Revelation 7:5 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed, 12,000 from the tribe of Reuben, 12,000 from the tribe of Gad,

NIV: From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben 12,000, from the tribe of Gad 12,000,

NASB: from the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, from the tribe of Gad twelve thousand,

CSB: 12,000 sealed from the tribe of Judah, 12,000 from the tribe of Reuben, 12,000 from the tribe of Gad,

NLT: from Judah — 12,000 from Reuben — 12,000 from Gad — 12,000

KJV: 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.

NKJV: of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand were sealed;

From the tribe of Judah, 12,000 are sealed. Judah is mentioned first, perhaps because Jesus came from this tribe. When Jacob blessed his sons, he said of Judah: "Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion's cub…The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples" (Genesis 49:8–10). Jesus is identified in Revelation 5:5 as "the Lion of the tribe of Judah," and "the root of David." He prevailed to take the scroll from God's right hand and to open the seals. At the end of the tribulation Jesus will devour His enemies like a lion and rule the nations from the throne of David. Isaiah 9:7 prophesies that Jesus, the virgin-born Messiah, will sit on the throne of David and govern with justice and righteousness.

From the tribe of Reuben, 12,000 are sealed. When Jacob blessed his son Reuben, he called him his firstborn, "preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power" (Genesis 49:3). However, Jacob also described Reuben as "unstable as water" and predicted that he would not have preeminence because he had defiled Jacob's bed (Genesis 49:4). As the firstborn, Reuben was entitled to a double portion of his father's inheritance and leadership, but he forfeited those privileges by committing adultery with Jacob's concubine, Bilhah (Genesis 35:22). This sad event happened after Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath.

When Joseph's brothers lifted him out of the pit where they had thrown him, they sold him to certain Ishmaelites who took him to Egypt. Reuben was not present when the brothers sold Joseph, but when he returned and learned what they had done, he was remorseful. So, Reuben was unstable emotionally. Judges 5:15–16 alludes to the tribe of Reuben's indecisiveness. But by God's grace the tribe of Reuben will serve God effectively in the tribulation.

The tribe of Gad is also identified as receiving God's seal. The number of those sealed is given as 12,000. Jacob predicted that Gad would be raided and in return would raid (Genesis 49:19). Gad was one of the tribes that settled east of the Jordan River, where raids were common. This tribe, the Reubenites, and the half tribe of Manasseh included 44,760 valiant warriors (1 Chronicles 5:18). In the tribulation period, the Gadites will triumph over persecution by faith in the Lord.

Revelation 7:5–8 lists the tribes to which the 144,000 saved Jews belong. They are the firstfruits of all the Jews who will believe on Jesus as their Messiah during the tribulation. Each tribe listed in this passage includes 12,000 sealed believers. Although some teach that ten of the tribes have been lost, they have not been lost to God. We may not know the identification of each tribe today, but God knows each tribe and who belongs to it. The tribe of Levi is listed, but Dan is missing. The absence of the tribe of Dan from the list may indicate that the false prophet of Revelation 13 comes from the tribe of Dan. The Danites were the first to plunge Israel into idolatry (Judges 18:30–31). Nevertheless, God extends grace to the tribe of Dan in the tribulation and saves some members of the tribe. Ezekiel 48:2 includes Dan in the distribution of land in the millennium.

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.''