(4) And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. (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 were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.
I do not presume to speak decidedly on the subject, when I say, in relation to the number John saw sealed, that by the hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of Israel, is not meant exactly twelve thousand of a tribe, and no more, and all the tribes the same, but the sense is, that as twelve is what is called a square number, and the square root of it, when multiplied by itself, must forever produce the same; so the whole is put here in one determinate number, to intimate the Lord's knowing, numbering, and sealing everyone The Holy Ghost, by his servant the Prophet, had said ages before the coming of Christ, that though the people of Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return; the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness, Isaiah 10:22. And the Lord the Spirit, by his servant the Apostle, was graciously pleased to remind the Church of this declaration of his and thereby to keep the expectation of its accomplishment alive in the hearts of his people. See Romans 9:27-28. Here, then, once more, John, is brought to see the servants of the Lord, in the tribes of Israel, sealed, as if to confirm the blessed assurance, that, as the Holy Ghost was now about to close the sacred volume of scripture, the Church of God might have these things in remembrance, looking forward to the last days events in the earth, when the whole should be accomplished.
Reader ponder well the thought, for it is blessed. We live in a day approaching to the accomplishment of all the great events prophesied concerning the Church. Sweet is that promise, He that scattered Israel, will gather him, and keep him as a shepherd doth his flock, Jeremiah 31:10. There shall be a day, it is said when the Deliverer shall come out of Zion, and turn away ungodliness from Jacob, Romans 11:26. And who shall say where, and in what countries is Israel scattered? Who shall say their number, or count them up by their tribes? By whom shall Jacob arise, for he is small? Jesus hath blessedly said and that's enough to comfort the whole Church of God concerning it, that he will gather his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven, Mark 13:27 if the Reader wishes to have his soul refreshed with a view of some of the sweet promises concerning this glorious event, he will find a multitude of them in the Bible, Isaiah 54:7; Isaiah 54:7; Jeremiah 31:8; Ezekiel 11:17; Micah 4:1; Zephaniah 3:1; Zechariah 10:1-12 etc.
In going over the names of the several tribes of Israel here mentioned, I beg the Reader to notice with particular attention, that Judah, though not the eldest of Jacob s sons, is first mentioned. I do not here again speak decidedly, but I am inclined to think, that precedency was given to this tribe, because our Lord sprang out of Judah, Hebrews 7:14. And very blessed was the dying Patriarch's prophecy to this amount. Judah! thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise; thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee, Genesis 49:8. It is blessed to eye Christ in everything, and honor given for Christ in all things.
And I would make one observation more respecting those tribes of Israel. If the Reader will consult the Old Testament, concerning the twelve tribes of Israel, and compare it with the number here, he will find, that though here are indeed twelve tribes enumerated, in correspondence to the number of the sons of Jacob, yet one of Jacob's sons is not mentioned, even Dan; whose place is supplied with Manasses, one of the sons of Joseph, though Joseph himself, as a tribe, is also in the number. Various have been the opinions of men concerning it, though the Holy Ghost is silent upon it. Some have thought it was because the tribe of Dan apostatized, in the instance of the idols of Jeroboam, 1 Kings 12:26-30. But, I confess that this opinion doth not satisfy me. We find the Danites, in the days of the Judges, setting up a graven image; and at that time the sons of Manasseh, even Jonathan, the son of Gershom, and his sons, became the priests of this idol. And yet the tribe of Manasseh is among the sealed, though Dan is not. This, I think, therefore, cannot be the reason, Judges 18:30. Ephraim, also, is omitted in this sealing. And the same reason is assigned. By the Prophet Hosea, the Lord indeed said, Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone, Hosea 4:17. But, we find, fourscore years after this, (for so much time had run out between the ministry of Hosea, and that of Jeremiah), the Lord, by the latter Prophet, said of Ephraim, Is Ephraim my dear Son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still; therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord, Jeremiah 31:20. I cannot venture, therefore, to conclude, that those are the reasons. But, if the Reader wishes me to go further, and assign a cause. This I dare not. The Holy Ghost is silent upon it. I presume, therefore, not to speak upon it. Dan is omitted. And we learn from it a solemn truth. And it is our duty to have it in remembrance. What the Holy Ghost hath said, upon another occasion, meets us here, If God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee, Romans 11:21. If the tribe of Dan had then none to seal, what a breaking off was here! And if on the great day of God, when the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, and a remnant shall be brought forth, both sons and daughters; and that great purpose of God is seen, he hath declared what a manifestation will then be made of the remnant, according to the election of grace? Very blessed to this point, is that most gracious scripture, Yet, behold, saith the Lord, therein shall be left a remnant, that shall be brought forth, both sons and daughters; behold, they shall come forth unto you, and ye shall see their way, and their doings; and ye shall be comforted, concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, even concerning all that I have brought upon it. And they shall comfort you, when ye see their ways, and their doings; and ye shall know that I have not clone without cause all that I have done, saith the Lord God, Ezekiel 14:22-23
When the Reader hath made his full observations on this part of the sealing of the tribes of Israel, I beg to propose another consideration to him, of a very sweet and refreshing kind, as it strikes my view on the subject, namely, hew very gracious and timely it was, thus to seal the Church, before those awful days came on, which we know followed in the persecutions of the people; I mean, not only generally so to the Church at large, but specially with an eye to the Lord's people, the Jews.
In order for the better apprehension of the subject, I would have the Reader connect with it what we now know. Many hundred years have run out since that period. The children of God were then beginning, but as it were, to be scattered, to what they have been since. The Lord's ancient people, the Jews, had not been driven, from their beloved Jerusalem, comparatively speaking, but a short space, to what was to run out, before they were to be again called home. The great power that was now arising in the East, under, the false Prophet, was to take into the different branches of that vast empire, multitudes of the dispersed of Israel. And as that power still remains, and so many ages and generations were to expire, during Israel's subjugation, what a mercy was it to the Church thus to be taught, in this vision shown John; that notwithstanding all outward appearances, the Lord had marked, and knoweth them that are his. Let the Reader duly observe this, and notice God's love to his Church, in the appointment. And then let him go on to another observation.
Christ, the angel John saw, coming to seal his people, was beheld by him ascending from the East. Surely, this ascension from the East, plainly pointed, as with a finger, that the great cause for which the Church, in the tribes of Israel, was now sealed, was an allusion to the affairs of the Church in the East. And, as much about this time, under the sixth seal, and before the seventh should be opened, the false prophet would arise, and extend his vast empire over the East; here the Jews would be scattered in abundance, and therefore the Lord's mark should be upon them. Who shall calculate the number of Israel to this hour, which have been, and yet remain, from the time of John's vision, through a period of seventeen centuries? We are not come down yet, in our progress through this book of prophecy, to the season of the Trumpets; but we may in this place observe, for the better apprehension of the whole, (which, the distant age we live in to that of John's, gives us the advantage to form our conclusions upon) that, as we are now, in point of time, under the influence of the sixth trumpet, we can discover much of what was prophesied under the sixth seal. Who shall say, therefore, how many of his sealed ones, from those regions in the vast empire under the false prophet, the Lord hath been gathering home, from age to age, even to the present hour? When we consider that the awful delusion of Mahometan imposture extends its baleful influence over the vast empire, in the East, of lndostan, Persia, Turkey, Morocco, we may reasonably conclude, that this sealing, which John saw in a vision, was meant to comfort the Church with those views. And, Reader, what an amazing bringing back to the Church, from those regions, will it be when the Lord shall cause the seventh Trumpet to be sounded, and when those voices will be heard in the Church, saying, the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever? Revelation 11:15
But, though I have just glanced at these things, we must not altogether anticipate the history in bringing them forward here. They will meet us in their proper place. In the mean time it is sufficient for the present to observe, that the Lord was pleased to show his servant John, by vision, in the interval between the sixth and seventh seal, how safe and secure his redeemed of Israel are The Lord hath sealed them, and owned them as his And thus John's mind must have been very graciously relieved from the awful persecutions he was called upon to notice, when the seventh seal came to be opened.