"And I heard the number of those who were sealed, a hundred and forty-four
same way, God put the seal into the Lord Jesus' hands. "He cried...to the four angels to whom authority was given to harm." From this we see that all the events that will happen to the earth originate from God. If God does not give the authority, the four angels can do nothing.
3. Revelation 7:3 "Saying, Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we seal the slaves of our God upon their foreheads." "The slaves of our God." Here God begins to acknowledge the Jews. He is returning to the position in the Old Testament. (In the church age, there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles.) In the Old Testament, all the people were servants (1 Sam. 8:17; 17:8; 1 Kings 10:5-8). In Revelation the emphasis is God's throne. Servants do not have the position of children, but of responsibility. Revelation 7:1 through 3 mentions the wind; Revelation 8:6 through 9 mentions the fire. Wind and fire are very much related. To have a fierce fire, there must be a strong wind. 4. Revelation 7:4-8 "And I heard the number of those who were sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the sons of Israel: out of the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand sealed; out of the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand; out of the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand; out of the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand; out of the tribe of Naphtali, twelve thousand; out of the tribe of Manasseh, twelve thousand; out of the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand; out of the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand; out of the tribe of Issachar, twelve thousand; out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve thousand; out of the tribe of Joseph, twelve thousand; out of the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand sealed." Who are the people mentioned in 7:4-8? They are not the church but the people of Israel. The Seventh-Day Adventists assert that they are this people because they keep the law and are, therefore, the real Jews. But we have ten reasons to prove that the people in Revelation 7:4-8 are Jews in the flesh. (1) If "the sons of Israel" in Revelation 2:14 are to be interpreted literally, then "the sons of Israel" in 7:4 should be interpreted literally also. (2) "The tribe of Judah" in Revelation 5:5 is interpreted literally, so "the tribe of Judah" in 7:5 should be also. (3) The names of the twelve tribes are unique to the Israelites. Of the people in the church, which denomination belongs to which tribe?
(4) Israel is divided into twelve tribes, but the church is one. How can it be split into twelve tribes? (5) Since Revelation 7:9 speaks of "every nation," how can "the sons of Israel" in 7:4 not be a nation? (6) The great multitude in Revelation 7:9 could be numbered by no man, but in 7:4 the sealed ones were exactly a hundred and forty-four thousand. Can we say the saved ones in the church are only a hundred and forty-four thousand? Besides, this hundred and forty-four thousand is clearly the sum of twelve twelvethousands. How can we not interpret this literally? (7) In Revelation 6:15 "the kings" are interpreted literally. How then can we say "the sons of Israel" in 7:4 do not refer literally to a nation? (8) In Revelation 7:13-14 John did not know where the countless multitude in verse 9 came from. Therefore, he answered the elder, "My lord, you know." John did not ask about those people in Revelation 7:4-8. This shows that he already knew who they were. (9) In Joel 2:12-27 God told only the Israelites the way to escape the locusts. In Revelation 9:3-4 only those who were sealed were not hurt by the locusts. This proves that the sealed ones are the children of Israel. (10) The sheep in Matthew 25 are those who treat their little brothers well. These little brothers are the Jews and those brothers who remain on earth. Those little brothers, the Israelites, will become a test to the Gentiles on earth. The following are the different groups of people among the Israelites. (Before we mention these different peoples, we must take note that no mention is made in Revelation 7:4-8 of the name of Dan. In Ezekiel 40—48 the scene in the coming kingdom is described. Ezekiel 48:1 clearly says that the land of Dan is in the north during the kingdom. In the Chronicles, however, the tribe of Dan is also not mentioned among the twelve tribes. What is the reason for this? This does not mean that there is no more tribe of Dan, but that perhaps the relationship between Dan and the serpent is too close. In Genesis 49 Jacob prophesied concerning his sons. When he came to Dan, he spoke of Dan's existence in verse 16 and of his behavior in verse 17. Then in verse 18 Jacob suddenly prayed as if he saw danger in Dan's future behavior. Jacob did not pray for the other children in that way. Perhaps during the great tribulation the tribe of Dan will be especially united with the Antichrist.) The people spoken of in Revelation 7:4-8 are:
(1) The Jews who are to reign with Christ on earth in the future. They are, however, not the kings. Since the number twelve thousand is composed of twelve times ten times ten times ten, this number is eternally complete in God's administration. (2) The suffering Jews who are part of the least of the brothers in Matthew 25:3440. (3) The Jews who are part of those who endure unto the end in Matthew 24. (4) The Jews upon whom the Spirit will descend in the future. The former rain already fell in Acts 2. The latter rain of Joel 2:23, 28, and 29 has not yet fallen. The blood and the fire in Joel 2:30 correspond to the first trumpet. The pillars of smoke correspond to the fifth trumpet. So we see that the second outpouring of the Holy Spirit occurs between the sixth seal and the fifth trumpet. The great tribulation begins with the seventh trumpet. Before the seventh trumpet there are merely calamities. (5) The Jews who will receive the new covenant which the Lord Jesus will establish with them on earth (Jer. 31:31-34).
B. The Scene in Heaven after the Church Is Raptured (Revelation 7:9-17) Revelation 7:9 through 17 is a description of the rapture of the church to the heavens. Who are these people? Although I dare not say definitely that they are the whole church, I do say that they are the majority of those who have been redeemed by God—the majority of the church. This includes those who are raptured first and those who are resurrected from the dead (which constitute a large number), as well as a small number who are still living on earth. No mention is made here of how the church is raptured; rather, we are given only an outline of the scene after the church has been raptured to the heavens. Hence, these verses may be considered as a description of the scene of the entire church in the heavens after the rapture. How does one know that what is spoken of here is the scene in heaven after the rapture of the church? The reasons are as follows: (1) The number. No one could number the multitude (v. 9). There cannot be so many in the first rapture, so it must be the gathering of several raptures of the church.