My kids have lots of questions about the symbolism in Revelation (and sometimes me too!). I can’t answer all their questions, but I can give them assurance that as children of God, they are on the winning team! Jesus promised that those who believe He is their Savior will live with Him forever in Heaven. His seal is our guarantee.
Ephesians
1:13-14 13 And you
also were included in Christ when
you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you
believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is
a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
Are you
a child of God? Have you believed and received His seal? If so, then we have
nothing to fear in this life because we have a guarantee of a far better life
to come!
The same
is true for the servants of God referenced in Revelation 7.
Revelation
7:1-8 After this I saw four
angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four
winds of the earth to prevent 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 of the living God. He
called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm
the land and the sea: 3 “Do not harm the land
or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the
servants of our God.” 4 Then I heard the
number of those who were sealed: 144,000 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.
Some
scholars think this number of 144,000 is symbolic while others think it is
literal. Some think it is specific to Israelites who follow Christ in the last
days and some think it represents the larger body of believers across the ages,
the Church (including Gentiles). Revelation chapter 14 gives further details
about this group of 144,000. Whether this number is literal or symbolic, it
does signify completeness and God’s special care for His children.
Last
week we saw how all kinds of people tried to hide from God to no avail. His
final wrath and judgment will fall on all those that don’t belong to Him. However,
God’s servants will be redeemed from the final judgment! God has a plan in
place so that none of His children are lost.
II
Corinthians 5:1 & 5 For we know that if the earthly tent we live
in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not
built by human hands… 5 Now the
one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the
Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
