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God’s People Will Be Preserved

Then I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds so they did not blow on the earth or the sea, or even on any tree. And I saw another angel coming up from the east, carrying the seal of the living God. And he shouted to those four angels, who had been given power to harm land and sea, “Wait! Don’t harm the land or the sea or the trees until we have placed the seal of God on the foreheads of his servants.”

And I heard how many were marked with the seal of God—144,000 were sealed from all the tribes of Israel:

from Judah12,000
from Reuben12,000
from Gad12,000
from Asher12,000
from Naphtali12,000
from Manasseh12,000
from Simeon12,000
from Levi12,000
from Issachar12,000
from Zebulun12,000
from Joseph12,000
from Benjamin12,000

Praise from the Great Crowd

After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. 10 And they were shouting with a great roar,

“Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne
    and from the Lamb!”

11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living beings. And they fell before the throne with their faces to the ground and worshiped God. 12 They sang,

“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom
    and thanksgiving and honor
and power and strength belong to our God
    forever and ever! Amen.”

13 Then one of the twenty-four elders asked me, “Who are these who are clothed in white? Where did they come from?”

14 And I said to him, “Sir, you are the one who knows.”

Then he said to me, “These are the ones who died in[a] the great tribulation.[b] They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white.

15 “That is why they stand in front of God’s throne
    and serve him day and night in his Temple.
And he who sits on the throne
    will give them shelter.
16 They will never again be hungry or thirsty;
    they will never be scorched by the heat of the sun.
17 For the Lamb on the throne[c]
    will be their Shepherd.
He will lead them to springs of life-giving water.
    And God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”

Footnotes

  1. 7:14a Greek who came out of.
  2. 7:14b Or the great suffering.
  3. 7:17 Greek on the center of the throne.

The Sealed of Israel

After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, (A)holding the four winds of the earth, (B)that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. Then 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 granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, (C)“Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God (D)on their foreheads.” (E)And I heard the number of those who were sealed. (F)One hundred and forty-four thousand (G)of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:

of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand were [a]sealed;
of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed.

A Multitude from the Great Tribulation

After these things I looked, and behold, (H)a great multitude which no one could number, (I)of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, (J)clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, (K)“Salvation belongs to our God (L)who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 (M)All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and (N)worshiped God, 12 (O)saying:

“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom,
Thanksgiving and honor and power and might,
Be to our God forever and ever.
Amen.”

13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in (P)white robes, and where did they come from?”

14 And I said to him, [b]“Sir, you know.”

So he said to me, (Q)“These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and (R)washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will (S)dwell among them. 16 (T)They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; (U)the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; 17 for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne (V)will shepherd them and lead them to [c]living fountains of waters. (W)And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 7:5 NU, M omit sealed in vv. 5b–8b.
  2. Revelation 7:14 NU, M My lord
  3. Revelation 7:17 NU, M fountains of the waters of life

The Sealed of Israel

After this I saw four angels(A) standing at the four corners of the earth, restraining the four winds of the earth(B) so that no wind could blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. Then I saw another angel rising up from the east,(C) who had the seal of the living God.(D) He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels who were allowed to harm the earth and the sea, “Don’t harm the earth or the sea or the trees(E) until we seal the servants of our God on their foreheads.”(F) And I heard the number of the sealed:

144,000 sealed from every tribe of the Israelites:(G)

12,000 sealed from the tribe of Judah,

12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,

12,000 from the tribe of Gad,

12,000 from the tribe of Asher,

12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,

12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,

12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,

12,000 from the tribe of Levi,

12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,

12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,

12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,

12,000 sealed from the tribe of Benjamin.

A Multitude from the Great Tribulation

After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language,(H) which no one could number,(I) standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands.(J) 10 And they cried out in a loud voice:

Salvation belongs to our God,(K)
who is seated on the throne,
and to the Lamb!

11 All the angels stood around the throne, and along with the elders and the four living creatures they fell facedown before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying,

Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom
and thanksgiving and honor
and power and strength
be to our God forever and ever.(L) Amen.

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

14 I said to him, “Sir,[a] you know.”

Then he told me: These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.(M) They washed their robes and made them white(N) in the blood of the Lamb.

15 For this reason they are before the throne of God,
and they serve him day and night(O) in his temple.(P)
The one seated on the throne will shelter[b] them:(Q)
16 They will no longer hunger;
they will no longer thirst;
the sun will no longer strike them,
nor will any scorching heat.(R)
17 For the Lamb who is at the center of the throne
will shepherd them;(S)
he will guide them to springs of the waters of life,(T)
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.(U)

Footnotes

  1. 7:14 Or “My lord
  2. 7:15 Or will spread his tent over

144,000 Sealed

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. 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) “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.” Then I heard the number(I) of those who were sealed: 144,000(J) from all the tribes of Israel.

From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed,

from the tribe of Reuben 12,000,

from the tribe of Gad 12,000,

from the tribe of Asher 12,000,

from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000,

from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000,

from the tribe of Simeon 12,000,

from the tribe of Levi 12,000,

from the tribe of Issachar 12,000,

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

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

After this vision, I saw four heavenly messengers standing at the four corners of the earth. They were holding back the four winds so that the earth would not be overcome by violent, rushing winds blowing over the land or over the sea or blowing down any tree. Then I saw a fifth messenger, coming up with the sun as it was rising in the east, carrying the seal of the living God. He called with a great and loud voice to the four messengers who had authority to harm the earth and its seas.

Fifth Messenger: Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we seal the servants of our God with a mark of ownership on their foreheads.

4-8 Then I heard that 144,000 would receive the seal, that is 12,000 from every tribe of Israel: Judah, Reuben, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin.

After I heard about these who would be sealed, I looked and saw a huge crowd of people, which no one could even begin to count, representing every nation and tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and waving palm branches. 10 They cried out with one loud voice.

Crowd: Salvation comes only from our God, who sits upon the throne, and from the Lamb.

John hears that 144,000 people out of Israel are destined to be sealed, but then he turns to see an innumerable multitude from every people group in the world. What he sees reveals the truth of what he hears: the number “144,000” is not an exact count of who will be saved but is a symbolic number (12 x 12 x 1000). “Twelve” is a number that signifies all the people of God, from both the Old and New Testaments. In reality, between the sixth and seventh seal, there is an interlude, an opportunity for people from every nation to enter into the people of God, to receive God’s mark, and to take their places among the redeemed.

11 All the heavenly messengers stood up, encircling the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell prostrate before the throne and worshiped God.

12 Heavenly Messengers, Elders, and Living Creatures: Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom
    And thanksgiving and honor
    And power and might
    Be to our God on and on throughout all the ages. Amen.

One of the Elders (to me): 13 Who are these people clothed in white robes, and where have they come from?

John: 14 Sir, surely you know the answer to your own questions.

One of the Elders: These are coming from the time of great suffering and affliction. They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb, cleansing them pure white.

15     Responding out of a heart filled with praise, they congregate before the throne of God
        and constantly worship Him day and night in His temple.
    The One seated on the throne will always live among them.
16     They will never be hungry or thirsty again.
    The sun or blazing heat will never scorch them,
17     Because the Lamb who stands at the center of the throne is their shepherd and they are His sheep,
        and He will lead them to the water of life.
    And God will dry every tear from their eyes.