Israel's Unique Role
Connecting Old Testament and New Testament Israel
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Even a superficial reading of the Bible makes obvious that the entire Book revolves around the nation of Israel, first an ancient, physical nation, then later spiritual Israel (the New Testament Church). You have seen this.
The forefathers of this nation—Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (renamed Israel)—begin to appear in the 11th chapter of Genesis, and “the twelve tribes of the children of Israel” are still being described in Revelation 21:1-27—the next-to-last chapter of the last book of the Bible. Other nations are almost invariably mentioned in Scripture as they come in contact with Israel. We saw these other nations flow later into God’s Plan.
God’s relationship with this extended family grown large is described in Isaiah: “I am the Lord, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King…I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My people, My chosen. This people have I formed for Myself; they shall show forth My praise” (Isa 43:15, 20-21). (This earlier-quoted passage will be seen to today parallel I Peter 2:9.)
Remember that modern Israel is found in the largely English-speaking nations of the West. This has a direct bearing on the 144,000, who also pertain to “Israel.”
When Do the 144,000 Appear?
Before the 144,000 are first mentioned, the time sequence of Revelation has set the stage with the fifth and sixth seals. Reading several verses in review begins the discussion: “And when He had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held” (Rev. 6:9).
For our purposes here, suffice to repeat that there are no “immortal souls” in heaven. Revelation 6:1-17 continues: “And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, do You not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled” (Rev 6:10-11).
We saw this happens before the Great Tribulation, with the martyrs from 2,000 years of New Testament Church history symbolically waiting for the last martyrs to pay the ultimate price: “I beheld when He had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casts her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” (Rev 6:12-17).
The context here again is the Day of the Lord. This one-year period immediately follows the fifth seal, the two-and-a-half-year Tribulation, when the Israelite remnant and Great Multitude are established.
But at this point, there is an important pause—the flow of catastrophic events is temporarily suspended! “After these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal 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” (Rev 7:1-2).
144,000 Sealed
Before this “hurting” of the planet takes place, one thing must occur: “Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads” (Rev 7:3).
A very specific, pre-determined, finite number of these servants must be included in this sealing process: “And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand” (Rev 7:4-8).
Shortly after this, the seventh seal is opened, containing the seven trumpet plagues and culminating in Christ’s Second Coming: “And when He had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour…And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound” (Rev 8:1, 6).
One Tribe Absent
Remember that there were twelve tribes in Israel, but Joseph’s birthright blessing was passed on to both of his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. This would total 13—so who is missing?
A comparison with Genesis reveals the answer—the tribe of Dan is left out. The obvious question is why?
Other verses show this tribe had a long history of falling into Gentile, pagan practices and rank idolatry well ahead of the other tribes, leading the way to the other tribes’ later decline.
The Danites are singled out as worshipping idols even while the Temple was present in Jerusalem! “And the children of Dan set up the graven image: and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land” (Judges 18:30).
This tribe also took advantage of the absence of a king during the period of the Judges, attempting to pick their own heritage. However, they ended up getting “leftovers”: “In those days there was no king in Israel: and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in; for unto that day all their inheritance had not fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel” (Judges 18:1).
Much of this tribe did not enter the Promised Land. While Israel was in the wilderness, the Danites struck out on their own, embarking on a journey that would take them to the northwest, where they eventually settled in the British Isles and certain other spots in northern Europe. (America and Britain in Prophecy has an entire chapter on this.)
Time and again, the Danites went it alone in stubborn independence, not wanting to accept the path that God had set before Israel. Looking back on a key battle, the judge Deborah asked, “Gilead abode beyond Jordan: and why did Dan remain in ships?” (Judges 5:17). The Danites, though they were effective warriors, were “absent without leave” during this skirmish! They took the difficult path of disobedience, and faced many hard times as a group.
The patriarch Israel, foretelling the destinies of the twelve tribes, was inspired to say, “Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that bites the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward” (Gen. 49:16-17).
This tribe left markings like a snake’s path—including variations in their own name, left in various locations as they made their way across Europe. Examples are the Don, Danube and Dniester Rivers, as well as the nation of Denmark. (The Irish, who form the bulk of Dan’s descendents, were among the earlier groups to migrate to the United States.)
The name Dan means “judge.” Danites tended to “judge” and look down on other tribes, although they never properly judged themselves!
Israel’s (Jacob’s) prophetic description of Dan concludes with, “I have waited for Your salvation, OLord” (Gen. 49:18). This tribe must wait for a later time in God’s Plan, which will take effect after the initial 144,000 are assigned to the other tribes!
Connecting Old Testament and New Testament Israel