Revelation 7 --Hope For The Lost

John doesn’t know who he’s seeing and has to be told by the angel.  144,000 Jews are being marked by God for protection during the Tribulation so they can be His special witnesses for Christ to the Gentile world.  The verses parallel Matthew 24:14 and show that the next vision John sees in the second part of this chapter amounts to the results of their witnessing:  multitudes of people saved during the Tribulation.

Those people are described as accepted by God, for they are before His throne; joyful, for they are singing praises to Him; and rewarded, having the privilege of serving Him.  My commentary added:  “When God’s people get to heaven, there will be work to do.  We shall be able to serve Him perfectly.  The Lamb will shepherd us and satisfy us with every good thing.”

I was reminded of the treasure hunts I’ve put together for our youth group over the years as I read this chapter.  They lasted from 4 to 8 hours, and interwoven with some hidden clues that most never understood until the end when it all came together.  I think that’s what we’ll  discover about some of the questions we might have in this chapter.  We’ll say, “OH!  THAT’S why Joseph is mentioned instead of Ephraim!  That’s why Dan is missing!  It was right in front of us!  How could we not see that!”

And lest anyone try to let their intellect take them down the wrong road away from God as I did for years, the four corners of the earth doesn’t mean they had no clue that the earth was round and not flat, indicating an error in the Bible.  That simply means from every direction the wind stopped blowing, and the way it’s blowing outside my windows in West Texas this morning, I believe God is reminding us of just what power He has to hold back the wind (and for Him, that’s not even an afterthought!).

Father God, I’m so thankful that in Your mercy You have already provided for those who will remain on earth after the church is raptured – that they will still have a way to know about salvation through Christ, and that untold multitudes will be saved during those years.  I pray for those I love – that they will accept Your offer of salvation now and not have to endure those times.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford