Revelation 7:5
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. 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.
Of Judah, Reuben, and Gad twelve thousand each were sealed, three of the twelve tribes listed as part of the one hundred and forty-four thousand in Revelation 7:4-8. The verse stands within Revelation 6 and 7, which are full of meaning and reveal God's terrible judgments. The Lord goes forth to punish the inhabitants of the earth for iniquity, so that the earth discloses her blood and no longer covers her slain. Seven angels stand before God to receive their commission and are given seven trumpets, and when the plagues come hail about the weight of a talent falls on the wicked who would not obey God but insulted Him and despised His mercies.
The verse describes part of the sealing of the servants of God in their foreheads. Four angels are commissioned to act on the earth and given to hurt the earth and the sea, yet are commanded to hold in check the four winds and to hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, until the servants are sealed. God's judgments are thus restrained while His people are sealed and protected, as a work of protection and mercy until the appointed time. The sealing is commanded by the angel ascending from the east having the seal of the living God. He is the Angel of the covenant, the Dayspring from on high, the Light of the world in whom is life and the life is the light of men, Wonderful, Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, who has superiority over the hosts of angels and as Restorer and Redeemer calls to the four angels.
The sealed are the chosen few purchased by the One who gave Himself for the ransom of the world. They are those who keep all the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus and love Him, in whom divine and human are united, so that even amid judgment God extends mercy to them. The verse is given for consideration and comfort and encouragement. It belongs to a message to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people on the earth. To be among those sealed is to be prepared for Christ's coming.
That preparation requires having robes washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb. It requires not burying talents in worldly business or commercialism and not becoming so engrossed in the things of this world as to have no time or thought for getting ready. The exact persons who compose the one hundred and forty-four thousand will be learned in heaven, and the identity of the sealed is not to be pressed beyond what God has put in His Word. What God wanted known is already given in Scripture, and prayerful study of the Scriptures allows the Holy Spirit to make the correct application to the heart instead of speculation.
The twelve thousand sealed from Judah and the other tribes show that the 144,000 will be Jews who acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah. Set beside it is the teaching held by others that the 144,000 are not Jews who will acknowledge Jesus as their Messiah, and that holding and presenting that idea fails to set forth properly the views held on fundamental points and must be changed or modified before going out to present truth to others.