The Church Militant



Revelation 7:1-8
1After 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.
2Then 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,
3saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”
4And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
512,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed,
12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,
12,000 from the tribe of Gad,
612,000 from the tribe of Asher,
12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,
12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,
712,000 from the tribe of Simeon,
12,000 from the tribe of Levi,
12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,
812,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,
12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,
12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.

After the emotionally bruising vision of the End shown to John there now appears a new vision of the church in two circumstances. These are the Church Militant and the Church Triumphant. Our reading for today describes the Church Militant.

“The 144,000 represent God’s people on earth in perfect order and thus ready to march. This is interpreted to be the church militant, poised and ready to carry out the marching orders—the mission—that her Lord has given to her. In the second scene John sees the great multitude of people before God’s heavenly throne. Their number is so great that it cannot be counted. This is the most beautiful picture in the entire Bible of the saints of God in heaven: the church triumphant.”
Brighton, L. A. ©1999. Revelation (p. 180). St. Louis, MO: Concordia Pub. House.

I personally don’t care for the term “Militant” because it indicates to me an army that marches out to war. We are not called into war. We are called into mission. And that mission is to spread the Gospel. Should we see ourselves as “soldiers” for God, we have a misunderstanding of our purpose. Missionaries do not carry guns, they carry the Word. We are not seen by God as His army against the demonic. Instead we are the voice of the Spirit, instructed and informed by Him as to how to best spread the truth of our salvation through Jesus Christ. I suspect there may be push-back on that opinion but I find no examples in the Scriptures where God’s people fight Satan. We are indeed sent out but not as soldiers but as missionaries.

Anyway, this view of the church sees us as well organized and powerful, enabled by the Spirit to fulfill God’s purposes for us in spreading the Gospel. The picture described here brings up images of The Children of Israel as they wandered the desert for 40 years. They would travel with their tribe in their assigned location stationed around the Tabernacle. There were, of course, more than 144,000 of them, but the picture remains the same. This group of believers is empowered and mobilized.

There is much made of the seal upon the foreheads of God’s people; an image that will reemerge again later in Revelation. This seal marks God’s people as His. We find that seal in our Baptism and in the celebration of Holy Communion. In these Sacraments we remained “sealed” in Him who died for us. That identifying mark keeps us safe from all spiritual harm and danger during the tribulation. God’s name is written on your heart and on your forehead, just as your name is written in the Book of Life.

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