God led John to record what he saw between the opening of the sixth and seventh seals to explain how God would be merciful during this period of judgment.273John received two new visions that corrected the possible impression that no one would survive the "beginning of birth-pangs"(6:17). God will deliver two groups of people during the first half of the Tribulation (cf. Matt. 24:14). He will preserve 144,000 Israelites alive on the earth, and He will take to heaven a multitude of people from all nations who will die then. John saw both groups in this chapter. It contrasts the security of believers in Jesus with the panic of unbelievers during the period just described (ch. 6).274It also answers the question posed in 6:17: "Who is able to stand?"Furthermore it serves as a dramatic interlude delaying briefly the disclosure of what will follow in the seventh seal to heighten expectation.
The scene continues to be on earth.
7:1 The phrase "after this"(Gr. meta touto) indicates that what follows is a new vision (cf. 4:1). The general chronological progression of the visions suggests that the events John saw now will happen at the end of the first half of the Tribulation. What John saw in this vision supports that conclusion.275
The angels described here were God's agents (cf. Heb. 1:14). They appear to be different from the four living beasts and the 24 elder-angels. Four of them received the task of keeping the wind from blowing. God stationed them at the four "corners"(i.e., compass points) of the earth for this purpose (cf. 20:8; Isa. 11:12; Jer. 49:36; Matt. 24:31). The winds represent God's judgments coming on the world (v. 3; cf. Jer. 49:36-38; Dan. 7:2; Hos. 13:15), specifically those about to follow during the remainder of the Tribulation (cf. Ezek. 9:4-8). The threefold repetition of "four"probably stresses the universal control of these angels.276We should probably understand the "sea"and any "tree"literally in view of what follows (cf. v. 3).
7:2-3 Another (Gr. allon, another of the same kind) angelic messenger appeared in the East. In Scripture divine salvation often comes from the East (cf. Gen. 2:8; Ezek. 43:2; Matt. 2:1). He possessed a seal from "the living God,"the title adding solemnity and vitality to the seal.277A seal was a symbol of ownership (2 Cor. 1:22), authentication (John 6:27), and protection leading to final salvation (Eph. 1:14; 4:30). A signet ring typically made the distinctive impression on the seal in John's day.278This seal is probably the name of the Lamb and His Father (cf. 14:1; Isa. 44:5). The angel instructed the four angels to withhold their judgment on the earth until he had finished sealing God's servants on their foreheads (cf. Ezek. 9:4). The servants in view are believers in Jesus Christ (cf. Phil. 1:1, et al.) who are Jews (vv. 4-8).
". . . they, like Saul, will be set apart to be God's messengers to the Gentiles."279
The seal could be visible (Ezek. 9:4) or invisible (2 Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:14; 4:30), but the mention of their foreheads suggests a visible seal (cf. 14:1).
"It was not uncommon for a soldier or a guild member to receive such a mark as a religious devotee. The mark was a sign of consecration to deity . . . The forehead was chosen because it was the most conspicuous, the most noble, and the part by which a person is usually identified . . ."280
Their sealing marks these believers off as God's redeemed people and guarantees their protection from divine judgment while they carry out their service for God on the earth during the Great Tribulation (14:1, 3-4; cf. 13:16-18; 2 Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:13; 4:30). Their seals may not protect them from harm that other people inflict on them (cf. 13:7, 15; 20:4) but from the divine judgments sent on unbelievers in the last half of the Tribulation (cf. 16:2). Evidently God will give these 144,000 believers special protection in the last half of the Tribulation because its calamities will be much more severe than those in the first half. Antichrist will also mark his followers in a similar way (13:16-18; 14:9, 11; 16:2; 19:20).
7:4 The specific references to Israel and the names of the 12 Israelite tribes strongly suggest that the nation of Israel is in view rather than the church.281Most posttribulationists and amillennialists believe the 144,000 are members of "spiritual Israel,"a title of theirs for the church.282Gundry called them "orthodox' [though unconverted] Jews who will resist the seduction of the Antichrist."283He believed God will supernaturally keep them from dying during the Tribulation. He also believed they will accept Jesus Christ when He returns at the Second Coming, and they will populate the millennial kingdom. The problem with this view is that these witnesses appear to be believers in Jesus Christ. Many interpreters take the number 144,000 as symbolic of all God's servants in the Tribulation.284
"Though admittedly ingenious, the case for symbolism is exegetically weak. The principal reason for the view is a predisposition to make the 144,000 into a group representative of the church with which no possible numerical connection exists. No justification can be found for understanding the simple statement of fact in v. 4 as a figure of speech. It is a definite number in contrast with the indefinite number of 7:9. If it is taken symbolically, no number in the book can be taken literally."285
7:5-8 God will deal with Israel as a nation in the future (cf. Rom. 11). Though an Israelite may not know from which tribe he or she comes, or even that he or she is an Israelite, God does. God, or His angelic agent, will select each person for sealing.
There are at least 19 lists of Jacob's sons in the Old Testament (Gen. 35:22-26; 46:8-25; 49:3-27; Exod. 1:2-5; Num. 1:5-15; 2:3-31; 13:4-15; 26:4-51; 34:19-28; Deut. 27:12-13; 33:6-25; Josh. 13:7-22; Judg. 5:12-18; 1 Chron. 2:1-8:40; 12:24-37; 27:16-22; Ezek. 48:1-7, 23-28, 31-34). Not one of them is the same as the list here.
The tribe of Judah was usually first in such lists, as it is here, due to the prophecies that it would lead the other tribes and that Messiah would come from Judah (Gen. 49:10; 1 Chron. 2:3-4:43). "The lion that is from the tribe of Judah"is the Lamb (5:5; cf. 6:16-17; Heb. 7:13-14).
The tribe of Dan is absent in this list perhaps because that tribe was the first to establish idolatry in Israel (Judg. 18:30; cf. 1 Kings 12:29-30). However the Danites will receive a portion of land in the Millennium (Ezek. 48:1-2).
"Joseph"represents Ephraim (v. 8; cf. v. 6). Ephraim was also "notorious for . . . fickleness and proclivity to idol worship."286Ephraim was the head of the Northern Kingdom of Israel that apostatized under King Jeroboam I's leadership. Ephraim will also be in the millennial kingdom (Ezek. 48:5). Perhaps Ephraim's name does not appear in this list, though he is included in the reference to Joseph, to avoid the unpleasant connotations of his name.287
The listing of Manasseh's name (v. 6) is unusual since his father Joseph's name also appears. Perhaps this honors Manasseh's faithfulness in contrast to Ephraim's unfaithfulness.
References such as the one in this passage argue strongly for the continuance of Israel as a nation in the future and for God's dealing with ethnic Jews again as His chosen people (cf. Rom. 11). This is a major assertion of dispensational theology. Jehovah's Witnesses or any other Gentiles who claim to be part of this group today fail to recognize that these witnesses will be the physical descendants of Jacob. When God seals them they will know their tribal roots. The sealing will take place after the Rapture.
The sealing of the 144,000 Jewish servants of God in the Tribulation raises the question of the Holy Spirit's relationship to these believers. Will the Spirit baptize them? Evidently He will not since the baptizing work of the Spirit joins believers to the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13). The body of Christ (i.e., the church) will be in heaven during the Tribulation, not on earth.288Will the Spirit indwell Tribulation saints? Probably He will not. In the church age Spirit indwelling takes place at the same instant as Spirit baptism, namely, at the moment of salvation. The Spirit's indwelling is probably unique to the church age as is His baptizing ministry. Probably the Holy Spirit will come upon and influence Tribulation saints as He did in Old Testament times.289The sealing of these witnesses therefore probably indicates God's special selection and protection of them during this time of unprecedented global catastrophes.
There are a number of contrasts between the 144,000 and this great multitude. The number of the first group is not only smaller but definite whereas the number of the second group is larger and indefinite. People from the 12 tribes of Israel make up the first group, but people from every nation, tribe, people, and tongue compose the second. God prepares the first group for imminent peril on the earth, but the second group is victorious, secure, and at rest in heaven.
"This group, like the 144,000, is unhurt by the effects of God's wrath, but for a different reason. They have at this point been removed from the earthly scene of the wrath and have no need of protective sealing. Someone might ask, Are the 144,000 the only ones who have maintained their composure under the first six seals?' This vision responds to such a question negatively. A vast throng has turned to God during this period and have now passed into His immediate presence through death [cf. 6:8]."290
This pericope describes events transpiring in heaven.
"Without doubt it is one of the most exalted portrayals of the heavenly state to be found anywhere in Scripture."291
7:9 John next saw another vision (cf. v. 1; 4:1). Conditions in this vision and the former one (vv. 1-8) seem to be simultaneous rather than consecutive, however. This vision seems to reveal things happening in heaven at the same time as what John saw happening on earth in verses 1-8.
John saw an innumerable multitude of people in heaven before God's throne. They came from every nation, tribe, people, and tongue on earth--Gentiles and Jews (cf. 5:9; 11:9; 13:7; 14:6; 17:15). They stood clothed in white robes (flowing stoles, cf. 6:11) symbolic of their righteousness and purity (v. 14). This group appears to be the same as the one referred to earlier in 6:9-11 (cf. v. 14). These believers died either natural or violent deaths during the first half of the Tribulation. They have joined the angels in the heavenly throneroom that John saw previously (chs. 4-5; cf. v. 11). Now they hold palm branches symbolizing their victory and joy (cf. John 12:13). They are worshipping and serving God in heaven before the Millennium.292
7:10 Together they praise God and the Lamb for their salvation, namely, their physical deliverance from the Tribulation scene and their consequent victory (cf. 12:10; 19:1).293Probably the feast of Tabernacles is in the background of what John saw here (cf. v. 15). This multitude has entered into its rest, something that the feast of Tabernacles anticipated (cf. Deut. 16:13-15; Neh. 8:15). The Jews also used palm branches in the celebration of this feast, which was a time of great joy.
7:11 Other angels, beside the four living beasts and the 24 elders, gathered around the throne. The angelic host assembled joined these Tribulation saints in prostrating themselves before God in worship (cf. Luke 15:8-10).
7:12 This is one of many doxologies in Revelation. "Blessing"or "praise"(Gr. eulogia) is what God deserves because of what he has done for these people (cf. 5:12, 13). It is "that spontaneous act of thanks which men utter when they realize more vividly than ever before their happiness."294"Glory"(doxa) is the honor due Him because of His good reputation, specifically for delivering them (cf. 1:6; 4:11; 5:12, 13; 19:1).295"Wisdom"(sophia) is God's infinite knowledge displayed in His plan of deliverance (cf. 5:12). "Thanksgiving"(eucharistia) literally means "well"and "to give freely,"but it denotes an expression of gratitude for a favor rendered (4:9).296"Honor"or "esteem"(time) is what God deserves because He has planned and provided this salvation (4:11; 5:12, 13).297"Power"(dynamis) reflects God's omnipotence that enables Him to overcome all opposition (4:11; 5:12; 19:1). "Might"or "strength"(ischys) refers to God's inherent power that enabled Him to deliver this multitude from their enemies (5:12).298God is worthy of this worship throughout eternity. "Amen"underlines the truthfulness of this sevenfold ascription (cf. 5:13).
7:13 Occasionally in prophetic visions a dialogue takes place involving one of the characters in the vision and the person receiving it (cf. Jer. 1:11, 13; Amos 7:8; 8:2; Zech. 4:2, 5). Here one of the elders asked John a question anticipating the question that was in John's mind. This led to a clarification of the identity of the multitude in this vision (cf. 5:5; Josh. 9:8; Jon. 1:8).
7:14 John did not know the identity of these individuals, so the elder told him who they were. They are "those who are coming out from the great tribulation."Jesus coined the term "the Great Tribulation"(Matt. 24:15, 21) and limited it to the second half of Daniel's seventieth week (Matt. 24:15-22; Mark 13:14-20; cf. Dan. 9:27). Positioned as this vision is just before the midpoint of the Tribulation, before the Great Tribulation begins, the elder must have meant that this multitude came out of the Great Tribulation before it began. The Greek preposition ek("out of") permits such an interpretation.299God promised to keep Christians completely out of the Tribulation (3:10; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; et al.), but these Tribulation saints come out of the first part of it while it is in progress.300
Washing their robes in the Lamb's blood is a figure of speech for salvation (22:14; cf. Zech. 3:4-5). Another interpretation is that "washed their robes"is a figurative expression picturing that they had purified their deeds (22:14; cf. 19:8). This would make the entire passage (vv. 14-17) a description of faithful Tribulation saints instead of all Tribulation saints. The issue hinges on whether "robe"represents the believer's garment of salvation or his good works here. Scripture uses "robe"both ways elsewhere. Since all the redeemed will eventually go into God's presence, it seems unwarranted to limit this innumerable multitude to faithful saints. The fact that they died during the first half of the Tribulation does not necessarily mean that they were all martyrs who died for their testimony as believers.
"In modern thought, making anything white by washing it in blood is paradoxical and even shocking, but it was not so with John and those with an OT background. To them such washing denoted spiritual purity. Not just any blood would accomplish the cleansing. The blood of martyrs shed for the Lamb's sake would not even do it. It had to be the blood of the Lamb's great sacrifice to produce the whiteness (Rev. 1:5; 5:9; cf. Rom. 3:25; 5:9; Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:20; Heb. 9:14; 1 Pet. 1:2, 19; 1 John 1:7) . . ."301
7:15 These saints are in God's presence because they have believed in Jesus Christ and have died in the first half of the Tribulation.302They will serve God continually in His present heavenly sanctuary.303God will protect them and share fellowship with them there. The elder's description of God spreading His tabernacle over them recalls Old Testament instances of God dwelling among and protecting His people (cf. Exod. 13:21-22; 40:34-38; 2 Chron. 7:1-3) and His promises to do so (cf. Lev. 26:11-12; Isa. 4:5-6; Ezek. 37:27; Zech. 2:10, 11; 8:3, 8; cf. Rev. 13:6; 21:3).
7:16-17 They will no longer experience the privations and discomforts of their earthly existence (cf. Isa. 49:10, LXX; John 4:14; 6:35; 7:37). The Lamb, now seen standing before the middle of the throne, will provide for them as a good shepherd takes care of his sheep (cf. Ps. 23:1-4; Isa. 40:11; Ezek. 34:23; John 10:11, 14; Heb. 13:20; 1 Pet. 2:25; 5:2-4). He will refresh them as well as protect them (cf. Exod. 15:13; Deut. 1:33; Ps. 5:9; 85:11; John 16:13). The Lamb will lead these sheep to God who is the fountain of life (21:6; 22:1, 17; cf. Ps. 35:10; John 4:12, 14; 7:38-39). As a loving parent, he will wipe away the tears they shed because of their sufferings (cf. 21:3).
"The ultimate fulfillment of these seven promises (7:15b-17) will come in the eternal state described more fully in Revelation 21-22, but John's snapshot' of the innumerable multitude catches them in heaven at a point just before the beginning of the last half of the seven years of Daniel's seventieth week."304
The location of this revelation in the context of John's visions is significant. It strongly argues for these two groups, the 144,000 living Jewish believers and the multitude of dead believers, existing during the Tribulation after Christians have gone to heaven at the Rapture. Note that God will save multitudes of people during this time. It will be harder for all people to believe the gospel after the Rapture than it is now. However it may not be impossible for people who have rejected it before the Rapture to believe it from then on (cf. 2 Thess. 2:11-12).
