even in the Book of Revelation itself, John introduces this concept early on when he calls himself “your brother and partner in the tribulation . . . that [is] in Jesus” (1:9). It’s this idea of trouble that we must understand the elder to be referring to.
Up until chapter 7, the idea of the Christian life as being a life of trouble is highlighted several times. In the Lord’s letters to the seven churches, He promises at least two churches that they will suffer trouble as a result of persecution. Then, in chapter 6, John sees the souls of Christian martyrs, who have been murdered for preaching the gospel.
But how do we know that this “great tribulation” isn’t some specific event that was prophesied by Jesus in His teaching on the Mount of Olives? Because John says that this group of people whom the elder says “are coming out of the great tribulation” is beyond number, and consists of every type of nationality and ethnicity. Hence, the “great tribulation” that they’ve escaped from can’t be some specific historical event confined to a localized area, and experienced by a limited number of people. Rather, the phrase, “the great tribulation”, refers to the great trouble of the Christian life in general.
The second thing that the elder says about the multitude, however, is that “they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb”. In Revelation, the symbol of “robes” represents the character of a person, as Jesus promises in one of His specific addresses that those who conquer the world will “walk with [Him] in white” (3:4). So, the fact that this multitude has washed their robes, and made them “white”, means that they’ve washed their hearts, or characters, making them pure, holy, and innocent before God. However, the only way they’ve done this is by immersing themselves in “the blood of the Lamb”, or Jesus. This refers to the act of placing their faith in the sacrificial death of Christ on their behalf, for their sins, in order to satisfy God’s wrath and justice that they deserve, and to receive His forgiveness.
John is Shown that They Fellowship with the Sovereign
In verse 15, the elder continues to describe the character of the multitude, as a result of their escape from “the great tribulation”, and their robes being washed in the Lamb’s blood:
“‘Therefore they are before the throne of God,
And serve him day and night in his temple;
And he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.’”
The first result of the multitude’s escape from their troubled Christian lives, and their holy character, is that they live in the presence of God’s throne. This means that they have direct access to God the Father. Second, they serve God continually “in his temple”. In the Old Testament, God’s temple is where God most noticeably puts Himself on display, and where His people most significantly experience Him. Therefore, the idea of the multitude serving God in His temple represents that they experience, and please, God in the most impactful and intimate way possible. Third, the elder says that the result of the multitude’s service in God’s presence is that God will “shelter”, or protect, them “with his presence”.
John is Shown that They’re Free from Suffering
In verse 16, the elder describes the results of God protecting His troubled saints with His presence:
“‘They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
The sun shall not strike them,
Nor any scorching heat.’”
Here, some of the troubles experienced by Christians in this life are mentioned. First, Christians who escape this life of trouble, and enter heaven, don’t suffer from hunger or thirst anymore. They will no longer lack food or water due to poverty or persecution. Second, they’ll no longer suffer from excessive sunlight, which has been experienced by many hard-working Christians either working to provide for themselves, or laboring in inhospitable places to spread the gospel to those who have never heard. Finally, Christians who escape the great trouble of this life will no longer suffer from “any scorching heat”, which is clearly partly a reference to persecution by being burned alive, which has been the fate of many Christian martyrs throughout the centuries.
John is Shown that They Follow the Shepherd Jesus
The last characteristic of the multitude is the direct reason that Christians who come out of the great tribulation will no longer suffer physical pain:
“‘For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
And he will guide them to springs of living water,
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”
The first reason that the heavenly multitude will be free from suffering is that Jesus, who is “in the midst of the throne” of God, or seated on God’s throne as the Ruler of the universe, will be their Shepherd. In the 1st century Mediterranean world, shepherds mainly led sheep to food, and this is the meaning here. Like a shepherd guiding His sheep, Jesus, who Himself is like a sacrificed lamb, will “guide them to springs of living water”. In John 4, Jesus uses the metaphor of “living”, or running, water, to describe eternal, spiritual, life. He defines this life in John 17:3 as knowing God and Jesus Christ. In other words, to possess spiritual running water is to know God as one’s Father and Ruler, and to love Him as such. It is to experience the goodness of God through Jesus, and to delight in Them. However, since the elder describes this water as coming from “springs”, the idea is that it’s never-ending.
To top all this off, the elder concludes that the sealed people of God in heaven will no longer have any suffering because “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes”. Since God doesn’t have a hand to do this, this can’t be literal, but symbolizes that God will take away all of His people’s sorrows, griefs, and sufferings.
Have Courage, Praise God, and Have Hope
So if you’re a believer in the Lord Jesus, how does this passage apply to you?
First, although this corrupted world is doomed to be destroyed by God, along with those who are bound to it, we should have no fear of this inevitable event. We have been sealed with God’s seal, and are a part of His holy nation. Therefore, we are protected from His judgment on the earth.
Second, this passage reminds us that God has sealed people “from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages”. We shouldn’t think that Christians are all the same everywhere, or come from the same backgrounds. No, the Lord is saving people from every single nation, from every single people group, and from every single ethnicity. This should remind us that the Great Commission has yet to be fulfilled, and that we need to do our part in promoting the spread of the gospel to people who have never heard it before, so they can be saved, and wash themselves in the blood of the Lamb.
Third, we must recognize that our salvation completely “belongs to God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb”. We didn’t do anything to save ourselves from God’s wrath, but the Father and Jesus, through the Spirit, did everything to give us salvation from sin and hell. We ought to praise God at every opportunity we have for the salvation He’s given us, and has promised to complete. Like the angels, we ought to bless, glorify, thank, honor, and submit to God because He’s saved us.
Finally, since we’ve washed our robes in Jesus’s blood, we should look forward to the day when we will stand in front of God’s throne, constantly serve Him in His presence, and be protected by Him. At that time, we’ll no longer suffer hunger, or thirst, or agonizing heat, or physical persecution, since Jesus will be our Shepherd, and provide us with living water, through which our Father will take away all our sorrows and griefs.
If you haven’t washed your heart in Christ’s blood, then you will be punished when God destroys the earth and the sea, and the trees, through the wind of His Spirit, for your rebellion against Him. The good news is God Himself sent His eternal and divine Son to earth to become the man Jesus, to live the perfect, spotless, life, and to suffer and die on a Roman cross to take the punishment we deserve from God. Then, He raised Him from the dead, and took Him into heaven as the Ruler of the universe. He commands everyone to change their minds and trust in Him as Lord and Savior to receive His forgiveness, peace, and mercy, since He’s going to judge everyone perfectly through Jesus, and punish all those who opposed Him in a place of eternal torment. Please make sure that you’ve repented of your rebellion against Jesus, and are trusting only in Him to provide you with God’s peace, forgiveness, and mercy. If you’ve done that, then the first thing you need to do is ask another Christian to be baptized under water as an appeal to God for a good conscience, and a profession of faith.
BEARING CHRIST CRUCIFIED AND RISEN 