Those Who Were Sealed: 144,000
(Rev 7: 1ampsim8)
The book of Revelation is an exquisite duet of judgment and salvation. While judgment is taking place on one side, the history of salvation is in progress on the other. Todays passage is an interlude between the sixth and seventh seal which shows the 144,000 people saved in the midst of their extreme situation. Its more important than the seventh seal or the seventh trumpet because it delivers the message that Christ will finally save Gods selected people through the Word no matter what happens on earth whether political, social or cultural issues. How then does Christ seal his people in the midst of woes?
1. He holds back the four winds of the earth. The number four refers to the four corners of the whole world. The winds of the earth are another form of the white, black, red, and pale horses, bent on conquest, taking peace from the earth, and bringing famine and death. If God lets men do whatever they want to do, in an instant the whole world will sway in the winds of jealousy, hatred, and anger by those instigated by Satan. A peaceful household will be disturbed by one of its members who runs away from home or has an affair with another woman. A spouses affair can blow down a family. Currently, modern comfortable life brings a variety of winds such as KSAT, SNS violence, disease, and ideology, threatening to extinguish the ember of the gospel. The teens and twenties, called the FARAN generation tend to defy old values or go bragging in order to keep their pride or to hide their weaknesses. These earthly winds are definitely threatening. However, in todays passage, Gods angels are holding back these evil winds. And God is ready to seal his chosen people.
2. He puts a seal on the foreheads of those who see their detestable sins. The angels of God, coming up from the east, the place of life, salvation, and blessing are to seal Gods chosen people while other angels are holding back the earthly winds. The phrase, holding back the winds does not mean no persecution on earth, considering the Israelites living under the Roman regime in those days. Whether in the days of peace or persecution, no one can receive Gods sealing without his guidance. Being sealed by God means being born again as His child by faith through the Word. In Ezekiel 9, God tells the man clothed in linen to lament over all the detestable things done in his temple by priests. Gods sealing calls for this lamentation. Everything is connected with sins. We need to take our spouses or childs sins as ours, when they are discovered, and lament over our faults instead of blaming them, saying 'What in the world is wrong with you?' Thats how to be sealed by God. We wont get anywhere if we take things merely as incidents rather than the matters relating to our sin, ascribing them to circumstances. God puts a mark on the foreheads of those who lament over all the detestable things in themselves under all circumstances.
3. He puts a seal on his selected ones without fail. God reveals his message through a set of symbolic numbers, considering the suppressive atmosphere in those days. The number of 144,000 is the sum of 12 tribes multiplied by 12 disciples, 10 the number of fullness, and finally 3 of the Trinity respectively. It is a symbolic number of Gods revelation, representing His perfection and fullness, which includes every single one of His chosen people saved by the blood of the Lamb regardless of their nation and tribe. The number of 144,000 represents the greater scope of Gods salvation and bigger rights and status of his people in the New Testament, compared to the Israelites in the Old Testament. God gives his sealing to his chosen people not because of their own efforts or deeds but because of their heavenly nationality. A columnist said in his article of an economic magazine that '80% of our lifelong income is determined by where we were born.' Likewise we can be born as Gods children with heavenly citizenship by faith, not by deeds. By believing this, we can be a truly rich person, who has eternal life.
4. He puts a seal on his people without discrimination. Judah, the man of the tribe of the Messiah, who saw his detestable sins appeared first in the list of salvation. Then came Reuben, who slept with his stepmother. The third was Gad the son of Leahs maidservant the 4th was Asher, the son of a concubine who lived a comfortable life the 5th was Naphtali, the son of Rachels maidservant the 6th was Manasseh who lost his birthright the 7th was Simeon who drove Israel into a great trouble because of his murder the 8th was Levi who committed murder yet later was restored to his priesthood. Thus God called Levi to account without any favoritism the 9th was Issacar who enjoyed loafing around the 10th was Zebulun, the last of Leahs offspring the 11th was Joseph, son of Rachel and the last was Benjamin who committed murder. But the list of salvation excluded the name of Dan and Ephraim. Dan, who stands for the Anti-Christ, left his community resisting Joshuas command of Canaan conquest. We also can be excluded from the 144,000 if we resist our mission. Ephraim brought a golden calf and led the Israelites to worship it. Thus the list of Gods salvation includes all manner of people sons of concubines, legitimate sons, laymen, and priests. Thus those who saw their sins in their life were enlisted in the high ranks while human role models barely passed the entrance test of Gods kingdom. The ranks of salvation are for the humble people ready to serve others rather than those who are bent to conquest. Notice that each rank from the first to 12th is composed of 12,000, an even allocation, who enjoy the same heavenly prizes. No matter what role we take here on earth, we need to repent like Judah. Jonathan Edwards 5th great grandson, a pastor who had three handicapped children said that Gods calling lurks in physically challenged people. We need to bring up our children not according to our own criteria, but from Gods perspective, helping them have the sense of calling and thus being sealed by God.
'Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.' (Rev 7:4)
