The Sealed of Israel
Revelation 7:1-8
And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and fortyfour thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed… [Rev 7:4]
The Lord is not finished with Israel. Revelation 7:1-8, along with several other Scriptures [Rev 14:1-5 and Rom 11 for starters] clearly describe Israel coming to know Jesus as Messiah. This will take place during the seven year Tribulation. Antichrist will try to destroy Israel but will fail; God will seal One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
At the abomination that causes desolation [spoken of by Daniel] that will happen 3.5 years into the Tribulation, Antichrist will come into the Temple and demand to be worshipped as God. He will turn on Israel and try to destroy them, but God will seal One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. This remnant will thrive in the Tribulation and live on into the Millennium. They will then populate the Land to the fullness of her boundaries as promised in the Abrahamic Covenant [ref. Genesis 15:18].
There will also be a harvest of Gentile believers in the Tribulation. Though many will perish [ref. Rev 6:9-11; Rev 7:9-17], many will survive and live on into the Millennium. These, along with the sealed of Israel, will repopulate the earth.
Remember, the Church is in heaven during the Tribulation and will return with Christ to this earth to rule and reign during the Millennium.
The Tribulation chronology is ordered by seven seals of judgment. The sixth seal is described in Chap 6, causing cosmic devastation. Taken literally, the entire universe is shaken! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand? [Rev 6:17] Even the mighty men will hide themselves in caves. But this will be nothing compared to the seventh seal.
We will pick up this chronology of judgments again in Chapter 8. However, in Chap 7 we are introduced to our first Revelation parenthetical. These parentheticals introduce us to personalities that come on the scene during the Tribulation. The two in Rev 7 are The Sealed of Israel and The Tribulation Saints. This morning we will cover the Sealed of Israel.
