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The mission of the promised one was to gather the faithful from the “elect,” the descendants of the Israelites. The Baptist describes that happening in the following verses.
REVELATION 7:1–8
1 After these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four
winds of the earth, that they should not blow upon the earth, nor upon the sea, nor on any tree.
2 And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the sign of the living God; and
he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,
3 Saying: Hurt not the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, till we sign the servants of our God in their foreheads.
4 And I heard the number of them that were signed, an hundred forty-four thousand were signed, of every
tribe of the children of Israel.
5 Of the tribe of Juda were twelve thousand signed: Of the tribe of Ruben, twelve thousand signed: Of
the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand signed:
6 Of the tribe of Aser, twelve thousand signed: Of the tribe of Nephthali, twelve thousand signed: Of
the tribe of Manasses, twelve thousand signed:
7 Of the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand signed: Of the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand signed: Of
the tribe of Issachar, twelve thousand signed:
8 Of the tribe of Zabulon, twelve thousand signed: Of the tribe of Joseph, twelve thousand signed: Of
the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand signed.
The whole purpose of the covenant God made with Abraham was to prepare the way for the savior God promised to Adam and Eve. The savior is Eve's seed. He will repair the damage caused by Adam and Eve's disobedience. God called Abraham to cooperate in fulfilling this promise. Abraham and his descendants through Isaac and Jacob (later renamed Israel) would become a chosen nation, the progenitors of the Savior. They were to abide by a covenant that they sealed with blood through circumcision. To fulfill their part, they were to live according to God's precepts. To fulfill God's part, God would bless them and make them a holy nation, a light, an example of holiness to the other nations. In the fullness of time, God would bring out of their nation the promised one, the savior of all. There was great blessing attached to obedience to this covenant and dire consequences threatened for disobedience.
Now is the fullness of time. The Messiah is about to make his impact on history. He will go first to the descendants of Israel. He will call out of the twelve tribes all who will follow him. John describes a vision relating to this. Four angels stand at the four corners of the earth. They hold back the four destroying winds while another angel marks God's servants with a seal. A voice calls from the twelve tribes those who want to serve, twelve thousand from each tribe.
Filled with Elijah's spirit, John the Baptist spoke to all Judeans to prepare them to believe. He announced not just the coming of the promised one, but the fact that he is here. He is already at the door. He will start his ministry before the Baptist is finished. Shortly after that, God's judgment will fall upon those who do not believe. I can imagine the urgency with which the Baptist preached. The time is now! Turn away from your sins! Repent and accept baptism! Be ready when he comes! This portion of Revelation was part of the Baptist’s earliest preaching. His bold and imaginative words struck a chord deep in the minds of those who were pious. He cited biblical prophecies to show all Judeans how to recognize the Messiah. To those who were not pious, he warned what will happen should they reject the Messiah. The things he warned about are direct consequences of humanity's abuse of freedom. All humans must face those warnings, but he spoke firs to the Judeans.
God had already called their ancestors through the covenant made by Abraham and ratified in every household by circumcision. They were to be a light to the other nations. They were expected to live as examples of God's holiness and to prepare, not only in their mentality, but even in their bloodlines for the Messiah, the king and redeemer of everybody. It was not likely that all Judeans would accept Jesus Christ. Like other nations, they had never agreed unanimously in the past. But this is Judea's moment of decision. If the Judeans choose right, they will experience the blessings God promised. If they choose wrong, they will experience the punishment the prophets, and John also, prophesied.
The punishment will be due when the Messiah is rejected and slain, but it will be postponed for a short time. This will insure that all Judeans will have had enough time to hear the Messiah's call, ponder it in their hearts, and decide whether they can believe. The forces bent upon destroying Judea: the rivalry of hostile pagans, Rome's oppression, the resentment and hatred of Zealots ready to start war—all are halted. God is doing this to allow Judeans sufficient time to make their choice to become sealed with the Lamb's sign, the Lord's baptism.
Not all Judeans will recognize the promised one and accept baptism, but John predicts that many would. John's vision uses a traditional way of expressing a large number. Not merely a thousand from each tribe, No! The traditional way the Judeans expressed a large but unspecified number was to say there would be twelve times a thousand. One hundred and forty four thousand will be sealed. This merely means that many descendants of Israel will believe.
I now compare events that occurred in Judea following Christ's death and the Church's birth to certain visions in Revelation. I want to show how the warnings of the early visions come true when the unbelieving Judeans oppose the Messianic kingdom set up by Judeans who do believe. The Judean believers began their mission to preach the good news at Pentecost. That was when the Holy Spirit descended as a wind and hovered above each apostle as a tongue of fire. Peter, strengthened by the spirit, went outside and talked to people who had been attracted by the commotion. He converted three thousand. After that, the apostles boldly went to the Temple and preached the good news. Every day, they baptized more converts.
The Temple leaders opposed them from the first. One day the leaders arrested them. That same night, an angel helped them escape. The next day they went back to the Temple. They were again arrested. This time the Temple leaders wanted to execute them, but Gamaliel talked them out of it (Acts 5:33). In spite of this opposition, Christianity spread rapidly in Jerusalem. By A.D. 35, Saul, leading those who did not believe, tried to end Christianity through a persecution. He had Stephen stoned. He then arrested the followers of Jesus, even within their homes, and brought them to trial. Those, who could, fled Jerusalem looking for safety throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria. Their example and preaching spread the Gospel to all the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob everywhere they went.
During this time, Philip the Apostle went to Samaria where, among other things, he converted Simon, the pagan magi. When the other Apostles heard of it, they sent Peter and John to pray that the Samaritans might also receive the Holy Spirit. Philip then went south to Gaza then worked his way back north to Caesarea. He baptized everyone who would believe.
Saul went to Damascus intending to arrest Judean Christians who had fled there. Half way there, Saul met the resurrected Jesus who asked him to explain what he was doing. This miraculous encounter caused Saul to believe. He then tried to convince others. For this he, himself, became ostracized and persecuted by those who continued in their unbelief.
Four years later (around A.D. 42) King Herod Agrippa moved against the Apostles. He ordered James executed. Encouraged by the approval of those who did not believe, Agrippa ordered Peter arrested. Again an angel released Peter, and the harvest of Judea continued until all who would believe were marked by baptism.
REVELATION 7:9–17
9 After this I saw a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and tribes, and peoples, and
tongues, standing before the throne, and in sight of the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands:
10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying: Salvation to our God, who sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb.
11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and the ancients, and the four living creatures; and they fell down
before the throne upon their faces, and adored God,
12 Saying: Amen. Benediction, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, honour, and power, and strength to our
God for ever and ever. Amen.
13 And one of the ancients answered and said to me: These that are clothed in white robes, who are they? and
whence came they?
14 And I said to him: My Lord, thou knowest. And he said to me: These are they who are come out of great
tribulation, and have washed their robes, and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple: and he, that
sitteth on the throne, shall dwell over them.
16 They shall no more hunger nor thirst, neither shall the sun fall on them, nor any heat.
17 For the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall rule them, and shall lead them to the fountains of the
waters of life, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
When the harvest from Judea is completed, there still will not be the full number of those who should follow Jesus because not all the circumcised accepted him. They all were invited, not only from Judea but even their ancestors from all twelve tribes. They were all expected to prepare the Messiah's way and embrace him when he comes, but the descendants of ten tribes were already lost to history because of their ancestors' unfaithfulness. Of the two tribes that remained, some individuals accepted Jesus and some did not. So, just like the parable of the supper feast (Luke 14:21), God will send his servants to invite everyone they see so that there might be full attendance.
In his vision, John the Baptist saw not only the elect, but also others joined to the elect. These others are too many for anyone to count. They are from every nation and from all tribes, peoples, and tongues. They are, therefore, not Judeans. They are believers from the Gentile nations. St. Paul’s ministry fulfilled this vision. He openly claimed that Jesus inspired him to convert Gentiles. But Jesus also inspired St. Peter to convert Gentiles. St. Peter first understood this when God sent a vision to advise Peter that, contrary to the dietary laws given Moses, Christians may now eat all kinds of animals, reptiles, and birds. Immediately after this vision, Cornelius, a Gentile, sent word for Peter to come and talk about God. Peter went.
While there, Peter gave the first recorded missionary sermon to Gentiles. He saw evidence that the Holy Spirit moved his Gentile listeners. This convinced him that the Spirit given the circumcised is also given to the uncircumcised when they believe (Acts 11:17). During the first Judean persecution, the one that started in A.D. 35 when Stephen was martyred, many believers had fled Judea. When they settled down in foreign countries, they told the "good news" to Judean people who had previously gone to those countries. One group, however, which had gone to Antioch, told the good news to everybody. They won enough pagan converts that within several years their congregation had many Gentile as well as Judean Christians. When news of this reached Jerusalem, the apostles sent Barnabas to investigate. He rejoiced to see what had happened and then went to Tarsus to fetch Paul.
This is an irony of history because it was Paul who, before his conversion, caused the Judean Christians to flee Jerusalem. When he pursued them, he met the risen Christ and was converted. He then went to Jerusalem to preach Christ and encountered the hostility of those who did not believe. They thought him a traitor. Peter advised Paul to return home and wait for further instructions. This same Paul is now asked to minister to a unique congregation that resulted from his conduct before his conversion. He accepted, of course, and began his ministry to the Gentiles.
With the Antioch congregation firmly rooted, Paul then started his missionary journeys. His first journey, around A.D. 43, took him to Greece, Cyprus, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. He made many Gentile converts in those areas, bringing pagans directly into the Church. This caused confusion among the Judean Christians and outrage among the unbelieving Judeans. Both groups were concerned about the status of circumcision and the law regulating food and daily customs. Does the Church believe they are no longer binding? The Council at Jerusalem resolved this question in A.D. 49. This is mentioned in Acts 15. The council's decision of what should be binding upon Christians is also mentioned:
For it hath seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us, to lay no further burden upon you than these necessary things: That you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication; from which things keeping yourselves, you shall do well. Fare ye well (Acts 15:28–29).
This settled matters for the Judean Christians but not for the non-Christian Judeans. Their indignation and hostility grew as they saw those who had accepted Christ freely associating with Gentiles and bringing Gentiles into the synagogues. At tha t time, Christianity was still a sect of Judaism; the Christians still attended meetings in the synagogues.
Paul continued converting more Gentiles in Syria, Turkey, Greece, and Italy. He, more than any other apostle, spread the gospel directly to the uncircumcised, the others who through baptism were joined to the elect. This is how the others came to join the elect, the others who are too numerous to count. This gathering of a great multitude from all nations, tribes, and tongues is still in progress.
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