Revelation 7:8 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000 from the tribe of Joseph, 12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.

NIV: from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000, from the tribe of Joseph 12,000, from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.

NASB: from the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand, from the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand, and from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand were sealed.

CSB: 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000 from the tribe of Joseph, 12,000 sealed from the tribe of Benjamin.

NLT: from Zebulun — 12,000 from Joseph — 12,000 from Benjamin — 12,000

KJV: 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.

NKJV: of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed.

This verse names the final three tribes that were sealed: the tribe of Zebulun, the tribe of Joseph, and the tribe of Benjamin. According to Jacob, Zebulun would profit from maritime trade (Genesis 49:13). Perhaps in the tribulation Zebulon will exert its influence along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

Joseph is listed as a tribe, and so is his son Manasseh, but Joseph's other son Ephraim is omitted. In dividing the Promised Land, the tribe of Joseph was split into the tribe of Manasseh and the tribe of Ephraim. It seems the tribe of Ephraim became synonymous with that of Joseph (Numbers 1:32–33). When Jacob blessed his sons, he called Joseph "a fruitful bough" (Genesis 49:22). Perhaps he picked up this term from the fact that Joseph's son's name, Ephraim, means fruitful. Jacob lavished praise on Joseph and spoke of God's protection and blessing of Joseph. Joseph's survival at the hands of his envious brothers and his elevation from prison to Egypt's throne shows how perfectly God protected and blessed him (Genesis 37—50). God will protect and bless the tribe of Joseph in the tribulation, as well.

Jacob described Benjamin as "a ravenous wolf" (Genesis 49:27). The men of Benjamin were successful warriors but they were cruel. Saul, Israel's first king, was a Benjamite who tried repeatedly to kill David of the tribe of Judah. In the tribulation both tribes will serve God together as His evangelists.

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.''