Apocalipse 7

BLIVRE · Chapter 7/22

1E depois destas coisas eu vi quatro anjos que estavam sobre os quatro cantos da terra, retendo os quatro ventos da terra, para que nenhum vento soprasse sobre a terra, nem sobre o mar, nem sobre árvore alguma.

2E eu vi outro anjo subir do lado onde o sol nasce, que tinha o selo do Deus vivente, e clamou com grande voz aos quatro anjos, aos quais tinha sido dado [poder] para danificar a terra e o mar,

3Dizendo: “Não danifiques a terra, nem o mar, nem as árvores, até que tenhamos selado aos servos do nosso Deus nas suas testas.”

4E ouvi o número dos que foram selados; e cento e quarenta e quatro mil foram selados de todas as tribos dos filhos de Israel.

5Da tribo de Judá, doze mil foram selados; da tribo de Rúben, doze mil foram selados; da tribo de Gade, doze mil foram selados;

6da tribo de Aser, doze mil foram selados; da tribo de Naftali, doze mil foram selados; da tribo de Manassés, doze mil foram selados;

7da tribo de Simeão, doze mil foram selados; da tribo de Levi, doze mil foram selados; da tribo de Issacar, doze mil foram selados;

8da tribo de Zebulom, doze mil foram selados; da tribo de José, doze mil foram selados; da tribo de Benjamim, doze mil foram selados.

9Depois destas coisas eu olhei, e eis uma grande multidão, a qual ninguém podia contar, de todas as nações, e tribos, e povos, e línguas, que estavam diante do trono e diante do Cordeiro, vestidos de roupas brancas, e [com ramos] de palmas nas suas mãos.

10E clamavam com grande voz, dizendo: “A salvação [pertence] ao nosso Deus, que está sentado sobre o trono, e ao Cordeiro!”

11E todos os anjos estavam ao redor do trono, e dos anciãos, e dos quatro animais; e se prostraram sobre seus rostos diante do trono, e adoraram a Deus,

12Dizendo: “Amém! [Sejam] louvor, glória, sabedoria, agradecimento, honra, poder, e força a nosso Deus, para todo o sempre, Amém!”

13E um dos anciãos respondeu, dizendo-me: “Estes que estão vestidos de roupas compridas brancas, quem são? E de onde eles vieram?”

14E eu lhe disse: “Senhor, tu sabes.” E ele me disse: “Estes são os que vieram da grande tribulação; e lavaram suas roupas compridas e as branquearam no sangue do Cordeiro.

15Por isso eles estão diante do trono de Deus, e servem a ele dia e noite no seu templo; e aquele que está sentado sobre o trono armará sua tenda e habitará com eles.

16Eles não mais terão fome, nem mais terão sede; nem o sol, nem calor algum cairá sobre eles.

17Porque o Cordeiro, que está no meio do trono, os apascentará, e os guiará até fontes vivas de águas; e Deus limpará toda lágrima dos seus olhos.”

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Before the judgment continues, an interlude shows 144,000 people from all the tribes of Israel being sealed with God's protection, followed by a vision of an uncountable multitude from every nation, dressed in white, who have come through the great tribulation and now worship before the throne.

Explanation

This chapter functions as a pause of hope amid the judgment, answering the question at the end of chapter 6 about who can stand before God's wrath: those sealed and protected by him. The list of the twelve tribes of Israel here follows a different order than the traditional Old Testament list (Dan is absent, for example), which has sparked debate among scholars about its symbolic meaning. The second vision, of an innumerable multitude 'from every nation, tribe, people, and language' wearing white robes washed in the blood of the Lamb, extends the promise of salvation far beyond Israel to include people from all humanity who remained faithful through suffering. Today's practical application is the assurance that God neither forgets nor abandons those who persevere in faith, even during the hardest seasons.

Fun facts

  • The list of the twelve tribes in Revelation 7:5-8 is one of several listings of Israel's tribes in the Bible that do not match exactly; here, the tribe of Dan is absent and replaced by Manasseh, a variation that continues to intrigue scholars today.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Apocalipse 7:1This expression was the standard way at the time to describe the whole world in every direction, not a claim that the earth is shaped like a square.
  2. Apocalipse 7:2A new angel appears coming from “the east,” a direction associated with hope and new beginnings, carrying a seal meant to protect, not to punish.
  3. Apocalipse 7:3The order to wait before causing harm until the servants of God are marked echoes the scene in Ezekiel 9, in which an angel marks the foreheads of the faithful before a judgment, sparing whoever carries that sign.
  4. Apocalipse 7:4The number comes from multiplying twelve by twelve and then by a thousand, doubling the symbol of the twelve tribes of Israel and multiplying it by the totality of a thousand - a way of expressing ‘complete’ taken to the extreme. It is a symbolic total, and Christian traditions read this group in quite different ways, without the text settling the question here.
  5. Apocalipse 7:5This begins the list of the twelve tribes of Israel with twelve thousand sealed from each one; compared to the traditional Old Testament lists, this version has small differences (such as the absence of the tribe of Dan), suggesting a number more symbolic of totality than a literal census.
  6. Apocalipse 7:6This continues the list of the twelve tribes, keeping the same pattern of twelve thousand per tribe.
  7. Apocalipse 7:7The list continues, including the tribe of Levi, which normally did not receive territory like the other tribes because of its priestly service, but here appears counted like the rest.
  8. Apocalipse 7:8This closes the list of the twelve tribes by naming Zabulon, Joseph, and Benjamin, completing the symbolic sum of a hundred and forty-four thousand mentioned in verse 4.
  9. Apocalipse 7:9Palm branches were used in Jewish festivals, such as the Feast of Tabernacles, as a symbol of celebration and victory. This countless multitude appears alongside the hundred and forty-four thousand counted at the beginning of the chapter - two pictures of the same scene: one numbered, the other impossible to count.
  10. Apocalipse 7:10The countless multitude, introduced in the previous verse alongside the numbered group of the twelve tribes, cries out, attributing salvation both to God and to the Lamb.
  11. Apocalipse 7:11The angels, who had already appeared around the throne since chapter 5, join the scene by falling down and worshiping, joining in the multitude's praise.
  12. Apocalipse 7:12The angels' praise is summed up in a list of seven elements (blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might), the same pattern of seven qualities already seen in the acclamation of the Lamb in chapter 5.
  13. Apocalipse 7:13One of the elders asks the question that opens the explanation of the scene: who is this multitude dressed in white, and where did it come from - a literary device common in prophetic visions, also used in the book of Zechariah, where a figure explains the symbol to the seer.
  14. Apocalipse 7:14This is a deliberately contradictory image: blood normally stains, but here it is what makes the robes white. The idea echoes the blood of the Passover lamb in Exodus, which protected the families of Israel.
  15. Apocalipse 7:15The reward of this multitude is to serve God continually in His temple, with the promise of protection described as a sheltering presence over them.
  16. Apocalipse 7:16Hunger, thirst, and scorching heat will cease to exist for this group, an image that echoes the promise of Isaiah 49 about the people's return from exile.
  17. Apocalipse 7:17This closes the chapter with a reversal of the image of the slain Lamb: now He guides like a shepherd, leading to fountains of living water, and God wipes away every tear, echoing the same promise of comfort from Isaiah 25.

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