Subj: Revelation 7:4-6
Date: 97-11-02 06:10:21
EST From: SERVFATHER
chapter 7:4-8 The protection against the test.
There will be some on the earth at that time, that will be given the understanding and knowledge of the Word.
Revelation 7:4
And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
The greeks used letters for numbers, just as you do in hebrew. "Rho" is 100. "Mu" is 40. "Delta" is 4. So you have 144 if you put it together.
But if you keep the numbers seperate they have a great meaning in biblical numerics.
One hundred is "God's election of grace" forty is "testing, trials, probation" four is "world" So if you put all these meanings together you have "God's election of grace going through testing in the world" Just a thought for everyone to think about.
The list that we see here is not the twelve sons of Israel. It is partly that and partly the sons of Joseph, which is one of the sons of Israel(Jacob).
Before I go into this list of tribes, I want to explain something to you. It is very confusing for christians to understand about different names used in the bible concerning Israel. Let us go through them, then the confusion will be done away with.
We read in the bible about "Jews", "Israel", "Tribes of Israel", "children of Jacob" and "Judah". We have been taught that, they are all the same. That is not true according to the Word of God.
First of all the word "Jew" means a couple of things. It is either talking to a descendent of Judah, who was one of the children of Jacob or it is talking to the inhabitants of Jereusalem. So when the word "Jew" is used it could be addressing anyone who lives in the city of Jerusalem, not just Israel.
That is very important to understand. That is why Revelation 2:9 and 3:9 say what it does. Rev 2:9 9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
Rev 3:9 9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. There are people who say they are decendents of Judah, but they are liars.
The next name is "Israel". When the word Israel is used God is speaking to his spiritual Israel as well as the flesh. The flesh are just examples to the spiritual. The next name is "Tribes of Israel".
These are the the twelve sons of Israel. The names of the twelve sons are; Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Zebulun, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Joseph, and Benjamin. The children of these twelve sons make up the nation of Israel.
At first all the tribes were one nation and it was called the kingdom of Israel. But because the king went against God. The Kingdom of Israel was split into to kingdoms. Each Kingdom had a king. The Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah.
The Kingdom of Israel did all kinds of bad things against God. God kept warning the Kings and the people. Finally God destroyed their kingdom and all the tribes of the kingdom of Israel were taken captive and scattered among the nations of the world. Where they are today.
They think they are "gentiles". Lev 26:38 And ye shall perish among the heathen, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up.
Lev 26:44 44 And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD their God.
Deut 4:27 27 And the LORD shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the LORD shall lead you.
Deut 28:64 64 And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone.
IKing 14:15 For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger.
II Ki 17:6 In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
7 For so it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods,
8 And walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made. They don't know they are apart of the ten tribes that were scattered.
Deut 32:26 I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men: They won't know until the Lord gathers them back to him.
Isa 11:10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.
11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
Isa 66:19 And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles.
20 And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD.
So as far as the tribe of Rueben, the tribe of Simeon, the tribe of Zebulun, the tribe of Issachar, The tribe of Gad, The tribe of Asher, The tribe of Naphtali, the tribe of Joseph and the tribe of Dan, they still exist today, but they don't know who they are.
On the other hand, the "kingdom of Judah" still exist today, because of the promise God made to David.
IKing 11:31-32 31 And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee:
32(But he shall have one tribe for my servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:)
The "children of Jacob" is referring to the flesh descendents of all the tribes. When "Judah" is used it is referring to the descendents of only one tribe. That is the tribe of Judah. The whole point to this is simple. Everyone knows who "Juda"is, but no one knows who or where any other tribes are for sure. Levi and Benjamin are always connected to Juda, because they are apart of the kingdom of Judah.
The kingdom of Judah only had a scattering for seventy years, then they were brought back. The kingdom of Israel are still scattered and are now apart of the "gentiles".
As it is written; II Ki 17:18 Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.
II Ki 17:22 For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them; 23 Until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day. This tells us that Israel is mixed with the gentiles even today and we don't know who is who. Don't listen to what man has told you, this to what the Lord tells you through his word. Anyone could be a true descendent of the tribes of Israel.
Five of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Juda of course would be the first mentioned. The word says Jew first then Gentile.
Rom 2:9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; The first thing to notice about this list is that it is not all twelve tribes. The first four are the children of Jacob.
Revelation 7:5
"Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand."
Rueben his first born, but he slept with his fathers wife.
Revelation 7:5
"Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand."
Gad means "a troop" Gad was the seventh son of Jacob. He was the first born of Zilpah. Zilpah was the maid of Leah, Jacob's first wife.
Revelation 7:6
"Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand." Asher means "happy",
Asher was the eighth son of Jacob and the second son of Zilpah.
Revelation 7:6
"Of the tribe of Nephthalim were sealed twelve thousand."
Nephthalim means "my wrestling". He was the sixth son of Jacob. He was the second son of Bilhah. Bilhah was the maid of Rachel, who was Jacob's second wife. Rachel made Jacob take her maid, so she would give him a child, at that time Rachel was barren.
Rachel named the boy this, because she had been wrestling with her sister over their husband Jacob. So these four sons of Jacob were mans doing not God's doing.
Rueben was first born through trickery of his grandfather. Rueben mother Leah was not suppose to be Jacob's wife. Jacob wanted to marry Rachel, she was who he loved. But her father tricked Jacob into being wed to Rachel's sister Leah. In those days there was no marriage ceremony. You became husband and wife by moving in with your husband and spending the night.
Leah pretended to be Rachel and there were no lights. Jacob hated Leah for this, so God allowed her to have a son. Her son was Rueben. Leah had five (five means grace) sons and Rachel had none. So Rachel decided to let Jacob have her maid and that way she could have a son for Jacob. That produced Jacob's sixth (six means weakness of man) son. Who was Nephthalim.
Rachel didn't want to wait, she wanted a son for Jacob. Leah saw this and so she gave Jacob her maid and she had two sons. The seventh and eighth of Jacob, who were Gad and Asher. Leah did it her way not God's way. The Father is trying to teach us something here.
The numbers aren't important. These four were brought into the world because of man's doing, not the Lord's doing. These people could be anyone anywhere in the world.
One last point I need to make is the word "twelve". It is actually two greek letters, the first letter is "Iota" which stands for the number ten in the greek alphabet. The second letter is "Beta" which stands for two in the greek alphabet. Ten means "testimony" and two means "witnessing". These people are going to give testimonies and witness for the Lord. Just something else to think about. The Book of Revelation is full of symbolism. You have to look at it spiritually not literially.
In His Service