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NASB | Revelation 7:4 ¶ And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel: |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Revelation 7:4 ¶ And I heard how many were sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand; [twelve thousand] sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel: |
Bible Question: please explain the 144,000 who received the mark in Revelations |
Bible Answer: Mdyke, Two qualifications for my answer. I will be happy to answer your question from an amillenial perspective. Keep in mind there are a multitude of opinions, I give you my own from a particular theological point of view. That being said, I believe whole heartedly that I am right. Second qualification is that due to space I must skim what I in preaching take longer to explain. Revelations 6-7 is one chunk of the book meant to be taken as a whole. This whole is meant to paint one vantage point of the entire sweep of time between Christ's first and second coming. The first five seals paint a picture of what we must endure during that time period. 1. Nations conquering each other. 2. War 3. Famine 4. An intensifying of all these horrors. 5. Persecutions even unto death. We might stop and marvel as to how this is almost exactly how Christ described that this age would be in Matthew 24. Now in the fith seal the martyrs ask the question that set the stage for us in chapter 7. They ask, "How long, O Lord?" So all of this paints a question that is about to be answered. How long must we endure this world of suffering and persecution and war? Why has God not returned to end it and when will He do so? We get a two part answer. The sixth seal shows us a glimpse of the return of Christ to destroy this wicked world, and this glimpse is to be taken as a promise that however much delayed, it is indeed coming. Chapter 7 gives us the second part of our answer to this question. It shows us why He is waiting. We see four angels holding back the winds. They have the instructions to not harm the earth yet. So we understand the holding back the winds to be holding back these final winds of destructions. The end destructions of the sixth seal can not happen yet. The return of Christ to usher in this destruction can not happen yet. Why? Not until all the servants of God are sealed. That is the thing Christ is waiting for before returning. Now, note that in Rev 7:4 he HEARS the number of the saints being sealed. It is a perfect number from every tribe of Israel. After he hears the number in verse 9, he looks upon them and sees a multitude of every tribe and nation and tongue. The two are the same group, he heard of them, then he saw them. Now here is the point. To us the saved are a great multitude that no man can number. But to God they are the perfect number of the elect. The holy Israel of God. And He will not bring the end judgement until the very last one is sealed by the Holy Spirit for eternity. So the answer to, "How long, O Lord?"; the answer to why we are waiting so long, is that God is waiting for the full number of the elect to be saved. He will not loose a one. In Christ, Beja |
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Questions and/or Subjects for Rev 7:4 | Author | ||
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John Gmuer | ||
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wejlly | ||
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mdyke | ||
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Beja | ||
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vkh |