The revelation of Christ: God's 4 R's

Revelation 7 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. ² And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God; and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, ³ saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads.”

The 144,000

⁴ And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

⁵ from the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, from the tribe of Gad twelve thousand, ⁶ from the tribe of Asher twelve thousand, from the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand, from the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand, ⁷ from the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand, from the tribe of Levi twelve thousand, from the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand, ⁸ from the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand, from the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand, from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand were sealed.

A Multitude from the Tribulation

⁹ After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; ¹⁰ and they cry out with a loud voice, saying,

“Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” ¹¹ And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹² saying,

“Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”

¹³ Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?” ¹⁴ I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵ For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. ¹⁶ They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; ¹⁷ for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”

As I reflect on today’s text, I am reminded again of the danger of taking any portion of scripture out of context and building an entire doctrine from it alone. The text says:  And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God; and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads.” And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel.     There is a doctrine which believes that there will only be a select group, 144,000 people who will be part of God’s kingdom, reigning and ruling with Him in the new heaven and earth. Just a few verses after the 144,000 being sealed the text says:   After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands…“These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”      There is a great multitude, a number beyond counting, from every nation, tribe and tongue. God has not limited the number of people who will enter heaven. 2 Peter 3:9 says:  The Lord is not slow about His promise,(to return and establish His eternal kingdom) as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.       And of course, Jesus, in John 3:16 says:  “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

There are many other scriptures which indicate that God includes more than a small select group with Him in heaven. We should be wary of any doctrine that is built around one portion of scripture or even one theme which can be supported by several select scriptures. From Genesis to Revelation, there is a consistent theme which runs throughout scripture. God created the heavens and the earth, He created man in His image and likeness, both for fellowship with Him and to have dominion over the earth and creation. Man, through disobedience, sin, caused a separation between himself and God, a separation that human works cannot repair. God Himself made a way to reconcile people to Him. He revealed His plan in Genesis, saying:   I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.       The rest of scripture, the Old Testament accounts and prophecy, the Gospels and the letters to the church all point to and reveal God’s plan of redemption, reconciliation and restoration for man, through His anointed one, the Messiah, Christ.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 says:   All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.         We should not build any doctrine of man around one or a few verses which can be strung together to make and defend our point of view. Rather, we should view all scripture through the lens of the rest of scripture, to be certain that what we believe aligns with all that God has revealed from the beginning. Scripture itself also includes parables, allegories, symbolism, which must be viewed and interpreted through the lens of both context and consistency with the whole word of God. Again, we should be wary of any doctrine or teaching which seeks to edit or to change God’s word. Jesus Himself says:    “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:17-19)      Jesus also though rebuked the religious leaders in His day for adding to God’s word and His standards with human rules, regulations and requirements. In Revelation 22:18-19, there is a warning given which is about the book of Revelation, but could also be applied to the Bible as a whole, it is after all the book of the revelation of Christ.        I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book;  and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.

Man’s way, human doctrines are: religion, rules, regulations and requirements. God’s way is: relationship, redemption, reconciliation and restoration, through the revelation of Christ.

“Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”  “Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”