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Revelation 7:1-8
Revelation 7:1-4 (NKJV) states, “1After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. 2Then 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 who it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, 3saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” 4And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:”. In Revelation 7:5-8 is listed the tribes of Israel as they are the sons of Jacob. However, this list is somewhat inaccurate as the names of the sons of Jacob from oldest to youngest are Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Zebulun, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Joseph, and Benjamin (Genesis 49). The list of those sealed in Revelation 7:5-8 is not listed by age/birth as Judah is listed first but is the fourth-born son of Jacob, but is the tribe from which Jesus can be traced to. Dan is not on the list and possibly is not because of the adulterous activities that later came from this tribe. Dan is also historically noted because of this adulterous activity as the tribe of Satan, and would explain why Dan was left out of these sealed tribes. Also, Manasseh is the son of Joseph, the grandson of Jacob; possibly added to replace Dan. There is also speculation that Dan had been misspelled by an ancient scribe as “Man”, and then later taken as an abbreviation for Manasseh. These tribes are listed in numerous ways throughout the Old Testament but none are listed the same as is in Revelation 7:5-8.
This is the sealing of the 144,000 of the tribes of Israel before the earth could be harmed by the four angels who had been granted to harm the earth and the sea (Revelation 7:2).
As we dig deeper and deeper into the study of The Revelation of Jesus Christ we will discover different interpretations of different passages as these things have yet to be completed. Some things we may not come to grasp an understanding of in the fullness of the events taking/to take place, such as is the case with the listing of the tribes of Israel and those who will be sealed as the 144,000. But this is where our faith in God and our Savior Jesus comes in at its full requirement; that we trust in Him and believe that in our lack of understanding, He is greater than we, and His ways are greater than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9).
Dear LORD,
The Apostle John declares in John 20:30-31, “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.” And as Jesus stated to Thomas in John 20:29, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Please help us to believe LORD even though we may not understand everything written in Your Word. In Jesus name I pray, amen.