REVELATION
SIMPLIFIED
CHAPTER 7.5
Gleanings
from the Book of Revelation:
A
Weekly Verse-by-Verse Bible Study Series
The
REVELATION
TO JOHN
(The
Apocalypse)
Chapter
Seven
A
Parenthetical Chapter:
Judgment
Suspended
Introduction
God is not finished dealing with the nation of
Israel. A regathering of God's remnant (cf. Isaiah 37:32; Micah 5:7), Israel
will be preserved to fulfill His covenantal promise to Abraham (cf. Genesis
12:1-3; 13:14-17; 15:1-18; 17: 1-6; 22:25-28). The 12,000 are significantly referencing
the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Even though Israel failed its
mission to be a witness nation for God on earth during the Old Testament era,
their greatest missionary work is yet to be fulfilled during the Great
Tribulation Period.
The result of this effort will produce His remnant
to be redeemed (7:5-8) as well as innumerable Gentile penitents (7:9).
The Abrahamic Covenant
Summarized
The Abrahamic Covenant contained many provisions.
It was a promise based upon Abraham forsaking his land [Ur of the Chaldees (cf.
Genesis 11:31; 12:1-3)] and going to the land God showed him (Canaan). These promises
became unconditional:
1. God would make Abraham the father of a great nation
2. God would bless him both spiritually and
physically
3. God would make his name noble and respected by millions
4. God would make him a blessing to many nations
5. God would bless those who bless him
6. God would curse those who curse him
7. God would bless all the families of the earth in him
So, through Abraham, God will bring about 3
components:
1. A people
2. A land
3. A worldwide
blessing
Fulfillment of this promise is realized by
salvation through Jesus Christ, Abraham's promised seed, Those who refuse to
accept Him will be judged by Him, both Jew, and Gentile, and spend an eternity
in Hell. However, those who accept Christ as Saviour will live life everlasting
with Him.
When one reads or hears the common phrase Children of Israel, it simply refers to
the blood descendants of the patriarch Jacob [later named Israel by God (cf. Genesis 35:10)].
The number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from
the tribes of Israel (7:4); 12,000 from each tribe. These are distinct literal
numbers. They will be sealed and delivered through persecution, brought through
Tabulation, live on earth, and become missionaries, as it were, to evangelize
the unbelievers.
Specific divisions of the 144,000 are as follows…
(Verse 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.
(Verse 6)
Of the tribe of Aser were
sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand.
(Verse 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.
(Verse 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.
There are at least twenty variant lists of tribes
in the Bible, their numbers between ten and thirteen.
Three main listings are illustrated below:
Order of the Twelve Tribes
Genesis 29-30,35 Numbers 1 Revelation
7
By Birth By Census By
Significance
Reuben Reuben Juda *
Simeon Simeon Reuben
Levi Judah Gad
Judah Issachar Aser
Dan Zebulun Nepthalim
Naphtali Ephraim (son of Joseph) Manasses *
Gad Manasseh (son of Joseph) Simeon
Asher Benjamin Levi
Issachar Dan Issachar
Zebulun Asher Zabulon
[Dinah](The only daughter) ___ ___
Joseph Gad Joseph
(Benoni)Benjamin Naphtali Benjamin
Footnote:
The difference in spelling of the names, primarily
in the KJV, is due to the translation from the original Hebrew and Greek
manuscripts.
Observations
1. Genesis
29-30 - The original list
according to their birth
2. Numbers 1 - Records the tribes, men twenty years old and
above, the renowned of the congregation, princes of their fathers, heads of thousands
in Israel (1:16)
3. Ephraim and
Manasseh (Joseph's two sons) replace Joseph
4. Revelation
7 - The twelve thousand from each tribe are the
first fruits of the remnant preserved by God. Manasseh replaces Dan
Historical Observations
Dan
No mention of the tribe of Dan is found in
Revelation Chapter 7. Most scholars reason this exclusion is premised on the
Law found in Deuteronomy 29:18-21, stating those who infect Israel with
idolatry would accrue three condemnations:
1. Every man, woman, and family would have all curses
in the Law heaped upon them
2. Their names are blotted out from under Heaven
3. They would be separated from the tribes of Israel
Bourne out of greed and not trusting in God's
provisions, the Danites sought their inheritance:
Judges 18:
1-2 - In
those days there was no king in
Israel: and in those days the tribe of the
Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in; for unto that day all their
inheritance had not fallen unto them among
the tribes of Israel.
In 1 Kings their sin is recorded:
1 Kings
12:28-33 - Wereupon
the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem:
behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And he set the one in Bethel,
and the other put he in Dan. And he (Jeroboam) made
an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi. And Jeroboam ordained
a feast in the eighth month, on the
fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered
upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in
Bethel the priests of the high places which he
had made. So he
offered upon the altar which he had made in
Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he
had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto
the children of Israel: and he offered upon
the altar, and
burnt incense.
As a result of their actions, The Danites became
engulfed in disobedience:
Judges
18:30-31 - And
the children of Dan set up the
graven image:
and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were
priests to the
tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land. And they set
them up Micah's graven image*, which he made,
all the time that
the house of God was in Shiloh.
Dan instituted Bethel as the headquarters for calf
worship. Although the Danites had no ministry (their right to preach) during
Tribulation, however, their exclusion is not permanent.
Footnote: Micah, an elder who survived Joshua --- from the central
mountains of Ephraim (called Mount Ephraim) --- was the founder and owner of a
small private sanctuary in Israel's northernmost part of the tribe of Dan. This
shrine was paid for by his mother for 200 shekels. She employed a goldsmith to
carve a golden Canaanite image for him and the Danites to worship at this
shrine. Micah also hired a Judaean Levite priest so they could have the
blessings of Jehovah.
Ezekiel's prophecy reveals there is a portion for
Dan. They will survive, however, as the gifts and calling of God with regards
to His people are even without repentance, thus allowing God not to renege on
His promise as stated:
Ezekiel
48:1 -Now
these are the names of the
tribes. From the north end to the coast of the way of Hethlon, as one goeth to
Hamath, Hazarenan, the border of Damascus northward, to the coast of Hamath;
for these are his sides east and
west; a portion for Dan.
Of the tribe of Joseph were
sealed twelve thousand
Joseph's Heirship
Because of Jacob's (Israel) partiality to his last
son Joseph, he allotted a double portion, also called the birthright, to
Manasseh and Ephraim.
Genesis
48:5-6 - And
now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I
came unto thee into Egypt, are
mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be
mine. And thy issue, which thou begettest
after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.
Ephraim
Likewise, not mentioned in this passage, is the
tribe of Ephraim. Jeroboam, an Ephraimite, commanded a revolution against the
house of David and introduced idolatry into the temples of Dan and Bethel. Inadvertently,
idolatrous actions on constant occasions led to the division of the kingdom
(see 1 Kings 11:26 ff.).
Cities of Dan and Ephraim
Shiloh – During the conquest, Shiloh, a town in the hill country of Ephraim, was considered a sanctuary city (a place of rest). It
existed north of Bethel, where the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant
stood. Later the term Shiloh was understood as denoting the Messiah.
Bethel – Translated as House
of God, Bethel's location is in Palestine, about ten miles north of
Jerusalem (City of God, Zion) where Abraham once saw an angel ascending and
descending into Heaven (cf. Genesis 28:10, 19).
Of the tribe of Manasses were
sealed twelve thousand
Manasseh
Rather than Ephraim, the tribe of Manasseh joins
the list in Revelation. Normally, Manasseh and Ephraim (sons of Joseph) are frequently
mentioned together since both received an equal portion of Joseph's inheritance.
Of the tribe of Reuben were
sealed twelve thousand
Reuben
Why the firstborn son of Jacob, Reuben, is not
mentioned first in this passage: During Jacob's blessing, Reuben forfeited his heirship,
since he engaged in incestuous misconduct with his father's concubine wife
Bilhah (cf. Genesis 35.22).
I Chronicles 5:1 - Now the sons of
Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he was
the firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given unto the
sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the
genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright.
Consequently, the birthright was removed from the
firstborn of Jacob's first wife, Leah, and went to the firstborn of Jacob's
second wife, Rachel, whom Jacob first loved and ultimately bore Joseph, her
firstborn, and Benjamin, her last born.
However, it was Reuben who advised his brothers
against killing Joseph, whom they greatly resented because of their father's
favoritism. At the blessing of Moses, Reuben too lost further prominence: Prophetically,
nothing but a depleted remnant would remain (cf. Deuteronomy 33:36).
Reuben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh (cf.
Numbers 32-33) did not heed God's promise to enter the Promised Land but rather
chose to settle in the lucrative land east of the Jordan River.
Blessings or Privileges of the Firstborn Birthright
When a patriarch (father or head of the family)
was nearing life's end, his inheritance was passed on, by way of a blessing to
the firstborn (denoting first fruits being dedicated to God) male child. The
Law thus required:
Exodus
13:1-2 - And
the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Sanctify unto Me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among
the children of Israel,
both of man and of beast: it is Mine.
By right of birth, three privileges of divine royal
dignity came into play that would perpetuate throughout Israel's history:
1. Priesthood – Priests, in the earliest social
pattern of ancient Israel did not exist. However, it was expected the eldest
son assumed spiritual responsibility within the family unit as a priest.
Priestly activities involved:
a. Offerings to God, especially the firstborn of the
flock as a blood sacrifice, symbolic of redemption
b. Overseeing the family during daily prayers
c. Judging or counseling the family in spiritual
matters
At the time of Moses, the Levitical priesthood was
established and set apart primarily to the duties and responsibilities of the
Tabernacle.
As the history of Israel unfolded priestly duties
and obligations changed. Eventually whilst tribes and families grew, rights
were transferred to Judges and afterward Kings.
2. Birthright – According to Hebrew Law the firstborn
son received a double portion of his father's wealth (cf. Deuteronomy 21:17).
3. Kingdom – A prophecy concerning the future - The
right of prominence in the promised Kingdom. However, at the first incarnation
of their Messiah, He was rejected, but their names do appear on the city gates
of the New Jerusalem (cf. Revelation 21:12).
Of the tribe of Juda were
sealed twelve thousand
From the tribal list in Revelation 7, Judah heads
the list of tribes. The primary reason: Judah was the most important tribe in the
history of the Hebrew people. Although Judah was younger than Reuben, Simeon,
and Levi, Judah along with Reuben assumed leadership in the family of brothers
until Reuben lost prominence due to moral weakness.
So, when Judah entered the land of Canaan near
Bethlehem, his offspring comprised most of the population in the Kingdom of
Judah. As time passed, the men of Judah supported Saul and anointed his successor
David, from whom the lineage of Jesus perpetuated.
Of the tribe of Levi were
sealed twelve thousand
Levi was the forefather of the priestly tribe. The
Levites were accepted by God as substitutes for the firstborn and, through His
grace, ultimately made them priests. Their tasks involved:
1. Assigned by God all duties concerning the
Tabernacle
2. Ministers of the Sanctuary
3. Teachers of the Word to Israel.
Levites were considered to have no inheritance
among the twelve tribes and were entitled to an allotment of one-tenth from the
tribe of Israel (cf. Numbers 18:20, 26). Their priestly duties eventually
ceased at the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70.
Of the tribe of Simeon were
sealed twelve thousand
Simeon along with his brother Levi committed an
act of murder. Purely out of revenge, they killed Shechem, the son of a Hivite
prince, who raped their sister, Dinah, Jacob's only daughter. They both received
no inheritance and their descendants were scattered throughout the land of
Israel. The Simeonites had to share land given to Judah (according to Joshua
19:1-9), and Levi's children would then live in various cities throughout
Palestine.
As a result of the sealing of the twelve tribes
and their witnesses, the next study will focus on a great multitude of redeemed
saints, both Jew and Gentile, offering praises to the Lamb of God.
QUESTIONS:
1. What was the significance of the birthright?
2. Identify three major promises given to Abraham.
3. What is Dan's role during the Tribulation?
4. How do Ephraim and Manasseh fit into God's plan?
5. Why does Judah head the list rather than Reuben?
6. What was the function of the Levites?
7. What was Levi and Simeon's sin?
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