“After these things” refers to what transpired when the first six seals were opened. In Revelation chapter six, when the first four seals were opened, war, famine, and death broke out on the earth. When the fifth seal was opened, the Lord promised martyrs in heaven to avenge their blood. When the sixth seal was opened, a great earthquake occurred, the sun was darkened, the moon became blood red, stars fell to the earth, the sky changed, and mountains and islands came down. People cried out for mountains and rocks to fall on them and hide them “from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!”
Have you heard the saying, “Sometimes things have to get worse before they get better?”
In Jeremiah 1:9-10, the Lord said to Jeremiah prior to the Babylonian takeover of the world, “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant.” After Babylon tore things down, God rebuilt them.
The prophecy of Jeremiah reflects the prophecy of Revelation. After the end times Babylon destroys, God makes a new heaven, new earth and new Jerusalem.
In Revelation 7:1, John sees four angels holding back the four winds of the earth.
In Jeremiah 49:36, the Lord speaks of bringing four winds from the four quarters of heaven to scatter the people of Elam, that is, to displace them from their land.
In Daniel 7:2, Daniel sees a vision by night of the four winds of heaven stirring up the Great Sea. In Daniel 7:3-28, from the Great Sea arises four great beasts which are world conquering empires one after another. They destroy many people, but then, the Kingdom of Christ appears and they are no more, and only His kingdom remains.
In Zechariah 6:5, an angel explains to Zechariah that the four horseman are four spirits of heaven. The Hebrew word for “spirit” can also mean “wind” depending on the context.
During a surgical procedure, a surgeon makes a wound to reach the inner part that needs mending. Once the wound is closed up, better health follows.
Job 5:18 says that the Lord “wounds, but He also binds up. He shatters, but His hands also heal.” Hosea 6:1 says, “Come, let us return to the Lord; for He has torn us, that He may heal us; He has stricken, and He will bind us up.”
In Romans 2:4, we read, “Do you despise the riches of His [God’s] goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?” God allows humbling circumstances to turn us FROM sin so that we will turn TO Him.
The Book of Judges contains testimonies of God allowing pagan nations to oppress His people to bring about their repentance. When they cried out to God for help, He raised up a “judge” to deliver them from their enemies.
Are you dealing with enemies? Repent of your sins against God. Name them! Your worst enemy is sin. Cry out to God! Ask Him to forgive you! Ask Him to deliver you from whatever is oppressing you.
In Acts 26:18, Jesus told Paul that his mission was to open the eyes of people “in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.”
Revelation 7:2-3: Then 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 granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, ‘Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.’”
Our Lord Jesus revealed to John four angels holding back the four winds from the earth. Governments have invested millions of dollars in climate control research. God only needs four angels to manage it. They are climate control experts. Winds of change are about to be released when a fifth angel shouts to the other four not to harm the world “till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”
God’s wrath is not against His servants. Remember how God protected Israel from the plagues that He sent upon Egypt?
In Exodus 9:23-26, “Moses stretched out his rod toward heaven; and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire darted to the ground. And the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt. So, there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail... And the hail struck throughout the whole land of Egypt... Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail.”
In Exodus 12:12-13, God told Moses to have people place lamb’s blood on the doorposts of their homes so that when the angel of death passed through Egypt they would be protected.
In Peter 2:7-9, the Lord, “delivered righteous Lot” from His judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot “was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked. His righteous soul was tormented from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds. The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment.”
In Revelation 7:3, God ordered a SEAL to be placed on the foreheads of His servants before the four angels released the four winds.
In Ezekiel 9:4-52, God told His angel, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.” Then, to another angel, He said, “Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion.” God protected His prayer warriors from the plagues of Ezekiel’s days.
Revelation 7:4-8: “And I heard the number of those who were sealed. 144,000 of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed: of the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed; of the tribe of Reuben 12,000 were sealed; of the tribe of Gad 12,000 were sealed; of the tribe of Asher 12,000 were sealed; of the tribe of Naphtali 12,000 were sealed; of the tribe of Manasseh 12,000 were sealed; of the tribe of Simeon 12,000 were sealed; of the tribe of Levi 12,000 were sealed; of the tribe of Issachar 12,000 were sealed; of the tribe of Zebulun 12,000 were sealed; of the tribe of Joseph 12,000 were sealed; of the tribe of Benjamin 12,000 were sealed.”
God seals 144,000 Israelites. In Revelation 14:1, John saw “a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000, having His Father’s Name written on their foreheads.”
In the ancient world, a king or a property owner used a seal to show ownership. The Name of the Father are on the foreheads of the 144,000 because they are in Christ.
In John 6:27, Jesus told the Jews, “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” God the Father has His seal on Jesus. Being in Christ is the key to being sealed by God. Be in Christ and you are sealed by God for everlasting life.
According to 2 Corinthians 1:22, God’s seal is His Spirit. Ephesians 1:13 says, “Having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.” 2 Timothy 2:19 says that “the Lord knows those who are His.” Ephesians 4:30 says, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” The angels of God know whom God has sealed.
The 144,000 are the saved remnant of Israel mentioned in Romans 11:24. They are elected by God’s grace! They are the natural branches grafted back into God’s olive tree!
These 144,000 Jews do not come to God by works of the Law. As with Saul of Tarsus, Christ Jesus converts them to Himself by His grace. Their unique calling and abilities are God’s grace gifts to them and to the world. The Lamb makes them outstanding evangelists.
In Revelation chapter seven, the names of Joseph and Manasseh are listed but the names of Dan and Ephraim are not. The tribe of Dan introduced idolatry into the nation of Israel according to Judges 18:30. Some speculate that the anti-Christ will come from the tribe of Dan because of Jacob’s words in Genesis 49:17. Jacob declared, “Dan shall be a serpent by the way, a viper by the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider shall fall backward.” A viper that causes people to fall backward. The antichrist leads people to fall away from (abandon) faith in the true Christ. Manasseh and Ephraim were the sons of Joseph. So, in essence there are 24,000 elected ones from the tribe of Joseph and none from the tribe of Dan. [1]
Usually, Joseph, though one of the twelve sons of Jacob, is not listed as a tribe of Israel. His sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, are listed as half tribes. Sometimes, Ephraim is used in the Old Testament to refer to all the northern tribes of Israel, just as Judah is used at times to refer to all the southern tribes of Israel. The northern kingdom’s capitol, Samaria, was located in the land allocated to Ephraim. Perhaps, the reason that the name Ephraim is not used in Revelation chapter seven is because of its double meaning.[2]
In Revelation 14:4, the Lord indicates that the 144,000 do not have intimate relationships with women. God also led Jeremiah the prophet not to marry. In Jeremiah 16:1-4, the Lord told Jeremiah not to take a wife to spare him from grief. The Lord said, “They shall die gruesome deaths... they shall be like refuse on the ground.” The Lord spares the 144,000 from concerns of harm happening to spouses and children.
The 144,000 are not symbolic of the Church. Celibacy was never required of the Church as a whole. God gave Christians permission to marry in 1 Corinthians 7:1-6.[3]
According to Revelation 14:4-5, the 144,000 are sealed with divine protection from apostasy. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They are redeemed by the Lamb. In contrast to the anti-Christ and his followers, they do not deceive. “No deceit was found in their mouths.”
According to Romans 10:4, during the days of wicked King Ahab and evil Queen Jezebel, God reserved 7,000 men who refused to bow to Baal. The 144,000 in Revelation chapters seven and fourteen are like the 7,000. They are sealed by God so that they can complete their mission for Christ. They are His end times harvesters of souls. They are His gift to the world. Can you imagine the harvest they will have? It only took 12 Messianic disciples to start the Church.
The underlying question of Revelation 7:1-8 is, “Am I sealed by God? Have I believed in Jesus and received His Holy Spirit?” If not, now is the time to do so. Don’t wait! When the Lord returns, He will arrive like a flash of lightning. In Hebrews 3:7, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.’” Believe and receive Jesus Christ!
[1] Sermon notes from Adrian Rogers
[2] Ibid
[3] Ibid
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