Twelve Tribes

“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 Nephthalim 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.” (Revelation 7:5-8 - King James Version)

John now lists the twelve tribes from which the 144,000 are taken. This list is unusual in two respects.

First, remember that Joseph's sons, Manesseh and Ephraium, were adopted by Jacob giving them an equal inheritance with the other tribes. This makes a total of thirteen tribes. Usually when the twelve tribes are listed, Levi is left out because it is the priestly tribe and did not receive an inheritance in the land because the Lord is its inheritance.

However, in this list, Levi is included, as are Manesseh and Ephraium. Instead of Levi, the tribe of Dan is left out. This may be because this tribe was soon given to idolatry.

Second, Ephraium is included not under his own name but under the name of his father, Joseph. This may be because the tribe of Ephraium was the leader in the Northern Kingdom which quickly went away from the Lord.

God will not leave himself without a witness. I believe that even before the rapture, God prepares a group to continue preaching the Gospel during the worst period of the Tribulation. We should trust God that he will work things out for what is best. Whatever he allows in our lives today is meant to reap benefits in the future.