Marked with the Seal of God
REVELATION 7:1-17
(December 16)
John's vision continues. If you remember, he had been watching the seals being broken and seeing the colored horses and other amazing sights. Now he sees four, each one standing at one of the four corners of the earth. They were keeping the winds from blowing on the earth or sea.
Then, in front of him, he sees another angel coming from the east. This angel is carrying the seal of the living God. This seal of God was to be placed on the forehead of all the living servants before the other four angels could cause any harm to the sea or land.
An amazing number of servants is recorded as being marked ... 144,000 to be exact, all from the tribes of Israel. It is said that this is a significant number. It is equivalent to twelve times twelve times one thousand. What is so important about that? Well, it symbolizes completeness. What does that mean? It means that none of God's followers will be passed by. They will all be brought safely to him. God has two ways of sealing believers ... he either draws them from earth through the rapture or gives them special strength and courage that enables them to survive the time of great persecution. (I vote rapture ... how about you?)
Keep in mind, many will undergo persecution and the seal won't prevent physical harm from coming to them. They may even die as a result of what they go through. The protection God is providing is from spiritual harm. Either way, they will be brought to their eternal home in heaven. These are the believers that are so strong, even the worst persecution won't cause them to fall away from God.
This section of scripture mentions the twelve tribes of Irael, but the list isn't quite the same as the one in the Old Testament. This list is more symbolic of the true followers of God. You might notice that the tribe of Dan isn't mentioned. That is because they were famous for being rebellious and full of idolatry, which is unacceptable as a follower of God. Ephraim is also not mentioned because of his rebellion.
John then sees a huge crowd of white-robed people holding palm branches and standing in front of the throne before the Lamb. They could be heard shouting, "Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!" The angels were standing around the throne. The elders and four living beings were also circled. All fell to their faces to worship God.
One of the elders then interacts with John, asking him, "Who are these who are clothed in white? Where did they come from?" John informs him that he is the one who should know the answer to his own question. That same elder then says, "These are the ones who died in the great tribulation. They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white."
He goes on to tell John that these people will receive shelter from God, never to be hungry or thirsty again, never to feel the burning heat of the sun. The Lamb will lead them to the life-giving water and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Now, THAT sounds like an amazing promise and reason enough for us to remain faithful to God, no matter what is going on around us. The promise of having the shelter of God, and having nothing come against us again, should ignite the fire within us to stand firm despite any persecution, knowing for certain that WE WIN IN THE END!