3: Saying Hurt not the earth neither the sea nor
the trees until we have
sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads[1] 4: And I heard the number of them which
were sealed and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four-thousand[2] of all the tribes of the children of
Israel[3] 5: Of the tribe of Juda were sealed
twelve-thousand Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand Of the tribe
of Gad were sealed twelve thousand 6: Of the tribe of Aser were sealed
twelve thousand Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand Of the tribe
of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand 7: Of the tribe of Simeon were
sealed twelve thousand Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand Of the
tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand 8: Of the tribe of Zabulon
were sealed twelve thousand Of the tribe of Joseph[4] were sealed twelve thousand Of the tribe of
Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand
[1] During the Accepted Time, the Time of
**“Christ in You,” [which as of this writing, we are living in right now]
Christians do not have Seals placed on them by angels. All believers already
have God’s Seal placed in them
by the indwelling presence of the Holy
Spirit 2 Corinthians 1:21-22. Yet in The Revelation, John sees that only some
of God’s servants have his seal placed on
their foreheads by an angel.
Later on
in the book, we read of those who will receive the mark [seal] of God’s enemy
on their foreheads.
There is
an example of this seal [mark] under the Old
Covenant in the book of Ezekiel [9:3-7]. Where God’s servants have a
mark placed on their foreheads as a seal of protection just before His judgement
is poured out and great destruction takes place. In Ezekiel, the destructive
angels are forbidden to touch those who are marked with God’s seal of
protection, and it is the same for the 144,000 in the Revelation.
** By the
time the servants of God are sealed in Revelation seven, the time of “Christ in
You” is over. This epoch (also known as the “Church Age”) that began on Shavuot
[the second harvest Feast of the Lord—the Day of Pentecost] when the Holy
Spirit descended and made the bodies of all believers the temple of God,
will be consummated at the Resurrection and Catching Up of the Bride/Body of
Christ Acts 2:1-21, 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18 during Rosh Hashanah,
which is the final harvest Feast of the Lord—a two-day Feast featuring trumpets
and foreshadowing the two-part event of the Resurrection of the dead [in Christ]
and the catching up [and changing] of the living. At this event, only the Ekklesia
[Body/Bride of Christ] is resurrected and caught up 1 Thessalonians
4:16-18.
[2] The 144,000 is a literal number. We
know this, because John breaks it down into groups of 12,000 from each tribe of
Israel. There are disputes that physical Israel is not referenced here because
there is “no Tribe of Joseph,” and two tribes seem to be missing, those of Dan
and Ephraim.
We will
show that there is a Tribe a of Joseph and that only one tribe is missing from
the Revelation seven list.
Dan is
missing. But Ephraim is not. Ephraim is referred to, in The Revelation seven,
as “Joseph.” Although there are scriptural instances of the half-tribes [of Ephraim
and Manasseh combined] being called “Joseph,” the reference in The Revelation
can only be speaking of Ephraim, because Manasseh is already listed among the
tribes, and no one but Manasseh or Ephraim can be called the “Tribe of Joseph.”
There is also scriptural precedent for calling Ephraim alone “Joseph.”
What is
of note in this instance, is that the ½ Tribe of Ephraim is not named
personally among the tribes [as Manasseh is] in receiving the seal of
protection but rather is receiving protection only because of who the tribe is
descended from. In The Revelation, it is Joseph who is being honored. Ephraim
is included with Manasseh under the umbrella of Joseph’s protection.
As
it is written, “the righteous are blessed…and their seed.” The best thing any parent can do for their children is to live a righteous life before God.
The tribe
of Dan [bereft of protection such as Joseph provided to the ½ tribes bearing
his name] is missing in John’s list, because it was predicted that Dan would
not be included in the number of those marked with God’s supernatural seal of
protection.
Dan
and Ephraim’s sin:
Judges 18:29-31 Dan, 1 Kings 12:25-30 Dan & Ephraim.
Dan and Ephraim were both separated from the Tribes based on 29:18-21 (vs :21
shows God is speaking to tribes as well as individuals). But Ephraim did not
lose his place among the tribes in the sealing of The Revelation, although Ephraim
was not honored by being called by his own name—he was called by the name of
his ancestor, Joseph.
The
half-tribe of Ephraim, being called “Joseph” is consistent with other
scriptures which do the same. Some Old Testament references to the Tribe of
Joseph and to Ephraim being referred to as Joseph are as follows:
Deuteronomy 27:11 Ephraim and Manasseh, Ezekiel 47:13 Ephraim
and Manasseh, Zechariah 10:6-7 Ephraim only (not a comprehensive
list).
Dan and
Ephraim both remain tribes, but there is a reason that Dan is missing and Ephraim
is not called by name among the tribes listed in The Revelation. The reason was
foretold by the prophets that it would be so. It must be noted before moving
on, that not everyone from the listed tribes will be sealed, only 12,000 from
each tribe will receive this seal of protection, but there will be many devout
Jews during the Time of Jacob’s Trouble that will not receive this seal.
The seal
will protect the 144,000 during the first 3 ½ years of THE DAY OF
REBUKE, THE INDIGNATION / TIME OF JACOB’S TROUBLE / THE GREAT TRIBULATION (all
of these are synonymous).
Not a one
of the 144,000 will die or be harmed in any way after the opening of The Seventh
Seal. We know this because in Revelation chapter fourteen, every one of the
144,000 is still alive to be “Redeemed from the earth.” In other words, they
will be “Caught Up/Raptured” to Heaven. This is not to be confused with the
Resurrection / Harpazo 1
Thessalonians 4:17 of the Church [Bride / Body of Christ], which is
composed of both Jew and Gentile believers and is never broken down into
“tribes.”
As
stated, not everyone from the protected tribes will be sealed—only 12,000 from
each tribe—but it was foretold that not a single person from the tribe Dan will
be included among the protected during THE DAY OF REBUKE. Even so, individuals
from this tribe will survive. Both Dan and Ephraim (called Joseph in Revelation
7:8) are listed as receiving land distribution among the Tribes in Messiah’s
Kingdom Ezekiel 48:1-6. We know from this, that God will preserve
individuals from every tribe of Israel, which will become the preeminent nation
in Christ’s earthly Kingdom Isaiah 2:1-3, 60:12.
Although
members of the ½ tribe of Ephraim will be among the 144,000 (called the Tribe
of Joseph), it appears that, among the tribes, it appears that Ephraim will
experience a greater degree of devastation during THE DAY OF REBUKE Hosea
5:9.
Many belonging
to Ephraim, will not only be devout through the horrific TIME OF JACOB’S
TROUBLE, but will show themselves valiant [along with those from the tribe of
Judah] on the Day Christ Returns Zechariah 9:13-17. A
study of the ancient rivalry between the tribes of Judah and Ephraim is
fascinating and gives insight into the marvelous reconciliation between these
two, who become staunch allies fighting together on THE DAY CHRIST RETURNS Zechariah
10:6-7.
Zechariah
9:13-17 is a companion passage with Zechariah 10:6-7, Zechariah
12:7-8 [along with the sacred writings of Isaiah, Ezekiel, and others]. These passages
all reference events that will take place on **THE DAY CHRIST RETURNS. One feature
of that day is that it will also be the day Ephraim is restored back into the
good graces of God [Dan will as well, “… Zechariah 12:10-14,
Ezekiel 48:6 (a Kingdom verse), “…and I will save the House of Joseph Ephraim
and I will return them to their place For I have mercy upon them And they shall
be as though I had not cast them off For I Am YHWH Elohiym and
will hear them and Ephraim shall be like the mighty….” These prophecies
will be fulfilled after the events described in Revelation chapter
seven.
More
insight is given into the 144,000 in Revelation chapter fourteen where we are
told they will consist of a group of men and [possibly] women who will have
lived holy honest lives before the Lord, not marrying and keeping themselves
sexually pure. “They are not defiled with women (males). They are virgins (females)
Revelation 14:1-5.
[3] These are literal Tribes of Israel—Jews—not
The Church (Body/Bride of Christ). We see The Church being caught out in
chapter four, responding to the voice shouting, **”COME UP HERE!”
**Recommended Reading
After
chapter three of The Revelation, The Church is never seen on earth again, only
in Heaven, and then returning with Jesus to the Battle of Armageddon. The
Resurrection/Rapture truly is our BLESSED HOPE.
[4] More on the Tribe of Joseph: The
millennial Jerusalem will have 12 gates (not 11 gates plus two half-gates).
These awe-inspiring gates will represent the 12 tribes of Israel. They
will be called after the 12 Tribes of Israel. And one of those gates is called Joseph
–Ezekiel 48:31-34/Revelation 21:1.
Other
references to the Tribe of Joseph include: Numbers 13:11, Deuteronomy 33:1-16,
Psalm 77:15, Psalm 80:1.
