Studies in Revelation: The First Interlude, the 144,000 (Revelation 7)

It is generally recognized that there are chapters in the Revelation that do not forward the timeline of events but are, rather, descriptions of important events interjected without respect to when they occurred…interludes. Revelation 7 is the first such interlude.

There are two descriptions given in this chapter, one of 144,000 from each tribe in Israel who are sealed for protection, and then a description of a vast multitude of people from every tribe, nation and tongue who are redeemed out of the great tribulation. Is there a connection?

Without a doubt John sees much in terms of numbers that are symbolic. But the twelve tribes of Israel are not strictly symbolic but literal. And a selection of 12,000 from each tribe is also pretty specific. Against those who would see this as a representation of the church, Jews and Gentiles that is then redescribed in the second half of the chapter, it seems strange and unnecessary to view this group as 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes. It seems more credible to see them as literal Jews who are saved and sealed for protection out of all Israel. This is not so say that these are the only Jews saved. Paul tells us that in the last days “all Israel” will be saved, suggesting the majority of the nation (Romans 11:25-27). But what are these selected for, and why sealed for protection?

It seems these 144,000 are similar to the two witnesses of chapter 11, another interlude. These two witnesses are also protected and set specifically to witness in Jerusalem, “the holy city” (11:2), for 42 months, or three and a half years. They may be two of the 144,000 who are selected by God, and all of them might be selected to be witnesses, evangelists, to Israel and the world. In that case, the multitude whom John sees next would be those who responded in faith to the preaching of the 144,000 and were saved during the great tribulation.

As to the exclusion of Dan from the list of tribes and the listing of Joseph presumably for Ephraim, Expositor’s seems to have the best explanation:

Various efforts have been made to solve the enigma of John’s list and especially to explain the absence of the tribe of Dan. While no solution is completely satisfactory, the early church held that the Antichrist would arise from the tribe of Dan (this belief may in fact be a pre-Christian Jewish tradition). Furthermore, Dan was associated in the OT with idolatry (Jdg 18:18-19; 1Ki 12:29-30). This may be the clue. If John sought to expose Christian idolatry and beast worship in his day by excluding Dan from the list of those sealed, it may also be possible to explain, on the same basis, why Manasseh and Joseph were chosen to fill up the sacred number rather than Manasseh and Ephraim, for in the OT Ephraim was also explicitly identified with idolatry (Hos 4:17).

If the church has been raptured out of the world before this last three and a half years of Daniel’s timeline, as I believe, there has been a dearth of evangelical witness to Christ in the world. God’s rescuing of these Jews and using them to give testimony to Christ is crucial to the gospel being preached to all the world before the end comes.