Revelation 7:4

⁵ A. R. Fausset, “The Revelation of St. John the Divine,” in Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown, A Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997, 1877), Rev. 7:4.

⁶ Seiss, The Apocalypse: Lectures on the Book of Revelation, 161.

⁷ E. W. Bullinger, Commentary On Revelation (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1984, 1935), 282.

⁸ Jerome Smith, The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1992), Rev. 7:4.

⁹ William Varner, Jacob’s Dozen: A Prophetic Look at the Tribes of Israel (Bellmawr, NJ: Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, 1987), 103.

¹⁰ Walter Scott, Exposition of The Revelation (London, England: Pickering & Inglis, n.d.), 153.

¹¹ Bullinger, Commentary On Revelation, 278.

¹² Raymond Edward Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland Edmund Murphy, eds., The Jerome Biblical Commentary (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1996, c1968), Rev. 7:4.

¹³ Albert Barns, Notes on the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1884-85), Rev. 7:4.

¹⁴ Robert H. Mounce, The Book of Revelation (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1977), 168.

¹⁵ “Scripture speaks of three categories of persons its contents concern: the Jews, the Gentiles, and the church of God (1Cor. 1Cor. 10:32). What is stated in Rev. Rev. 7:4+ pertains to Israel—it cannot pertain to any other group. The names of the tribes of Israel are nowhere in Scripture ever applied to the Gentiles or the church of God. Even among those who (mistakenly) believe the term ‘Israel’ can denote the Church, some recognize the overwhelming evidence in this passage against taking ‘Israel’ as the Church: “It is clear that, though ‘Israel’ may elsewhere designate the spiritual Israel, ‘the elect (Church) on earth’ [Alford], here, where the names of the tribes one by one are specified, these names cannot have any but the literal meaning.”³⁶ ”—Smith, The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, Rev. 7:4.

¹⁶ John MacArthur, Revelation 1-11 : The MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1999), Rev. 7:4.

¹⁷ G. E. Ladd, “Revelation, Book of,” in Geoffrey W. Bromiley, ed., International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1979, 1915), 4:175.

¹⁸ The “Israel of God” of Gal. Gal. 6:16 being no exception. “As Peter Richardson observes: ‘Strong confirmation of this position [i.e., that “Israel” refers to the Jews in the NT] comes from the total absence of an identification of the church with Israel until A.D. 160; and also from the total absence, even then, of the term “Israel of God” to characterize the church.’ ”—Alan F. Johnson, Revelation: The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1966), Rev. 7:1-3. In every instance, the word “Israel” refers to those who are of the physical seed of Jacob. See [Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, Israelology: The Missing Link in Systematic Theology (Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries, 1989), 684-690].

¹⁹ Scott, Exposition of The Revelation, 157.

²⁰ MacArthur, Revelation 1-11 : The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Rev. 7:4.

²¹ Donald Grey Barnhouse, Revelation (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1971), 148.

²² “The Gentile company (verse 9) is not numbered. The Israelitish company, on the contrary, is carefully reckoned and the result stated, not in round numbers, but in precise terms.”—Scott, Exposition of The Revelation, 157.

²³ Varner, Jacob’s Dozen: A Prophetic Look at the Tribes of Israel, 60.

²⁴ Ibid., 103.

²⁵ Smith, The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, Rev. 7:4.

²⁶ Scott, Exposition of The Revelation, 158.

²⁷ Mills suggests that Dan will be key in leading Israel toward the Antichrist in the time of the end: Lev. 24:11; Jdg. Jdg. 18:30-31; 1K. 1K. 12:28-29), and in the end times it will be no different: Dan will not recognize her Messiah, but will lead Israel in its firm covenant with the Pseudo-christ.”—Monty S. Mills, Revelations: An Exegetical Study of the Revelation to John (Dallas, TX: 3E Ministries, 1987), Revelation 7:4. As interesting as this theory might be, it requires the tribe of Dan to act in concert as a tribe which seems unlikely given the lack of human ability to determine the boundaries of the tribe within the Jewish population. Of course, the possibility exists that some form of genetic tracking, along with genetic material recovered from a known Danite, could provide the key to unlock human knowledge of the boundaries of the tribe. As we discuss elsewhere, God knows which are the offspring of each son of Jacob. See Ten Tribes Lost?.

²⁸ Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, Ante-Nicene Fathers Vol. I (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, 1997), s.v. “ECF 1.1.7.1.5.31.”

²⁹ “A great deal of speculation and guesswork has developed as a result [of the omission of the tribe of Dan], mainly the idea that the Antichrist will come out of this tribe. . . . Others claim that the False Prophet will arise out of the Tribe of Dan and that is why that tribe is left out. But this too, is pure speculation. There is nothing in the context to suggest either of these suppositions. The text itself does not state the reason why the Tribe of Dan is left out. The actual reason is simply to maintain the symmetry of twelve.”—Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, The Footsteps of Messiah, rev ed. (Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries, 2003), 222-223.

³⁰ Unger takes this evangelistic work as occurring during the millennial age rather than in preparation for it: “The LORD will dispatch those of the Jews who escape the judgments of the Tribulation to the nations to evangelize the Gentiles of the Kingdom.”—Merrill F. Unger, Unger’s Commentary on the Old Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2002), Isa. 66:19b. It would seem that “those among them who “escape” could refer to the sealed Jews of the Diaspora during the Tribulation period itself.”

³¹ MacArthur, Revelation 1-11 : The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Rev. 7:9.

³² Fruchtenbaum, The Footsteps of Messiah, 178-179.

³³ Barnhouse, Revelation, 151.

³⁴ J. Dwight Pentecost, Things to Come: A Study in Biblical Eschatology (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1958), 214.

³⁵ Scott, Exposition of The Revelation, 158.

³⁶ Fausset, “The Revelation of St. John the Divine,” Rev. 7:1.