The seal of God
The angel said, ‘Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees, until we mark the servants of our God with a seal on their foreheads.’ And I was told that the number of those who were marked with God’s seal on their foreheads was 144 000. They were from the twelve tribes of Israel, twelve thousand from each tribe: Judah, Reuben, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin.
(verses 3-8)
Read Revelation 7:1-8
The vision in John’s Revelation speaks of a great tribulation through which the church and the world will pass before the great and terrible day of the Lord. But before this time of terror and devastation comes, believers in Christ are sealed with the seal of God in order that they may survive it. They are not spared the great tribulation, but they will survive and be brought safely through it. The seal of God is the mark that God has placed on believers in holy baptism and in the gift of the Holy Spirit.
In Jewish imagery, the number of those sealed, 144 000, stands for completeness and perfection. Twelve, a perfect number, is squared and made complete by being multiplied by a thousand. Again, in Jewish imagery, this would tell us that the number of those saved is not limited but is very great and inclusive.
The first readers of Revelation were experiencing persecution and hard times. They may have wondered how they would survive. This vision would have assured them that God was seeing their painful afflictions and that he was ultimately in control. They were safe, because they were marked with the seal of God. Their enemies could kill their bodies, but their lives and eternal destinies were safely in the hands of their God, who had redeemed them.
You, too, can place your life and eternal destiny in the hands of the God who has placed his seal on you.
Thank you, triune God, that you have received me in holy baptism. Keep me safe in all trials and times of hardship. Amen.
by Kevin Schmidt, in ‘God’s Peace for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 2006)
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