Day 361 - Sealed

Reading:  Revelation 7-9

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 see:  "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."

Then I heard the number of those who were sealed:  144,000 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 12000,
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.

Footnote:  A seal on a scroll or document identified and protected its contents.  God places his own seal on his followers, identifying them as his own and guaranteeing his protection over their souls.  This shows how valuable we are to him.  Our physical bodies may be beaten, maimed, or even destroyed, but nothing can harm our souls when we have been sealed by God.  See Ephesians 1:13 for the seal of the Holy Spirit.

The number 144,000 is 12 X 12 X 1,000, symbolizing completeness -- all God's followers will be brought safely to him; not one will be overlooked or forgotten.  God seals these believers either by withdrawing them from the earth (this is called the Rapture) or by giving them special strength and courage to make it through this time of great persecution.  Even though many believers have to undergo persecution, the seal does not necessarily guarantee protection from physical harm -- many will die (see 6:11) -- but God will protect them from spiritual harm.  No matter what happens, they will be brought to their reward of eternal life.  Their destiny is secure.  These believers will not fall away from God even though they may undergo intense persecution.

This is not saying that 144,000 individuals must be sealed before the persecution comes, but that when persecution begins, the faithful will have already been sealed (marked by God) and they will remain true to him until the end.

This is a different list from the usual listing of the 12 tribes in the Old Testament, because it is a symbolic list of God's true followers.  1.  Judah is mentioned first because Judah is both the tribe of David and of Jesus the Messiah.  2.  Levi had no tribal allotment because of the Levites' work for God in the temple, but here the tribe is given a place as a reward for faithfulness.  3.  Dan is not mentioned because it was known for rebellion and idolatry, traits unacceptable for God's followers.  4.  The two tribes representing Joseph (usually called Ephraim and Manasseh, after Joseph's sons) are here called Joseph and Manasseh because of Ephraim's rebellion.  See Genesis 49 for the story of the beginning of these 12 tribes.

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All footnotes taken from the Life Application Study Bible, NIV