Revelation 7

Revelation 7:1

Parallels: Revelation 6

The increase of the Christian church, which we opening of the seals, is represented by the vision, and sealed out of each tribe of Israel; and the glory and happiness of those who should dure persecution while it continued. Rev. VI

REVELATION VII. 1.

AND after these things, it pleased God to give me a representation of the increase which his church should receive, after the commotions which had been shadowed out by those visions which were introduced by the opening the seals. Accordingly, I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth; that is, the north, the south, the east, and the west; and they appeared as holding the four cardinal winds of the earth in their hands, that the wind might not blow upon the earth, nor upon the sea, nor upon any tree; but that there might be the most entire and complete calm, to represent the peaceful state of things, which should succeed the tumultuous and distressing revolutions which had been intimated to me above. (Compare Jer. xlix. 36, 37.) And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, to intimate the progress the gospel should make from the east to the west; having in his hand the seal of the living God, in order to impress a mark upon those whom he was graciously determined to distinguish as his own property, and who should be inclined to dedicate themselves to his service. And he cried with a great voice to the four angels, to whom power was given over the winds, at present to restrain them, but afterwards to loose them with great violence, and by them to injure, in a terrible manner, the earth, and the sea; Saying, Injure not, by the missive vengeance committed to you, the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads; that distinguishing them by that seal, you may know how to moderate the force of the storm, where their safety and comfort is concerned. And I then heard

e vision of the servants of God sealed.

the number, of those that were sealed in all, one hundred and forty four thousand, who were sealed in an equal number, out of every tribe of the children of Israel. And I heard them mentioned in the following order; of the tribe of Judah, as the most noble and glorious, distinguished by its regal dignity, and its peculiar relation to Christ according to the flesh, [were] sealed twelve thousand. And of the tribe of Reuben, though that were so much degraded by Jacob, and comparatively so small, when the people were numbered in the wilderness, [were] sealed twelve thousand too. Of the tribe of Gad, whose territories in Canaan lay contiguous to those of Reuben on the other side Jordan, [were] also sealed twelve thousand. And, from thence, the angel appeared to pass over to the northwest boundary of the land, and to the shore of the Mediterranean sea, which was the lot of the tribe of Asher, of which there [were] also sealed twelve thousand. And of the neighbouring tribe of Naphtali, whose inheritance lay east of the former, [were] sealed twelve thousand. And of the tribe of Manasseh, whose land lay next to the east of Naphtali [were] sealed the same number, that is, twelve thousand. And of the tribe of Simeon, though it had its inheritance taken out of that of Judah, and so might seem less considerable, there [were] sealed as many as of the former, even twelve thousand. And of the tribe of his brother Levi, though his posterity were scattered among the other tribes, and had no land that was properly their inheritance, [were] sealed twelve thousand likewise. And of the tribe of Issachar, to which the angel then passed, [were]

a Of the tribe of Judah, &c.] I freely acknowledge, that it is very difficult to me to assign the reason of that order in which the tribes are placed, or the reason, why one of the tribes is omitted; the latter of which appears much more important than the former. However this is plain, that when Levi was mentioned for one tribe, it was necessary, that, since twelve only were to be mentioned, one should be omitted. Some indeed have imagined, that Dan was omitted, to ex-

press how detestable idolatry is in the sight of God; as the tribe of Dan was the first that fell into idolatry after their settlement in Canaan. Compare Judges xviii. 30, 31. Dr. Hammond assigns another reason, namely, that long before that time, the tribe of Dan was destroyed, or brought very low, say the Jews; and indeed it is not numbered among the rest of the tribes, 1 Chron. ii. and followin chapters. See Ham. in loc.

After which event, the saints ascribe praise to God;

sealed twelve thousand. And of the tribe of Zebulun, which lay contiguous to that of Issachar to the north, [were] also sealed twelve thousand. And of the tribe of Ephraim, the other son of Joseph, and by far the most considerable of his descendants, [were] sealed twelve thousand too, he not being in that respect at all distinguished from Manasseh his brother. And to conclude, of the tribe of Benjamin, Jacob’s youngest son, [were] sealed twelve thousand. And thus upon the whole, the number of one hundred and forty four thousand was completed. Nor did I presume to inquire why Dan was not introduced among his brethren, on this occasion. Thus did God represent to me, the extraordinary growth of the Christian church, which seemed to be matter of inexpressible joy to the inhabitants of the heavenly world. For after this, I saw, and beheld a great multitude, who made a thronged assembly, which no one could number, and appeared to have come out of every nation, and tribe, and people, and language; the blessed fruit of preaching the gospel over all the world; and they then appeared to me, as standing before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed in long white robes, and having branches of palms in their hands, to signify the victory they should gain over all their enemies, and the state of holiness and joy to which they should be finally conducted, notwithstanding all the formidable opposition through which they should be called to pass. And I heard them crying with a loud voice, in token of the intenseness of their devotion, and saying, Let all the glory of this great salvation which we have obtained, be ascribed to our God who sits upon the throne, and from thence has graciously regarded us, and exalted us to such dignity and

b Multitude whom no one could number, &c.] Some have supposed, that the hundred and forty four thousand were Jews, and that these were the Gentile church. But it appears to me, that the sealing these thousands, expresses the progress of the gospel under Constantine; and that the unimperable multitude here spoken of, were the spirits of good men departed out of this world, and now with God in glory: and especially those who had weathered the

difficulties and persecutions, during the first centuries of Christianity, when the civil power was generally active against it; and when, I think it highly probable, that many persecutions might have raged in various parts of the world, whose histories are not come down to us. And perhaps the holding the winds, which is mentioned ver. 1, may denote the peace in Constantine’s time.

they who came out of great tri u ation:

appiness, mean and miserable as we once s vere; and let it be also ascribed to the grace nd blood of the Lamb, who gave himself to be lain for our redemption. And all the angels tood round about the throne, and encompassed also, at the same time, the twenty four elders, and the four living creatures, and, in token of the humblest reverence, they fell down on their aces before the throne, and worshipped God, Saying, Amen: thus let it be, let the blessing, 1 and the glory, and the wisdom, and the thanksiving, and the honour, and the power, and the strength, [be] ascribed to our God for ever and ever, amen: may all creatures for ever bless, and give thanks to him, as originally and essentially possessed of supreme glory, complete wisdom, of irresistible and almighty power, and therefore worthy of all honour, though exalted above all praise. We acknowledge him to be so, we rejoice that he is so, and wish that universal nature may join with us in so reasonable, and so delightful an homage, and pronounce the solemn amen. And one of the elders answered, saying to me, As for those who are clothed with white raiment, and make such a splendid appearance, who are they, and whence do they come? And I, supposing by his question that he asked in order to quicken my attention to what he had to tell me concerning them, said to him, Sir, I conclude thou knowest, though I do not. And he said to me, It is true; and I would have thee observe, for thine own encouragement, and that of thy brethren, and those who may arise after thee, that these are they who are come out of much tribulation, which they have endured in the cause of true religion; and they have washed their robes, and made them so white as you see them, in the blood of the Lamb: they owe all their exalta-

Made them white in the blood of the Lamb.] It looks too much like an obstinate resolution by no means to acknowledge the efficacy of Christ’s blood to our salvation, for any to maintain, that the blood of the Lamb here signifies blood shed for his sake, when it is said in words so much resembling these, chap. i. 5, who loved.

and washed us from our sins, in his own blood And chap. v. 9, thou wast slain, and has redeemed us to God by thy blood. The texts produced to palliate the other forced an unnatural interpretation, when consulted, will appear little to the purpose. They are chiefly Col. i. 24, and Heb. xi 26.

VOL. 6.

Reflections on the happiness of those who are sealed.

tion and glory, not to the blood they have themselves offered, but to that most precious blood of his, which he permitted to be shed for their sakes. Therefore, being thus redeemed to God by him, and having been enabled to approve their fidelity to their Divine Master, in the midst of the greatest extremities, they now receive a rich equivalent for all they have suffered; for they are before the throne of God, and they perform Divine service to him day and night in his temple; and he who sitteth upon the throne, pitches his tabernacle, as it were, upon them, and displays the tokens of his presence all around them. They shall hunger no more, neither shall they thirst any more, for ever; nor shall the scorching rays of the sun fall upon them, nor any other inconvenient and disagreeable heat; For the Lamb, who is in the midst of the throne, shall himself, as it were, own the relation of a Shepherd to them, and take care to feed them, and he shall lead them to fountains of living water; and that God, whom they have faithfully served, and whose interest has been so dear to them, shall act, as it were, the part of an indulgent Father, and tenderly wipe away every tear from their eyes; comforting them with the most reviving consolations, after all the calamities and distresses he has permitted them to endure below.

IMPROVEMENT.

How inexpressibly happy are the thousands of those who are sealed, those whom God has marked out for his own, and in that character, has taken them under his special protection. Whatever storms and tempests may arise, they are in no danger of being forsaken; they shall be preserved inviolably safe, and their happiness is secure. They shall be brought at length to join with the innumerable multitude, who surround the throne, and ascribe, as all Israel must do, Salvation to God who sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb. And O! that the salvation of Israel were come out of Sion, that their praises might sound sweeter here on earth, and that myriads of new voices might unite in the harmonious concert. Those songs of heaven let us begin below, and say, Amen: blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be to our God, for ever an ever: amen! If through his grace, we can call him our God, how cordially should we join in this sublime ascription!

The vision of the seven angels with trumpets :

In the mean time, we may see the church in affliction; we may feel a large share of personal, or public tribulation; but, when it presses hardest upon us, let us lift up our eyes to that glorious scene which the apostle beheld, and which was so excellent and sublime, that it might well transport him, even under the tribulations through which he was then making his way to it. Let us persevere, steadily and faithfully, as they did; and the day will come, when our robes shall be as white, and our crowns as radiant, and our palms as verdant as theirs. Let us then bear with patience, hunger and thirst, heat and weariness, while we travel through this vale of tears; rejoicing in hope of the everlasting refreshment and pleasure to which the Lamb will lead us; even those fountains of living water, of which he will give us to drink, when God has wiped away all tears from our eyes, and placed us before his throne, where we shall serve him day and night in his temple, and see his face, and dwell with him, and have him for ever dwell with us, and in us. Amen.