God seals those who love Him. This devotional reading looks at whether that is God’s children or His people.
Nuggets
- God’s children are sealed by the presence of the Holy Spirit because of our faith, showing we are set apart.
- A remnant of God’s people will be sealed.
- Heaven will be populated by a great multitude.
God has long called Israel His people. He calls His Church His children.
One was built on a covenant promise to one person. The other was built on faith in His Plan of Salvation.
Who actually will be residents of Heaven?
Let's Put It into Context
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Devotions in the Opening the Seals series
Sealing the Servants
“After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, ‘Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads’” (Rev. 7: 1-3 ESV)
God’s children are sealed by the presence of the Holy Spirit because of our faith, showing we are set apart.
The four winds are being restrained. Basically, they are restraining persecution of the Church.
We previously talked about the fifth angel or the “… angel ascending from the rising of the sun …” (Rev. 7: 2 ESV) as being Jesus. He is the One Who seals us.
Who are the angels holding the winds back protecting? It is those who have ABCDed and are walking in the Spirit by keeping His commandments.
Wait! What???? I thought this chapter was about sealing the 144,000.
Well, it does get into that later. But verse 3 acknowledges the fifth angel is talking more than that. He specifically names “… the servants of our God …” (Rev. 7: 3 ESV).
That would mean that Gentiles are included!
Regardless, the sealed are those who commit to believing Jesus as their Savior and live their lives accordingly.
When does Jesus seal us? We are sealed at our conversion. “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit” (Eph. 1: 13 ESV).
In a way, that appears to make this verse meaningless. There would be no one time that a Church-wide seal is performed — like can easily be read into verse 3.
We also have to realize — not what but — Who the seal really is. The seal is the Holy Spirit.
We are given the Holy Spirit to live within us at conversion.
One of the main purposes of being sealed is to secure us. These are under God’s protection from what occurs in the sixth seal. “… ‘Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads’” (Rev. 7: 3 ESV)
What does that put on hold?
“When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place” (Rev. 6: 12-14 ESV).
So, none of the events of the sixth seal in Revelation 6 can happen until Revelation 7 occurs.
There are other reasons why we are sealed.
- To show we were given to the Son by the Father.
- To acknowledge the high price the Son paid for us.
- Because we mourn in response to the high price He had to pay.
- Because we remain faithful to Him.
We talked before about the seal being a visible mark on the forehead. We can see the outward pointings of the Spirit. The doctrines we adhere to and the life of self-denial in order to follow Him also are evident to others.
It is interesting that those who are redeemed will be marked — as those will be marked with the mark of the beast (Rev. 13: 16-18). There will be no mistaking into which camp we fall.
If the sealing is going on now, that makes it a time of salvation, not of judgment. That, in itself, is a huge act of graciousness on God’s part.
Sealing Israel
“And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel: 12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed, 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 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed” (Rev. 7: 4-8 ESV)
A remnant of God’s people will be sealed.
Sealed from Every Tribe of the Sons of Israel
Okay. This is weird.
This isn’t the normal tribal list. This doesn’t list the twelve sons of Israel.
Many times, when we get the list, Joseph and Levi are removed. Instead, Joseph’s two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, are included.
This list is interesting because Dan is replaced by Manasseh. That is the only substitution.
So, we have no clue as to why the names are included that are included.
12,000 from the Tribe Were Sealed
The other thing that doesn’t seem to be right is the 144,000. Wouldn’t we think that there would be more than 144,000 Israelites/Jews who would have given their lives to Christ?
One thing we have to remember is that number signifies completion and perfection. Furse felt it means more than that but really didn’t elaborate.
Resources
It doesn’t matter. We can live with that in the UNR book — understanding not required.
I believe the Israelites/Jews who have circumcised their hearts will make up the 144,000. To me, God will expect obedience and faith from them – just as He does us.
A Great Multitude from Every Nation
“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” (Rev. 7: 9-10 ESV)
Heaven will be populated by a great multitude.
A Great Multitude
After this begins a new something — what that is depends on how you look at it. Is it a new vision or a new theme? Personally, I think it is a continuation of this vision.
Think of the magnitude. Every nation. All tribes. All peoples. All languages.
Think of John’s reaction to this. I doubt that he would have seen many believers up to this point. Yes, the original Apostles were responsible for more converts than anyone else in history.
How many would John have seen?
Think how humbled John would have been that he and the rag-tag bunch of men he ran around with started all of this.
Does this multitude contain the 144,000 and mean that the remnant will be called from all over the earth? Possible.
Yes, there is the nation of Israel now, but the ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom are still considered the lost tribes. They have been scattered.
Is this the Church not including the Israelites? Possibly.
Does this mean everyone all together? That makes more sense to me. I don’t see a segregated Heaven.
Look at it this way. Think about the promise to Abraham. “and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice” (Gen. 22: 18 ESV).
John was seeing the visual culmination of that.
How did so many people get to Heaven? Admission to Heaven is only based on our genuine profession of faith.
Every Nation, from All Tribes, Peoples, and Languages
Salvation is for everyone.
God does not limit salvation to only the Jews. He doesn’t slam the door shut to those who do not fit a specific photo or profile.
Salvation is available to all. “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (II Pet. 3: 9 ESV).
Because everyone is welcome from every nation, tribe, people, and language, everyone will be present from every nation, tribe, people, and language. All the barriers will be removed.
We know we will retain our personalities and our memories. Our bodies will be changed.
It doesn’t say they will all become as one. It says we will be one community.
Paul frequently talked about the Church being a community. “For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another” (Rom. 12: 4-5 ESV).
If this life is to be practice for eternity, and we are expected to be a community here, we will be expected to be a community there.
This brings up a good point. Does it mean everyone is going to have to hear the Plan of Salvation before the Day of the Lord can occur?
From what Jesus said, the answer would be yes. “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Mt. 24: 14 ESV).
There are probably some that think grace and mercy will kick in. They see precedent has been set by children dying before the age of accountability.
I don’t know. There, they are not capable of making the decision.
Once we reach the age of accountability, all we have to do is look and see God. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge” (Ps. 19: 1-2 ESV).
Would God bring judgment on the world if we have not completed His mission?
How are we really going to know? Pastor Steve and I had this conversation. Yes, when I looked, the International Mission Board says there are 3000 unengaged, unreached people groups.
But how do they know some other denomination hasn’t reached them? How do they know they somehow haven’t gotten access to the internet and searched for themselves?
I think this is something that has to go in the UNR book – understanding not relevant.
Standing before the Throne and before the Lamb
The multitude is standing in close proximity to the throne.
We know that those awarded this honor will deserve it. Not only will their service be exemplary, but also their integrity will be also.
In Heaven, we will have access to the throne of God. We will have fellowship with Him and the Lamb.
It is more than that. The multitude are standing, not bowed down. They have nothing to be ashamed of in the presentation of their work for God. They were obedient. They toiled and succeeded.
Clothed in White Robes, with Palm Branches in Their Hands
What is relevant is that the multitude are clothed in white robes and holding palm branches.
We’ve talked lots about what the white robes mean. It is the attire of Heaven. “And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed” (Mk. 16: 5 ESV).
James gave us a great reminder. The garments are white because of our complete justification and acceptance.
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One thing we didn’t discuss is that the white robes are identical.
Yes, their purity is the same. They are also the same in every way.
The palms bring to mind the Triumphal Entry. “The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!’” (Jn. 12: 12-13 ESV).
For John, the palms would bring to mind the Feast of Tabernacles.
“On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the produce of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the Lord seven days. On the first day shall be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day shall be a solemn rest. And you shall take on the first day the fruit of splendid trees, branches of palm trees and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven day” (Lev. 23: 39-40 ESV).
God Who Sits on the Throne, and to the Lamb
God graces us with His immediate presence.
Heaven isn’t like it is here on earth, where we can’t see God. In Heaven, God will be right there.
They do, however, make a distinction between God and Jesus. God is sitting down, and Jesus isn’t. That does not make them equals.
What do other verses say? “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne” (Mt. 25: 31 ESV).
Yes, Jesus will have a throne by His Father’s throne and is already sitting there (Heb. 12: 2).
That being said, Jesus never considered Himself to be God’s equal. He always saw Himself as God’s Servant.
What is evident is that there are two of them. God and Jesus are two separate People even though They are One. “I and the Father are one” (Jn. 10: 30 ESV).
As two separate Persons, they are celebrated separately. For all their Oneness and cohesiveness, They each had a separate part to play in the Plan of Salvation.
God was the Designer. Jesus was the Conqueror.
What is also evident is that it is a victory celebration. They are celebrating the opening of the seals because the Lamb is worthy.
Maybe they are celebrating now because the tenor of the seals is changing. Maybe they are anticipating the final victory.
But verse 10 is really another song, sung to worship God and Jesus.
Martin said something interesting. He wrote, “Heaven’s worship is the worship of praise. Prayer [is] not offered there.”
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We won’t need to be asking in Heaven. We will already be receiving — no asking necessary.
Why?
Prayer is a discipline for us here in this life. We won’t have to ask for salvation, provision, healing, discernment— any of the things that make up our prayers.
Let’s look at some of the reasons Martin gives for no prayer in Heaven.
- We are able to worship in Heaven because of our holiness.
- We worship because of our first-hand knowledge of God.
- We will learn from the worship of the angels.
- The quietness of our souls due to God’s peace will foster worship.
- As we all will be perfected, all worship will be at the same development.
That worship service is going to be awesome!
Making the Connections
How does few-will-follow-the-narrow-path mesh with the multitudes John saw in Heaven? We initially may think they are contradictory.
I don’t think so.
We have to remember the few-will-be-chosen in the context that many choose the wide path. There will be multitudes there as compared to the remnant choosing salvation.
However, when all is said and done, there will be a multitude in Heaven. Many will choose eternal life.
I don’t think the multitude is in Heaven for the every-knee-shall-bow worship (Phil. 2: 10-11). I think this will be the eternal population of Heaven.
How Do We Apply This?
- Grow in the knowledge of the gospel, leading to growth in faith.
- Make that growth evident in our lives.
- Have active prayer lives.
- Be consistent in our service for God.
- Eliminate bad habits.
- Exhibit holiness.
Resources
Father God. You seal those who love You. Lord, we pray that we are among those and that You find us faithful. Amen.
What do you think?
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