Devotions with Dre Episode 42: Book of Revelation Park 15: The 144,000

Today we're looking at Revelation chapter 7, and we'll also include the first verse of chap 8; it completes the breaking of the seals on the scroll; you may remember that in chap 6, 6 out of 7 seals have broken by the Lamb, Jesus. Each time a seal is broken, something spiritual and ominous is released that will effect the earth. The 6th seal, where we left off last episode, released the famous Day of the Lord - see Isaiah 2 and Joel 2.

I’m excited to share what I’ve learned about chapter 7, but first I realized I forgot to share something cool with you last time about chapter 6 - so let me throw that in here first. Remember how chapter 6 contained the famous 4 horsemen?

Well, Tyler Gilreath from Skywatch TV teaches in his book that John and his first readers would have been very familiar with the Babylonian creation myth. The cosmic enemy John describes throughout Rev is “Babylon the Great” - some scholars decide it’s just Rome and that’s it, but John likes to layer things and the truth is it’s not just Rome it’s a supernaturally/demonically empowered, oppressive engine of chaos that shows up throughout history IN different governments and armies and evil ideologies/empires. In other words, Rome was a puppet and the ancient evil gods were pulling their strings.

Psalm 82:

“I said, ‘You are “gods”;
    you are all sons of the Most High.’
7 But you will die like mere mortals;
    you will fall like every other ruler.”

“Rise up, O God, judge the earth,
 for all the nations are your inheritance.”

One Babylonian story claims that Tiamot (chaos) was defeated by Marduk when he split it in two and then he re-created the cosmos and became “king of the gods,” and made humanity. That was the narrative in Babylon that people believed.

The book of Revelation takes after the OT in that it USES the Babylonian’s literature against them (it’s called Polemic Theology). John, like some of the OT writers, deconstructs Babylon by deconstructing its literature. Babylonian astrology was huge in culture - Gilreath says it was the driving force behind ancient life.

There are several astral prophesies in Revelation (the verses that have to do with alignment in the skies, a dragon in the sky and things like that) - those make a whole lot more sense when we understand that it’s referring to a Babylonian divination handbook and correcting their story to show that Jesus is the real Creator and King.

Hence, the four horseman in Revelation have a lot to do with this Babylonian literature. In Gilreath’s book “Gate of the Gods” he teaches that in Babylonian literature certain deities were associated with specific colors, cardinal directions, and certain planets. Once you know that, you can determine who the riders on the horses are. I don’t own his book and I couldn’t confirm this online but if my memory serves me correctly about who’s who…

According to him, Marduk (aka Bel) is on the white horse - the savior figure in the Babylonian literature - John presents him as a counterfeit of Jesus on the white horse. 

Nabu is on the red horse, I think - he was the third most important god to the Bab’s and was associated with Mercury.

The black horse’s rider who had scales in his hand is associated with the constellation Scorpio and the god Ninurta and the planet Saturn and the cardinal direction West.

Pale horse - Nergal the god of war, plague and death. He’s associated with the constellation Leo and the direction South.

The author John describes the actual conquering of chaos at the end - the thing Marduk claims to have already done in the ancient world - and literally says JESUS WILL CREATE A NEW HEAVEN AND NEW EARTH, just like Marduk claims to have done in Babylonian literature. So Gilreath says John is poking at Babylonian claims and pointing out who the preeminent God actually is.

So there’s a last tidbit on the previous chapter.

Now as we head into chapter 7, some of us may be wondering, how should I be picturing this scroll/book? Is it pages or one long roll? Is it still rolled up? Are all the seals on the outside lined up in a row?

The Life Application Study Bible Tells us that some scholars think the book in Christ's hand is a scroll, whether made of papyrus, or animal hide. Other scholars think the book is a codex (a book made of separate leaves stitched at the spine). One of the main reasons that some scholars think it is a codex is because one seal can be loosened at a time, because it seems to be revealing a new page or two each time one of the seven seals is broken; whereas with a scroll, obviously all the seals would have to be broken before the scroll could be opened.

My personal opinion: I picture a papyrus rolled up scroll, and the stuff on the scroll is beginning to happen or at least be initiated in Heaven even before it's unrolled.

Let’s read chap 7-8:1 this is going to be a combination of The Message and the Living Bible:

Immediately I saw Four Angels standing at the four corners of earth, standing steady with a firm grip on the four winds so no wind would blow on earth or sea, not even rustle a tree.

Then I saw another Angel rising from where the sun rose, carrying the seal of the Living God. He thundered to the Four Angels assigned the task of hurting earth and sea, “Don’t hurt the earth! Don’t hurt the sea! Don’t so much as hurt a tree until I’ve sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads!”

I heard the count of those who were sealed: 144,000! They were sealed out of every Tribe of Israel: 12,000 sealed from Judah, 12,000 from Reuben, 12,000 from Gad, 12,000 from Asher, 12,000 from Naphtali, 12,000 from Manasseh, 12,000 from Simeon, 12,000 from Levi, 12,000 from Issachar, 12,000 from Zebulun, 12,000 from Joseph, 12,000 sealed from Benjamin.

After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from all nations and provinces and languages, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white, with palm branches in their hands. And they were shouting with a mighty shout, “Salvation comes from our God upon the throne, and from the Lamb.”

And now all the angels were crowding around the throne and around the Elders and the four Living Beings, and falling face down before the throne and worshiping God.  “Amen!” they said. “Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be to our God forever and forever. Amen!”

Just then one of the Elders addressed me: “Who are these dressed in white robes, and where did they come from?” Taken aback, I said, “O Sir, I have no idea—but you must know.”

 Then he told me, “These are those who come from the great tribulation, and they’ve washed their robes, scrubbed them clean in the blood of the Lamb. That’s why they’re standing before God’s Throne. They serve him day and night in his Temple. The One on the Throne will pitch his tent there for them: no more hunger, no more thirst, no more scorching heat. The Lamb on the Throne will shepherd them, will lead them to spring waters of Life. And God will wipe every last tear from their eyes.”

When the Lamb ripped off the seventh seal, Heaven fell quiet—complete silence for about half an hour.

Before we look into today's chunk of scripture in depth, I want to note that John's numerous visions in this book are sometimes tucked inside of each other.

In the Bible Project's summary video on Rev, Dr Tim Mackie describes by saying that in this part of the book there are "3 cycles of 7." And he explains there are 7 seals, 7 trumpets, and 7 bowls - 3 sets of 7 divine judgements - and that John has woven all the 7's together.

How it works is, 7 bowls come out of the 7th trumpet and the 7 trumpets come out of the 7th seal. In other words we're about to read about the 7th seal being unsealed, and within that we're going to read of 7 trumpets which will describe what many believe is the same judgement using different symbology, and within the 7th trumpet we're going to see 7 bowls that describe it again.

We wont read all of it today cause it's too long, but that's the section of the book we're studying right now- the cycles of 7, aka the righteous judgements from God.

Today's section of scripture, chapter 7, is kind of a pause in the action after the 6th seal releases/unleashes the coming of the Day of the Lord.

In this section, the Army of the Lamb (that's us) we receive our mark. An angel, who has God's seal which might be a signet ring, comes down and places a mark on the suffering people of God and it helps them endure to the end - helps them stay faithful / be a conqueror.

Let's look into it:

7:1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree.

Remember that at the end of chapter 6, many humans are terrified because the sky layer doesn't separate God's throne room and earth's surface any more and God can see every bad thing they've done!

They're like, we'd prefer huge rocks to pile on us please! Something, anything to cover us from the view of a holy and just God!

Yet here in chapter 7 verse 1, God has four angels hold back the four winds of judgement until all of God's own are sealed, marked and set apart - only then will God be willing to open the 7th seal on the scroll.

7:2-2 Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: ”Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”

In his book "The OT in the Book of Revelation," Steve Moyise tells us that the sealing of the saints here is almost certainly modeled on Ezekiel 9, where before he brings judgement and death on an apostate city, God tells "the man in white linen" - a main character in the bk of Ezekiel: an angel, or some say it's a manifestation of God Himself - to mark those who are grieved over the city's sins, and their lives will be spared.

What are people getting sealed for here in the bk of Revelation? - it's debated. Your main choices are: spiritual protection from the demonic realm, protection from losing their faith, physical protection during the tribulation that's about to get unleashed, or specific protection from God's wrath even if one still has to endure the physical effects of war and famine and stuff.

Another bit of background info: The Israelites bore the name of YHWH their God, in other words they were marked by Him, in other words they bore the image. And on top of that, Jewish high priests back in the day literally had the Name on their forehead; they wrote it on.

Ezekiel 9 was physical protection from Babylon. just sayin’…

And the judgements we're gonna read about in the next couple chapters are modeled after the plagues in Egypt, so in that way, this mark, this seal, might be kinda like the blood on the door frame pass-over situation back in the day.

7:4-8 Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel. From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben 12,000, from the tribe of Gad 12,000, from the tribe of Asher 12,000, from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000, from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000, from the tribe of Simeon 12,000, from the tribe of Levi 12,000, from the tribe of Issachar 12,000, from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000, from the tribe of Joseph 12,000, from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.

What's with this oddly specific number? The style of it emulates OT census records, so it may be specifically a military type census; this is what many scholars feel because the army of the Lord is rising up here in this chapter.

But, other scholars feel that it's more about the restoration of all the tribes of Israel - in other words a vision of the fulfillment of centuries of hope that God's people would flourish and be made into a people once again. Which is a common theme throughout scripture.

Either way, we've got 12,000 from each tribe of Israel - that's the number John HEARS.

The tribes are listed in a unique order here, as opposed to copying the order of any other list from the Hebrew Bible. The tribe named Dan is excluded, which there could be several reasons for, like the fact that that particular tribe was super problematic like not settling where they were told, worshiping idols, etc. There are even people who speculate that the tribe of Dan wasn’t even Israelites, or were mixed/assimilated, and that the antichrist is going to come from their lineage.

(There are lots of complicated side tangents I could mention about the evolution of the list of tribes in scripture; but I'll just link to a video about that in the show notes if you're interested).

There’s also a chapter later in Revelation that brings this specific group of 144k back up - it’s chapter 14 - and there, they seem like they might be all male humans. Which would score points for the view that this is a military census ‘cause that’s how they used to count armies in olden times.

7:9-10 After this I looked, and there before me (aka I SAW) was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

Just like in chapter 5 when John HEARD that the Lion of Judah, the Root of David was worthy to open the scroll and then he SAW a slain lamb there instead of the lion he was expecting, here John HEARS a number that references the ancient Hebrew tribes but then SEES a diverse army of every tribe and tongue!

It's everyone who has been spiritually rescued by the blood of the slain lamb.

Some scholars think it's the same group of people (in other words the 144k IS the great throng of every tribe), and other scholars think it's a different group. Either way, these are the followers of Jesus Christ.

Michael Heiser thinks the 144k are Jewish Christians, and the big huge group John sees right after that are gentile Christians from all over. Like most of Revelation, it's debated. We’ll chat a little more about these 144k in chapter 14 when they come up again.

7:11-12 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”

I read some Bible scholars this week who pointed out that the 144k seems to be on the earth and receiving God's protection from death at least for a while, and the massive group in the rest of chapter 7 seems to be in Heaven already before God. However, when the 144k are referenced again in chapter 14, they seem like they’re in heaven. Maybe it’s both - this is a vision, so the rules of geography and physics don’t always apply.

Whoever they are, they’re gonna end up fighting the Beast, so stay tuned for that too.

7:13-17 Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?” I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Therefore, “they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. ‘Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them,’nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water. ’‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’ ”

What is the “Great Tribulation”? Some Bible teachers say it’s a 7 year period (others say the length is unknown) before the final judgement aka Day of the Lord, where there will be great suffering on the earth, but that serves a purpose of basically a last ditch effort by God to get sinners to change their ways and choose eternal life and heaven and forgiveness and all the things that can only happen if you acknowledge the truth about your creator.

Daniel 12 talks about a “time of trouble, (or “distress”) such as never has been seen since there was a nation til that time.” So, similar language.

Mt 24:21, another end times passage, says, “ For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.”

In Revelation here, we see people who have gone through this tribulation, and who have made it to Heaven so they’re believers. So whenever you hear someone asserting “believers don’t have to experience the great tribulation” you can tell them Rev 7:14 says SOME do. At least in some way.

But what about Rev 3:10 in one of the letters to the churches which says “Because you’ve kept my word about patient endurance, I will KEEP YOU FROM THE HOUR OF TRIAL that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth” ???

Apparently SOME people, like that specific church Sardis, get kept from the hour of trial!

This tension is a good reminder to not read this book overly literally, because it’s apocalyptic prophetic metaphoric literature. There are so many preachers and well-meaning Christians who dive into these things and parse out how long the tribulation is and this whole detailed timeline that can honestly be torn apart by good argument and better Biblical scholarship. Hot take: We don’t know for sure who’s going through the tribulation and who’s not.

Continuing on the question of what is the tribulation, in Beale’s commentary on Revelation he says: “The tribulation consists of pressures to compromise faith coming from both within the church community through seductive teaching and from without through overt oppression. Sometimes the tribulation is economically oriented… At other times the tribulation is heightened to include imprisonment and even death… Whatever its nature, tribulation always comes because of the believers’ faithful witness to Jesus.”

So, the only things we really know for sure about the tribulation are: In some ways it has begun and in some ways it is to come, it precedes the Day of the Lord, according to most, and it does involve persecution of believers.

Now, how do we conquer? What strategy does this army utilize to overcome?

We suffer and stay faithful; we bear witness even unto death just like our leader Jesus. We stay faithful to the truth of God no matter what happens to us on this earth, bc we know we've got a spot waiting for us in Heaven and a white robe and a crown, plus a mansion and a place of ruler-ship. Heaven is the place where there are no more tears (Isaiah 25:8), no one experiences hunger or thirst, and there are springs of living water that flow eternal.

8:1 When He opened the 7th seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

Here the seventh seal is broken - but the scroll doesn't get unrolled just yet. We're going to see that 7 warning trumpets are going to happen first - so that's what we get to explore next episode.

As we end today, let’s read one part again, as a comfort to whoever might be listening that’s going through hard things: He who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. ‘Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them,’nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water. ’‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’ ”