Home / Revelation: Verse by Verse / Revelation 7
The Sealing of 144,000
- Passage
- Revelation 7
- Taught
- April 13, 2025
Summary
Between the sixth and seventh seals four angels hold back the winds until the servants of God are sealed on their foreheads: 144,000, twelve thousand from each tribe of Israel. The slides tie this to the remnant of Israel in Isaiah 11 and Romans 11, show the tribes and their mothers as they camped in the wilderness, and recall Jeroboam’s golden calves at Bethel and Dan.
Then John sees a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, tribe, people and language, in white robes with palm branches, crying, “Salvation belongs to our God.” The slides draw out unity in diversity, salvation as a gift, heavenly worship, and the symbolism of white robes and palm branches.
One of the elders explains that these are the ones coming out of the great tribulation, who washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb. The slides connect the great tribulation to Matthew 24 and Daniel 9, and close with the promises of verses 15–17: God’s shelter, freedom from hunger and thirst, the Lamb as shepherd, and every tear wiped away.
The two halves of the chapter
The chapter has two visions:
- 7:1–8. The 144,000 of Israel sealed.
- 7:9–12. A great multitude from every nation worships.
- 7:13–17. Who the multitude is, and God’s care for them.
Key takeaways
The slides give these takeaways:
- Revelation 7:9–12: unity in diversity, salvation as a divine gift, heavenly worship, and the symbolism of white robes and palm branches.
- Revelation 7:13–17: God’s shelter and presence, freedom from suffering, the Lamb as shepherd, and God’s comfort.
Questions to talk about
- What does the sealing of God’s servants say about how God keeps his people through hard times?Revelation 7:1–3.
- How does the picture of a multitude from every nation change how I think of the church?Revelation 7:9–10.
- What do I most need the Lamb as shepherd to do for me today?Revelation 7:15–17.