1-3 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”

4-8 And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel: 12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed, 12,000 from the tribe of Reuben, 12,000 from the tribe of Gad, 12,000 from the tribe of Asher, 12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali, 12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh, 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon, 12,000 from the tribe of Levi, 12,000 from the tribe of Issachar, 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000 from the tribe of Joseph, 12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.

9-10 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” Revelation 7:1-10 English Standard Version.

As we move further into the visions John saw remember that these devotions are intentionally short and, therefore, not detailed. I don't want to focus on arguments, but on the encouragements this letter gives to Christians. The last Chapter showed some events that may refer to the hard times Christians experience because of persecution, but also to judgements that God sends on the world because of their opposition to His message. Those smaller judgements are warnings of the great and final one. God alone knows the day and hour of that last judgement - but His angels stand ready. What was the important job in vs 1-3 that needed to be done before that took place.

God's servants are given the stamp of His ownership. In Ephesians 4:30 Paul says: “Don't grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” This ‘sealing’ is not a physical mark. Being on the forehead could signify the believers mind and thoughts. God grants His people to know they belong to Him and are saved. The use of 12 X 12,000 to give an exact 144,000 is obviously also symbolic. Some suggest they are Jewish Christians, or even Jews who are to be saved in the last days. (Jehovah's Witnesses, who twist God's truth in so many ways, see them as an elite group!) Other Christians see it as a picture of the complete and true Israel of God – the whole Church. They would regard it as another view of the people described in vs 9-10.

Now whichever view we consider the most likely, the important truth here is that God knows each and every one who belongs to Him, and takes steps to guard them through their journey. There's a lovely example in Psalm 105 where David reminds Israel of how God had protected them from their earliest days. He says: “Remember God's covenant when He said (to Abraham and the others) ‘I will give you the land of Canaan as your special possession.’ He said this when they were few in number, just a tiny group of strangers in Canaan. They wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another. Yet he did not let anyone oppress them. He warned kings on their behalf saying ‘Don't touch my anointed, don't hurt my prophets.’”

As Christians we also live in a world under God's judgements. But God has 'marked us off' for salvation and He will bring us through the events that fall upon the world. When He sends out His angels of judgement His command to them is 'don't touch my sealed ones'. It doesn’t mean we will be exempted from floods, famines and wars (or persecutions) - but it does mean they will not ultimately destroy us. We will be among those described in vs 9-10 who joyfully sing our Saviours praise.