A Commentary in Simple English on Revelation

CHAPTER 7

This chapter forms a break between the first six seals (in chapter 6) and the seventh seal (in 8:1). There is a break like this between the sixth and seventh trumpets; this is from 10:1 to 11:14. Again when we come to the seven bowls, 16:15 and 16 form a break. So this is all part of the shape of the book.

Chapter 7 itself is made up of two parts. Both parts are pictures of the Church of Jesus. But the first part (verses 1-8) is very Jewish. The second part (verses 9-17) is not. In verse 4, John hears the number of God's people. In verse 9, he looks and sees a great crowd, which no one can count. As so often in Revelation, John hears something Jewish, and then sees something that is much greater.

The Old Testament Book of Numbers may help us to understand what Revelation 7 means. In Numbers, the Jewish people have left Egypt. Moses is their leader. They are now in the wild country between Egypt and Palestine. God tells Moses to count the people (Numbers 1:2). Numbers 1:46 tells us that there were 603,550 of them. When they had been in this wild country for nearly forty years, God again told Moses to count them (Numbers 26:2). Numbers 26:51 gives us the result. After forty years there were 601,730 of them. All the old men had died, and there were no more than the number of people who left Egypt. In fact, they were not quite as many. The people had not grown in number.

Now in this chapter of Revelation, the church grows in numbers. John knew the time after Jesus rose from death when there were only the eleven 'apostles', a few other men and a few women. The Book of Acts tells us that soon thousands more people believed in Jesus. Then in our chapter, John hears (verse 4) of 144,000 followers of Jesus. Then in verse 9, he sees a great crowd, which no one could count. Still today, the Church of Jesus grows. Millions of people all around the world are followers of Jesus today. [7.1]

Verses 1-8: The 144,000 sealed

John now sees (verse 1) four angels who stand at the four corners of the earth, or land. We know, of course, that the world is round like a ball. It does not have any corners. John probably here means north, south, east and west. (The four points of the compass) [7.2] These angels stop any damage to the land, sea or trees by the winds. (Remember 6:13.)

Next in verse 2, another angel comes up. He comes from our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is the dawn of God's new day. [7.3] This angel has the seal of God who gives life. This seal is what God's Holy Spirit does in people who become Christians. When they believe the Good News about Jesus, this seal is given to them. It marks them. They belong to God. The Holy Spirit has made a real change in their lives. The devil has no power to change them back again to what they were before they believed in Jesus. God will care for those who have been sealed.

So while Jesus breaks six seals in heaven the angels put these new seals on a great number of Christians.

Nothing (verse 3) must stop the work of God's Spirit in the world. The wind must not blow through a tree if that would stop God's work.

In verse 4 John hears the number of those who are sealed. In verse 9 he will see a much greater number. As so often, what he sees is far more than what he hears. The number 144,000 is made up from 12,000 from each of the twelve tribes which made up Israel. [7.4] There is a list of the tribes in Genesis 46: 8-24. No one can really explain why the list in Revelation is not the same. But (verse 5) Judah probably comes first because our Lord Jesus is called 'the Lion of Judah'. He belonged to the tribe of Judah.

It seems to me that verses 4-8 have a lesson to teach us. When God looks at the church, He sees order. We may think: - ‘There are too many people in that church. There ought to be more in this one'. Or we may feel: - 'If only some of the rich people in that church were in this poor one. If only some of the able people in that church would come to this one, which has no one to lead it'. God looks at the church and sees a shape that we do not see. John speaks again about the 144,000 when we come to 14:1. Here, they are on earth. There, they stand with Jesus, 'the Lamb', on Mount Zion. Not one of them has been lost.

Verses 9-17; The Great Crowd [7.5]

John looks and sees a great crowd of people (verse 9). They stand before God's throne, so they are seen in glory. John says these things about them: -

a) There were so many of them that no one could count them.

b) They come from every part of the human race. They gather from every nation, tribe, people and language. They all gather to Jesus.

Now some Christians may feel: 'There are not many people in our tribe. Not many people speak my language.' But however few they may be, there is a place for them in this great crowd, which stands in front of God's throne. Every language is needed to make the worship of God complete.

It is love for Jesus that brought these people together. They stand together before God's throne. There is peace. There is love and joy. Perhaps once these tribes hated one another and fought one another. Now they all trust each other.

c) They give the same honour (verse 10) to God, the Father, Who sits on His seat as King, and rules all things, and to His Son, Jesus, the Lamb. We must give to them all our honour, praise and worship. We can only come to God's throne because Jesus, the Lamb, is there too.

d) The people in this great crowd have white clothes. They are pure. They are free from sin. They have won the war against sin, so they have branches of palm trees to wave about.

e). They all have one great song of praise to God to share. They all say: 'The praise for saving us, for rescuing us, belongs both to our God, who sits on the throne, and to Jesus, the Lamb'. (verse 10). Sinners appear in perfect holiness.

In verse 11 there is a song of praise from the angels. We sinned. We were lost. Jesus saved us. The angels were never lost. They never sinned. So their hymn of praise says nothing about Jesus as the Lamb of God, or about being saved. But the angels, like us, can call God 'our God'. (We read about the elders in 4:4, and about the Living Beings in 4:6-8.)

So in verse 13, one of the 24 elders speaks to John. He asks him: - 'Who are these people in white robes?' In verse 14 John answered him: -: 'You tell me. I can only guess. You really do know'.

The elder tells John first that these are people who have had great sufferings and many painful trials. But they have come out of those trials. It was not their suffering that saved them. It was Jesus who saved them. It was what He suffered for them. He is the Lamb of God. It is only His blood that makes them pure and holy. [7.6] So we may find ourselves in 'great tribulation'. If we do, let us be faithful to Jesus. God will reward us.

We read next about that reward. But let us be sure that God has forgiven our sins and made us holy. So in verses 15 - 17 we read about the goodness of God to His people in glory. (See Isaiah 4:2-6.)

1. They are in front of His throne. (See Psalm 36:7-9.) This, of course, is a place of great honour.

2. They serve God. 'Day and night' means 'all the time'. (See 14:11.)

3. They serve God right inside the holy temple where He lives. The Jewish temple was a building with open spaces or 'courts' round it. Most of the people could only worship in those courts. They could not go into the building. Only a few priests did that. But the Romans destroyed that temple in AD.70; that was about 25 years before John wrote Revelation. Now the people of God are able to go right into God's house in heaven.

4. It is God Himself, of course, Who is 'the one who sits on the throne'. He will spread over his people the covering of his glory. He will care for his people like a great eagle, which hides its chicks under its wings to keep them safe. Or perhaps the thought is of the sacred Tent (the 'Tabernacle') which God told Moses that he was to make. We can read about that in the Book of Exodus. That Tent was for God to live in. No one else could shelter in it from the heat of the sun or from the cold of the night. But now God will spread his tent so wide that all his people can shelter under it.

In verse 16, we read that the things that had happened to the Christians in their time of trial (verse 14) will never happen to them again. They had been driven from their homes. There was nowhere safe for them to go. They did not have food. They had nothing to drink. Now they will have food, drink, and somewhere to live. (See 16:8!)

They do not only have God the Father to care for them. Jesus, who is the Lamb of God, will be their Shepherd (verse 17). It is wonderful that the Lamb who died should be our Shepherd! We are still like sheep, even in glory. (See Isaiah 49:10.) Finally, the elder says that God will wipe away the tears from their eyes. (See Isaiah 25:8.) This is like a mother who wipes away her child's tears so that it smiles and laughs again. 'Tears here, eternal joys there'. If we do not want to weep here, we cannot hope to laugh there at home in glory. [7.7] 'They would not have been without those tears when God came to wipe them away'. (Matthew Henry) (See Psalm 126). If we shed no tears here we shall gather no flowers in glory. Heaven will be heaven most of all to those who have had the most trials and sufferings here. 'Let us be ashamed of the fear of death'. [7.8].