Day 245, Revelation 7
Just as Chapter 6 surprised us with the uncovering of great evil after the heavenly worship of Chapter 5, so Chapter 7 brings another surprise. It’s the poetic equivalent of an experience I had many times as a hiker and mountaineer: you exert yourself to reach the skyline ahead of you, only to find it is a ridge that leads to a higher, steeper ridge beyond! It is important not to give way to discouragement.
Just as we expect the seventh seal to be opened, and God’s plan to be revealed, John inserts a poetic valley. We don’t see a seal on a scroll being opened, instead we see a seal placed on the foreheads of God’s servants. Four angels (symbolizing universal completeness) are ordered to hold back any damage to the world while God’s grace is marked on each child of God- on the forehead to symbolize the mind of Christ. Sealing is used to protect against judgment in Ezekiel 9, and Paul uses sealing as a metaphor for receiving the Holy Spirit in Ephesians 1 and 2 Corinthians 1.
Let me repeat the regular warning about this book: beware literal logic as you read. This is poetic prophecy! And speaking of repeating, that is a common technique of the poet and the dramatist to emphasize truth. This chapter repeats a vast crowd – first in verses 1-8 where John hears that there are 144,000 (12 tribes squared by 12 apostles and multiplied to a crowd) – and then he looks in verses 9-17 and sees a vast multitude that no-one can count. The poetic device leads us to understand that the two are the same. The numbering tells us something: that those who have become children of God are part of God’s twelvefold family structure. Interestingly, the twelve tribes John hears are different from the twelve tribes descended from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Judah is listed first (Jesus is the lion of the tribe of Judah). Dan is omitted (some Jewish traditions had Dan as the tribe of the AntiChrist) and Manasseh is elevated to a tribe (possibly to replace Dan). Key point: don’t place too much weight on the details, lest you distort the prophetic symbolism and miss the unveiling of the Messiah.
So the numbering tells us God’s children have a place in His family (and every tribe is equally numbered – no favorites here). Then the vision of the great multitude shows us that the victorious come from every facet of humanity. Remember the exhortation at the end of the letters to the seven churches? Be victorious!
These victorious ones have white robes (they are purified) and palm branches (to welcome the King). Their triumphant liberty shows in their passionate worship: “Salvation belongs to our God seated on the throne and to the Lamb!” Observe how clearly the worship of believers stands out amidst all the darkness and suffering of the previous chapter. And this worship prompts the angels, elders, and living creatures to worship again! God’s presence is full of songs!
In verse 13, one of the elders asks John a question. Side note: questions are often the way God opens our eyes to new truth; that’s how Jesus did much of His teaching. “Who do you say that I am?” “What do you want me to do for you?” “How do you read the Law – what does it say?” All these questions lead us to revelation, and revelation gives us life and deepens our relationship with God.
John is familiar with this Hebraic method of teaching, and responds to the elder’s question with a statement that is also a question: “My lord, you must know?” And the elder tells John that this great multitude, who have been sealed at the instruction of the senior angel, while junior angels hold back natural disasters, are the ones who recognize their own filthy rags (Luke 15) and have come to be washed in the blood of the Lamb. The process of washing has brought them through great tribulation.
Pause here to state clearly that the great tribulation is mentioned twice in the Revelation, and both times it applies only to believers. If you are waiting to escape a great worldwide future tribulation you have missed a key prophetic message in this poem: when you go through trials and hold on to Jesus, you are sealed, robed in white, and will be spared in the final judgment. Verses 15 through 17 must have been such a hope-filled relief to John and his readers. The one on the throne spreads his tabernacle over those who suffer persecution, and the Lamb continuously shepherds them into life, leading them to the fountain, or spring, of eternal life. They have tears in their eyes, but God will wipe away each one.
That’s a promise to you too. Your suffering may be small compared to first century believers, but the same God promises us a place with them in the vast multitude worshipping and drinking from the fountain.
Have a great day!
Mark.