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Text File | 1992-08-13 | 9KB | 174 lines

                  THE BOOK OF REVELATION

CHAPTER.7.

THE 144 000 SERVANTS OF GOD.

Revelation 7 is the first parenthetical passage in the book.

Things which were not contained in the seals, trumpets, and
the vials are revealed.  It is recognized as being
parenthetical because it breaks up the natural order of
events that will be taking place.

The greatest revival the world has ever known is yet to come.
It will not occur within the church age but during the
Tribulation Period.  This coming worldwide revival is
prophetically described in Revelation 7, appearing right
after the seal judgments to indicate that it will take place
during the first twenty-one months of the Tribulation.
Evidently, while the Antichrist is making his political
advance, the Holy Spirit will move in the hearts of millions
of people, leading them to a saving knowledge of Christ.

Rev 7:1-8.

The Work Of Angels.

A detailed study of the work of angels in the book of
Revelation would reveal that they are the special ministers
of God, administering His plans for the earth.  In chapters 2
and 3 they are seen as messengers assigned to the individual
churches.  In chapter 8 they are observed presenting the
trumpet judgments.  Here we find that they control the forces
of nature.  Actually, in the seventh chapter the angels
supervise the administration of two things:

1.  They control the wind from the four corners of the earth.
"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." (7:1)

2.  They seal the servants of God, the 144 000 tribulation
witnesses.

Since the sixth seal takes place towards the end of the first
quarter of the Tribulation, we find that the destroying angel
is ordered to wait until the works of sealing are finished.
This would indicate that at the beginning of the Tribulation,
the 144 000 servants of God will be sealed and begin their
ministry of preaching the Gospel, attended by a mighty
worldwide soul harvest which will culminate in a severe time
of persecution for believers, inspired by the Antichrist,
This would accord with the breaking of the fifth seal; at
this time the sealing angel will have finished his work and
the destroying angel will be permitted to hurt the earth and
the sea, ushering in the sixth seal.

WHO ARE THE 144 000?

Due to widespread confusion in regard to these 144 000 we
must take time to examine the subject.  If we let the `plain
sense of Scripture make common sense,' it becomes clear that
the 144 000 are Jews.  For John specifically states, "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." (Rev 7:4)

Twelve thousand from each of the 12 tribes means exactly 12
000!  1 Kings 19 tells us that in Elijah's day God had kept
for Himself 7 000 prophets who had not bowed their knees to
Baal.  No one seems to questions the fact that He had 7 000
prophets.  Why should there be any different regarding the
144 000?  It simplifies that Bible interpretation greatly if
we accept God's Word at face value and do not try to force
upon it any other meaning than that which it naturally
conveys.  There will be 12 000 Jews from each of the 12
tribes of Israel, making a total of 144 000.

GOD'S SEAL ON THEIR FOREHEADS

In some manner, these servants will have the seal of God in
their foreheads (Rev 7:3).  We do not know of what this seal
will consist, but the text suggests it will be visible.  It
is interesting to note, that during this same period of time
men will be forced to receive the `mark of the beast' in
their foreheads (Rev 13:14-18).  It may be that believers
will have the mark of God on their foreheads, whereas
unbeliever will feature the mark of the Antichrist,  I am
inclined to believe that both marks are final.  Once a man
receive the Antichrist as his master, he will have made his
decision for eternity.  The same will be true when one
believes of the Lord Jesus Christ.  The evangelization of the
144 000 will proceed among those who have not yet had the
opportunity to succumb to the `lying wonders and
deceitfulness' of the Antichrist.  This suggest that there
could well be vigorous campaigning on the part of the
followers of the Antichrist and the 144 000 to get men to
voluntarily submit to the mark of their master during the
early days of the Tribulation.  After the Antichrist
instigates a wave of persecution against all Christians (the
fifth seal), and after he sets himself up as God in the midst
of the Tribulation Period, there will be few on the earth who
are uncommitted, one way or the other.

THE GREAT HARVEST OF THE TRIBULATION
Rev 7:9

Uppermost in the mind of God is the salvation of souls.  2
Peter 3:9 makes it clear that it is not God's will that any
should perish.  The same principle is found in other Bible
passages, notably Matt 18:14.  As a special climax to God's
ministry of salvation, Rev 7:9 indicates that during the
first part of tribulation the greatest soul harvest in all
history will take place.  in fact, it is this writer's belief
that more people will accept Christ during the early months
of the tribulation, before the Antichrist really has a chance
to consolidate his one-world government and set up his one-
world religion of self-worship (Rev 13:5-7), than have been
converted in the entire 1900 + years of the church age.

To assert that a soul harvest of such gigantic proportions is
scheduled to take place in the future is admittedly to
controdict the thinking of most prophetic students.  It is
nevertheless exciting to think that more people will be saved
during that time than responded under the preaching of the
apostles, the early church fathers, the reformation
preachers, modern missions, fragmented denominationalism,
radio and television preaching, and even the present day,
when Bible-teaching local churches seem to be gathering in
such a large number of souls.  This concept is more than an
optimistic dream, for it is a reasonable conclusion of a
number of prophetic realities, all climaxing with the text of
Revelation 7:9, `a great multitude, which no man could
number, of all nations, and kindreds and peoples, and
tongues....'

Revelation 7:9-17 portrays the second and last company of
redeemed saints seen in the book of Revelation after the
rapture, and the picture of the Church and the Old Testament
saints with God in heaven.  These Tribulation saints will be
martyred throughout the Tribulation period and raptured at
the end of it.  It was observed under the fifth seal that the
`souls under the altar' will be slain from the rapture to the
fifth seal, and they were told to rest for a `little season
until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that
should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.'  It is
clear that they will join all other martyrs of the
Tribulation, and that they will make one company.  This
company is pictured with the white robes, which only Jesus
and redeemed humanity can wear.  And these martyrs have also
`palms in their hands,' signifying rejoicing and victory.
They are seen as distinct from the elders, the living
creature, the angels, and all other beings.  They will come
out of the Great Tribulation and will be martyred for the
Word of God and the testimony of Christ as well as their own
testimony.  These will be saved after the rapture, and  after
the Church has gone to be with the Lord.  Lukewarm and
backslidden Christian will remain after the Church has been
raptured and many of them will wholly accept Jesus Christ as
Lord.  There will be many whose parents, husbands, wives, or
loved ones prayed for them who didn't really respond to Him
and commit their lives to Him fully, who will later turn to
Him during this Tribulation period.  It will mean death, for
they will be killed for their testimony.  They will be
raptured later, having been martyred during this Great
Tribulation.  Those who have been faithful unto death during
this time will be before the throne and serve God
continually.  They will be resting from their labors and
commended for their works, they will have harps of God and
sing upon the sea of glass and reign with the Lord forever
(7:14-17, 14:13, 15:2-4, 20:4).