Queen's Road Cell

 9. What happens in ... 7:1-8 The 144000 are sealed  7:9-17 The great multitude worships    The 144000 have been identified with Believing Jews, perhaps saved out of the great tribulation (while Gentile believers have been raptured before the tribulation) All believers during the tribulation All believers for all time   144000 = 12x 12 for completeness, 10x10x10 to represent the presence of God, like the new Jerusalem and the Holy of Holies.    Note that the lists of the tribes of Israel differ markedly throughout the Bible. The tribes of Dan and Ephraim are omitted here whereas Joseph is mentioned together with his son Manasseh. The promoaion of tribes descended from Bilhah and ZIlpah (Gad, Asher, Napthali) suggest those once excluded from privilegare are now included. The southern tribes begin and end the list with the symmetrical "were sealed".   John first 'heard' the number of the sealed (v.7) then he sees (v.9) The 'great multitu...

 1. What happens when the Lamb opens each of the first six seals? 1 A white horse 2 A red horse 3 A black horse 4 A pale horse 5 The martyrs under the altar demand justice 6 A great earthquake, sun is darkened, moon red, stars fall, sky vanishes, mountains and islands removed. Earthly peoples know that the wrath of God and the Lamb has come on them.   2. From the descriptions in 6:2-8, what do you think each of  the four horsemen represents? white = militarism, conquest, ambition. possibly leading to the other 3, or false religion Unlikely to be Christ and the conquering gospel, because of  - parallels with seals and trumpets - similarity to the other 3 riders - holding of a bow, not a sword   red = war and violence black = famine and inflated (8-10x normal) grain prices, but limited. Perhaps the rich will not suffer. pale [' chloros ') = Death and Hades, given power over 1/4 of the earth. The riders are "given" and "permitted" - they remain under God's ...