Revelation 7:1-17

7 ¹And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.

² And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,

³ Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.

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 Nephthalim 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.

The 144,000 seals Israelites are the first fruit of many more to come…in the next verse you see a great multitude which can’t be numbered. The 144,000 sealed children of Israel are actual Israelites not Christians as is taught with replacement theology…… the false doctrine that teaches that the Church is the replacement for the Jews because of the rejection at the crucifixion. What is true is that God has a covenant with Israel and will fulfill his promises to them and God has a different covenant with the Church at the same time… and at the time of the end, both come together. All the tribes are present in Israel and have been for some time. Philippians 1:6 ⁶ Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
God’s promises are set in stone…God keeps his word…and he will fulfill his promises to Israel.

⁹ After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

¹⁰ And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.

¹¹ And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,

¹² Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.

¹³ And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?

¹⁴ And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

¹⁵ Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.

¹⁶ They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.

¹⁷ For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

The Martyred saints will receive this special reward for remaining faithful and holding on to their testimony until death. By not preparing the church to be here for the tribulation and the mass murder of Christians, Christians who believe in the rapture aren’t building their faith to face the antichrist. We need to prepare ourselves with the word…to build faith…. Faith comes by hearing the word of God. Now is the time to build faith. This isn’t the same as fulfilling an obligation to go to church on Sunday and Wednesday night, we should do that, but what we need to be focused on is a deep-committed relationship with God and Jesus… and being full of the Holy Spirit so that we are living testimonies.
I had these tenants once, they were only renting for a short time. There was something about them when I met with them… a calmness and a peacefulness…their presence felt like Church. They paid their rent a week ahead of time and left the house in perfect order… we had a simple repair on one of the bathtubs, and it was ready to rent out again. When the husband came for the return of his deposit, I found out that his wife was undergoing treatment for cancer in her thyroid. Through this cancer diagnosis, this couple stayed peaceful….they maintained a calmness. Turns out they were very devoted Christians and because of that when the trial came their faith took over…. they knew that no matter what, God was in control. They were ready for this battle before it happened…. so when it did come, they never missed a beat.