THE SEAL OF THE LIVING GOD:
The Church, Sealed & Prepared for Battle
Revelation: Every Eye Will See Him
Revelation 7:1-8
THE TEXT:
The text for the sermon today is Revelation 7:1-8. Our text can be found on page 1030. These are the words of God:
7 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. 2 Then 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 harm earth and sea, 3 saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” 4 And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
5 12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed,
12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,
12,000 from the tribe of Gad,
6 12,000 from the tribe of Asher,
12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,
12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,
7 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,
12,000 from the tribe of Levi,
12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,
8 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,
12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,
12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.
GRAB THEIR ATTENTION
There are 7 basic plots to plays, movies, and novels:
- Overcoming the Monster
Definition: A protagonist sets out to defeat an antagonistic (often evil) force.
Example: Shark eats people. People hunt and kill the shark.
- Rags to Riches
Definition: The poor protagonist acquires power, wealth, and/or a mate, loses it all and gains it back, growing as a person as a result.
Example: Poor girl is mistreated by her stepmother. Fairy godmother helps her get to the royal ball. The shoe fits. Girl becomes the princess.
- The Quest.
Definition: The protagonist and companions set out to acquire an important object or to get to a location. They face temptations and other obstacles along the way.
Example: Archaeologist tries to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis.
- Voyage & Return:
Definition: The protagonist goes to a strange land and, after overcoming the threats it poses or learning important lessons unique to that location, returns with experience.
A little person joins the company of Dwarves to steal treasure from a dragon and returns more courageous & wealthy.
- Comedy:
Definition: Light and humorous conflict which becomes more and more confusing, but is at last made plain in a single clarifying event, resulting in a successful or happy conclusion.
Example: A man and a woman meet online, striking up a romance over email, without realizing they actually know one another and hate one another in real life.
- Tragedy:
Definition: The protagonist is a hero with a major character flaw or great mistake which is ultimately their undoing.
Example: A poor artist boards a ship heading for America, falls in love with a girl from a high social class. The ship sinks. He drowns.
- Rebirth:
Definition: An event forces the main character to change their ways and often become a better individual.
Example: An elderly miser is haunted by three spirits transforming him into a kinder, gentler man.
Plotlines help us make sense of the movie. They give us a framework for organizing all the characters, problems, and resolution. They tell us who to cheer for, and who we ought to root against. They build intrigue and interest.
It’s crucial to understand the plotline of the Bible, because the plotline of the Bible is actually the plotline of history. The story that the Bible tells is the true story of the universe and everything in it.
- The Bible explains our origin: where did we come from?
- It explains our destiny: where are we all going?
- The Bible tells us who the important characters are: God, Satan, angels, humanity.
- The Bible explains the problem: Being deceived by Satan, humanity has fallen from friendship with God, and through their sin have become his enemies. The punishment for this rebellion is death.
- And the Bible explains the resolution: God has made a covenant both to redeem and regather rebellious people at great cost to himself.
- How will he do it? God’s own Son willingly laid down his life for sinners, bore the penalty for their sin, and was resurrected.
- He is now calling rebels to turn around, lay down their arms, and be welcomed back into God’s family, freely.
If you wanted a more succinct summary of the Bible’s plotline, you might say it’s the story of God gathering a people for himself through the work of his Son. And Revelation 7 contributes heavily to that plotline. But first, let’s set the context, because Revelation 7 isn’t to be read in a vacuum.
RAISE THE NEED, SIGNPOSTS, STATE THE DESTINATION
In the first three chapters, John addresses 7 first-century churches in Asia Minor. They are the book’s original audience. Most of them needed correction and encouragement because increasing persecution was coming. What would anchor them for the coming storm?
Chapters 4 & 5 give us the anchor. Chapter is a heavenly vision of God’s throne at the center of all things. In his right hand is a scroll representing all of his plans for the earth. Jesus Christ is the Lamb who is worthy to take the scroll, break the seals, and unfold all of God’s plans.
Chapter six is the breaking of the seven seals on the scroll:
- The first four seals send forth four horsemen representing conquest, war, famine, and death; all of which have been happening since Christ’s ascension.
- The fifth seal breaks and we hear the cry of Christian martyrs in heaven, “How Long, O Lord, until you judge those who have persecuted and killed your saints?”
- The sixth seal breaks and the final judgment of Christ comes to the entire earth with these words:
12 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, 13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. 14 The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”
Who can stand on that day? That is the closing question of Revelation 6. As John saw this final judgment poured out, he must have thought to himself, “I see how awful this day will be for God’s enemies. What will this day be like for God’s people, the church?”
When all of these judgments are poured out, how will God’s people survive, and even overcome? And Revelation 7 is the answer. It’s almost as if God said, “John, I can see the worry on your face as you see these terrifying judgments. Let me take a moment to set your heart at ease.”
9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb,
The chapter divides neatly into 2 sections:
- Verses 1-8 describe a vision of the church on earth, militant, in the thick of the tribulation, yet sealed by God.
- Verses 9-17 describe the church in the eternal state, in heaven, victorious over evil and at rest in God.
So, Revelation 7 is the story of God sealing his people, his people at war in this age against evil, his people victorious in heaven, and his people finally at rest in his eternal presence.
And that’s our outline. We’ll look at chapter 7 under four headings. Two this week, and two the next time we are in Revelation.
- The Church, Sealed by God (7:1-3)
- The Church, at War with Evil (7:4-8)
- The Church Victorious in Heaven (7:9-14)
- The Church at Rest in God’s Presence. (7:15-8:1)
Friends, there are many symbols and pictures to explain in this passage. But more than understanding symbols, my prayer all week has been that you would know you are a true believer, sealed by God, and that you would fight with faith against sin as you wait on our final victory and eternal rest.
And, if you have not yet put your faith in Christ as your Lord and redeemer, I pray you would do so even now as this passage is being preached.
- THE CHURCH, SEALED BY GOD (7:1-3)
God will gather and seal every single one of his people before the final judgment. That’s the headline. There isn’t a single person who is supposed to come to Christ who will fail to come to Christ before the end. That’s the first message of this text.
Before we elaborate that message, I need to explain a few features of this passage. A likely question you may have about this first point is, “Jonathan, you keep saying ‘the church,’ but these first 8 verses talk about 144,000 from Israel. What gives?”
First, if you look in verse 3, you find these words:
3 saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”
Virtually every time the term the “servants of God” appears in Revelation, it’s always in reference to the church. It occurs in 1:1: 2:20; 6:11; 19:2; 19:5; 22:3; & 22:6. The only times that term does not refer to the church are when it is applied once to the prophets and again to Moses.
Now hang with me for a few more minutes.
There are many Christians who love God and love his Word, who believe this 144,000 refers to ethnic Jews who will come to faith in Christ during a future 7-year tribulation after Christ has secretly taken the church off the earth.
But I don’t believe that view harmonizes with Revelation or with Revelation 7 for several reasons:
First, the list of tribes in Revelation 7 is out of traditional order. Reuben, the firstborn is mentioned second, while Judah, the fourthborn born comes first.
Second, Levi, the priestly tribe of Israel received no land in Canaan and are typically not mentioned as one of the twelve. But here they are. (v. 7) The same is true of Joseph, which is not a tribe of Israel. He appears on the list. (v. 8)
Third, two tribes are missing from the list: Dan and Ephraim. (Likely because they were idolatrous)
Remember, Revelation is a book of pictures. Something is being pictured here in this strange and inaccurate list of Israel’s tribes.
I believe we’re being given a highly stylized description of not just of redeemed Israelites, but all God’s redeemed in all ages using Israel’s tribes.
And we’ve already seen John take language that originally applied to Israel, and reapply it to the church. Take, for instance, Revelation 1:6, when John says that the church has been made, “a kingdom, priests to his God and Father,” That language comes directly out of Exodus and Deuteronomy.
The same thing happens in Revelation 21. There, the bride of Christ is pictured as the a city, the New Jerusalem. On the gates of the city are 12 names of the tribes of Israel. On the foundations are 12 names of the apostles.
So, the bride of Christ is made up of the 12 tribes, signifying saints in the Old Testament, and the 12 apostles signifying the church in the New Testament. You see what is being pictured? The tribes and the apostles—the entire church in all ages fill up the New Jerusalem.
Something similar is happening here in Revelation 7. What does the 144,000 picture? I believe it pictures 12 tribes multiplied by 12 apostles multiplied by a thousand, which in the ancient world was a huge number. 144,000 is symbolic of the total number of all God’s people Old Testament and New.
Now go back to verse 1. Verse 1 says, “After this I saw…” This doesn’t mean, the events in chapter 7 happen chronologically after the events of chapter 6. Rather, he’s saying, “After that vision, the next thing I saw was…”
And what did he see? Four angels, standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds. Another angel comes commanding the 4 holding back the winds to not harm the earth or the trees until we have sealed the servants of God. What’s that?
If you look back at 6:12, you see that the 6th seal unleashed a final cataclysm on the earth such that even the stars fell from the sky like a fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a wind. So, at the beginning of chapter 7, we see that God’s final judgment is being held back. It hasn’t come yet.
In other words, something is holding back God’s final judgment on the earth. What is it? Verse 2:
2 Then 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 harm earth and sea, 3 saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.
God is first sealing all of his servants. Even today, while God’s final judgment is being withheld, God’s servants are being sealed.
What’s the purpose of a seal?
You have a king who drafts a letter, folds it, gets out his wax and imprints his signet ring into it, sealing it. The seal authenticated the letter; marking it as genuine. Seals also secured. A farmer would seal, or brand, his livestock. It wasn’t simply an identification. It secured against theft.
If you go into my library and thumb through my books you will find that many of them have an embossed seal: “From the Library of Jonathan Homesley” I even had a professor in college who under his seal would inscribe ancient Egyptian curses into the pages of the books for those who did not return them.
This seal is a declaration that we belong to God. We are his own possession. It also secures us. It spiritually safeguards our souls. You say, “So, what is this seal?”
I believe the simplest answer is found in Ephesians 1:13
13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Friend, how can you receive the seal of the Holy Spirit? How can you belong to God and be safeguarded for eternity? It’s right there. Hear the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation and believe.
What is that gospel? It is that the God who will one day judge every sin, and melt the earth in holy justice, has already sent his only Son to bear his wrath against sin so that you might be forgiven all your sins. It’s what we sing about:
Who has felt the nails upon his hand?
Bearing all the guilt of sinful men.
God eternal humbled to the grave.
Jesus, Savior, risen now to reign.
Friend, turn to him today in trust. Revelation 7 is a picture given to John, and to us, comforting us; letting us know that the last day will not come until all of God’s people are gathered into the church.
Church, this is exactly what Jesus himself said would happen:
14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:14)
This sealing of God is not a promise that you will avoid the tribulation brought about by the four riders of chapter 6; rather it is a promise that all who Christ effectually calls will come to him before the end and endure until the end.
Friends, it’s a picture of what the Apostle Paul told us in Romans 8:
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?…
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. (Rom. 8:35, 36)
There won’t be a single person who should have been found but wasn’t. God will save all his people before the end. And those whom he saves, he seals, not with a wax seal, but with his own Spirit.
A few applications:
- First, God knows the exact number and the proper names of all his chosen people. We do not. This is why we offer the gospel to all. We do not know who God will save, so we ask all to come and believe.
- Second, this is why we treat church membership, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper with care and caution. By admitting someone into membership and permitting them to come to the table our church is making a public statement that these are the people who God’s Spirit has sealed for the day of redemption. So, when you present yourself to join in membership we ask questions about your conversion, your beliefs in Christ, your walk with Christ.
Church it should being us great comfort to know that while we are called to proclaim Christ to the nations, ultimately, the roster of heaven is in the hand of Christ, and he will lose none of all that the Father has given him.
So, we have seen the Church, sealed by God. Now…
- THE CHURCH, AT WAR WITH EVIL (7:4-8)
As the text continues, we look at verse 4:
4 And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
5 12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed,
12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,
12,000 from the tribe of Gad,
6 12,000 from the tribe of Asher,
12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,
12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,
7 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,
12,000 from the tribe of Levi,
12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,
8 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,
12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,
12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.
Why picture all of the redeemed in this way? Numbers from each tribe. Some tribes missing. What is the picture that is being communicated?
Richard Bauckham has argued convincingly that the numbering in vv. 4–8 suggests that those numbered are an army. The evidence for this view is manifold, but, above all, the language of from the tribe of recalls the repeated phrases “of the tribe of” in OT census lists (e.g., Num. 1:21, 23, etc.). The purpose of the census in Numbers was to organize a military force to conquer the Promised Land. The redeemed are thus depicted in military terms as a remnant called out of the world to do battle for God.[1]
Church, I wonder if you realize that you are engaged, everyday, in a spiritual battle. Over and over again, the Apostles instructed the church using military terminology:
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. (2 Cor. 10:3, 4)
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. (Eph. 6:11)
Fight the good fight of the faith. (1 Tim. 6:12)
What is the battle in which we are engaged? Over the last few years, a number of you have come to Lake Wylie Baptist because you have an uneasiness about the direction our culture is heading. Perhaps you’ve lost faith in institutions you once trusted. Or, maybe you see how the people of our nation have begun to redefine even the most basic and foundational categories such as “What is a woman.”
You may be tempted to believe that the insanity of our culture is just a phase, a kind of fever dream that will pass. Or you may think that all of this is simply just the fault of self-absorbed millennials who were never spanked as children.
If you are a new convert to Christ, or perhaps you are new to church in general, it’s important to know that the spiritual battle raging around us didn’t start in this generation. Millennials didn’t invent it. Neither did Gen Xers or Boomers. No. This spiritual battle has been going on since our first parents, Adam and Eve were deceived by Satan in Eden.
Who are the main antagonists in this battle? If God is on one side of the battle line, who is the enemy? Ephesians 2:2-3 tells us there are 3 enemies of God.
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
The first enemy of God, according to this passage is the “prince of the power of the air.” That is, Satan, the fallen angel who appeared as a serpent and deceived Eve. The second enemy is what Paul calls, “the course of this world.” In other words, there are entire human systems of culture and government that exalt themselves in opposition to the rule and reign of God. So, you have Satan, the world, and the third enemy is what Paul calls, “the flesh,” by which he refers not to our bodies, but to our corrupted nature—our disordered loves. When we are born—we are not born as those who trust God to be our Savior, Lord, and Judge. Instead, we trust ourselves.
Thankfully, Paul follows up this indictment of our flesh, with these words of comfort:
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ
To be a Christian means that God has made you who were dead in your sins alive with Christ. It means that God has sealed you with his Spirit. And, it means that you have now switched sides in this battle.
- Instead of following after the course of the world, you walk in opposition to it.
- Instead of being under the power of Satan, you belong to Christ.
- And, instead of giving in to your disordered loves, you are now able to love God supremely, and as a consequence reorder all your other loves.
Church, be on guard in your home. These enemies desire to weaken your home, What are you allowing into your home, onto you computer screens, on your TV, on the radio? You are to take every thought captive for Christ. You are to raise your children in the nature and admonition of the Lord. That is the command you have receive from your true Commander & Chief. Show me what you are looking at, and I’ll show you what you are becoming. Show me what your children are learning and watching, and I will show you what they are becoming.
Fathers, prioritize getting your family to church. Take that as your personal responsibility. That, unless we’re out of town, our family will go and meet with God’s people every week. Prepare the family for the Lord’s Day every week. That begins on Saturday night. Make it your priority to make sure Sunday morning goes smoothly.
Families, husbands, wives, parents, children: deal with sin in the home Biblically. That means confessing it, forgiving it, and not letting it pile up. Don’t allow Satan to get a military advantage in your home by holding onto bitterness and unconfessed sin.
We have to be on guard in our church as well. It seems like every month that passes I hear of more churches loosening their grip on clear Biblical truth; opting for ease and seeking piece at the price of their own conscience.
We need more Christians reading their Bible. More Christians learning good doctrine. More Christians stretching themselves, not being spoon fed, but learning to feed themselves. God is calling you to that.
Maybe this coming year is the year you read through the entire New Testament, or the entire Bible. Or maybe you do something really crazy like buy a Systematic Theology and read it cover to cover because you want to know what you believe.
We have to be on guard in our neighborhoods. One of the surprising ways that the church fights this war is through hospitality and charity. You want to push back against some darkness in your community? Bake some cookies, invite some neighbors over for dinner. Share some of what God has given to you, and when your neighbors as why you are doing this, tell them it’s all because of Jesus.
Church, we have to be on guard in our public and civic life. In less than one year we’ll be called to vote on new candidates in a variety of offices, and we should all want to do that as Christians. Those who make the laws will make it easier or more difficult for you to raise your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. They will make it easier or more difficult for you to live a peaceful and Godly life. They will make it easier or more difficult for churches like this one to freely preach Christ.
As we close, I want you to know that this call to spiritual battle is not new or unique to us. Just this week I was reading again about one of my heroes, the English Reformer William Tyndale.
Tyndale was a singularly focused man. He had no wife or children. Instead, he mastered languages and committed himself to translating the Bible into English. He wanted nothing more than for his own countrymen to be able to read the Scriptures in their native tongue. But in the 15th and 16th century, being found with a Bible in any translation other than Latin could be considered a capital offense.
Tyndale tried to do his work of translation through official channels. He travelled to London and sought the support of Bishop Tunstall. Sadly, Tunstall was a leader who always had his thumb in the wind, discerning favorable outcomes above what was right, declined to support Tyndale.
At 30 years of age, William realized he would never fulfill God’s call on his life in his home country. He crossed the channel into the continent of Europe. He would never see the land of his birth again.
Church historian J. H. d’Aubigne records the event with poignancy:
“And so Tyndale left England and sailed for Germany. A poor man in material things, he was soon to send back to his countrymen, even from the banks of the Elbe, the book which was to lead many of them to become “rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which God has promised to them that love Him.” With what greater boon can a man bless his native land?
When asked how he felt about exile from his country, Tyndale replied, ‘We be not called to a soft living.’”
No, we are not called to a soft living. We are called to walk in the footsteps of Christ. May we do so with joy knowing that we have been sealed for the final day.
[1] The Climax of Prophecy: Studies in the Book of Revelation (Edinburgh: Clark, 1993), 217–29.