Revelation 7:4 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

NIV: Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.

NASB: And I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

CSB: And I heard the number of the sealed: 144,000 sealed from every tribe of the Israelites:

NLT: And I heard how many were marked with the seal of God — 144,000 were sealed from all the tribes of Israel:

KJV: 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.

NKJV: And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:

This verse reports that John heard the number of those who were sealed. It was 144,000, and all 144,000 were from the tribes of Israel. They comprise a remnant of Jews who become believers in the tribulation and proclaim the gospel of the kingdom throughout the world. The gospel of the kingdom is the good news that Jesus' kingdom is imminent. The term gospel literally means "good news." In this specific context, the "good news of the kingdom" differs from the gospel of God's grace. They are intertwined, however, so all who believe the gospel of the kingdom and open their hearts to Jesus, the Messiah, will be saved by grace through faith.

John the Baptist preached the gospel of the kingdom, but proclaimed Jesus as the Lamb of God, who would take away their sins and qualify them for kingdom citizenship. John urged those who heard him preach to "repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 3:2). Jesus told Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, that entrance into the kingdom is limited to those who are born again (John 3:3, 5). He also said emphatically, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God" (Luke 4:43). Once again, in the tribulation, the good news of the kingdom of God will be preached.

Revelation 7:1–4 contains another highly symbolic vision from John's vision. Four angels stand at the extreme points of the earth. He sees another angel ascend from the rising sun and hears him command the four angels to withhold further judgments until he has sealed God's servants on their foreheads. The number of those sealed by this angel is 144,000. This event comes as an interlude between the opening of the sixth and seventh seal judgments. God is preparing to send His servants into the known world to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom.

Revelation 7 occurs after the opening of the sixth seal, and before the seventh. John sees four angels standing at the four corners of the earth and another angel ascending from the rising sun with the seal of God. He seals 144,000 saved Jews on their foreheads. These 144,000 sealed servants of God are instrumental in leading a great number of people from all parts of the world to faith in Jesus Christ. This multitude of believers have passed through the tribulation and will serve God perpetually in the millennial temple. Their troubles and tears will be behind them.

The last and largest section of Revelation began in chapter 4, where John is shown events yet to come (Revelation 1:19). Chapters 4 and 5 describe what John saw in heaven, including a scroll of God's judgments. Chapter 6 focused on the events that transpire when Jesus opens six of the seven seals on that scroll, one at a time. Now, in chapter 7, an interlude occurs between the opening of the sixth seal and the seventh seal. In the interlude an angel seals 144,000 saved Jews as God's servants. Chapter 8 will describe the seventh seal, and the beginning of the ''trumpet'' judgments.

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''