1
After this, I saw four
angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four
winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the earth, or on the sea, or on any tree.
+2
I saw another angel ascend from the sunrise, having the seal of the living God. He cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to harm the
earth and the sea,
+3
saying, "Don't harm the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, until we have sealed the bondservants of our God on their foreheads!" +
4
I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed out of every
tribe of the children of Israel:
+5
of the tribe of
Judah were sealed twelve thousand,of the tribe of
Reuben twelve thousand,of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand,
+6
of the tribe of
Asher twelve thousand,of the tribe of
Naphtali twelve thousand,of the tribe of
Manasseh twelve thousand,
7
of the tribe of
Simeon twelve thousand,of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand,of the tribe of
Issachar twelve thousand,
8
of the tribe of
Zebulun twelve thousand,of the tribe of
Joseph twelve thousand,of the tribe of
Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.
9
After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could count, out of every nation and of all tribes, peoples, and languages, standing before the
throne and before the Lamb, dressed in
white robes, with palm branches in their hands.
+10
They cried with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation be to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" +
11
All the angels were standing around the throne, the elders, and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before his throne, and worshiped God, +
12
saying, "Amen! Blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might, be to our God forever and ever! Amen." +
13
One of the elders answered, saying to me, "These who are arrayed in the white robes, who are they, and from where did they come?" +
14
I told him, "My lord, you know."He said to me, "These are those who came out of the great tribulation. They washed their robes, and made them white in the Lamb's blood. +
15
Therefore they are before the throne of God, they serve him day and night in his temple. He who sits on the throne will spread his
tabernacle over them.
+16
They will never be hungry, neither thirsty any more; neither will the sun beat on them, nor any heat; +
17
for the Lamb who is in the middle of the throne shepherds them, and leads them to springs of life-giving waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." +
Re 7:1-17. SEALING OF THE ELECT OF ISRAEL. THE COUNTLESS MULTITUDE OF THE GENTILE ELECT.
1. And--so B and Syriac. But A, C, Vulgate, and Coptic omit "and."
after these things--A, B, C, and Coptic read, "after this." The two visions in this chapter come in as an episode after the sixth seal, and before the seventh seal. It is clear that, though "Israel" may elsewhere designate the spiritual Israel, "the elect (Church) on earth" [ALFORD], here, where the names of the tribes one by one are specified, these names cannot have any but the literal meaning. The second advent will be the time of the restoration of the kingdom to Israel, when the times of the Gentiles shall have been fulfilled, and the Jews shall at last say, "Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord." The period of the Lord's absence has been a blank in the history of the Jews as a nation. As then Revelation is the Book of the Second Advent [DE BURGH], naturally mention of God's restored favor to Israel occurs among the events that usher in Christ's advent.
earth . . . sea . . . tree--The judgments to descend on these are in answer to the martyrs' prayer under the fifth seal. Compare the same judgments under the fifth trumpet, the sealed being exempt (Re 9:4).
on any tree--Greek, "against any tree" (Greek, "epi ti dendron": but "on the earth," Greek, "epi tees gees").