THE BOOK OF REVELATION

INTRODUCTION - With the breaking of the first four seals, the first century church was reminded of the signs which would precede the fall of Jerusalem - wars, famines and pestilence. The fifth seal showed them what had happened to those who had died during the great persecution of the church in the first century. The martyrs are seen under the altar in heaven, waiting for retribution, so that God might be glorified through their deaths. With the breaking of the sixth seal, the parallel between Revelation and the Olivet Discourse continues as cataclysmic signs signal the overthrow of Jerusalem, and Christ protects His church through this time of judgment and wrath.

1) THE SIXTH SEAL - CATACLYSMIC SIGNS AND THE 144,000 - It should be remembered that the contents of the sixth seal go from Revelation 6:12 to the end of chapter 7. Thus, the cataclysmic signs, the symbol of the 144,000 and the picture of the entire church are all part of the sixth seal.

A) CATACLYSMIC SIGNS - Our study of Matthew 24 should make this passage in Revelation very clear. As each of the seals is broken, we are progressing closer to the final destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem. That final event, in Matthew 24:29, is described in terms of these cataclysmic signs. We should remember that images such as the sun going dark and the stars falling from heaven do not mean the end of the world. This is prophetic language, used several times in the Old Testament, to tell us that God is about to bring His wrath against a nation. He is ready to "put out the lights" of a certain people. Here in the New Testament it is the Jews who will receive this wrath. Thus, this description in Revelation 6 as the fifth seal is broken, shows us the great wrath of Christ which is to be poured out on Jerusalem. It will cause the men of this world to cry out and seek refuge under the mountains and rocks (Revelation 6:15-17) for the wrath of the Lamb has come. We should note that Jesus spoke this way to the women of Jerusalem (Luke 23:27-30), for they would one day be mourning in this fashion when they see the Holy City and Temple fall. Thus, with the breaking of the sixth seal, we see the judgment of God and the wrath of Christ being poured out on Jerusalem, described in cataclysmic, Old Testament language.

B) THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-FOUR THOUSAND - The 144,000 are still part of the sixth seal, and knowing this will help us understand who these people are. First, we see that four angels have been dispatched to bring the wrath of Christ upon the earth. Yet they are held back for a moment. Before the wrath of Christ is poured out on the apostate Jews, the servants of God, the Christians, must be sealed and protected, for they are not to fall under that wrath. We know from history that although over a million Jews would die in Jerusalem's overthrow, not one Christian would perish. They had been warned by Christ in Matthew 24 that when they saw the Roman armies coming, they were to flee. Thus, the people of God were protected as Christ's judgment fell on the unbelieving Jews. The 144,000 is the figurative number of those who are saved during the fall of Jerusalem. God's "seal" is behind their preservation. This picture of God sealing His people in Jerusalem would not be a new one to the early church. Once again, the Old Testament helps us understand this image found in Revelation. In Ezekiel 9:1-7, the prophet writes during a time when Jerusalem is going to be destroyed by the Babylonians. Yet before the wrath of God falls on Jerusalem through this foreign nation, Ezekiel 9:4 tells us that God sets a sign upon the foreheads of those who were not apostates, but cried over the abominations taking place in Jerusalem. They would be spared the judgment of God while the apostates would reap the wrath. It is the same as Jerusalem's destruction in 70 AD. Wrath was coming against Jerusalem, but God sealed His people, the Christians, and they were spared the judgment. The 144,000 represents the protected people of God during the fall of Jerusalem.

C) THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE NUMBER "144,000" FROM ISRAEL - We have seen that numbers in the book of Revelation are usually figurative, and there is no reason not to think the same thing here with the number 144,000. Yet why is this number used? Revelation 7 tells us that the 144,000 are Christians, being separated from apostate Israel. They will be spared when the judgment of God falls on Jerusalem (the angels are holding this back till they are sealed). The number 144,000 is reached as a selection from Israel is made in units of 1,000. Twelve units of 1,000 are chosen from the twelve tribes of Israel. The significance of this type of selection is that this was the way Israel assembled its armies in the past. Each battle unit would have a thousand men, with a captain in command (See Numbers 31:4,5; II Samuel 18:1; I Chronicles 15:25). The number "one thousand" was a military unit. Each tribe of Israel would contribute men in units of a thousand for the entire army of the people of God.

If we take this Old Testament numbering and put it into our New Testament view of the 144,000, we see that God is sealing His true people, protecting them from Christ's wrath on Jerusalem. These believers are set apart like the Israelite army of old, set into divisions of one thousand. Revelation is thus picturing the church of Jesus Christ as the army of God's people. Old Israel is apostate, but here is the New Israel, the remnant, sealed by God, set apart as the army of God. The number "144,000" is figurative, representing the remnant, representing the church of Jesus Christ which flows out of the Israel of old. Have we not already seen how the church of Christ is tied in to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Like Israel in the Old Testament, God is our God, we are His people. We are the chosen of God, the spiritual Israel. This is why the believers are seen as being separated from apostate Israel, in order to form God's new army, God's new people.

D) THE CHURCH - THE INNUMERABLE NUMBER OF GOD'S PEOPLE - How do we know that the number "144,000" is figurative? John has "heard" that the number of the sealed is "144,000" but then he turns and what does he see? He beholds a great multitude of people, which no one can number, of all the nations, tribes, and peoples. This is the church of Jesus Christ and this is what the 144,000 really looks like. The number is figurative, expressed in the battle terms of old Israel, but the reality is that the remnant, the church, the new Israel is a multitude beyond counting. God has preserved His people and continues to preserve us through every century of the church's existence!