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, saying, “Don’t harm the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, until we have sealed the bondservants of our God on their foreheads!”
I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel:
of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed, of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand,
of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand, of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand, of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand,
of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand, of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand, of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand,
of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand, of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand, and of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv2, 4, 7, 8 Not only another, or differing in number from the…
Not only another, or differing in number from the common Angels of God, but also in essence, office, and operation excelling all Angels: that is, Christ Jesus the eternal Angel or word of God, and mediator of the covenant. So hereafter Rev. 8:3 and 10:1, 5.
Now God provideth against the danger of his elect by commandment, verses 2 and 3, and by sign or figure, both for those of the nation of the Jews, thence unto verse 8, and also of the Gentiles, verse 9.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv2–8 2 And I saw another angel ascending from the…
2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, 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,
Ver. 2. Another angel] Whether Christ, or Constantine acted by Christ, it much matters not.
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Having the seal] Whereof Christ is the great Lord keeper.
With a loud voice] Out of his great care of his elect. As Croesus’ dumb son burst out into loud speech to save his father, ανθρωπε, μη κτεινε τον Κροισον. (Herod.)
To the four angels] Who are at Christ’s beck and check.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv2–4 By this other angel, some understand an angel by…
By this other angel, some understand an angel by nature; some, a man, Elijah, or Constantine; others, Christ himself, called an Angel, Exo 23:20. It is not much material whether we by this angel understand Christ, or some angel which he made his instrument. He gives a command to those four angels, whom God had made the ministers or executioners of his wrath and justice in the world.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On vv2, 4 Observe here, 1. The special and distinguishing care which…
Observe here, 1. The special and distinguishing care which God took of his church and faithful people before he suffered the approaching storm to come upon the world: he did by another angel cry to the four angels that were ready, as God’s executioners, to hurt the earth, that they should hurt nothing until the servants of God were sealed in their foreheads; and his crying with a loud voice intimates his great care to preserve his faithful ones.
Quest. What was this sealing?
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Ans. Some understand it of an external visible sealing, by setting a mark upon their foreheads for preservation, according to Eze 9:4 the letter Tau; doubtless there was some notification made by Almighty God to the destroying angels, of every one whom he would have preserved.
Others do understand this seal to be internal, by sanctification; and from whence we may gather, that inward holiness is the best guard against temporal or spiritual judgments.
But take this sealing in either sense, either for an outward or inward sealing, the notion doth imply,
1. That the persons sealed are of precious and excellent esteem with God.
2. It imports preservation and security from danger: God sealeth his people, that the destruction coming upon others may escape them: thus here God’s servants were sealed, that they might be preserved: that they are kept either from sin and error, or from judgment and danger,is not from themselves, but from God’s care and love towards them in the sealing of them, the angel said, Hurt not the earth,&c.till we have sealed the servants of our God, &c.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv2–8 And I saw another angel,.... Not Constantine, who came…
And I saw another angel,.... Not Constantine, who came from the eastern parts to the empire, with the true knowledge of God, and the authority of God to propagate it; and who repressed the four angels, or evil spirits, contention, ambition, heresy, and war, from doing the mischief they otherwise would; and sealed the saints, by giving them a platform of doctrine at the council of Nice, as Brightman and others think. But the uncreated angel, the angel of the covenant, the Lord Jesus Christ; for who but he should have the privy seal of heaven, who is the angel of the great council, as the Septuagint render Isa 9:6 and who could speak in such an authoritative manner to the four angels, "saying, hurt not the earth", &c. but he who is the head of all principality and power? and who should seal the servants of the Lord, but he who has them in his hands, and keeps them by his power, so that none of them shall perish? And to him agrees all that follows:
ascending from the east; from Judea, from Zion, from whence Christ, as the salvation, or Saviour of Israel, came, Psa 14:7; and whose name is the east, as some render Zac 3:8; he is the dayspring from on high, the sun of righteousness, who rose from the east, the place of the rising sun, and brought light, life, and joy to his people, when he came to seal them. Compare with this Eze 43:1.
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Having the seal of the living God; having the impress of deity upon him, being the brightness of his Father's glory, and the express image or character of his person; having a testimony, an authentic proof and demonstration of his being the Son of God, of his being the true and living God; as also a commission from God, as Mediator, being sealed by him; and having all power and authority from him, to seal and secure the people which were given unto him, and for which purpose he now came: to which may be added, that Christ has the Spirit, with his gifts and graces, without measure, by which the saints are sealed unto the day of redemption; and moreover has likewise the seal of the book of life, or of eternal election, in his hands; the elect are chosen in him, and the book of life, in which their names are written to eternal life, is in his keeping, and is therefore called the Lamb's book of life. The Jews speak (a) of the east gate of one of the palaces they suppose above, which they say is shut all the six days, and on the sabbath day is opened, and the governor of this palace has two ministers, one on his right hand, and one on his left, and two seals in their hands, , "the seal of life", and the seal of death, and all the books of the world, before them; an, some are sealed to life, and some to death, with which this passage may be compared. They speak also of an angel that presides at the eastern part of the heavens, who receives the prayers of the Israelites, whose name they call "Gazardia" (b), as this same angel is said to offer up the prayers of the saints, Rev 8:3.
And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels; to show his power and authority over them, they being his creatures and ministers; and to express his great concern for his people, his care of them, and affection for them; and to signify the danger they were in through the calamities that were coming on, should they not be sealed:
to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea: they had a commission from God to let loose the winds, or to bring on wars, devastations, calamities, and plagues, of various sorts, upon the Roman empire, now Christian; and on the seat of the beast, not only on the continent, but upon the islands also, even upon all the nations, tongues, and people subject to the see of Rome.
(a) Zohar in Exod. fol. 100. 1. (b) Zohar in Exod. fol. 79. 2.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 And I saw another (a good) angel ascending from…
And I saw another (a good) angel ascending from the east - The plagues begin in the east; so does the sealing. Having the seal of the only living and true God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels - Who were hasting to execute their charge. To whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea - First, and afterwards "the trees."
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv2–8 Verse 2. The seal of the living God] This…
Verse 2. The seal of the living God] This angel is represented as the chancellor of the supreme King, and as ascending from the east, απο ανατολης ηλιου, from the rising of the sun. Some understand this of Christ, who is called ανατολη, the east, Lu 1:78.
Four angels, to whom it was given to hurt] Particular agents employed by Divine providence in the management of the affairs of the earth; but whether spiritual or material we know not.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv2, 4 Rev 7:2-3. And I saw another angel ascending from…
Rev 7:2-3. And I saw another angel ascending from the east — To intimate the progress which the gospel should make from the east to the west; having in his hand the seal of the living God — In order to impress a mark upon those who should believe and obey the gospel, and dedicate themselves to his service. And he cried with a loud voice — Thus showing the great importance of what he uttered; to the four angels to whom it was given — At present to restrain the winds, but afterward to loose them with great violence, and by them to hurt the earth and the sea — To injure them in a terrible manner; saying, Hurt not the earth, &c. — Execute not your commission with respect to punishing the inhabitants of the earth; till we have sealed the servants of God — Marked them out as such, and secured them from the impending calamities in a manner by which they shall be as clearly distinguished from the rest of mankind as if they were visibly marked on their foreheads. Bishop Newton thinks that this expression, sealing on the forehead, is used in allusion to the ancient custom of marking servants on their foreheads, to distinguish what they were, and to whom they belonged: and that as, among Christians, baptism was considered as the seal of the covenant between God and believers, so the sealing here spoken of signifies the admitting them into the visible church of Christ by baptism; and that their being said to be sealed on their foreheads can imply no less than that those who before, in times of persecution, had been compelled to worship God in private, should now make a free, open, and public profession of their religion, without any fear or danger of thereby exposing themselves to persecution. To this, however, must be added, that this sealing doubtless implies that very many should not only be baptized, and make a profession of Christianity, but should also be really converted to God, made new creatures in Christ; and, having believed in him, should, as the apostle observes, (Eph 1:13,) be sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise; that is, both stamped with God’s image, and assured of their sonship by the Spirit of adoption and regeneration; and should possess that Spirit, in his witness and fruits, till they should receive the redemption of the purchased possession.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv2–5 And I saw another angel - Evidently having no…
And I saw another angel - Evidently having no connection with the four, and employed for another purpose. This angel, also, must have been symbolic; and all that is implied is, that something would be done as if an angel had done it.
Ascending from the east - He appeared in the east, and seemed to rise like the sun. It is not easy to determine what is the special significancy, if any, of the east here, or why this quarter of the heavens is designated rather than the north, the south, or the west. It may be that as light begins in the east, this would be properly symbolic of something that could be compared with the light of the morning; or that some influence in “sealing” the servants of God would in fact go out from the east; or perhaps no special significance is to be attached to the quarter from which the angel is seen to come. It is not necessary to suppose that every minute thing in a symbol is to receive a complete fulfillment, or that there will be some particular thing to correspond with it. Perhaps all that is meant here is, that as the sun comes forth with splendor from the east, so the angel came with magnificence to perform a task - that of sealing the servants of God - cheerful and joyous like what the sun performs. It is certain that from no other quarter of the heavens would it be so appropriate to represent an angel as coming forth to perform a purpose of light, and mercy, and salvation. It does not seem to me, therefore, that we are to look, in the fulfillment of this, for any special influence setting in from the east as what is symbolized here.
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Having the seal of the living God - Bearing it in his hands. In regard to this seal the following remarks may be made:
(a) The phrase “seal of the living God” doubtless means what God had appointed, or which he would use; that is, if God himself came forth in this manner, he would use this seal for these purposes. People often have a seal of their own, with some name, symbol, or device, which designates it as theirs, and which no other one has a right to use. A seal is sometimes used by the person himself; sometimes entrusted to a high officer of state; sometimes to the secretary of a corporation; and sometimes, as a mark of special favor, to a friend. In this case it was entrusted to an angel, who was authorized to use it, and whose use of it would be sanctioned, of course, wherever he applied it, by the living God, as if he had employed it himself.
(b) As to the form of the seal, we have no information. It would be most natural to suppose that the name “of the living God” would be engraven on it, so that that name would appear on anyone to whom it might be affixed. Compare the notes on 2Ti 2:19. It was customary in the East to brand the name of the master on the forehead of a slave (Grotius, in loco); and such an idea would meet all that is implied in the language here, though there is no certain evidence that there is an allusion to that custom. In subsequent times, in the church, it was common for Christians to impress the sign of the cross on their foreheads (Tertullian de Corolla; Cyrill. lib. vi. See Grotius). As nothing is said here, however, about any mark or device on the seal, conjecture is useless as to what it was.
(c) As to what was to be designated by the seal, the main idea is clear, that it was to place some such mark upon his friends that they would be known to be his, and that they would be safe in the impending calamities, There is perhaps allusion here to Eze 9:4-6, where the following direction to the prophet occurs: “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the people that sigh, and that cry, for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. 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: slay utterly old and young, both maids and little children, and women; but come not near any man upon whom is the mark.” The essential ideas in the sealing, in the passage before us, would therefore seem to be:
(1)That there would be some mark, sign, or token, by which they who were the people of God would be known; that is, there would be something which would answer, in this respect, the same purpose as if a seal had been impressed upon their foreheads. Whether this was an outward badge, or a religious rite, or the doctrines which they would hold and by which they would be known, or something in their spirit and manner which would characterize his true disciples, may be a fair subject of inquiry. It is not specifically designated by the use of the word.
(2)It would be something that would be conspicuous or prominent, as if it were impressed on the forehead. It would not be merely some internal sealing, or some designation by which they would be known to themselves and to God, but it would be something apparent, as if engraved on the forehead. What this would be, whether a profession, or a form of religion, or the holding of some doctrine, or the manifestation of a particular spirit, is not here designated.
(3)This would be something appointed by God himself. It would not be of human origin, but would be as if an angel sent from heaven should impress it on the forehead. If it refers to the doctrines which they would hold, they could not be doctrines of human origin; if to the spirit which they would manifest, it would be a spirit of heavenly origin; if to some outward protection, it would be manifest that it was from God.
(4)This would be a pledge of safety. The design of sealing the persons referred to seems to have been to secure their safety in the impending calamities. Thus, the winds were held back until those who were to be sealed could be designated, and then they were to be allowed to sweep over the earth. These things, therefore, we are to look for in the fulfillment of the symbol.
And he cried with a loud voice - As if he had authority to command, and as if the four winds were about to be let forth upon the world.
To whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea - Who had power committed to them to do this by means of the four winds.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv2–4 Having the seal. This sign is generally supposed to…
Having the seal. This sign is generally supposed to be the sign of the cross. In the East, it was the custom to impress some indelible mark upon the soldiers. This sign [the sign of the cross] amongst the ancient Christians was used on every occasion. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv2–5 from the east--Greek, "the rising of the sun." The…
from the east--Greek, "the rising of the sun." The quarter from which God's glory oftenest manifests itself.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv2, 4, 5 2. Another angel—Not, as Hengstenberg, the Lord Jesus Christ…
2. Another angel—Not, as Hengstenberg, the Lord Jesus Christ in person, but the impersonation of his redeeming and authenticating power.
Ascending from the east—Literal Greek, from the rising of the sun. This quarter is designated as the source of redeeming light and glory. Notes on chap. 16 and Luk_1:78. So Mal_4:2 : “To you that fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall arise with healing [salvation] in his wings.”
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Ascending—As if coming from a fountain of divine splendour at or beneath the horizon.
Seal—The purpose of a seal is first to secure a thing, as the closure of the door of Christ’s sepulchre; and second, to authenticate a thing as truly belonging to the sealer. So, a seal is affixed to a signature to indicate that it is the signer’s own signature, deliberately made. The justified soul is sealed at his justification; his name being written then in the book of life, and the adoption into the sonship of God being bestowed. This seal may be forfeited by apostasy, as said in Eph_4:30, where see note.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv2–5 2. ascending] Probably the Heaven from which St John…
2. ascending] Probably the Heaven from which St John looks down on the earth formed a vault over it, or at least rested on walls surrounding the earth; cf. Enoch xviii. 8, “I saw, from the end of the earth, the firmament of the heaven which rests upon it.” This Angel, then, mounted up the eastern side of this vault or circling wall (probably flying up, just outside it), till he was high enough to see, and to be heard by all the four Angels, even the one on the extreme western side of the earth.
having the seal] Perhaps this marks this Angel as one specially favoured and trusted: see Gen_41:42; Est_3:10; Est_8:2. But there seems no good reason for the notion, popular in modern times, that this angel, or any other, is to be taken as representative of Christ. He appears, when He does appear, either in His own person, or under a symbol that is obviously symbolic: it would be out of harmony with the scope of this Book, and indeed with New Testament theology generally, to obscure the distinction between Him and created Angels. The words “our God” in the next v. marks this Angel as a fellow-servant both of the other four, and of the elect on earth. It is far better to illustrate this vision by Mat_24:31, as we have seen the earlier images of that chapter reproduced under the former seals. This Angel’s office, however, is the marking, not the gathering of the elect: he represents and effectuates God’s love in its individual, not in its comprehensive aspect.
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to hurt the earth, &c.] viz., by letting the winds forth, to blow and produce storms.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv2, 4 (2) And I saw another angel . . .—Translate,…
(2) And I saw another angel . . .—Translate, And I saw another angel going up from the rising of the sun, having a seal of the living God, and he was crying with a great voice to the four angels to whom it was given to injure the earth and the sea, saying, Injure ye not the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads. The angels appear as carrying out the purposes of God. This angel rises into view from the door of the dawn. In the midst of the dark symptoms of coming storm and judgment there springs up a light for the righteous and joyful gladness for such as are true-hearted: they need not be afraid of evil tidings whose hearts stand fast believing in the Lord. This angel carries a seal of the living God. The seal is the emblem of security. The seal was placed on our Lord’s sepulchre to keep the tomb safe from invasion; the king’s seal was, in the same way, placed on the stone which was laid at the mouth of the den in which Daniel was imprisoned: “the king sealed it with his own signet” (Dan_6:17). The intrusting of the seal into the hands of others was the token that royal authority had been for the time delegated to man. So Jezebel “wrote letters in Ahab’s name, and sealed them with his seal” (1Ki_21:8). Esther obtained the use of the king’s seal to protect her countrymen from the mischief devised by Haman: “for the writing which is written in the king’s name, and sealed with the king’s ring, may no man reverse” (Est_8:8). There is also a seal of the living God. St. Paul tells us that this seal bears two legends. “The foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, ‘The Lord knoweth them that are his,’ and, ‘ Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity’” (2Ti_2:19). On the one side, it is dependence on and communion with God; on the other side, it is holiness of life. The sealed are found in Christ, not having their own righteousness, but the righteousness which is of God by faith (Php_3:9). For this is the righteousness which will endure to the end, and which is found in them who are “sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance” (Eph_1:13-14). God’s image and superscription is impressed on such; just as afterwards we are told of all the servants of God, “His name shall be in their foreheads” (Rev_22:4). This token is a true safe-guard and talisman; as the sprinkled blood on the lintel protected the house from the destroying angel at the first Passover. It is a token also of those who have not conformed to the evil world; they are like those whom Ezekiel saw in Jerusalem, when the Lord sent the man with the inkhorn “to set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done” (Eze_9:4). There has been much misapprehension respecting this act of sealing. It has been said that it implies security, and assures God’s servants of protection in the coming judgments: this is, in a sense, true; but the sealing, as will have been seen by the passages quoted above, is that sealing of the Spirit, that root of heavenly life in the soul, which is the pledge of the soul’s union with God; and the terms of the charter of their protection are, Who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? In the Bible idea, sin, or moral defilement, is the only real evil: all other things work together for good. The breastplate which turns aside the fiery darts is the breastplate of righteousness: those who, escaping the corruptions which are in the world through lust, become partakers of the divine nature are in consequence victorious over all the evil. They are not exempt from the vicissitudes and tribulation of life: the winds are let loose to blow, but they are sealed, and they cannot be shaken; for what and who can separate them from the love of Christ? They are sealed by the Holy Spirit; they have an earnest of that Spirit in their hearts (Eph_4:30, and 2Co_1:22), and the pledge of His power in their lives. St. John gives the same two-fold test as St. Paul (2Ti_2:9): (1) “Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit” (1Jn_4:13); and (2) “Hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments” (1Jn_2:3). The sealing is on the forehead: it is God’s mark, but it is where all may see it. “By their fruits ye shall know them.” The cry of the angel is, Injure not the sea nor the trees. Doubtless the sea and trees are mentioned as these are the objects which would be most disturbed and injured by a storm of wind. Trees are used as emblems of real and of pretended religionism. The true-hearted in faith are described as trees planted by the waterside, whose fruit does not wither; and it is singular that St. Jude, who pictures the Antinomian teachers of his day under the image of autumn trees (not trees whose fruit withereth, as in English version) without fruit, immediately adds an expression which almost suggests the sudden uprising of a testing storm: the fruitless trees are “plucked up by the roots” (Jud_1:12).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv2–8 And I saw another angel ascending from the east;…
And I saw another angel ascending from the east; from the rising of the sun. Again no individual angel is particularized, though an archangel may be intended, as he has authority over the first four. He proceeds from that quarter whence comes light; and, like the Sun of Righteousness, he rises with healing in his wings; for his mission is to render secure the servants of God. Wordsworth thinks Christ, or a messenger from Christ, is meant a view shared by Hengstenberg; Vitringa says the Holy Ghost; Victorinus, the Prophet Elijah. That this angel was of like nature with the first four appears probable from the words in ver. 3, "till we have sealed the servants of our God." Having the seal of the living God. The sealing instrument with which they seal God"s servants. Of its nature we are told nothing beyond what is contained in ver. 3. He is specially referred to as "the living God," since, by this sealing, life is imparted. We have here the shorter expression, "the living God," not, as in all ether places of the Apocalypse, "him that liveth forever and ever". (Rev_4:9 Rev_5:14 Rev_10:6 Rev_15:7) And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels (cf. Rev_1:10 Rev_5:2 Rev_6:10) to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea; that is, by letting loose the winds, as shown by vers. 1 and 3. Bengel and Rinck, looking only at the immediate context, thought that the hurt was done by preventing the winds from blowing on the earth and cooling it in the scorching plagues which follow. (see Rev_8:7) The trees are not mentioned, being included in the earth; and this appears to indicate that the expression, "the earth, the sea, and the trees" (vers. 1 and 3), signifies the world in general, without being intended to represent individual parts, as the great men, etc.. (see on Rev_5:1)
HOMILIES BY S. CONWAY. Vers. 2, 3. The sealed of God.
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This chapter tells of a time of suspended judgment. All things were ready. The awful calamities told of when the sixth seal was broken are on the point of descending upon the earth. "But a whole chapter intervenes. Might it not be apprehended that amidst convulsions so terrific the Church itself might founder? Who shall secure Christ"s servants against being involved in that catastrophe? Such is the misgiving to which the particular revelation now before us would minister." A season of suspense is commanded; destruction is to be delayed until the servants of God be sealed. The command comes from that quarter whence Christ himself, the Day spring from on high, the Morning Star, came on his mission of mercy and of hope. The four winds are the symbols of God"s judgments. (cf. Jer_49:36, Jer_49:37) The angels who are about to let them loose are bidden pause. Like as, ere the last judgment came upon Egypt, there was time given to enable the people of God to sprinkle the lintel and door posts of their houses with the blood of the Paschal lamb, which was God"s seal of preservation for them. And like, too, to that remarkable parallel, from which, indeed, the imagery of our text is derived, which we find in Eze_9:2-6, Eze_9:11. As was the object of the sealing there, so it is here. Now, whether we take the primary reference of the impending judgments, which for a while were delayed in their execution, to be those, as we think, which were then about to fall upon Jerusalem and the apostate Church of Israel; or those which at the time of Constantine, through the threatened overwhelming of the empire, were imminent on her frontiers; or those which corruption, venality, and hypocrisy, engendered by Constantine"s having made Christianity the court religion, were about to bring upon the Church; or which is probably the most correct way to understand St. John we include all these, and all other similar ones, not omitting the last great judgment of all, which at any time may have hung or shall hang over nations, Churches, and communities however we interpret this revelation, it is as true as the judgments them selves that the merciful Lord does grant seasons of suspense, his judgments are delayed until his servants are marked, proclaimed as his own, and secured from real evil by his own sovereign and sacred seal. For historical illustrations of this sealing we may wisely turn to the pages of Josephus and of Gibbon, the historians of the Jewish war and of the fall of Rome. And so exact are oftentimes the correspondences between authentic history and these visions of St. John, that we can hardly be surprised that not a few have declared that what is called the historical interpretation of the hook is the only true, reasonable, and reliable one. It certainly is fascinating for its interest, but as for its reliableness, that may he admitted when its advocates can show anything like near agreement amongst themselves. It is better, therefore, to take the broader view, which admits all these correspondences, and the applicability thereto of these various visions, but which refuses to limit their meaning and application to anything less than all like correspondences which have occurred since St. John wrote, and which shall occur to the end of time. Now, to a thoughtful observer, it can hardly be a question but what our own days are days of suspended judgment, and days also in which the sealing of the servants of God is going on. For man"s sin, as ever, clamours for judgment from God, and righteousness wronged and slain upon the earth cries, like the blood of Abel, unto God that he should avenge it. And the judgment will one day come. The history of nations and Churches is scattered over with the records of such judgments, and will be so again, until men learn wisdom and turn unto the Lord. But our security, whenever they come, is in the seal of God, told of here. Let us think, then, of this seal, the sealed, and the sealing. And
I THE SEAL.
1. What is it? With the Scriptures in our hand, we can have no doubt that the Holy Spirit of God is meant. (cf. 2Co_1:21, 22 Eph_4:30) The work that he does in and upon his people is the sure sign and seal that they are his. "The Holy Spirit is God"s seal. Where he is there is safety. Where he is God sees his mark, his own possession, one who belongs to him, one over whom he watches, one whom he will keep in that "hour of temptation which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
2. And this seal is the holy character which the Spirit of God creates in and impresses upon a man. The Spirit does other and blessed work upon us besides this. It is by him we are led to put our trust in Christ; by him we are assured that we are Christ"s, and that he is ours, that we are pardoned, accepted, saved; by him also we are comforted and sustained under trial, and made possessors of the peace of God which passeth all understanding; and by him, hope, the blessed hope of eternal life, the onlook to things eternal, which is so full of joy, is created and preserved and strengthened more and more. But all this is within the man; the seal is that which is impressed on him, is that which we call the man"s character. And it is a holy character, such as the Holy Spirit would of necessity pro duce.
3. And it is the seal of the living God. It belongs to him, his sign and mark. There is none other like it, nor has been, nor can be. Holy character can come but from the grace of God alone, from the operation of the Holy Spirit given by God in response to earnest desire. We cannot produce it in ourselves by any mere act of will, by any moral discipline, by any rules or regulations we may devise or adopt. Except a man be born of the Spirit he cannot become a member of the kingdom of God. Holy character that which shone pre-eminently in the Lord Jesus Christ, who, as none other, was "holy, harmless, and undefiled," who "knew no sin is the result of the grace of God, is the impress of the seal of the living God, which is the Holy Spirit of God.
4. And it is a visible thing. The seal being "on their foreheads" is meant to teach this fact. And holy character is a visible thing. If invisible it assuredly does not exist. Men may prate forever about their experiences and their feelings, but if there be no manifest holy character, then the seal of the living God is not there. Have we this seal? Is it plain and conspicuous as would be the impress of a seat upon our forehead? It is fatal to be without it; for "if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." Therefore to quicken our own self inquiry in this matter, let us consider
II THE SEALED. And we observe concerning them:
1. They are not numerous. But twelve thousand out of each tribe a very few compared with those left unsealed. A mere handful, but a "remnant saved.
2. And they are out of, not coextensive with, the professing Church of God. Not all Israel are of Israel. (Rom_9:6) They all professed loudly to be of the seed of Abraham, but their entire history shows how little they, as a people, possessed the Spirit. To be a professed member of the Church may be quite another thing from being one of the sealed of God.
3. And they are from no one part of the Church. Twelve tribes are told of, not any one or two. "Nulla salus extra Ecclesiam," by which Rome means her Church and none other, for other she would affirm there is none. And the like sectarian exclusiveness is chargeable against not Rome alone. But wherever it is found, the fact told of here, that the sealed come from all sections of the Church, plainly condemns it. We ought to rejoice that in all Churches the sealed ones are to be found, and are limited to none. Indeed, those tribes which loomed largest in the eyes of men, such as Ephraim and Judah, furnished no more of these sealed ones than did those who were least, such as "little Benjamin," and other like smaller tribes. Many who were first should be last, and the last first. And it often is so still.
4. Portions of the Church may become so corrupt as to furnish none of the sealed. The tribe of Dan is left out. It first fell into idolatry, and was for centuries one of the headquarters of that calf worship whereby "Jeroboam made Israel to sin." This may account for its omission in this list of the tribes, and if so suggests the reason wherefore none of the chosen of God were found amongst its people. And there may be Churches and congregations now without one earnest godly person amongst them. Let us ask how is it with the Church or congregation to which we belong.
5. They do not suffer from not belonging to any specially privileged portion of the Church. If any tribe was specially privileged it was that of Levi. They were regarded as the Lord"s portion; the priesthood belonged to them. They were deemed too sacred to be classed with the other more secular tribes. But here they have no advantage; they are with the rest, and no more of God"s chosen come from them than from any other tribe. We might have thought it would have been otherwise; but it is not so, and it suggests the truth that the working of God"s Spirit in and upon men is independent of what we call privilege. It is good and blessed to have means of grace, aids to worship and faith; but, if the soul will yield itself up to God, he wilt not let it suffer loss for the lack of these things when, as is often the case, they may not be had.
6. The Lord knoweth them all. "The foundation of the Lord standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his." In keeping with this we find the number of the sealed that which denotes fixedness and completeness. They are all there, all delivered, not from earthly trials, but from Divine judgments; not one of them is lost. Blessed are they on whom this seal of the living God is found. For note
III THE SEALING. What was its purpose and intents? These were various according to those whom it was designed should he affected by it.
1. The sealed ones themselves.
(1) The sealing should assure them that God would ever keep a people for his Name in the midst of the earth. As they saw the seal of God upon here one and there another, and as they remembered how it had ever been so, they would be saved from the despair which fell upon Elijah, who thought he alone was left to stand up for God. But God showed him the seven thousand sealed ones, and so comforted him. And as we behold them now we are assured that such shall never be wanting.
(2) It would mutually encourage them. It would show them that they were not alone; the joy and strength which come from the communion of saints would be theirs.
(3) It would be full of help to themselves; for as a seal attests validity and genuineness in that to which it is attached, so this seal would prove that their title to be called children of God and heirs of eternal life was valid and true. And as a seal is a mark of ownership like our government broad arrow on all its property so this seal was God"s declaration they were his; and blessed is that soul that is assured of this. And as a seal secures and guards, as the tomb of our Lord was sealed, so this seal is the guarantee of deliverance and safety amid all possible ill. It was this seal which made Paul break forth into that paean of exultant praise with which the eighth chapter of his Epistle to the Romans concludes. And similar gladness shall it give to all upon whom this seal is found. But:
2. To the unsealed this sealing has intent and purpose. To lead them to confess the beauty of holiness. This has ever been the mighty converting force. The holy character wrought by the Spirit of God has made such impression upon the minds of ungodly men that they have been constrained to gaze at it, to admire, to confess its excellence and goodness, and to feel the wretched contrast of their own lives, and to long after the like seal of God for themselves. And so it has won many to inquire, to repent, to believe, and to be saved. "Let your light so shine," etc. (Mat_5:16)
3. To the ministers of his judgments. That they might spare the sealed ones. They do. The retreat of the Christians to Pella ere Jerusalem fell, the protection granted to the Church at Rome Augustine tells of it in the midst of the havoc that Alaric and his Huns wrought upon the rest of Rome, are illustrations. The passing over of the houses of Israel has been repeated again and again in like circumstances, and will be repeated whensoever such circumstances recur. As the badge of the white cross secures immunity in the midst of war to those who wear it, for it is known that they are ministers of mercy, go where they will, so the seal of the living God, the holy, beautiful, Christ-like lives of his people, have often made men love and honour them, prize and preserve them amid horrors of battle, or of famine, or of pestilence, or aught beside. And at the last great judgment day, when the angels of wrath see the seal of the living God, they will pass over those on whom it is found. What urgency, then, does all this lead to St. Paul"s well-known words, "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption! S.C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v4 The number of them which were sealed.
Rev_7:4-8
The number of them which were sealed.
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The sealing
I. Who, then, are these 144,000 sealed ones?
II. The nature of the sealing of which these 144,000 are the subjects.
1. It is manifest that the transaction takes place on earth, and in the case of people contemporaneously living in the flesh.
2. This sealing involved the impartation of a conspicuous and observable mark.
3. It is something Divine. The seal with which the sealing is done is a seal of the living God. It so pledges Him, and to Him, that it must be regarded as His own act.
4. The office of this sealing is in the hands of an angel, who comes forth from the sun-rising. He is a high officer from God. He carries a seal of the miracle-working God, and he gives commands to the angels of judgment. Many take him to be the Lord Jesus Himself. There is much to sustain this view.
5. This sealing was, moreover, amoral, and not a mere arbitrary or external thing. Those who receive it are described as the servants of our God, as contradistinguished from other classes of men. And from what is said of them in the fourteenth chapter they are very eminently Gods servants. It is the common law of the Divine proceedings that His special honours are never otherwise conferred than in connection with special dutifulness and fidelity under very special trials and difficulties.
6. And from this we are enabled to get a still deeper glance into the nature of this peculiar sealing. The seal of God is the Spirit of God, particularly in His more unusual gifts.
7. Very various and diverse: hence would also be the outward manifestations of this mark. It would show itself in the doctrines professed by the sealed ones, in the power with which they announce and defend them, in a particularly holy, prayerful, and self-denying life, in a bravery and fearlessness before gainsayers which no earthly powers can daunt, and in a wisdom and heavenliness of demeanour.
III. The intent and effect of this marvellous sealing. It is agreed on all hands that it is a merciful and gracious act. Its first effect is to stay the blasts of judgment, and to produce a lull in the work of vengeance. So it is ever. Gods people are the salt of the earth. But for them, and Gods gracious purposes toward them, judgment and ruin would instantly break over the globe. Governments stand, society exists, the waters flow, the trees live, the sea retains its salubrity, the grasses grow upon the earth, and the death-blasts of the destroying angels are restrained, only because the Lord is engaged taking out from among the nations a people for His name, the number of which must first be made up. But this sealing was more particularly for the comfort, assurance, and security of the sealed ones themselves. As the gift of the Holy Ghost certified and assured the apostles of the Divinity of the cause they had espoused, of their acceptance as Gods acknowledged ambassadors; so this sealing with the seal of the living God certified and assured these 144,000 of the unmistakable character of their faith, of their election as a firstfruits of incoming new administrations, and guaranteed unto them not only security amid She blasts of heightening judgment upon earth, but also a peculiar and blessed portion with Jesus in His glory. (J. A. Seiss, D. D.)
All saints
I. The number of the blessed. The hundred and forty and four thousand am the twelve thousand from each of the twelve tribes; and these mystic figures, though they may mean much else, seem at least to represent a certain perfect number contemplated by God. Let it be a mystery, this apparent limitation of the number of the elect! let Gods foreknowledge and mans freewill defy our explanation, and be confused in our attempt to see the relation of number to Him who is infinite!--yet the believer feels a sensation of repose in the thought that the work answers to the design, and that the number of the redeemed is perfect according to the will of God. In all our anticipations of the result of labour for God, this faith must rule our hearts, viz., that the Divine love will not be disappointed. Care must be had for the few, that they may lack nothing which the Church can give.
II. There is a great multitude. There are few minds that are not swayed by a comparison of numbers. The multitude who agree to forget God charm us with the thought of impunity, if we be no worse than they; the difficulty of holy living is increased by its singularity. Is not one blessing, which we derive from a contemplation of the angels, the thought of support which the obedience of their innumerable company lends to cheer the hearts of those who on earth are fighting against numbers?
III. Their happiness.
IV. There is a reason why even Christians hesitate to call a man happy till he is dead, not because he may fall into misfortune, but into sin. As long as life lasts, so long lasts temptation. Exhaustion of body, or extremity of pain, or influence of opiates, or dreadful memory of early sins, exercises at times a desperate tyranny over the quiet of the closing day. Therefore with such dangers even to the last, well may we hold our breath and cal no man happy till he be dead.
V. There is in the religious life scarcely a sorer trial than doubt. And not only in matters of speculation and doubt, but in every common incident of daily life, let us force ourselves to imagine what our departed friends now feel, not what they once felt.
VI. A contemplation of the dead will relieve us of the painful thought that death cuts short the work of life. The life beyond the grave has been beautifully compared to the heavens at night. Think how, at the creation of day and night, Adam must have marvelled to see the sun withdraw; how dread and awful must have been the first darkness veiling from his eyes a world of perfect beauty; what a blank it must have appeared in his sight! But greater far was his amazement when stars broke out, and one by one lit up the hollow vaults of heaven, and the whole spaces of the air were jewelled with bright orbs, and countless worlds like unto his own were presented to his eyes! If the sun by day can so blind us, and the darkness of nightfall can reveal so many worlds, why may not death not only compensate a man for the loss of life, but open to his clearer vision regions of untraversed light which it had not entered into his heart to conceive?
VII. Remember above all things that the happiness of those we speak of depends not on themselves. God Himself is their light and life and their exceeding great reward; their eyes rest on Him; salvation is His free gift. (Canon Furse.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv2–4 2. I saw another angel. The picture is that…
2. I saw another angel. The picture is that of an angel having the seal of the living God. The object of this seal is indicated in verse 3. The seal was a mark of ownership. The seal of God on the forehead would mark those sealed at God's. The seal mark on the forehead would be visible to everyone; hence the seal in the forehead has been understood to be the public confession and profession of Christ. This angel would thus symbolize a great and successful movement to evangelize the race.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain On v4 Here we see twelve thousand of every tribe are…
THE JEWS — 4-8
Here we see twelve thousand of every tribe are sealed. These constitute the hundred and forty-four thousand repeatedly alluded to in these prophecies. They constitute the nucleus of the heavenly bridehood. The Jews are God’s earthly people, while the Christians are His heavenly people. Were not ten tribes lost after the deportation by Shalmanezer, as none but Judah and Benjamin returned in the Exodus of Nehemiah? There is a general misapprehension and delusion on that subject. As the ten tribes were carried into captivity a hundred and thirty-four years before Judah and Benjamin, they had been in the Chaldean Empire two hundred years at the time of the Exodus. As only fifty thousand returned to Jerusalem under Nehemiah, of course they were but a fraction of Judah and Benjamin; yet doubtless many of the ten tribes returned with them to Palestine. So the ten tribes were not lost, but they simply lost their tribehood, as they did not return in their organized tribes, but as individuals. Hence, all of this hue and cry about the lost tribes, ransacking all the world to find them, and writing vast volumes, is a piece of twaddle and nonsense. Thousands of people are now studying great books which claim to identify the lost tribes with the Anglo-Saxon race, denominating Great Britain Ephraim, and the United States Manasseh. It is all a stratagem and a hoax to flatter the English and Americans. It is an awful pity, as those nations have a great superfluity of egotism and pomposity, without these auxiliaries. Noah had three sons. Ham, in Hebrew, means black; Shem, red; and Japheth, white. The most ancient history says Noah divided his claim in the post-diluvian world among his sons, giving to Ham Africa, to Shem Asia, and Japheth Europe. The Greeks, in history, give Javan — i.e., Japheth — as their ancestor. Greece became the nucleus of European nations. Hence you see the Anglo-Saxons and all Europeans are Japhethites; whereas, the Jews are the descendants of Shem. Abraham is contemporary with Shem; therefore, the hypothesis which identifies the Israelites with the Anglo-Saxons is radically false.
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Good Lord, deliver us from all subterranean devices, by which we would steal away the prophecies which legitimately belong to the Jews, and appropriate their promises to the Gentiles We have enough of our own. Great Mt. Olivet is literally covered from base to summit with Jewish tombs, though they have been driven from their country twelve hundred years. These bygone generations, sleeping in their graves, are the silent custodians of the Holy Land. When I walked up and down the rocky paths trodden by the Prince of Life, hither and thither over that mountain [from which we enjoy so conspicuous a view of the Holy City, I loved to stand on the spot whence He ascended up to heaven. In my visions of prophetic fulfillment, I saw Him descending in the clouds, and the sainted Jews all over Mt. Olivet and throughout Palestine leaping from their tombs with triumphant shouts to meet Him in the air. These constitute the nucleus of the glorified bridehood. Ten years ago there were only ten thousand Jews in Palestine; now there are one hundred thousand, and they are rapidly coming from all nations, through the influence of eleven distinct colonization societies, especially that of Baron Rothschild, who holds a mortgage on all Palestine, which the bankrupt Turkish Government will never be able to redeem. God expedite the day when he will close the mortgage, take possession of the country, proclaim himself king of the Jews, and call home the children of Abraham wandering in every land.
Since the conversion of Joseph Rabinowitz, a learned Jewish lawyer of Russia, and his organization of a Christian Church among the Jews, denominated “Israelites of the New Covenant,” they are rapidly being converted to Christianity. However, Ezekiel 37 teaches plainly, in the valley of dry bones, that they are to be gathered into Canaan in their unregenerated state. So we need not expect a general turning to God on the part of Abraham’s children till after they are gathered into Palestine. The Mohammedans conquered Palestine and captured Jerusalem A.D. 637, driving the Christians out. Daniel says they will hold it twelve hundred and sixty years. 1896 minus 637 leaves 1259. Hence you see, according to the prophecies, the Mohammedan power in Palestine will fall in 1897. A thousand auspicious omens this day prognosticate the speedy fall of Turkdom in the Holy Land. When I was there last summer, all nationalities were on the constant lookout for the fall of the Turkish power. Moslem prophecies constantly proclaimed the near approach of that notable event. Since the world has three distinct systems of chronology, it is fanatical sticklerism to be contentious about the exactitude of these dates. Still, however, they serve all practical purposes, and reveal proximately the eventful epochs of prophetical fulfillment. When the Mohammedan power falls in Palestine, there is no alternative but for the Holy Land to pass into Christendom. Who shall get it? The French are there in great power, rapidly building magnificent edifices, and exceedingly anxious for that country. The Russians are there in still greater power, pouring out millions of money to build religious and philanthropic institutions throughout the Holy Land. They are determined to have it. Peter the Great prophesied that they were to possess Jerusalem and the Holy Land. The English are there in rapidly increasing power, especially since they took Egypt from the Turkish Pasha. As England is Protestant, France Catholic, and Russia Greek, I am exceedingly hopeful the Holy Land will pass into the British Empire. This becomes more than probable since Baron Rothschild, a son of Abraham, an officer in the British Government, the richest man in the world, holds a mortgage on all that country. What has he to do but to close his mortgage and take possession of the Holy Land in the name of the British Government? I am expecting every day to hear that the Turks are driven out of Palestine. Though the ruling class, they are only one sixteenth of the present population. The moment Turkdom falls, Jerusalem and the Holy Land pass into Christendom. Then that country will be turned over to the Jews, its rightful owners, all other claimants being usurpers and robbers. This notable event will be a sunburst on the Christian world. Especially after the Jews return will evangelistic agencies be utilized to their utmost vigor for their conversion to Christ. That country is still, though terribly abused, pauperized and beggarized by Mohammedan misrule, intrinsically the garden-spot of the globe. It consists of inexhaustible beds of calcium and aluminum, the great fertilizers of the earth. It is paradoxically destitute of the sterilizing elements. Hence, it is a land of incalculable and inexhaustible fertility; besides, it is everywhere prolific of the most valuable, delicious tropical fruits. Under Jewish industry and enterprise, it will again speedily flow with milk and honey, and abound in corn and wine.
The Jewish people are a constant miracle in the eyes of all nations. While all their ancient contemporaries have long ago sunk into oblivion, and even their memories perished, the Jews, exiled to the ends of the earth, persecuted and slaughtered indiscriminately by all the prominent nations of the globe, driven from their own country, have found not an inch of territory on which to rest their weary feet. Yet they have outstripped all nations in the accumulation of wealth, and this day stand at the head of the financial world. When I traveled in Europe, Asia, and Africa, I received my money from Jewish bankers. They also stand at the front of the learned world, excelling in the time-honored universities of the globe. In many nations they excel in law and journalism. In every land the hand of God is on them, preparing them for the metropolitanship of the world. In the good time coming, when the nations shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning-hooks, and learn war no more, how convenient it will be to carry all international controversies to Jerusalem and refer them to committees of sanctified Jews, who are perfectly posted in the languages, laws, and finances of the different nations! They will constitute the international court to which all important matters will be referred by the nations of the earth.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v2 (See Scofield "Heb 1:4")
angel
(See Scofield "Heb 1:4")
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v4 The total number of the sealed:
The total number of the sealed:
v. 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.
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v. 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.
v. 6. Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nephthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand.
v. 7. Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Lev. were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand.
v. 8. Of the tribe of Zebulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.
Note that the tribe of Judah is mentioned first, since the fourth son of Jacob became the bearer of the Messianic promise and the forefather of the Messiah. After an interval, during which the sealing is supposed to have taken place, the total number of those that were sealed with the protective mark of God is announced. John did not do the counting himself, but only heard the number, for only the Lord knows them that are His. It is evidently a collective, stereotyped number, intended to include all those that belong to the true Israel, to the congregation of the believers, of all tongues and nations. The enumeration of the tribes is also made simply to get the number twelve, in accordance with the ancient way of figuring. It is for this reason that Joseph is substituted for Ephraim, and that Dan is omitted; Lev. is mentioned with the rest, because in the Church of Christ there is no distinctive priesthood, but all belong to the royal priesthood. The seal of the Lord was placed upon the definite number of those whom He had chosen unto eternal life.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv4, 7 those who were sealed
those who were sealed
This can be stated with an active verb. AT: "those whom God's angel marked" (See: Active or Passive)
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144,000
"one hundred forty-four thousand people" (See: Numbers and Ellipsis)
twelve thousand from the tribe
"12,000 people from the tribe" (See: Numbers)
translationWords
tribe
Israel
Judah
Reuben
Gad
Asher
Naphtali
Manasseh
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v4 7:4-8 Who are the 144,000? This listing of the…
7:4-8 Who are the 144,000? This listing of the tribes of Israel does not exactly correlate with the twelve physical tribes. Instead, it communicates that God knows precisely which people on earth belong to him. By the AD 90s, Israel’s twelve tribes no longer existed; ten tribes were dispersed when Assyria conquered the northern kingdom of Israel (2 Kgs 17:1-41). The early Christian church regarded itself symbolically as the Israel of God (Matt 19:28; Rom 2:28-29; 9:6-8; Gal 3:29; 6:16; Phil 3:3). The 144,000 probably represent all faithful Christians (cp. Rev 14:1-5; 21:12-17). The list begins appropriately with Judah (the royal tribe of Jesus) but substitutes Manasseh (one of the two tribes of Joseph) for Dan. The tribe of Dan fell into idolatry (Judg 18:14-31; 1 Kgs 12:25-30), and early Christians regarded it as the epitome of evil.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.