Revelation 7 (NIV)

Summary:

144,000 Sealed
Verses 1-8

John saw 4 angels standing at the 4 corners of the earth, holding back the 4 winds from blowing on the land, sea, or any tree.  Another angel came up from the east, holding the seal of the living God.  This angel called out to the 4 angels given the power to harm the land and the sea, telling them not to harm anything until they had put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.  (I love how the angel says "our" God  :) ).

144,000 were sealed; 12,000 from each tribe of Israel:  Judah, Reuben, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin.

The Great Multitude in White Robes
Verses 9-17

John saw before him a great multitude, too great to count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language standing before the throne and before the Lamb.  They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches.  They cried out to the Lamb, " 'Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.' " (Verse 10b)

The angels around the throne, elders, and 4 living creatures fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, " 'Amen!  Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever.  Amen!' " (Verse 12) 

One of the elders asked John who the white robed people were and where they had come from.  John responded that the elder knew.  The elder said that they were those that had come out of the great tribulation, washed their robes, and made their robes white with the Lamb's blood.  Therefore, " 'They are before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tent over them.  Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst.  The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat.  For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; He will lead them to springs of living water.  And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.' " (Verses 15-17)

Lori's Thoughts:

Are you worthy enough to be among the sealed?  Of course not!  None of us are!  Those of us that have accepted salvation from Christ are covered in His blood, spiritually speaking.  And Jesus is worthy.

Sometimes I get so frustrated with my sinful self.  I should feel excited to be with my Lord and Savior forever.  My human self says, "but, there's so much I want to do here!"  For example, I want to go to Europe, the Galapagos, snorkel the Tasman Sea, get married...  But, God appeals to our intellect, not our emotions.  I know that I never want to go back to the point where I was living without God as my focus, as my Master.  That life was unfulfilling at best.  I remember going to the beach with my friends once and being incapable of enjoying the sun or the sand or the waves or the campanionship.  I felt so depressed, like I was born to suffer.  I remember comparing myself to the Princess who never laughed.

After four psychologists over 8 years, one of them being Christian, I got worse.  2010 was one of the worst years of my life.  It wasn't until I surrendered my life, my depression, my ambitions, everything at the feet of Jesus that everything changed for the better.  Jesus said, " 'Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.' " (Matthew 11:28-30)

I haven't been depressed since that day, last June.  I still have health, financial, and relationship problems, but they're no longer bogging me down.  I can lean on Jesus.  I know God wants me to prosper.  His will be done in my life.  We both know my efforts alone lead only to failure.  I hope you allow God to do the same for you, in His way and time, for your unique situation.

So, back to Revelation.  I remember people worrying that only 144,000 people that have ever lived on this earth are the ones that will go to heaven.  I'm not sure if they're symbolic or if it just means that 12,000 of each Israelite tribe, from the Old Testament, will be in heaven.  I trust that God will reveal the meanings at the appropriate times.

The 144,000 can't be all, because John said that a multitude too great to count appeared in heaven.  The elder stated that these are the ones that chose Christ as their Savior and endured with Him through great tribulations.

You know how when you fall in love with someone, you always want to be with them, talking, laughing, playing games, etc.?  I imagine that is how it will be in heaven, when we're finally with the One that loves us the most.