The 12 Tribes in Revelation 7

In Revelation 7, we are introduced to two different groups. The first group is clearly Jewish, 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel (7.4). The second group is distinguished from the first, as it is a great multitude of people from “every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues” (7.9). In contrast to the 144,000 in the first group, the second group is primarily Gentile, a great multitude which no one could count.

The first group of 144,000 is commonly understood to represent the church – what some would call “true, spiritual Israel” today. But this viewpoint cannot be correct because Revelation 7.4 tells us the first group comes from “every tribe of the sons of Israel.” The word Israel is never used for the church in the NT. No, the church isn’t even on earth in Revelation 7, as it has been raptured before the Tribulation period even begins. This group is not spiritual Israel, but actual Israel. Understanding the group to represent the church is an example of not interpreting Scripture normally (or literally), and the result is always nonsense.

Since the 144,000 are clearly Jewish believers sealed for a special purpose in the Tribulation period, it is interesting to note the list of the 12 tribes (7.5-8). The following observations can be made ...
1. The order in which the tribes are listed in Revelation 7.5-8 is not the same as the birth order given in Genesis 29.31-30.24. However, this is not unusual, for when one considers the lists of the tribes found throughout the OT, seldom are the tribes the same and seldom do they appear in the same order (Gen 35:23-25; 49; Exodus 1:2-4; Numbers 1:5-15; 26; 1 Chronicles 2-8).

The Original Tribes (birth order)		Tribes Listed in Rev 7
Reuben	by Leah	Judah
Simeon		Reuben
Levi		Gad
Judah		Asher
Dan	by Bilhah	Naphtali
Naphtali		Manasseh (Dan omitted)
Gad	By Zilpah	Simeon
Asher		Levi
Issachar	by Leah	Issachar
Zebulun		Zebulun
Joseph	by Rachel	Joseph (for Ephraim)
Benjamin		Benjamin

2. Although Reuben was the firstborn of Jacob, Judah is listed first in Revelation 7. This makes sense in this context for the Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah (Rev 5.5).

3. Dan is omitted. Although Revelation 7 gives no reason for the omission of the tribe of Dan among the 144,000, several early church fathers speculated that this was because the Antichrist would not only be Jewish but would be from the tribe of Dan. A more common explanation is that the tribe of Dan was the first to go into idolatry.

4. The sons of Joseph are represented twice. This double representation of Joseph can be explained in light of Gen 48.5 where Jacob claimed the two sons of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) as his own. For this reason, Manasseh appears in the list, and Ephraim is simply written as “Joseph.” (Note Numbers 1.32 where Ephraim was also called Joseph.)

5. Revelation 7 gives no explanation as to why Levi is included in this list. Levi is left off some lists in the OT, mainly because his sons became priests and did not receive an allotment of land like the other 11 tribes. But this list is not for land allotments, so Levi makes an appearance.

6. While John is the human author of the book of Revelation, we do not need to speculate why he did or didn’t include certain tribes. John was only recording what he heard.

7. We should understand this list to be a list of the actual, literal tribes of the sons of Israel. While we may not understand the reasons why some tribes are listed and others are not, it is not a random or accidental list. God’s purposes will be accomplished through the 12,000 sealed Jews from each of these 12 tribes.

8. The important thing to learn from this paragraph is that God is not finished with the Jewish people. Many of them will come to the Lord in the end times, and they will have an important role to play during the Great Tribulation.