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| Chapter 7 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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1
1 ¶ And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. 2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God; and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, 3 saying, "Hurt not the earth, neither the sea nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads." 4 And I heard the number of them that were sealed: there were sealed a hundred and forty four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. 5 Of the tribe of Judah were sealed twelve thousand; of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand; of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand; 6 of the tribe of Asher were sealed twelve thousand; of the tribe of Naphtali were sealed twelve thousand; of the tribe of Manasseh were sealed twelve thousand; 7 of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand; of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand; of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand; 8 of the tribe of Zebulun were sealed twelve thousand; of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand; of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand. 9 After this I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations and kindred's and people and tongues, stood before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes and with palms in their hands. 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation to our God who sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb!" 11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four living beings, and 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 unto our God for ever and ever. Amen!" 13 ¶ And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, "Who are these that are arrayed in white robes, and from whence have they come?" 14 And I said unto him, "Sir, thou knowest." And he said to me, "These are they that came out of great tribulation, and 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 that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. 16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. 17 For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." |
The previous chapter ended with the structure of the earth being shaken as God starts to pour out His wrath on those who rejected Him. Yet as we enter this chapter we see four angels controlling the winds are instructed to hold for a season until the servants of God are sealed. As in Chapter 6 some people on the earth are realizing and acknowledging their failure and seeking God, they had heard about Jesus before the rapture but rejected Him, but are now turning to Him. To protect these people God now pauses and seals those who have chosen to serve Him. 144,000 on earth are sealed, who are they? John tells us that they are members of the Jewish tribes, they rejected Christ, "crucify Him, let His blood be on us." Matt 27:22-25. Now they are turning to Him, Jesus is the Messiah they have been looking for. Rom 11:8. Note that the tribes of Dan and Ephraim are not listed, in their place are Joseph and Levi. Dan and Ephraim were involved in idol worship under Jeroboam. v9,10 After speaking of the 144,000, John now sees the great crowd of people, so big it cannot be counted, of all the nations praising and glorifying God and the Lamb. v14 tells us that these are they who have also turned to the Lord during the tribulation. This group have white robes and palms but no crowns on their heads. They are those who may have heard the gospel message, may even have attended church but never given their hearts to Jesus. This is highlighted by v16,17. No more famine, thirst, danger from the sun and pain, which must have been the situation on the earth after the opening of the seals. Also consider 1 John 2:15,16. |
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