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BibleStudyIt Revelation 7

  • Revelation Chapter 7

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God marks his people from Israel

7 After this, I saw four angels. They were standing at the four corners of the earth. They were stopping the four winds of the earth. As a result, no wind could blow on the earth, or on the sea, or on any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel who was coming up from the east. He was carrying the seal of the God who lives for ever. He shouted loudly to the four other angels. They had received authority to destroy the land and the sea. 3 But he shouted to them, ‘Do not destroy the land or the sea or the trees yet. Wait until we put a seal on the heads of God's servants. God's seal on the front of their heads will keep them safe.’

4 Then I heard how many people received God's seal. The number of people was 144,000. They came from all the tribes of Israel's people:

5 12,000 from Judah's tribe,

12,000 from Reuben's tribe,

12,000 from Gad's tribe,

6 12,000 from Asher's tribe,

12,000 from Naphtali's tribe,

12,000 from Manasseh's tribe,

7 12,000 from Simeon's tribe,

12,000 from Levi's tribe,

12,000 from Issachar's tribe,

8 12,000 from Zebulun's tribe,

12,000 from Joseph's tribe,

12,000 from Benjamin's tribe. [ a ]

The large crowd who were wearing white clothes

9 After this, I looked again. I saw a very big crowd of people. There were so many people that nobody could count them. They came from every nation, from every tribe and from every language. They were standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing long white clothes and they held branches of palm trees in their hands. [ b ]

10 They shouted loudly:

‘We worship our God who sits on the throne.
And we worship the Lamb.
They have saved us from Satan's power.’

11 All the angels were standing around the throne, and around the leaders and the four beings. The angels all bent down so that their faces touched the ground. They worshipped God who was on the throne in front of them. 12 They said:

‘This is true!
We worship our God and we give him honour.
He is completely wise.
We thank him and we praise him.
He has all power and authority for ever!
Amen!’

13 Then one of the leaders asked me, ‘Who are these people in white clothes? Where did they come from?’

14 I replied, ‘You surely know who they are, sir.’

He said to me, ‘They are the people who have had a time of very bad trouble. Now they have come out of that. They have washed their clothes in the blood of the Lamb. Now their clothes are white and clean. [ c ] 15 Because of that, they are now standing in front of God's throne. They serve God in his house all the time, day and night. And God will keep them safe because he is with them. 16 They will never again be hungry. They will never be thirsty. The sun will not burn them, nor will any other strong heat burn them. 17 The Lamb is there with them, near to God's throne. He will take care of them, like a shepherd with his sheep. He will take them to drink fresh water that gives people life. They will no longer be sad. God will take away all the tears from their eyes.’

Footnotes

  1. 7:8 The 12 names in this list were all sons of Jacob, except Manasseh, who was Joseph's son. Jacob's other name was Israel. He was the ancestor of Israel's people. The angel did not include the name of Jacob's other son, Dan, in the list.
  2. 7:9 The branches of a palm tree have big leaves. At the time when Jesus lived on this earth, people used palm branches at special events. They thought that the palm tree was a special tree. The people held palm branches when Jesus rode into Jerusalem. This was because they were so happy to see him. They were showing that he was a great king. They were showing that he would beat all his enemies. See John 12:13 .
  3. 7:14 This verse is not telling us about clothes that we wear on our bodies. See Revelation 3:4 , 18 . The ‘clothes’ mean what we are really like in our spirits. Jesus' blood poured out when he died for us. He can make our spirits as clean as white clothes if we believe in him.

The 144,000 People of Israel

7 After this happened I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth. The angels were holding the four winds of the earth. They were stopping the wind from blowing on the land or the sea or on any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel coming from the east. This angel had the seal of the living God. The angel called out in a loud voice to the four angels. These were the four angels that God had given the power to hurt the earth and the sea. The angel said to them, 3 “Don’t harm the land or the sea or the trees before we mark the foreheads of those who serve our God.”

4 Then I heard how many people had God’s mark on their foreheads. There were 144,000. They were from every tribe of the people of Israel:

5 from the tribe of Judah 12,000

from the tribe of Reuben 12,000

from the tribe of Gad 12,000

6 from the tribe of Asher 12,000

from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000

from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000

7 from the tribe of Simeon 12,000

from the tribe of Levi 12,000

from the tribe of Issachar 12,000

8 from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000

from the tribe of Joseph 12,000

from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000

The Great Crowd

9 Then I looked, and there was a large crowd of people. There were so many people that no one could count them all. They were from every nation, tribe, race of people, and language of the earth. They were standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They all wore white robes and had palm branches in their hands. 10 They shouted loudly, “Victory belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

11 The elders and the four living beings were there. All the angels were standing around them and the throne. The angels bowed down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God. 12 They said, “Amen! Praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honor, power, and strength belong to our God forever and ever. Amen!”

13 Then one of the elders asked me, “Who are these people in white robes? Where did they come from?”

14 I answered, “You know who they are, sir.”

And the elder said, “These are the ones who have come out of the great suffering. They have washed their robes [ a ] with the blood of the Lamb, and they are clean and white. 15 So now these people are before the throne of God. They worship God day and night in his temple. And the one who sits on the throne will protect them. 16 They will never be hungry again. They will never be thirsty again. The sun will not hurt them. No heat will burn them. 17 The Lamb in front of the throne will be their shepherd. He will lead them to springs of water that give life. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 7:14 washed their robes Meaning that they had believed in Jesus and had been made clean from sin by his blood sacrifice. See Rev. 5:9; Heb. 9:14; 10:14-22; Acts 22:16; 1 Jn. 1:7.

7 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.

2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,

3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.

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.

5 Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand.

6 Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nephthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand.

7 Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand.

8 Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.

9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.

11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,

12 Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.

13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?

14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.

16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.

17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

An Interlude

7 After this I saw ( A ) four angels standing at the ( B ) four corners of the earth, holding back ( C ) the four winds of the earth ( D ) so that no wind would blow on the earth, or on the sea, or on any tree. 2 And I saw another angel ascending ( E ) from the rising of the sun, holding the ( F ) seal of ( G ) the living God; and he called out with a loud voice to the ( H ) four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, 3 saying, “ ( I ) Do not harm the earth, or the sea, or the trees until we have ( J ) sealed the bond-servants of our God on their ( K ) foreheads.”

The 144,000

4 And I heard the ( L ) number of those who were sealed: ( M ) 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

5 from the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, from the tribe of Gad twelve thousand, 6 from the tribe of Asher twelve thousand, from the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand, from the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand, 7 from the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand, from the tribe of Levi twelve thousand, from the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand, 8 from the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand, from the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand, and from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand were sealed.

A Multitude from the Tribulation

9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from ( N ) every nation and all the tribes, peoples, and languages, standing ( O ) before the throne and ( P ) before the Lamb, clothed in ( Q ) white robes, and ( R ) palm branches were in their hands; 10 and they *cried out with a loud voice, saying,

( S ) Salvation belongs to our God ( T ) who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

11 And all the angels were standing ( U ) around the throne and around ( V ) the elders and the ( W ) four living creatures; and they ( X ) fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying,

( Y ) Amen, ( Z ) blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might belong to our God forever and ever. ( AA ) Amen.”

13 Then one of the elders ( AB ) responded, saying to me, “These who are clothed in the ( AC ) white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?” 14 I [ a ] said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the ( AD ) great tribulation, and they have ( AE ) washed their robes and made them ( AF ) white in the ( AG ) blood of the Lamb. 15 For this reason they are ( AH ) before the throne of God, and they ( AI ) serve Him day and night in His [ b ] ( AJ ) temple; and ( AK ) He who sits on the throne will spread His ( AL ) tabernacle over them. 16 ( AM ) They will no longer hunger nor thirst, nor will the sun [ c ] beat down on them, nor any scorching heat; 17 for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their ( AN ) shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the [ d ] ( AO ) water of life; and ( AP ) God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 7:14 Lit have said
  2. Revelation 7:15 Or sanctuary
  3. Revelation 7:16 Lit fall
  4. Revelation 7:17 Lit waters

144,000 Sealed

7 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners ( A ) of the earth, holding back the four winds ( B ) of the earth to prevent ( C ) any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal ( D ) of the living God. ( E ) He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: ( F ) 3 “Do not harm ( G ) the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads ( H ) of the servants of our God.” 4 Then I heard the number ( I ) of those who were sealed: 144,000 ( J ) from all the tribes of Israel.

5 From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed,

from the tribe of Reuben 12,000,

from the tribe of Gad 12,000,

6 from the tribe of Asher 12,000,

from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000,

from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000,

7 from the tribe of Simeon 12,000,

from the tribe of Levi 12,000,

from the tribe of Issachar 12,000,

8 from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000,

from the tribe of Joseph 12,000,

from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.

The Great Multitude in White Robes

9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, ( K ) standing before the throne ( L ) and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes ( M ) and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice:

“Salvation belongs to our God, ( N )
who sits on the throne, ( O )
and to the Lamb.”

11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders ( P ) and the four living creatures. ( Q ) They fell down on their faces ( R ) before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying:

“Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!” ( S )

13 Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes ( T ) —who are they, and where did they come from?”

14 I answered, “Sir, you know.”

And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes ( U ) and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ( V ) 15 Therefore,

“they are before the throne of God ( W )
and serve him ( X ) day and night in his temple; ( Y )
and he who sits on the throne ( Z )
will shelter them with his presence. ( AA )
16 ‘Never again will they hunger;
never again will they thirst. ( AB )
The sun will not beat down on them,’ [ a ]
nor any scorching heat. ( AC )
17 For the Lamb at the center of the throne
will be their shepherd; ( AD )
‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ [ b ] ( AE )
‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’ [ c ] ( AF )

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 7:16 Isaiah 49:10
  2. Revelation 7:17 Isaiah 49:10
  3. Revelation 7:17 Isaiah 25:8