Revelation 7:4

And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. Twelve is the number of the tribes, appropriate to the Church: three by four: three, the divine, multiplied by four, the number for worldwide extension. Twelve by twelve, fixity and completeness: taken a thousandfold in 144,000. A thousand implies the world perfectly pervaded by the divine; for it is ten, the world number, raised to the power of three, the number of God. OF ALL THE TRIBES - `out of every tribe:' not 144,000 of each, but the aggregate of the 12,000 from every tribe. CHILDREN - `sons of Israel.' ; , are no objection to the literal Israel being meant; for,...

1-8 In the figurative language of Scripture, the blowing of the four winds together, means a dreadful and general destruction. But the destruction is delayed. Seals were used to mark for each person his own possessions. This mark is the witness of the Holy Ghost, printed in the hearts of believers. And the Lord would not suffer his people to be afflicted before they were marked, that they might be prepared against all conflicts. And, observe, of those who are thus sealed by the Spirit, the seal must be on the forehead, plainly to be seen alike by friends and foes, but not by the believer himself, except as he looks stedfastly in the glass of God's word. The number of those who were sealed, may be understood to stand for the remnant of people which God reserved. Though the church of God is but a little flock, in comparison with the wicked world, yet it is a society really large, and to be...

Verse Revelation 7:4. _I HEARD THE NUMBER OF THEM WHICH WERE SEALED_] In the number of 144,000 are included all the _Jews_ converted to Christianity; 12,000 out of each of the twelve tribes: but this must be only a certain for an uncertain number; for it is not to be supposed that _just_ 12,000 were converted out of _each_ of the _twelve tribes_....

AND I HEARD THE NUMBER OF THEM WHICH WERE SEALED - He does not say where he heard that, or by whom it was communicated to him, or when it was done. The material point is, that he heard it; he did not see it done. Either by the angel, or by some direct communication from God, he was told of the number that would be sealed, and of the distribution of the whole number into twelve equal parts, represented by the tribes of the children of Israel. AND THERE WERE SEALED AN HUNDRED AND FORTY AND FOUR THOUSAND OF ALL THE TRIBES OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL - In regard to this number, the first and the main question is, whether it is meant that this was to be the literal number, or whether it was symbolical; and, if the latter, of what it is a symbol: I. As to the first of these inquiries, there does not appear to be any good reason for doubt. The fair inter

EXPOSITION REVELATION 7:1 AND AFTER THESE THINGS. Μετὰ τοῦτο, or, as some cursives read, μετὰ ταῦτα_, _is generally regarded as denoting the close of the sixth seal and the commencement of a new subject, interjected by way of episode between the sixth and seventh seals. But, even if not looked upon as an integral part of the revelations made under the sixth seal, the connection is so close that the two must be regarded practically as one. The incidents of the seventh chapter are evidently the complement of those narrated in the closing verses of the sixth. They take up the question with which that chapter closes, "Who is able to stand?" and afford comfort and help to those suffering Christians who were so sorely in need of a renewed assurance of the certainty of their final reward. It seems better, therefore, on the whole,

AND I HEARD THE NUMBER OF THEM WHICH WERE SEALED,.... And therefore could be sure of the exact number, which did not depend upon his sight, and telling them, in which some mistake might have been made, but he heard the number expressed: [AND THERE WERE] SEALED AN HUNDRED [AND] FORTY, [AND] FOUR THOUSAND: which is a square number arising from twelve, the square root of it, being just twelve times twelve thousand; and may denote their being the true and genuine offspring of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, holding their doctrine, and being built on their foundation; see Revelation 21:14; and these were OF ALL THE TRIBES OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL; not that these were all Jews in a literal sense, for the time of their conversion in great numbers is not yet come. Dr. Goodwin thinks these sealed ones design the believers of the Greek and

Revelation 7:1. _And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree._ A perfect calm there must be till God's people are saved. Not a leaf shall stir to do them damage. Not a dash of foam upon the waters no movement of wind, or sea, or tree. Revelation 7:2. _And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with aloud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea. Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads._ Everything exists for the servant of God. Creation is

CHAPTER 7 Revelation 7:1 . This is the first parenthesis. It must not be taken chronologically. The six seal judgments extend over the entire period of the ending age. The rider upon the white horse will be on the scene to the end, wars will continue to the end, and culminate in the battle of Armageddon, and so do the famines and pestilences. And the sixth seal brings the end in view. We shall see the correspondence with the seventh trumpet and seventh vial later. The trumpet and vial judgments are more intense and more terrible than the seal judgments. In a certain sense they are parallel; the effect of each is continuously felt. The parenthetical vision of the seventh chapter also covers the entire period of the last seven years and brings before us even the vision of what will be after the great tribulation. How much confusion would have been avoided if expositors an

THE SEALING OF THE HUNDRED AND FORTY FOUR THOUSAND. Revelation 7:1. Four angels are here represented as holding the winds, which are to bring disaster upon the world, in leash, until the seal of protection has been placed upon the Christians. Revelation 7:2. The object of the sealing may be to protect against (_a)_ physical dangers, or (_b_) apostasy, or (_c_) demoniac activity. Probably all are included, for all may be connected with the breaking of the last seal. _Cf._ Ezekiel 9:4 *, where the mark on the foreheads protected from death. Revelation 7:4. 144, 000, _i.e._ 12, 000

THE FOUR WINDS WITHHELD. While the sixth seal may be styled the seal of _Revolution,_ the mighty changes of this period are not all violent. If the reader will turn to the seventh chapter he will find that it is. record of visions witnessed by the apostle which precede the opening of the seventh seal. The events of this chapter, however, belong properly to the period embraced by the sixth seal. We quote the beginning of Chap. VII.: And after these things. saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And. saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with. loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed t...