The Sealed of Israel
1 After this I saw four angels f standing at the four corners of the earth, restraining the four winds of the earth g so that no wind could blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel rising up from the east, h who had the seal of the living God. i He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels who were allowed to harm the earth and the sea: 3 “Don’t harm the earth or the sea or the trees j until we seal the servants of our God on their foreheads.” k 4 And I heard the number of the sealed:
144,000 sealed from every tribe of the Israelites: l
5 12,000 sealed from the tribe of Judah,
12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,
12,000 from the tribe of Gad,
6 12,000 from the tribe of Asher,
12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,
12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,
7 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,
12,000 from the tribe of Levi,
12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,
8 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,
12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,
12,000 sealed from the tribe of Benjamin.
A Multitude from the Great Tribulation
9 After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, m which no one could number, n standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands. o 10 And they cried out in a loud voice:
Salvation belongs to our God, p
who is seated on the throne,
and to the Lamb!
11 All the angels stood around the throne, and along with the elders and the four living creatures they fell facedown before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying,
Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom
and thanksgiving and honor
and power and strength
be to our God forever and ever. q Amen.
13 Then one of the elders asked me, “Who are these people in white robes, and where did they come from? ”
14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.”
Then he told me: These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. r They washed their robes and made them white s in the blood of the Lamb.
15 For this reason they are before the throne of God,
and they serve him day and night t in his temple. u
The one seated on the throne will shelter them: v
16 They will no longer hunger;
they will no longer thirst;
the sun will no longer strike them,
nor will any scorching heat. w
17 For the Lamb who is at the center of the throne
will shepherd them; x
he will guide them to springs of the waters of life, y
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. z
7:1–8. After the sixth seal is broken, there is an interlude of worship (7:1–17). The eschatological end is delayed by four angels (7:1), who—symbolizing a restraining force on lawlessness (2 Th 2:7)—hold back the winds on which the four demonic cavaliers ride (cf. Zch 6:5). These angels also operate in conjunction with the worship and witness of the church. When the veil is lifted, we see that the church’s presence in human history has had a sanctifying effect on the world. The angel who rises with the sun commands the other four not to harm creation (i.e., the earth, the sea, and even the trees; cf. Gn 1:9–13) until every servant of God receives a signet seal (7:2–3). It was believed that the Lord, like all kings, had a signet ring by which he authenticated decrees and marked what was his (Est 8:8; Jb 9:7). God reins in the chaos for his sealed ones so that their mission can continue. The 144,000 represent all saints from both the OT and the NT and are listed here in a tribal census (7:4–8).
7:9–14. When the 144,000 appear again, they stand as a countless multitude whose diversity is evident, since individual persons can still be distinguished by nation, tribe, culture, and language, and yet all are perfectly united in their litany to the Lord (7:9–10). This picture of the church triumphant provides hope for today’s divided congregation. Here the people of God are one voice, dressed in white priestly robes (6:11), holding palm branches (a symbol of homage to a king during his coronation; cf. Mk 11:8). They shake the heavens by shouting, “Salvation belongs to our God . . . and to the Lamb!” (7:10). Joining in the liturgy are the four cherubim, the twenty-four elders, and the myriad of angels of Rv 4–5, who fall prostrate and sing their own doxology (7:11–12).
7:15–17. The next liturgical segment evokes images from the Festival of Shelters (Lv 23:34; Zch 14:16; Jn 7:2), a weeklong holiday when Jews eat their meals in temporary booths or huts to commemorate how the tabernacle accompanied the Israelites through their wilderness wanderings during the exodus. God promises the faithful that he will permanently “shelter” them (7:15; Gk skēnoō means “pitch a tent”; see the CSB footnote; cf. Ezk 37:26–28) and never let them go hungry or thirsty again, nor let the sun’s heat fall on them (7:16; cf. Is 49:10). Christ will shepherd (Ezk 34:16, 23) and lead them to a place with living water (a symbol of eternal life; cf. Jn 4:14) where there is no more death or tears (7:17; cf. Is 25:8). All will find perfect peace in the presence of the Lamb.