11/03/18 Revelation 7:1-8 “Clearly Israel is number one on the end-times agenda”
Revelation 7:1 – And after
these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth,
holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the
earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.
holding – krateo (to
have power; be powerful; take hold of; hold fast; not let go; hold in check;
restrain) It has the idea of holding by reason of power.
After the 6th
seal (Revelation 6:12-17), there is apparently an order to put a hold on it
all, not to go any further, until those who are to be God’s servants are
sealed. These angels are powerful, not struggling at all to hold the winds back
on the earth. This is for all the earth, all the winds from every direction; no
wind may blow anywhere, whether on dry land, sea, or anywhere where vegetation
grows. This is an all-encompassing authority to stop all wind. Wind represents
movement on the earth; and here it also represents the judgment of God coming
upon all people.
Jeremiah 49:36 – And upon Elam will I bring the
four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all
those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall
not come.
Thus this represents the holding back of God’s
judgments until His servants are sealed in their foreheads. God may withhold,
and God may then deliver judgments. This may happen possibly before,
yet leading up to the more extreme part of the tribulation, the second
half. It does appear to follow the first 6 seals of judgment; however,
Revelation has a number of extra interludes such as this that do not
necessarily occur in chronological order. The term “after these things” does
tend to suggest that this could occur after the things of Ch.6; but it would
make more sense to occur at the beginning of Israel’s last week of years
(7-year period).
Ezekiel 37-39 talks
about the rising of the house of Israel from the valley of dry bones, becoming
God’s people again and being rescued from the enemy (notably from the north)
that seeks to destroy them because they are an easy target at that time.
Ezekiel 37:27 – My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will
be their God, and they shall be my people.
Ezekiel 39:7 – So will I make my holy name known in the midst of
my people Israel; and I will not [let them] pollute my holy name any
more: and the heathen shall know that I [am] the Lord, the Holy One in
Israel.
So, does this
happen at or near the start of their final 7 years, or is it in fact an overview
of the whole 7 years? I believe that it is more likely to be at or near the
start of the tribulation, as they will be burying their dead enemies for 7
months (Ezekiel 39:12), which doesn’t seem to equate with the setting up of the
millennial reign. Therefore, it is likely that the sealing of the 144,000 would
occur at or near the start of the 7-year tribulation.
John was told not
to seal up the prophecy in Revelation …..
Revelation 22:10 – And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the
prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.
Yet Daniel was told
to seal it up until the end.
Daniel 12:8-9 – 8 And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O
my Lord, what [shall be] the end of these [things]? 9 And
he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words [are] closed
up and sealed till the time of the end.
So we will apply it to whatever we are able to
understand for now.
Revelation 7:2-3 – 2 And I saw
another angel ascending from the east (or rising sun), having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to
the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, 3 Saying, Hurt
not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants
of our God in their foreheads.
A seal was
something that could not be legally opened or dealt with unless you had the
authority to do so. Daniel was sealed by the king into the lions’ den.
Daniel 6:17 – And a stone was brought, and
laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and
with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning
Daniel.
Likewise Esther and Mordecai had absolute power by
authority of the king.
Esther 8:8 – Write ye also for the Jews, as it liketh you, in the king’s name, and seal [it] with
the king’s ring: for the writing which is written in the king’s name, and
sealed with the king’s ring, may no man reverse.
And with that ring,
Mordecai was given authority to act for the king, in place of Haman.
Esther 8:2 – And the king took off his ring, which he had taken
from Haman, and gave it unto Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house
of Haman.
Pharaoh gave Joseph
his ring of authority (Genesis 41:42).
If anyone else but
the king broke that seal on the lions’ den, he probably would have joined
Daniel with the lions! To break that seal was to overrule the king’s authority.
Even the king couldn’t legally break that seal once it had been established by
decree! And, in the case of Vs 2 above, only one with greater authority than
the living God might break such a seal. These 144,000 are going to be protected
according to God’s will, and His seal guarantees it. It is apparent that those thus
sealed in the foreheads will not be hurt when God’s judgments come upon the
earth, sea and trees. That is, the whole earth might be hurt, but these sealed
of God will be protected by the authority of the seal of the living God.
The four angels are
those who are holding back the winds of judgement from the earth in Vs 1 above.
They have to hold judgment back until these people of God are protected.
Note Ezekiel 9:4-6 – 4 And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of
Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry
for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. 5 And
to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him
through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: 6
Slay utterly old [and] young, both maids, and little children,
and women: but come not near any man upon whom [is] the mark; and begin
at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which [were] before
the house.
Likewise,
Christians are sealed by the Holy Spirit; no one may break that seal without
the authority of God. However, if man has free will, then the only one who can
break that seal, other than God, is the one upon whom the seal is placed.
Ephesians 1:13 – In whom ye also [trusted], after that ye
heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that
ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Ephesians 4:30 – And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye
are sealed unto the day of redemption.
Revelation 7:4 – And I
heard the number of them which were sealed: [and there were] sealed an hundred [and] forty [and] four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
Revelation 14:1 – And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount
Sion, and with him an hundred forty [and] four
thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.
Is this a literal
144,000? Barnes says: The number is too exact and artificial to suppose that it is literal.
It is inconceivable that exactly the same number - precisely twelve thousand -
should be selected from each tribe of the children of Israel.
But why should the
exactness be seen as artificial in any way? I have no problem at all with
understanding this to be an exact number. If God wants to have exactly 144,000,
then who’s going to prevent Him? Some say that a very large number or else a
symbolic number is represented, yet the Greek words used are easily translated
as 144,000, and not in any way similar to the 10,000 (myrias)
times 10,000 (myrias) in Revelation 5:11 which
really means literally myriads times myriads, that is, signifying an extremely
large number. For example, if we said there were millions and millions of
people, or hundreds and thousands of people, we mean a huge number, rather than
an exact or literal number. This is similar to the way Revelation 5:11 puts it.
But in the above verse (Vs 4) the wording does suggest that an exact number is
being recorded.
And are these
tribes of the literal Israel? Most commentaries seem to teach that this is a
spiritual Israel, which is what calvinism would also teach. But if Israel is to
physically have her last 7 years, and if Jesus taught that when they (the Jews)
saw the abomination as spoken by Daniel sitting in the temple, they were to
immediately run for safety, then how can this be interpreted as a spiritual 7
years, or a spiritual running for safety when they see a spiritual abomination
as spoken of by Daniel. Where do you draw the “spiritual” line? The simplest
and most logical answer is that this is a literal 144,000 comprised of the
literal 12 literal tribes of Israel. That’s what the verse actually says, and
that’s what it should be taken to mean!
Revelation 7:5-8 – 5 Of the tribe of Juda [were] sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe
of Reuben [were] sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad [were] sealed
twelve thousand. 6 Of the tribe of Aser
[were] sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim
[were] sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses
[were] sealed twelve thousand. 7 Of the tribe of
Simeon [were] sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi [were] sealed
twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar [were] sealed twelve thousand.
8 Of the tribe of Zabulon [were]
sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph [were] sealed twelve
thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin [were] sealed twelve thousand.
There are a few
variations on the names in the lists of the tribes of Israel in the Bible. The
original list, of course, has the names of the 12 sons of Jacob (Israel).
Reuben, Simeon,
Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, Benjamin
(Genesis 29 & 30).
In Numbers 2, 7,
10, 13, 26, and 34, Joseph has become both Ephraim and Manasseh (clearly the
double blessing for this tribe), with Levi being left out of those numbered for
war, but were instead chosen by God as representing
His first-born of Israel (Numbers 3:12-13).
In Deuteronomy 27
the original 12 are again named (including Levi), while in Deuteronomy 34 the
original 12 are named but missing Simeon and Issachar.
(Although Dan is listed
as one of the original names in Ezekiel 48.) And so on!
However, two points
can be made. Once Levi became the priestly tribe, it (the tribe of Levi) became
God’s inheritance and no longer was listed as an independent tribe. But, in
this list in Revelation 7:5-8, Levi is now back as an independent tribe, with
Dan missing and Joseph listed as Manasseh and Ephraim.
The reason for Levi
now being back in the list is clear: there is no more purpose for a separate
priestly tribe at this stage because Jesus has become a high priest after the
order of Melchizedek, thus replacing the old covenant priesthood with a new and
better covenant priesthood.
That Dan is no
longer in the list is a subject of some conjecture. Many believe that because
of the idolatry of Dan (by setting up his own priesthood – see Judges 18) that
it is an apostate tribe no longer eligible for acceptance by God. Some believe
that the antichrist will come from Dan. Others believe that Dan settled in
Scotland and that is why the serpent is one of Scotland’s symbols. (&
Ireland) Or Denmark (= Dan’s mark? or Dan-emerke?).
Others believe that Dan settled in Khazaria and
initiated the apostasy that has today become the 13th tribe of
Israel as noted by Arthur Koestler, that is, the Ashkenazi Jews. Yet others
teach that the tribe of Dan fled south (with Gad, Asher and Naphtali) to
Ethiopia when the first temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 587BC. Even
USA has been named as Dan, 13th tribe of Israel.
Dan’s allocation of
land in Canaan lay between Philistia and Ephraim, along the coast to the west
of Jerusalem. Dan and Judah were the strongest of the 12 tribes, which may have
been why these two bordered Philistia which was to trouble Israel for a long
time. (And still does today under its Greek name Palestine.) But either the
land was not large enough, or the Philistines held too much control over their
land, such that the tribe of Dan decided to go to the far north of Israel and
conquer some new territory to call their own as well.
Joshua 19:47 – And the coast of the children of Dan went out [too
little] for them: therefore the children of Dan
went up to fight against Leshem, and took it, and
smote it with the edge of the sword, and possessed it, and dwelt therein, and
called Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their
father.
Leshem is Laish, a city
of the Sidonians (a Canaanite people), situated to the east of Mt Herman and
near the borders of Lebanon and Syria, a much-disputed territory even today
(noting the 1967 Six Day war). Laish is renamed Dan.
Judges 18:27-31 – 27 And they took [the things] which Micah had
made, and the priest which he had, and came unto Laish,
unto a people [that were] at quiet and secure: and they smote them with
the edge of the sword, and burnt the city with fire. 28
And [there was] no deliverer, because it [was] far from
Zidon, and they had no business with [any] man;
and it was in the valley that [lieth] by Beth–rehob.
And they built a city, and dwelt therein. 29 And
they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who
was born unto Israel: howbeit the name of the city [was] Laish at the first. 30 And the children
of Dan set up the graven image: and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of
Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the
captivity of the land. 31 And they set them up Micah’s graven
image, which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.
From this time on
it seems Dan had two portions of land, with the northern portion being set up
with its own idolatrous worship system. It also appears that the southern
portion may have not been fully available to them (probably because of the
Philistines) and therefore they left their allocated portion to the warlike
Philistines and sought a more peaceable land to conquer further north.
Judges 18:1 – In those days [there was] no king in Israel:
and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell
in; for unto that day [all their] inheritance had not fallen unto them
among the tribes of Israel.
Laish was a more peaceable people, whom the
Danites slaughtered, burnt down their city, and rebuilt their own city. This
land is said to be most fertile, fed by melting snow from Mt Herman. It was
easier to take this people and their land than to face the Philistines. Thus it can be assumed that the tribe of Dan was not
interested in conquest if it might mean some hardship as well, so they went for
the softer target of Laish. They also didn’t wish to
be involved much with the other tribes, especially in worship, so they set up
their own independent god-worshipping belief system, complete with their own
Levite (Jonathan) whom they set up as their priest.
Dan was also known
as a sea-faring tribe, as noted in the song of Deborah in Judges 5:2-31: “why did Dan remain in ships?” (Judges 5:17) Some tradition has Dan associated with the
Phoenicians, who were a sea-faring Canaanite people of Sidon and Tyre and even Carthage, and may have been the people who settled that
great trading city of Venice, with the people being called the Venetians. However,
others conjecture that the Venetians are descended from the Khazars
(Cf Ashkenazi Jews), yet it is also possible that it
was the tribe of Dan that provided the Jewish learning for the Khazars to take upon themselves in order to keep out the
Moslems on the one side, and the Christians on the other.
These Venetians have in turn been associated with all the noble houses
of Europe (Cf the Black Nobility houses of Venice and
their connection to Merovingian bloodlines of the Franks) and also with all the
great Ashkenazi trading names of the last few centuries.
So is Dan absent from this list of tribes
through apostasy, or is there a more innocent reason behind all of this? It
does look like Dan is involved somewhere, for there is much smoke that suggests
at least some fire somewhere. Certainly the end times
are going to be (already are) characterised by involvement by various groups
such as the Illuminati, Ashkenazi, Black Nobility, Merovingian Bloodlines, etc,
and the name of Dan seems to come up in the folklore of many of these. Add the
catholic church to this mix plus groups such as freemasons, and you will see
that the end times are all being orchestrated by people behind the scenes,
people who wish to remain secret, but have their rule seen and acknowledged by
all.
Another question
that is raised by the sealing of the 144,000 is whether or not they had any
choice in the matter. Of course, calvinists would say that, along with all the
other unconditionally elect of God, these also were chosen from before the
foundation of the world. However, there’s nothing in the passage that actually
says anything on this, one way or the other. So, whether they were chosen, or
instead chose by their free will, must be determined from the rest of
scriptural consistency.
Joel says that in
the end times those whom God will call will be those who have called on the
name of the Lord. That is, God’s calling of His remnant will be a consequence
of His people calling on His name.
Joel 2:31-32 – 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon
into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come. 32 And
it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever shall call on the name of the
Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be
deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall
call.
If the 144,000 are
included in that group that God delivers (Joel 2:32), then it has to be assumed
that they have called upon the name of the Lord, and that God has sealed them
because they have already called upon His name. Therefore, the most likely
conclusion is that these 144,000 have been sealed by their own free will
decision to be available to serve God. Certainly the
calvinists might be able to claim that the passage in Revelation 7 doesn’t actually
say that, and that the passage in Joel may not refer to this event. However,
they cannot in any way disprove the free will of those chosen, and therefore
cannot prove that God has unconditionally chosen these people of God,
independently of their free wills (which the calvinists say cannot exist!).
Often calvinist scriptural
doctrines are pronounced with the assumption that possibly opposing
interpretations cannot exist due to their preconceived doctrines or beliefs.
For example, John 6:44 is claimed by the calvinists to be absolute proof of the
doctrine of unconditional election. And yet, in order to do so, they are forced
to assume as a doctrinal fact that man lacks any free will to resist such a
drawing by God. But such a belief in man’s lack of free will here cannot be
read into John 6:44 itself (though many calvinists in a rush of circular logic
try to do so), and therefore lack of free will must be established elsewhere.
However, not one of their claimed verses demonstrating lack of free will can be
used to demonstrate beyond doubt that man does not have free will to choose
salvation by calling upon the name of the Lord. And if there is any question
over such a doctrine, then it cannot be established as a scriptural doctrine;
it must remain as an opinion which cannot be enforced.
One of the
strongest evidences of the free will of mankind is that the atonement was for
the whole world. It’s why the calvinists desperately try to reword that verse
to mean not the whole world! If Jesus died for all, then God must have offered
that free gift of salvation to all, who then may choose to accept or to reject
it. Also, Romans 3:23-24 demonstrates that all who have sinned also were
justified by God.
Romans 3:23-24 – 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of
God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
This means that all
who sin are justified freely. If all have sinned, then all have been justified
freely. Let the calvinists try to explain that one! And no, it cannot mean
universalism, because, while all have been justified freely, only those who
appropriate that justification by faith by their free wills may benefit from
it.
Therefore, it may
be safely assumed that the 144,000 have been sealed conditional upon their
desire to serve the living God during this time.
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