In the previous chapter, the Apostle John was given an overview of the major events that will take place in the Last Days through the opening of the First Six Seals. In this chapter, and before being shown the opening of the Seventh Seal, John is given more information concerning the events of the Fifth Seal and the prayer of the Martyrs in Heaven which we read about in the previous chapter (see Chapter 6). Namely, he was shown the Four Angels who will be given the power to harm the land, the sea, and the trees after the martyrs pray for revenge.
After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. Rev. 7:1
When this chapter starts with the phrase, “after this I saw,” it does not mean that the events of the Four Angels happen next but simply means that John saw them next. Accordingly, the events of the Four Angels will occur after the events of the Fifth Seal, when the Martyrs in Heaven will pray for judgment and revenge, and the Four Angels will be given the power to harm the land, the sea, and the trees.
Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.
Rev. 7:2-4
As these passages tell us, before the judgments of God begin, as described in the events of the Sixth Seal, Four Angels will be given the power to harm the land, the sea, and the trees. Accordingly, the plagues of the Four Angels will not directly strike the Inhabitants of the Earth, themselves, but will harm the world around them. In this way, the Plagues on the Land, the Sea, and the Trees will serve as a warning to those who live on earth before the major judgments that we read about in the events of the Sixth Seal take place. In addition, we learn that before the angels are allowed to harm the land, the sea, and the trees, a 144,000 From all the Tribes of Israel will be sealed.
The 144,000 From all the Tribes of Israel
The question is often asked as to whether the description of the, “144,000 From all the Tribes of Israel,” is a literal or symbolic account of God’s people. In answer to this question, it can be said that in every instance in the Old and New Testament where this or similar phrase is used, it always refers to the literal descendants of Jacob (For example, see: Acts 26:4-7, James 1:1). No other group of people, including the church, is ever described as the, “Tribes of Israel”. Therefore, when we read that the 144,000 From all the Tribes of Israel will be sealed before the Plagues on the Land, the Sea, and the Trees begin, it is a description of how a literal remnant of Israel will be set apart by the seal before the plagues begin.
In addition, it should be noted that many believe that the description of the 144,000 From all the Tribes of Israel is not a literal account of God’s people based on how it contains the number 144,000, which is a product of 12. The number 12, itself, is said to be a spiritual number, representing authority, based on its repeated use in the Scriptures in such cases as the 12 apostles, the 12 tribes of Israel, and the 24 elders. Accordingly, it is taught that the number 144,000 also represents authority and should not be taken literally. This theory is refuted by the fact that although the repeated use of the number 12 does reveal a symbolic pattern in the Bible, in each of the above instances, the number 12 also describes the literal number of people being mentioned, i.e., there are 12 literal apostles, 12 literal tribes of Israel, and 24 literal elders. In the same way, the number 144,000 carries symbolic importance but it is also the literal number of God’s people who will be sealed
When we search the Bible, we find several instances where similar type numbers carry both literal and symbolic meanings. The first example occurs in the account of the prophet Elijah, and the 7,000 prophets who did not bow their knee to Baal (1 Kings 19:18). As with the 144,000, the number 7,000 derives from a spiritual number, 7, which is considered to have symbolic meaning based on its many uses in the Scriptures such as the 7 days of creation, the 70 elders of Israel, and the 7 Trumpets, etc. Since the 7,000 are universally accepted to be the literal number of prophets who were set apart by God, we can say that this is another instance where a number carries both literal and symbolic meaning. This is also the case in the story of Giedion, whose army was reduced down to just 300 men (Judg. 7:4-7). As in the previous examples, the number 300 is a whole number which derives from the most spiritually, significant number in the Bible, namely 3, as God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Accordingly, the numbers 300, 7000, and 144,000 each have spiritual meaning but they also describe the literal number of people set apart by God.
The literal aspect of the 144,000 From all the Tribes of Israel can also be seen in how the Revelation provides a list of the numbers of people from each tribe that will be included within the 144,000.
From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben 12,000, from the tribe of Gad 12,000, from the tribe of Asher 12,000, from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000, from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000, from the tribe of Simeon 12,000, from the tribe of Levi 12,000, from the tribe of Issachar 12,000, from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000, from the tribe of Joseph 12,000, from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000. Rev. 7:5-8
In the above account, the Revelation gives a breakdown by tribe of those who will be sealed. This is further evidence for the literal interpretation of the 144,000 From all the Tribes of Israel, as genealogy accounts of this type are always used in the literal sense in the Scriptures. In other words, by listing the number of people who will come from each specific tribe, the Revelation is preventing us from interpreting the 144,000 as a symbolic representation of some other group of people.
Although we are given the genealogical breakdown of those who will be included within the 144,000, we can assume that the sealing of the Remnant from Israel will not be dependent upon the 144,000 being able to prove their ancestry but will be known by the angels. In this way, the 144,000 From all the Tribes of Israel will be set apart from the rest of those who live on earth, before the Plagues on the Land, and the Sea, and the Trees begin.
The Hour of Trial
As mentioned earlier, the Plagues on the Land, the Sea, and the Trees will serve as a warning to those on earth before the prayer of the martyrs for judgment and revenge is answered. Accordingly, in Chapter 3, we read how the period of the Plagues on the Land, the Sea, and the Trees is described as the Hour of Trial that will test the Inhabitants of the Earth.
Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth. Rev. 3:10
In this passage, the phrase, keep you from, can also be translated as, keep you through, [1] which better describes how God’s people will be kept through the Plagues on the Land, the Sea, and the Trees, just as the children of Israel were kept through the plagues of Moses and Aaron in the Land of Egypt. In this way, during the Hour of Trial, the Inhabitants of the Earth will be tested and God’s people will be kept. It should be noted that the Hour of Trial is not a reference to the Great Tribulation, which is the name given to the period when God’s people from every nation will be killed. (We will read about the Great Tribulation in the next set of verses) Instead, the Hour of Trial refers to the time when the Inhabitants of the Earth will be tested before the major judgments of God will begin in answer to the prayer of the Martyrs in Heaven.
The Great Multitude from every Nation, Tribe, People, and Language
In addition to the 144,000 from all the Tribes of Israel, John was next shown a great multitude that no one could count.
After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!” Rev. 7:9-13
In these passages the great multitude is said to come from every nation, tribe, people, and language. As with the earlier example of the Twenty-Four Elders in Chapter 4, when the great multitude is described as wearing white robes, it speaks of their righteousness. Next, John is given more information concerning the identity of the great multitude.
Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?” I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Rev. 7:14
In the above account, the word that is translated as tribulation comes from the Greek word meaning affliction (Strong’s 2347; thlipsis). This same word is also translated as distress, troubles, suffering or persecution, etc. By itself, this word can refer to any affliction that God’s people experience for their faith, but, in this passage, when the word tribulation is preceded by the word great, it is referring to a future event, known as the Great Tribulation when the great multitude will be killed. These same martyrs were also mentioned in the previous chapter, in the account of the opening of the Fifth Seal, when John saw the Martyr’s in Heaven pray for judgment and revenge as repeated below.
When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been. Rev. 6:9-11
As we read in these verses, when the Martyrs in Heaven pray for judgment and revenge, they will be told that their blood would not be avenged until the full number of their brothers and sisters were killed just as they had been. Accordingly, when the Inhabitants of the Earth are tested through the Plagues on the Land, the Sea, and the Trees, they will respond by attacking God’s people in the events of the Great Tribulation. In this way, the Great Tribulation will fulfill the condition given to the Martyrs in Heaven, which, in-turn, we lead to the Wrath of God being poured out in answer to the prayer of the Martyrs. (We will read more about these events in upcoming chapters.) It should be noted that the Great Tribulation will not just affect the Jews but will be a time when God’s people from every every nation, tribe, people and language will be killed.
The Reward of the Martyrs of the Great Tribulation
This chapter ends with a description of the blessings that will follow those who will be killed in the Great Tribulation.
Therefore, “they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. ‘Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them,’ nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’” Rev. 7:15-17
The above passages are a literal account of how the Martyrs of the Great Tribulation will serve as priests of God in His Temple as their reward for remaining faithful even to the point of death. These same events are described in later chapters of the Revelation where we read how the Martyrs of the Great Tribulation will be resurrected to serve as priests during the 1,000 Year Reign of Christ.
Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. Rev. 20:4
We will read more about the 1,000 Year Reign of Christ and the Martyrs of the Great Tribulation in future chapters. In the meantime, the The Plagues on the Land, the Sea, and the Trees adds to the list of the Order of Events of the Last Days as follows:
Order of Events of the Last Days
1. The Ascension of Jesus Christ
2. Wars, Rumors of Wars, Earthquakes, and Famines (Seals 1-4)
3. The Martyrs Pray for Judgment and Revenge (5th. Seal)
4. The Plagues on the Land, the Sea, and the Trees (the Hour of Trial)
5. The Great Tribulation when the Full Number of Brothers and Sisters will be Killed
6. The Great Earthquake and Severe Hailstorm (6th. Seal)
7. To be Announced (7th. Seal)
Footnotes:
[1] The following footnote is found in the New International Version® Bible, which tells us that Rev. 3:10 can be translated using the phrase, “keep you through”, instead of, “keep you from,” as follows:
Footnote Rev. 3:10 “Keep you from”. The Greek for this phrase can mean either “keep you from undergoing” or “keep you through” the hour of trial. – Zondervan NIV® Fully Revised 2002; pg. 1,970
Revelation Chapter 6
Revelation Chapter 8
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