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We’ve been following the book of Revelation. We came to the unsealing of the seven seals. We saw the four riders of the apocalypse, bringing with them conquest, conflict, scarcity, and death. We heard the prayers of the martyrs, those who’d been slain on earth and are now in heaven, as they cry out to God, “How long before you bring justice to bear on the earth?” And we saw what justice would look like.

We saw just an immediate preceding passage to this, we saw the great day of the wrath of God and the Lamb – the day when justice will be meted out on the earth – a day to be feared. Those who talk about the day of justice need to be afraid. It’s a terrifying day. We saw people calling on the mountains to fall on them, to hide them from the justice of God on the final day. And we heard a question being asked: “Who can stand?” Who can persevere while all of those, all of those events at the beginning of that chapter, all of the events of conflict and conquest and famine and pestilence are afflicting the people who live in the face of the earth. “Who can stand?” Who can stand when called upon to act as a martyr for Jesus’ sake? Who can stand in the final day of judgment, and not be cringing in fear?

“Who can stand?” And in this chapter we have the answer to the question. We expect, actually, that we will move on immediately to the opening of the seventh seal, but that is paused for a moment, because here is a question that needs to be asked and answered. Who can stand through all the shocks that life brings? Who can stand in the searching light of God’s presence? The unfolding divine drama is paused in order to answer the question. And chapter 7 begins by reminding us of the ever-present threat of extinction.

After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree.

Revelation 7:1

Now immediately, of course, some of you who regard yourself as scientists will say, “Well, this is not scientific language, is this?” Well of course it isn’t, it wouldn’t have meant anything to most of the people who have lived in the face of planet earth. This is the language of the way we see the world, isn’t it? And the way we describe the world – the four corners of the earth. We know the earth doesn’t have four corners – get over yourself – but that’s the language that’s used here. It’s the language that we’ve used through from time immemorial among human beings.

But these heavenly beings and these four winds threaten the collapse of the entire created order. This is extinction, folks, extinction level action. That’s the level we’re talking about here. These four angels are holding back these elemental forces of earth and air and water and fire. These elemental forces which threaten the entire natural and supernatural universe, and they threaten unlimited destruction. And what we’re told here is that these things are not happening to us right now for the simple fact that they are being actively restrained by God.

That is the threat we as a race, a human race, we as creatures, whether we’re a planet or a star or a supernova or a galaxy or an individual in human person, this is the threat we live under. And it’s held back, actively held back, restrained by the will and action of God. You see an illustration of this in Second Thessalonians, where the Apostle Paul describes the spirit of lawlessness that pervades human society.

You say, “I don’t believe in a spirit of lawlessness.” Where have you been the last year? The spirit of lawlessness is all over the place. We’ve seen it on our news, we see it all over the world. A spirit of lawlessness. But Paul goes on to say that there is coming a man of lawlessness. A human figure who will in himself embody the spirit of lawlessness and of final rebellion against God, and who will activate the people of the earth – earth dwellers – into his service. And it says there that at the moment that man of lawlessness is being held back, held back until the time of the end. And at the time of the end, the Son of Man will come to slay him and to slay the wicked.

These four angels hold back four winds that will one day harm the earth and the sea. But why does it name the trees? The trees get special mention here. Is there something about trees that we should know? Well, this by, this book, as we’ve been seeing, is a book that’s written in symbols and signs, and of course, the tree has a very real significance in the Bible. Let me read to you from Deuteronomy chapter 20. God is giving Israel instructions on what to do when they besiege a city.

When you besiege a city a long time, to make war against it to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees – trees that belong to the city – by swinging an axe against them. For you may eat of them, but you shall not cut them down. For the tree of the field is not a man that it should be besieged by you.

Deuteronomy 20:19

Now why does God separate out the trees of the field? The answer is that in the Bible the trees represent something. In the first Psalm, which is the preface to the book of Psalms, we read this:

Blessed is the man or woman who walks not by the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his and her delight is in the law of the Lord,
and in his law he and she meditates day and night. For he and she is like a tree planted by streams of water that yield its fruit in its season, its leaf does not wither. All that he and she does prospers.

Psalm 1:1-3

The tree represents the Godly. The Godly are going to be affected by this. It’s being held back because of the Godly, and we’re going to see why in a moment. Because a second angel – there are these angels that are responsible for the four corners of the wind – but a solitary angel now appears in verse 2. Another angel. He arises, he comes like the sun from the east. For, for Jews the east is the way in which you pray. You pray towards the east, the sunrise. In praying towards the sunrise, you’re praying towards the Holy of Holies. You’re praying to the One who sits between the cherubim, invisible, the Lord God of Israel. You’re praying towards the altar of sacrifice.

This, this angel arises, and he looks in every way like the one who’s identified in Malachi as the Son of righteousness who will arise with healing in his wings. It’s, it’s not Jesus who is the Son of righteousness, but it’s like Jesus. And John sees an angel, and that angel spirit is the representative of the spirit of Jesus, who is the final sacrifice, who is the Holy of Holies, who dwells between the cherubim, and sits upon the throne of heaven to which he has ascended.

The Holy Spirit is the One who guards Jesus’ people. Jesus promises another Counselor, that is, One exactly like him, sent by the Father like he was, and sent also by him. “When He comes,” Jesus says, “He will be with you forever. He is the One that the world cannot receive, because the world neither sees Him nor knows Him; but He will dwell with you, and He shall be in you.”

This angel represents the Holy Spirit. John can see the angel; he can’t see the Holy Spirit. None of us can. The angel is there to represent the invisible Holy Spirit; very much like the dove appeared at Jesus’ baptism. And the angel brings with him as the Holy Spirit’s representative God’s seal. He is going to seal the servants of our God. Later in verse 3, we’ll read that they will be sealed upon their foreheads.

Now this idea of putting a seal or a mark on the foreheads of God’s people is not brand new. It comes from Ezekiel. The book of Ezekiel is John’s playbook as he, as he configures much of what he writes under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to what Ezekiel has written. Hardly surprising, since the Holy Spirit who is giving the words to John is the One who gave the words to Ezekiel.

In Ezekiel chapter 9, we read about executioners who are going to go around Jerusalem, the godless city, and God says before they’re allowed free course, he says,

Go through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark upon the foreheads of those who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in the city.

Ezekiel 9:4

In other words, this is the time Ezekiel is describing the state of Jerusalem when it fell to Babylon. It’s full of idolaters and pagans, the people of God have turned to pagan ways. But there are a few righteous, a few remnants of believers. And God’s word is “Put my mark” – actually the word is the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet – “put my mark on their foreheads.” That last letter at the time in which Ezekiel is writing would have been represented by either a “t” or an “x”. That symbol to the Jew represented the divine name. That symbol to the Christian represents Christ – Christos – the first letter of his name. It also represents his cross – the cruciform mark – so that when Christians were baptized early on, we know from Tertullian, when they were baptized, the water was applied in a cruciform way on their foreheads as a mark of the name of God. The mark of the name of the Trinity – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the action of baptism is a sign and seal of God’s seal being placed upon his people. And that seal is not the outward mark that points to it; that seal is the Holy Spirit himself.

You listen to Second Corinthians chapter 1:

It is God who establishes us with you in Christ, he has put his seal upon us, and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

2 Corinthians 1:22

The seal of the Spirit in chapter 9. The seal is the seal of God upon their foreheads. In chapter 14, the seal is the name of the Lamb and his Father’s name, written on their foreheads. It is God putting his mark on his people. It’s a mark of ownership. “These are my people.” God is saying. It’s a mark of authenticity. These people are the people of God. It is a mark of promise and protection, and it’s put upon all believers. We’re told in chapter 14, the mark – the seal – is given to all those who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. All Jesus’ people. This is a teaching we find all through the Scripture.

In Ephesians chapter 1, Paul writing to the Ephesians says:

In him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed by the promised Holy Spirit, which is the guarantee of your inheritance until the time you acquire it and possess it.

Ephesians 1:13-14

Later on in Ephesians we’re told not to grieve the Holy Spirit

in whom you were sealed for that day of redemption.

Ephesians 4:30

And at the end of this book in new Jerusalem, when God’s final purpose – that inheritance – is ours, it says this about those that

His servants will worship him. They shall see his face, and his name will be upon their foreheads.

Revelation 22:4

To be sealed is to be marked out as God’s own, God’s elect, the ones God has set apart. The one whom God will safely deliver to his everlasting kingdom. No matter what the waters of judgment are, no matter how hard the trial may be, he will deliver them safe into his presence.

Now having this seal of God upon your life, the Holy Spirit, doesn’t mean that you have a “get out of jail free” card. It doesn’t mean that you will not experience the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, and all the things that flesh is heir to, but you will be delivered through them, and you will safely be delivered into the presence of God. “Those that have My Spirit, these,” saith he, “are mine. They shall be sealed.”
“On that great day of his wrath who shall stand?” Those who are sealed will stand.

Listen to Paul writing to Timothy:

God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are his.”

2 Timothy 2:19

Now the first job of the angel then is to prohibit the final end of the world – the elemental destruction of the universe – until the sealing of all of God’s people is complete. That’s precisely, by the way, what those martyrs of chapter 6, when they were crying out to God, “How long before you judge evil and avenge our blood?” are given the answer “until the number of their fellow servants and brethren should be complete.”

So there you have it. The saints are sealed. And secondly, the sealed are numbered. We read on:

I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, out of every tribe of the sons of Israel.

Revelation 7:4

Now some cynics like D. H. Lawrence and some heretics like the Jehovah’s Witnesses have mistaken this number as a literal number that gives us the sum total of those who will be saved. So to the critics and the heretics I say: Pay attention to the text. We were told in verse one of the book of Revelation, right in the very first verse, that this revelation being given through John is being given in symbolic language. Symbols are to be interpreted using Scripture as the means of interpreting the symbols. The number 144,000 is not to be taken literally but figuratively, using the method of numeric symbolism found throughout the book of Revelation. And in fact you will see it’s a symbol as we read on. But let’s begin here.

Let’s begin by saying this: all the Israel of God are to be sealed. How do you understand that? Is this a reference to the Jewish people? Is this a reference to Jewish believers at the time of John? Is this a reference to the number of Jewish Christians within the church today? No. I’m answering my own question.

In chapter 14, verse 4 the 144,000 are described as all those who follow the Lamb wherever he goes, whether Jew or Gentile. Let me let me just point your attention to this – I wonder if you remember, if you’ve been following this series, in chapter 5 we had a relationship between what John hears and then what John sees. Remember then, the big question was who has the power to open the book of destiny, and someone says to John – everybody’s crying about the fact there’s nobody able to do it – and somebody says to John, “But the Lion of the tribe of Judah, he can do it.” And then John looks. What does he see? A lion? He sees the Lamb who has just been slain.

Here in this chapter, John hears the number of God’s elect: 144,000. He hears the number, and he hears it being delineated. Delineated through these tribes; we read patiently through them all. But when he turns to see – listen to what he says: “I looked and behold” – he’s talking about the 144,000 – “behold, a great multitude which no one could number, from every nation and from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.” What was seen gives a deeper commentary on what he hears.

But pay attention for a moment into what he hears:

We have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads. And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000.

Revelation 7:4

Here’s a theological comment on this: There are twelve tribes of Israel; there are twelve apostles of the Lamb. New Jerusalem – which represents the Church, the Bride of Christ – new Jerusalem will have twelve gates representing the twelve tribes of Israel and twelve foundations representing the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Twelve times twelve then it gives you a hundred and forty-four. A thousand is the biggest number they could conceive, just a vast number to them. A hundred and forty-four thousand, therefore, are then broken down, do you notice, into twelve thousand for each tribe? 144 is the 12th square number. The square of 12. New Jerusalem at the end of the book is a square, where the number 12 is used repeatedly.

I’ve already mentioned the twelve gates, twelve foundations. But even when you measure the city and its walls, we’re told in Revelation chapter 21 that the measurement of its walls is 12,000 stadia, or, and we’re given the alternative, 144 cubits. New Jerusalem is the Bride of Christ – the church – with its 12 gates and its 12 foundations. The numbers, in other words, are not literal. They symbolize the perfection of new Jerusalem, which is the perfect cube, not to be taken literally, but to underscore its mathematical, moral, and in every other sense perfection. The number then, 144,000, is a symbolic representation of the total number of God’s elect people. A definite number known to God. As we read earlier, “The Lord knows those who are his.”

Now here we come to the crunch point: it is the unanimous teaching of the New Testament that the Church is Israel. The Church is Israel, comprising Jews and Gentiles and expanded Israel, where every believer is a descendant of Abraham simply by believing rather than genetic connection to Abraham. That’s why Paul writes into the Galatians finishes by giving a benediction: “Peace and mercy be appear be upon the Israel of God”, that is, the church of Galatia.

In First Corinthians 10, Israel is in the desert and yet Paul says that in the desert “they drank the supernatural Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.” Israel knew about Christ; they didn’t know they knew about Christ; but he was with them in every aspect of their liturgy and their worship and their corporate life together.

When the apostle Paul is writing in Ephesians to Gentiles to non-Jews. This is what he says to them – and we need to remember this at times – will you come from a non-Jewish background?

Remember you were at one time alienated from the commonwealth of Israel . . . but now you who are once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, you are fellow citizens with the saints, members of the household of God.

Ephesians 2:12,19

Gentiles are fellow heirs – members of the same body. We already found at the beginning of Revelation in chapter one language that is used in the Old Testament of Israel is used of believers.

“To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, that is, Jesus, and made us a kingdom and priests to his God and Father, to him be glory.”

Revelation 1:6

That language is language that is used only of Israel in the Old Testament, yet here it is being used of the church, and again being used by Peter:

You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. You are God’s own people.

1 Peter 2:9

He’s writing to dispersed believers, both Jew and Gentile. You see, in the in the Bible – and by the way, the early Christians had only one Bible, it was the Jewish Bible until they got the letters of Paul and accumulated those – that’s all they had, and they were happy with that. Reading their Bible, the Old Testament is the Christian Scripture – there is only one church in Scripture and the only difference is that in one period of its existence it was Jews mainly – not exclusively, you have the Rahabs and the Ruths of the world who were Gentiles and were part of Israel – Jews mainly, whereas now you have the church composed of Jews and Gentiles united to Christ.

The church, in other words, has not replaced Israel – we’re not into replacement theology here – the church has fulfilled Israel, it has fulfilled Israel. And the gospel remains, brothers and sisters, the gospel remains for the Jew first. And also, we’re the “and-also’s” the “also-rans” – and also for the Gentiles – can I just say this to you? If there is within your heart even the smallest of antisemitism, you need to root that out of your psyche. Christians are not antisemitic fundamentally. We understand that we only have the gospel because we have a Jewish Savior, and we only understand the gospel because we have the Jewish scriptures. And we only relate to Christ insofar as we accept that in Christ Jesus there is no longer a division between two – Jew and Gentile – but there is one new humanity in Christ. That’s the whole argument of the book of Ephesians. Antisemitism has no place in the Christian Church.

Taken then as we look at this, we notice the list of twelve tribes. Let’s look at this list for a moment. The twelve tribes – the list does not correspond in any way to any list given in the Old Testament – there’s something to make you think the list is symbolic. The number “12” represents the complete people of God. The high powers of ten signify huge numbers. The promise that was given in chapter 6 – “the number of their fellow servants and their brethren should be completed.”

When you look more closely you find it begins with Judah. Why should it begin there? Judah isn’t high up in the on the list of the tribes of Israel. Judah’s promoted from fourth to first because it was from Judah that the Messiah came. It was the Jews, the descendants of Judah, who maintained the faith when the ten tribes in northern Israel disappeared. You remember, they went into idolatry and paganism, and eventually they were absorbed in the nations roundabout till they do not exist today identifiably. The ten tribes vanish altogether – there’s another clue that this list is not a literal list. But the Jews not only gave us the Messiah, but they conserved the faith, they conserved the scriptures, they conserved the message of the prophets – even though they killed the prophets – nonetheless they conserved the message of the prophets. And from the Jews all believers receive their place and salvation. Jesus told the Gentile woman that “salvation is of the Jews.” The promise of salvation was made to Judah.

And then there’s Reuben here. Reuben was the firstborn who by his sin lost the first place. Four of these – Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh – were children of concubines who were not Jewish or at least they were not in the covenant family. Normally they’re at the end of the line of the list of names, but here they’re promoted. Their elevation as children of women who are outsiders to the covenant family signifies already in the lists the inclusion of Gentiles into fellowship as servants of God.

Dan is missing because Dan became notorious for leading the northern ten tribes astray, and Dan is associated in Jewish writing in the Apocryphal period – the period between the Old Testament ending and the New Testament beginning – Dan is associated with the coming Antichrist.

And then there’s Joseph and Levi. Joseph and Levi were never numbered among the tribes of Israel. Levi’s set apart from all the other tribes to be the priestly tribe. Joseph has his place taken by two of his sons, but here he has – here he has a ranking.

The list proclaims that Jesus from Judah – born in Bethlehem of Judah – is the one Jew who has come to bring salvation for the world. And as you read the list and you look at the stories you find that he’s the one who incorporates outcasts, who excludes idolaters, who recovers the lost – think the lost tribes that are mentioned – who secures salvation for those who are united to him. Jesus does it all. And the big message of the passage is that God seals his people unto the day of redemption – that’s why we can stand in the judgment.

Now there’s a story I want to tell you here, and it actually has nothing to do with the passage at all, but it’s an interesting story. It’s true; it comes from the year AD 65. The Roman armies have invaded Judea; have surrounded Jerusalem; the people are starving to death inside the city. The Christians in the city remember Jesus’ saying that “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, you know the end is near”. And they remember Jesus’ advice “When you see that, get out of the city.” But they had no
option – they were stuck in the city with everybody else surrounded by the Roman army.

And then mysteriously one day Cestius Gallus, the Roman general, led his army away from Jerusalem. They just woke up one day and the Romans had moved. The Christians immediately evacuated the city. The remainder of the inhabitants fortified the city. Gallus came back with his army and continued to besiege for about five years until they broke in in AD 70 and killed one million Jews – but not one Christian died. The early Christians would tell their story and they would say: “The Bible doesn’t promise us that we won’t be hurt or caught up; but here is Jesus’ word – Jesus said, ‘Get out of the city’. We did that and we were spared. God keeps his Word.”

When we’re told that “the Holy Spirit of God has sealed us unto the day of redemption”, what we are to learn from their story, and what we’re to learn from John in this chapter is we can trust his Word. His Word is true. And we can live our lives in light of it.

Let’s pray.

Father, we thank You that You have a people in the world, Your Israel whom you love. We thank You that we belong to Zion, the city of God, New Jerusalem; that our names are already written there, we’re already citizens there. And we thank You, Lord, that You are incorporating into Your Israel – men and women from every tribe and tongue and language. Lord, continue to build Your church. Continue to add to Your company of Your people daily those who would be saved. And when You arrive at that final number, when all Israel is saved, will You come bring Your power and reign? We ask You in Jesus’ strong name. Amen.

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Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: By Liam Goligher. © 2024 Tenth Presbyterian Church. Website: tenth.org