[A revelation of Jesus the Messiah]…: ·I, John—your brother and partner in the {affliction}, the kingdom and the patient endurance…— ·...saw… ·in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man… ·He laid his hand on me, saying, ‘Fear not, I am the first and the last. ·…I died and am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. ·Write the things you have seen—those that are and those to take place…; ·The seven lampstands are the seven churches… ·in Asia… ·To…the church in Philadelphia write:… ·I know your works… I know you have little power, yet you have kept my word and not denied my name… ·Behold, I will make those…who say they are Jews and are not…bow down before your feet and…learn that I have loved you. ·Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you {out of} [Gr. ex] the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world… ·I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have… ·The one who {overcomes} I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it and I will write on him: the name of my God, the name of the…new Jerusalem which comes down…out of heaven, and my own new name.’ (Revelation 1:1,9,12-13,17b-20,4; 3:7-12 ESV [GH]{S4A})

After this I saw… ·…another angel…with the seal of the living God; and he called…to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, ·‘Do not harm the earth…until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.’ ·I heard the number of those sealed, 144,000…from every tribe…of Israel... (Rev.7:1-4, ESV)

After these things I…saw a vast crowd that no one could count from every nation [Gr. ethnous]—all tribes, peoples and languages—standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They had been clothed in white robes; and with palm fronds in their hands ·they also cried out in a loud voice: ‘This salvation is to our God, the One sitting on the throne, and to the Lamb! …·One of the elders then… ·…said, ‘These are those who have come out of [Gr. ex] the greatest Affliction; but they have washed their robes and whitened them in the blood of the Lamb. ·Through this they are before the throne of God and render him service day and night in his holy dwelling, while the One who sits on the throne pitches his tent over them. ·Never again will they hunger or thirst; never again will the sun strike them down, nor any burning heat. ·For the Lamb in the center of the throne will shepherd them and will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’ (Rev.7:9-10,13-17 GH[i])

Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. ·And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder; {and}….like the sound of harpists playing on their harps. ·And they were singing a new song before the throne… No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth… ·…These who follow the Lamb wherever he goes…have been redeemed from mankind as first fruits for God and the Lamb… ·Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal Gospel—{good news} to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation [Gr. ethnos] and tribe and language and people. ·And he said with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come; and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.’ (Rev.14:1-7 ESV {S4A}

According to John, the ‘book’ of Revelation is ‘the revelation of Jesus Christ’ that Jesus told him to write down and send to seven churches in Asia. So the two main questions we need to ask about all the visions that John wrote down in it are: What do they tell us about Jesus? and what was he was seeking to communicate to these disciples and to us? And since some things in the visions are already happening and some things are about the future (1:19), we must ask why the ‘sealing’ of people on their foreheads—with the name of Jesus and the Father—appears to be a future event for some people, while for others it seems to have already taken place.

The first thing we learn about Jesus in these three texts is that he makes a distinction between ‘his name and his Father's name’—referring to the latter as ‘the name of my God’ when speaking to the Philadelphian church. In doing so, he identifies with these believers as a fellow human being—as he did in appearing to John (1:13b), and right after his resurrection when he said: ‘I am ascending to my Father and YOUR Father, to my God and YOUR God’ (Med.#42). Secondly, the ascended Jesus is still ‘among’ these disciples just as he promised (Med.#51 & #87); and he knows them—what they have done, how they have kept his word and patiently endured through their afflictions in spite of having little social or emotional ‘power. Thirdly, out of his love for them, he both challenges them that they need to ‘hold fast’ to what they have since there are more things they will need to ‘overcome’. But he also promises to ‘keep’ them ‘out of’ [Gr. ex] a worldwide ‘hour of trial’ that is coming. Since the Greek word, ex, can mean either ‘from’ or ‘through’ (7:14), this is not a free pass to avoid suffering, but a promise to be with them and to help them overcome whatever it is they will have to face.

Jesus then promises to write his ‘own new name’, his Father's name, and the name of the New Jerusalem on ‘the one who overcomes’. Jesus' name from the beginning is ‘the Word of God’ (19:12-13; Jn.1:1), yet his new name is ‘the King of kings and Lord of lords’ (19:16, Med.#44). This includes his being Lord over all those in the underworld now too (Med.#56), since he has been given ‘the keys to Death and Hades’. But why does he make this promise to the ones in Philadelphia who ‘overcome’? Like many believers, they already have overcome a lot (Med.#53). Well, in another vision, John speaks of ‘brothers and sisters’ who have overcome ‘the accuser’ in the face of death. So Jesus seems to be talking about those who depending on his death (‘the blood of the Lamb’) and who maintain a strong ‘testimony’ to the end (Rev.12:10b-11). So Jesus’ promise to them is not about giving them his new name, his Father’s name, etc.; for all believers have already been ‘baptized into the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit’ (Med.#87). So his promise is to write these names on them—to make their true identity and his love for them visible to others; since under normal circumstances, the world cannot yet see how we bear these family names (Med.#5). People are no more able to recognize who we really are (Med.#89) than they were able to recognize Jesus and his relationship to the Father (Jn.1:10-11; 17:25).

Yet when we look at Jesus, when he ‘overcame’ the accuser in the face of death, we see something interesting happening in the midst of his suffering. When Pilate was confronted with Jesus' claim to be ‘the Son of God’, he suddenly became afraid (Jn.19:7-8). One of those crucified with Jesus saw on him something of his future kingdom, in spite of his seeming powerlessness (Lk.23:39-42). Likewise, the soldiers saw something of the Father's name on him (Mat.27:54). And Jesus himself was confident that his Father was with him, even when he felt forsaken by him (Med.#41). Further, when he descended to the ‘lower regions of the earth’ following his death, almost immediately many held captive there were able to ascend to heaven with him. And other things were about to take place—the giving of the gifts of his Spirit to his living disciples so that the proclamation of the Gospel to the ends of the earth might begin (Eph.4:7-13, Med.#50 & #87).

Likewise with the two visions in the above text: some things have already happened and other things that are about to take place. First we see a large group of people standing with Jesus on Mount Zion—144,000 who have been ‘sealed’ with his name and his Father's name on their foreheads. These come from every tribe of Israel and are identified as the ‘first fruits’ of redeemed humanity.[ii] Having kept themselves sexually pure and verbally blameless (14:4a,5), they now ‘follow the Lamb wherever he goes’. These are the Jewish heroes of faith who overcame through great suffering as the ‘first to hope in the Messiah’ (Heb.11:23-40, Med.#33; Eph.1:11-12, Med.#44).[ii] But in both visions the scene suddenly shifts to encompass many others who will come from all nations, tribes, etc.—after the Gospel has been proclaimed to them. And when these come through ‘the greatest Affliction’ they loudly join the worship of the 144,000 already sealed. Because they also are identified as ones who ‘serve God’ and follow the Lamb, it would seem that the delay in the destruction of the earth—called for at the beginning of one of these visions—was also on their account, so that they too could be sealed on their foreheads.

So in the light of these two visions, Jesus' promise to the Philadelphian church tells us two things. First, when we overcome heavy suffering in the face of death, we need not be afraid; for he will not only impress on our minds that nothing can separate us from him and from our Father; but he also will make visible to others (at least to some): the family names we already bear, and the love that he and the Father have for us (3:9; Rom.8:21,35-39). The visions also remind us of other nations to never forget his love for the people of Israel (Rom.11:25-28). I wonder how many ‘overcomers’ from other nations down through the ages, when they came to stand before Jesus, have had to humbly repent of their anti-Semitism! Have you taken to heart these very important lessons?

Father, thank you that by your Spirit I am a co-heir with Jesus, in whom I have redemption and have been brought into your kingdom—through baptism into your name, into Jesus' name and into the name of the Holy Spirit. Father, may your name be held holy! Also when I am sharing in Jesus' suffering, so that I may also share in his glory and be revealed as your son or daughter with your name and his new name written on my forehead—alongside those saints already sealed, also from the tribes of Israel. Help me, Father, to always love this people the way you do (Rom.8:15-18; 11:28; Col.1:12-14; Mat.28:19; 6:9-10a; Rev.14:1; 3:12; 7:4).

[i] This Scripture passage is taken from J.K. Mellis, The Good News of the Messiah by the Four Witnesses: pp.296-297.

[ii] These texts affirm what God showed also to Jeremiah (31:1,9,20, Med.#C), that he is also a Father to tribes or ‘clans’, and not just to individuals and nations.

[iii] 144,000 (1000x12x12) is a symbolic number referring to a large inclusive number (1000) from the tribes (x12) of Israel (Rev.7:4-8), who in Jesus (14:1) are, as it were, also descendants of his apostles (x12). The New Jerusalem is described in a similar way. Its four walls are each 12,000 cubits long, being founded on the 12 apostles. Yet its 12 gates also represent the 12 tribes of Israel (21:12b-16).