The Book of Revelation: Revelation 7:1-17

Speaker: Dustin Scott

Passage: Revelation 7:1-17

I was talking to my friend Mike, and he was saying, Gosh, I think it’s kind of unfair that God makes us do math in the Bible, don’t you? But we’ll be okay. Hey, I don’t know about you, but I’m electrified by chapter 7 of Revelation.

We’ve been walking through these chapters, especially chapter 6, seeing this world under judgment. We’ve seen the woes of divine judgment coming against the earth, and it can be a lot to stomach. It can sometimes lead us to the aching question, Where are the promises? Where are the blessings? Where is the hope that Jesus gave to the seven churches? Because I don’t see it in this world under judgment.

How can we, as believers, walk in the confidence of promise rather than the fear of judgment? I think it’s chapter 7 that begins to unpack for us the worship of Heaven, the victory of the Lamb, and who we are as God’s people, empowered by the Holy Spirit. However, it’s a difficult chapter. It’s not a depressing chapter, but it’s a bit wild. It contains complex imagery, cryptic numbers, and crazy math, and it’s loaded with a huge amount of Old Testament references.

We’re going to be going through that all this morning. Think of it as being a bit of a slog. Who here hates salad? You might hate eating salad, but you know it’s good for you, right? So you continue to eat it, or at least you should. Who here hates thirty minutes a day of exercise? I’m going to put my hand really high up for this one. I don’t care much for lifting weights, but I know it’s good for me. I’d rather be reading a theology book on Revelation.

So, today is going to be a bit of that. It’s going to be eating our greens and doing our exercise. But the reason we’re doing this isn’t to dive into an elaborate world of theology; it is to find God’s truth. If the numbers are flying over your head, don’t worry about that. That’s okay. If the cryptic imagery is a bit too much to handle, that’s okay, too. What matters more than the journey is the truth of God, which we’re going to arrive at. I think it’s going to say a lot about who the Lord is and who we are in Him.

HOW WE APPROACH THE TEXT

Chapter 7 is also the part of the Bible that many theologians recruit as a proof text for their theories. Some of these theories are reasonable, others are magnificent and elaborate, and others are just downright weird.

There are two ways you can approach a Biblical text. Some approach it with a theory in search of evidence. Sometimes, we have a belief, an opinion, a value, and we go, Wow, that’s really smart. That’s really wise. Good job me. Why don’t I go back to the Bible and prove my opinion with it? That’s really the wrong way to read Scripture, right? Instead, we should go to the Scriptures with questions in search of answers and allow the Scriptures to inform us of what’s true, not our theories.

No matter what theory you have, I’d invite you to set it down and approach the evidence in the text. Who knows? Maybe we’ll even land on different conclusions. That’s where we cue the horrified gasps, right? Guess what? If Revelation is all about a revealing of Jesus, and He’s really the Lord of all, don’t you think He can handle our differing eschatologies? 

As we embark ahead into chapter 7, I would encourage us to engage the text with several questions:

• Where do these patterns, images, and numbers come from?
• Where do we find them in the wider Scriptures, both Old Testament and New?
• How did this passage speak to Revelation’s original audience, the seven churches?

This chapter might feel a bit challenging at a couple of points, but I promise you, it’s going to be rewarding. Let’s do our thirty minutes of exercise today. I’ll do my best to provide some practical takeaways along the way, but before I get too far ahead of myself, would you stand with me for the reading of the Scriptures?

REVELATION 7:1-14

I’ll be reading from verses 1 through 14 and from the New Revised Standard Version. It says:

“After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth so that no wind could blow on earth or sea or against any tree. I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to damage earth and sea, saying, ‘Do not damage the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have marked the servants of our God with a seal on their foreheads.’ And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the people of Israel:

From the tribe of Judah twelve thousand sealed, from the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, from the tribe of Gad twelve thousand, from the tribe of Asher twelve thousand, from the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand, from the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand, from the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand, from the tribe of Levi twelve thousand, from the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand, from the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand, from the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand, from the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand sealed.

After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne and to the Lamb!’  And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, singing, ‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.’ Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, ‘Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?’ I said to him, ‘Sir, you are the one who knows.’ Then he said to me, ‘These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb…’”

Let’s pray.

Holy Spirit, would You lead us, and would You guide us? I remember the haunting warning at the end of this book: “…to anyone who adds or takes away…”. Would You not allow us to add or take away from Your Word this morning? Would You guide us in all truth, Lord. As we looked at chapter 6, we saw a dark world under judgment. Would You show us who we are to be as Your people through chapter 7? Would You guide us, equip us, and draw us ever back to Your Spirit? We ask this in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

THE HEARING–SEEING PATTERN

Let’s start by looking at a pattern in this chapter. It’s actually a pattern within the whole book of Revelation. You may have noticed that Revelation is a highly sensory text, more so than the rest of the Bible. John sees things, hears things, tastes things, smells things, and touches things. There’s even this strange moment where he eats a scroll, and it gives him a stomach ache. That’s kind of weird, right? I can’t remember the last time I did that.

Throughout the book of Revelation, we have a “hearing–seeing” pattern. What do I mean by that? John is going to hear about something, and then he’s going to turn, look with his own eyes, and see that thing before him.

We find this in Revelation 1, where John hears a loud voice like a trumpet, and when he turns and looks, he sees it’s Jesus, one like a son of man. In Revelation 5, John is going to hear about the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and then he’s going to look and see Jesus, one like a slaughtered lamb. Later in Revelation 17, John is going to hear about this wicked city symbolized by a prostitute, and he’s going to turn and look and see this woman riding atop a scarlet beast.

Why is that pattern important throughout the book of Revelation? Well, in every instance, John both hears and sees the same thing. In Revelation 1, he both hears and sees Jesus. In Revelation 5, he hears about Jesus and then he sees Him. In Revelation 17, John hears about this wicked city and then he sees it.

Revelation 7 aligns with this wider pattern. John is going to hear a description of a people—“I heard the number of those who were sealed, 144,000”—and then he is going to look and see these people before Him. Verse 9 says, “After this, I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count…”

Why is that important? Because John is hearing and seeing two descriptions of one people. This is the people of God. This is us. We’re going to hit pause right here because there’s an elephant in the room, and elephants aren’t really good in rooms. Why is this vision so markedly Jewish and Gentile? Why do these appear to be two descriptions of two different people?

Well, we have to remember that John is a Jewish disciple. He’s writing to predominantly Jewish churches, arising out of synagogues in Asia Minor. In Revelation 7, John is beginning to see the historic covenants that God made to his Hebrew ancestors, the patriarchs and the prophets, being spread out to all the nations through Jesus.

BE WARY OF DANGEROUS THEOLOGIES

In our time, there are all kinds of theories that interpret this passage in all kinds of ways. Most of them are good, yet two of them are incredibly dangerous. I like to call them two equal and opposite theories: opposite in that they appear to say opposite things and equal in that they both reach the same dangerous conclusion. I think it’s worth pausing to look at them briefly.

The first one is called Replacement Theology, and this is a view that claims God has replaced the Jews with Gentile believers. Adherents of this view claim that God has no future plan for those who are ethnically Jewish, with the church replacing the Jews as a new people of God. What’s the problem with that? The Scriptures don’t teach it. Romans 11 says the gifts and the promises of God are irrevocable. Last time I checked in the Webster’s Dictionary, “irrevocable” means can’t be revoked, right?

There’s another dangerous theology, and it’s called Dual Covenant Theology. This view claims that God has two different peoples segregated into two different covenants. Adherents of this view claim that Gentiles are saved through Jesus, whereas Jews are saved through obedience to the Torah and their ancestral lineage. What’s the problem with that? The Scriptures don’t teach it. It’s utterly contrary to the Bible. Peter, a Jewish apostle speaking in Acts 2 at Pentecost to a crowd of Jewish believers about Jesus, tells them, There’s salvation in no one else, for there’s no other name under Heaven amongst humanity by which we must be saved.

So, why did I pause there? Wherever we land, most places are fine as long as they reveal Jesus, right? We can grab coffee, we can talk about it, we can debate. We can have a good time, but we cannot land in either of these extremes. They are not Scriptural. They do not reveal Jesus.

Because what do they both say? Jesus isn’t enough. His sacrifice didn’t actually save us all. His death and resurrection weren’t enough to reconcile us into a people, and He wasn’t faithful to His promises. That sounds pretty problematic, right? So, let’s throw it to the side as we embark into Revelation 7.

GOD’S KINGDOM IS IMMEASURABLE

Okay, I promised us some practical takeaways. What’s the practical takeaway of this hearing–seeing pattern in Revelation?

How many of us have struggled with a bad view of God? How many of us have thought: God’s irritable, He’s picky, He’s choosy, in the end, He’s got a very small team, and I’m not going to make the cut? Maybe you were like me and you love books, so you never got picked first for sports.

I want us to think about what John’s vision communicates. John hears a seemingly limited number (144,000), but when he looks, he sees a people who can’t be counted. Doesn’t that show God’s generosity? Doesn’t that show that His kingdom is so much better and bigger than our broken perspectives? Doesn’t it show that His grace is greater than we could ever imagine? 

I think Revelation 7 puts an end to our bad view of God because it shows that Jesus is always sufficient. He keeps every promise, and His Kingdom and His people are so much bigger than we could ever imagine. Think about that statement: “…cannot be counted…”. You could sit in eternity and count your fellow believers, and you would never get to the end. That’s good news, isn’t it?

THE SEAL OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

Let’s talk now about the seal. The Old Testament, Jewish apocalyptic literature, and the wider New Testament are going to speak to two different overarching kinds of seals. There’s a seal or a mark of righteousness, and there’s a seal or a mark of wickedness. I don’t want to talk about the mark of wickedness. We’ll get to that as we get closer to chapter 13. But right now, what does the seal of righteousness mean? 

Looking back at verse 3, it says, “‘Do not damage the Earth or the sea or the trees until we have marked the slaves of our God with a seal upon their foreheads’”.

If we let the Scriptures interpret Scripture, we can go back to Exodus 12 and find the Israelites placing a mark of blood atop their doorposts so that the Angel of Death passes over. If we go to Exodus 28, we find that the high priest had a seal or a signet upon his forehead, which said, Holy unto God. Later on, in Ezekiel 9, the Lord tells angels to go through the city of Jerusalem and mark those who are righteous with a spiritual seal upon their forehead. 

If we go to the Jewish apocalyptic literature of John’s own time, there’s a book called the Psalms of Solomon and another called Four Ezra. These are not Scripture, but they help us get into the world that John was living in. These books will talk about God placing a mark upon believers that protects them from judgment.

In the New Testament, the mark, or the seal, always indicates when the Holy Spirit has marked a person as belonging to Jesus. Ephesians 1:13 says, “…In Him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in Him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit…”.

If we look at the broad context of Scripture, it doesn’t appear that this is a physical mark. It appears that it’s a spiritual mark. It’s a phrase that indicates the Holy Spirit resides within a believer and transforms them to look and act more like Jesus. Simply put, these believers in Revelation 7 have been marked by Him. He protects them, He transforms them, and He makes them holy.

GOD’S SPIRIT IS WITHIN YOU

So, what’s this stuff about on the forehead? What does that mean? Well, the Greek word for forehead, metōpon, really means between the eyes. It’s the first thing you see when you make eye contact with someone. I think this means that when others see us, they should see the Holy Spirit working outwardly in our lives. That’s what the seal means. 

How many of us frequently feel unable to do God’s will? Is it just me? How many of us struggle to live faithfully in a world that is so wicked and under judgment? What’s the good news of Revelation 7 when we tell ourselves, Hey, I’m not gifted enough, strong enough, wise enough, biblically-versed enough? Maybe you’re here and you’re like, I’ve only been a Christian for a handful of months. What can I possibly do?

Think of what John’s vision communicates: God has given you a greater gift than any other. He’s given you Himself. He’s given you the Holy Spirit to come live inside of you, which means the Spirit seals you with all the value, strength, wisdom, identity, and protection you could ever need.

We, in our sin, are nothing but weakness, yet with Him, He gives us supernatural gifts and abilities to love and minister and perform miracles in this world. Isn’t that good news? There’s nothing that God’s Spirit cannot do in you and through you, provided you remain responsive to His will and in relationship with Him.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF NUMBERS IN THE BIBLE

All right, I promised you numbers, so buckle your seat belts. John was a math nerd. You can take it up with him when you see him. Actually, God is really into math. I’ll try to do my best not to give us any haunting memories of those 7 am college lectures that many of us survived. Numbers play an incredibly important role within the Bible and within Revelation.

I want us to look at the number 7 for just a minute. It is significant because in the beginning, God created the universe, the cosmos, in a cycle of 7 days. God kickstarts creation with 7 Hebrew words, which in English are translated as “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”. Levitical priests would offer sacrifices in sets of 7. The siege of Jericho lasts for 7 days. The Jubilee cycle within the Jewish counter calendar was structured in sets of 7, and Solomon’s Temple was created in 7 years.

That seems like a lot of sevens, right? Well, it doesn’t even scratch the surface because within the Old Testament, 7 is used 739 times.

Let’s look at the way John uses the number 7 in the Book of Revelation. Jesus has 7 horns and 7 eyes. This letter is written to 7 churches. God’s Spirit possesses 7 spirits, representing His perfection as described in Isaiah chapter 11. If we look at the judgments, there are 7 seals, 7 trumpets, 7 bowls, and 7 thunders.

This is where it gets super weird. If we look at the Greek text, John is going to use thirty Greek words exactly 7 times within this book. Some notable mentions are Christ, lampstand, and the word for seal.

Now, it gets crazier than that. In the words of Morpheus from The Matrix, Do you want to see how deep the wormhole goes? Let’s look at the number 14, which is two times seven. Seven represents perfection, and two is the Biblical number for a valid testimony. The Book of Deuteronomy tells us we need two or more witnesses to testify to the truth.

The following are some names and words which appear exactly 14 times in the Greek texts of Revelation. I want us to notice how each one of these persons, whether divine or human, each testify to God’s truth in unique ways.

Jesus’ own name occurs 14 times in the Book of Revelation. Do you remember in Revelation 1:5 when He says, “I’m the faithful witness”? Well, John took notice and put His name in here 14 times. Spirit occurs exactly 14 times in the Book of Revelation. Saints, representing the people of God, occurs 14 times. And do you remember how John describes himself as being a slave or a servant of God? Well, the Greek word is doulos, and it occurs exactly 14 times.

Guess what? The wormhole gets even deeper if we go to the number 28, which is seven, representing perfection, and four, representing all of creation. There are four corners of the earth and four corners of Heaven. God describes four different kinds of humanity grouped in the world: people, tongues, tribes, and nations.

Here are some realities that occur exactly 28 times in Revelation. The Lamb appears 28 times. There are 28 different kinds of judgment that strike the Earth, totaled up from the seals, the trumpets, the thunders, and the bowls in Revelation 18. The kings of the earth bring exactly 28 different kinds of merchandise into the unholy city of Babylon. And the words for one thousand, celios and celeo, occur exactly 28 times.

Pretty weird, right? That’s a ton of math. It doesn’t even scratch the surface of John’s elaborate use of numbers in Revelation, which means the numbers are not coincidental. They’re loaded with meaning. And while they seem strange to us, they would have been easily recognized by the Jewish audience who received this letter in the first century.

Let’s now look specifically at John’s use of numbers in chapter 7.

SIGNIFICANT NUMBERS IN REVELATION 7

I want to pause and say that math wasn’t abstract for ancient readers. Numbers were tangible. If I went to the marketplace and I had four coins, it meant I had four physical objects in my pocket. If I bought four sheep, it meant I was buying exactly four sheep at the marketplace. If you were an ancient person, you would have counted large numbers with a tool like a claritarian or an abacus.

The interesting thing about these tools is that as you counted, numbers would form physical shapes, hence the mathematical terms square number and triangular number. And so if you were counting a number like 144, which is 12 by 12, you would need a really huge abacus for that. It would form a physical shape within this tool, which means numbers had shapes. 

Why is that important? Because five numbers are going to play an incredible role within chapter 7 of Revelation: the numbers 12, 144, 1000, 12,000, and 144,000.

Let’s start simple. We’ll talk about the significance of 12. Why does the number 12 matter? Well, in ancient Israel there were 12 tribes. This bespeaks the people of God. It’s interesting that in Revelation 7:5-8, the literary structure of this passage mirrors a tribal census, which occurs in Ezekiel 48:1-7. As we get to Revelation 21, John is going to go twelve crazy in describing the New Jerusalem. He’s going to talk about 12 tribes, 12 gates, 12 foundations, and so on.

So, what’s the significance of 144? It’s a square number, 12 by 12. What do squares mean in the Old Testament? Well, the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle was a perfect square. It was 20 cubits by 20 cubits. The New Jerusalem in Ezekiel 48 is 4500 cubits by 4500 cubits, a perfect square. If we fast forward to the end of the story in Revelation 21, the New Jerusalem is 12,000 by 12,000.

Could it be that the Biblical writers are telling us that because of Jesus and because of His Spirit, the Kingdom of God is getting bigger and bigger? Isn’t that a remarkable picture?

If we go to Revelation 21, the walls of the New Jerusalem are described as being 12,000 stadia on 12 edges, which the fellow nerds in this room know makes a cubic perimeter of what number? 144,000. You see how all these images are beginning to connect. The reader is trying to show us something.

The New Jerusalem isn’t a place; it’s a people. It’s the people of God. So when you find Revelation 21 saying the city is as clear as crystal, that streets are made of gold, that the gates are always open and they can never be shut, it’s describing us as Jesus’s people. 

So where does 1000 come in? Because you need 12 by 12 times 1000 to make 144,000. There’s a manner of speech called hyperbole. It existed in the Old Testament, and it still exists today.

I’ll give you an example since my wife isn’t here. Imagine she and I are getting ready for a date. We have to be at the restaurant in fifteen minutes, and she’s still putting on her makeup, so I say to her, Come on, babe, you’re taking 1000 years. Let’s go. You guys understand what I mean, right? I just want you to know I did ask my wife’s permission before saying that.

That’s the way 1000 is used throughout the Old Testament. It isn’t used as a tangible, literal number. It’s used as hyperbole for something which cannot be measured. We find this in 1st Samuel 18, Job 9, Psalm 50, Daniel 7, and even in the extra Biblical apocalyptic literature like 1st Enoch.

Likewise, when we go to the Old Testament, not only is 1000 a picture of immeasurability, but it’s actually a picture of God’s faithfulness. Deuteronomy 1:11 says, “May the Lord, the God of your ancestors, increase you 1000 times more and bless you as He has promised you”.

What does all this mean? It means that God’s people are holy (12 by 12), and God’s people are immeasurable (1000).

So, why are these tribes counted out in increments of 12,000? That seems kind of weird, right? I went on a deep dive. Where do we find 12,000 within the Old Testament? It’s a number of military strength. We find it again and again in the books of Judges and Joshua and historical books like Kings, Chronicles, and Samuel, and it’s always used as a number to describe a military strength.

I’ll give us just one example from Numbers 31:5. It says, “So out of the 1000s of Israel, 1000 from each tribe were conscripted, 12,000 armed for battle”.

What do the numbers mean? If we simplify it all out and draw some practical takeaways, if we look at the way the Old Testament informs these numbers, it means that, as God’s people, Jesus has made us holy. He’s made us immeasurable, and he’s made us an army equipped to do spiritual battle. Isn’t that incredible? 144,000 means that God has made us a holy people.

FINDING HOPE AND STRENGTH IN GOD

How many of us feel like we often fall short of God’s holiness? Well, John gives us an answer to that. In verse 14, he says that because we have placed our robes in the blood of the Lamb, we’ve been washed clean. And likewise, we’re given a seal: the Holy Spirit.

This means that whenever we don’t feel holy, the truth of the matter is if we’ve given our life to Jesus, He’s made us holy. His Spirit gives us the power to walk in holiness.

This means we can be free of addiction. We can break sin patterns. We can walk away from general generational curses. How? Because Jesus and the Holy Spirit are capable of breaking those things. If we say, Hey, I can’t be holy, that’s a contradiction to the Scriptures and a contradiction to what Jesus teaches us.

Next, let’s look at the number 1000, this picture of immeasurability. How many of us often feel lonely? We sometimes feel like we’re all alone in this world. Well, verse 9 says that Jesus has given us more brothers and sisters than a person could ever count. Look around you. These are the people God placed in your life, the family members He gave you to help you live a life of holiness, purpose, and transformation.

When you’re feeling like you’re struggling, you can always call a fellow believer and get coffee and tell them about it. You can ask them to pray for you, and if necessary, you can dive into a support or accountability group because God has given us a people, a family, to dwell in. We never have the excuse of saying as a believer, I guess I just have to go it alone. God has made us immeasurable from every tongue, tribe, people, and nation.

Lastly, if we look at the number 12,000, it shows us that God has made us an equipped people, an army, ready to do spiritual battle. The battle can be intimidating. If you fast forward to Revelation 9, there’s a picture of the abyss opening, and out of it come demons. It says they were in number two times ten thousand by ten thousand. It’s a pretty big number, right?

Yet Jesus says that we’ve been made into an uncountable army. There is no challenge, temptation, or tribulation that can overcome our King. As long as we’re aligned with Him, they cannot defeat us.

CONCLUSION

If you are losing ground in the fight, I’d ask yourself several questions:

• Am I prioritizing Him with my time daily in prayer? If He’s the one who equips me, do I give Him the time to do that?
• Am I living from His truth as defined in the Scriptures, or am I trying to go it alone?
• If I’m struggling, am I seeking help from the believers He has placed around me, or am I trying to walk alone? And if I’m walking alone, do I have the humility to ask for help?

Now, there’s so much more that I want to dig into because there are nuances to the way the tribes are listed. There are all kinds of beautiful and wonderful things, but I see I’ve kept you long enough at this point. So remember: whenever you feel like you’re not enough, Christ has made you holy. He’s made you immeasurable. He has equipped you to fight the battle, so go to Him whenever you feel weak.

Let’s pray.

Lord, Revelation is such a complex book, but so often on the other side, we learn such simple truths. It’s like one of those paintings where the dark colors contrast with the light colors, and we begin to see the hope, the beauty, and the salvation that exists in You. Lord.

You say that Your strength is made perfect in our weakness. So Lord, over every place where we feel weak, would you equip us in every place we feel impure? Would you make us holy in every place where we feel small? Would you show us the truth that in you was made immeasurable?

God, this is where the light of Heaven and the beauty of worship break into a dark world. So, over all the situations we face as your people, would You lead us? Would You guide us, and would You strengthen us so that we can walk in Your grace and accomplish Your purposes in our world? I pray for every beloved family member in this room. May You bless and keep them. We ask this in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.