Sermon of the Week - Dr. Jim Baize

Has the Christian church replaced the nation of Israel as God’s people? Unfortunately, there are many who have fallen for this heretical belief. In the book of Revelations there is a phrase that is repeated several times that answers this question “from every tribe, and language, and people, and nation”. Here is part of a study I put together for our Sunday School lesson on the book of Revelation that also addresses the question of has the Christian Church replaced the nation of Israel as God’s people.

The Twelve tribes of Israel

The book of Revelation reveals to the church and the world specific details regarding end times events that will take place after Jesus raptures His Church from this world. Contained within the book of Revelation is an interesting phrase that refers to the world’s population that is repeated five times, “from every tribe and language and people and nation”. This phrase, or a similar variant of it, is repeated five times within the book: Revelation 5:9, 7:9; 11:9, 13:7; and 14:6. It is easy to quickly read past this phrase and just assume that John is making a reference to the world’s population, which he is. Yet, the way that John writes this phrase contains much more than a simple reference to the world’s population.

In chapter 5, John is shown a vision where he is taken into God’s presence, and he sees the risen Jesus step forward and take the scroll from God’s hands that is closed with seven seals. The scroll of judgment is given to Jesus because He is the only One worthy to open it, because as verse 9 reveals the song that the 24 elders sing, “And they sang a new song, ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain and with Your blood You purchased men for God from every tribe, language and people and nation.’”

There is a tremendous amount that could be written about the vision that John was allowed to see and how the worship that John envisioned in God’s heavenly Temple and how the worship that took place in God’s earthly Temples built by Moses and Solomon were patterned after what takes place in God’s heavenly Tabernacle, but the focus of this article is to focus on the repeated phrase, “every tribe, language, people, and nation.” It is often thought that the phrase as simply being a universal phrase that is meant to include all of humanity. The phrase on the surface is referring to the whole of humanity, but it is also much more specific, and it also reveals the fulfillment of God’s covenant with Abraham to redeem Abraham’s descendants-God’s chosen people.

Tribe:

There are four words that are used in the Greek language to describe those who have been purchased by the blood of Jesus, verse 9, and these words are more specific than that which is contained in the English translations. First, the word for tribe is the Greek word phulae, and it means a tribe connected by the same blood line, or today we would say a people who share the same genetics. Throughout the Greek Old Testament, the Septuagint, the word phulae always referred to the twelve tribes of Israel, as they are descendants from Abraham who are of Abraham’s blood line. So, the tribes that are mentioned in the song are referencing the completion of the Jewish nation-the descendants of Abraham- back to a right relationship with the Father through the Messiah. The Apostle Paul makes specific reference to this prophecy in Romans 11:25-27, “25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:

“The deliverer will come from Zion; He will turn godlessness away from Jacob. 27 And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.” (New International Version). The first word John uses refers to the descendants of Abraham who share Abraham’s blood line.

Language:

The next group identified as having been purchased back to God is a group described as being of a “language”. The Greek word John uses here is the Greek word, “glossaes”, and it is the same word used in I Corinthians 12:10, that is translated “tongues”, when Paul is describing the different gifts of the Spirit given to believers. There is much debate over the meaning of this word “glossaes”, or “tongues”, especially among the churches and how the charismatic community interprets this word “languages”.

In this reference in Revelation 5, the song of praise, the group that John hears being addressed in this song first has to do with the restoration of the twelve tribes of Israel-the descendants of Abraham. The second Greek word John uses here for “language” is in the singular for “tongue”, or “language”, it is not the plural “tongues” or languages found in 1 Corinthians 12:10. In this context the word tongue is not being used as a technical term that is referring to the language of the Spirit as the Corinthian reference. The “language” group that is being referred is to the language that God gave to His people, the Israelites. This term is a specific term that is a reference to the prophecy of Zephaniah 3:9, as the Jewish people are restore to the land of Canaan from all the nations of the world bringing with them the languages of the world, and when they are brought into a right relationship with the Messiah they will also return to the Hebrew language. Zephaniah prophesied this over two thousand years ago, “At that time I will change the speech of my returning people to pure Hebrew so that all can worship the Lord together.”

The Hebrew language was given to Abraham and his descendants. It was the language specifically given to them as a way they communicated with God when they worshipped Him in His Temple. Hebrew is also the language of the Israelites that made them unique from the surrounding nations. Therefore, taking the word “language” in this context, it is referring to the fulfillment of the prophecy of Zephaniah and the Israelites returning to the land of Canaan-Israel-that the reference to the singular “tongue”- the language of Israel-the Hebrew language that will be the language of the Israelites as they return to the land of Canaan through the time of the Tribulation period and are brought into a saving relationship with their Messiah.

People:

The Greek word for “people” is again in the singular and is not plural. The Greek word is the word “laos”, and it is always used in the Old and New Testaments when addressing the whole of the twelve tribes of Israel, the people of God. The word “laos” is the word that is used to describe a collective group bound by common identity, purpose, or faith. The term emphasizes the communal aspect of individuals as part of a larger body, often in a religious or national context. Thus, laos refers specifically to the Jewish people.

Therefore, when John hears the song being sung that addresses the “laos” that has been purchased for God, the reference is to the whole of Israel. The laos, or people, signifies the fulfillment of God’s covenant with Abraham that is promised throughout the whole of the Old Testament. Again, it is a reference to which the Apostle Paul quoted the prophet Isaiah when he wrote in Romans chapter 11:25-27, “ 25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. 27 And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.” (Isaiah 59:20-21) (New International Version).

Nation:

Finally, but not the least mentioned is the Greek word for “nation”. The Greek word is the word “ethnos”, and this word is often translated “gentile”, as it is a reference to the gentile nations that are separate from the nation of Israel. The first three words John uses refer to the nation of Israel specifically. However, the gentile nations are not left out, because gentiles have also been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, as will the Jewish people.

In this simple but repeated phrase that John uses five times in the book of Revelation, the Holy Spirit is stressing through John that God will fulfill His covenant with Abraham and redeem his descendants, the Jews, God’s chosen people, during the tribulation period. Why is John using three different words, tribe, language, people, to describe the Jewish people? It is to reassure the Jewish people, especially those who are dispersed throughout the earth and no longer live in the land of Israel that God has not forgotten them, even if they have forgotten Him. By stressing that those who share the blood of Abraham, they will return to the land of Israel and again share the language that God gave Abraham-Hebrew, and they who presently have a veil that has been pulled down over their eyes so that they can’t see the Messiah, Jesus, the veil will be finally lifted. So, the repetition of this phrase that is stated five times in the book is so that the Jewish nation will see the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant during the seven years of tribulation. In addition, in that simple phrase, God has also promised that the gentiles have not been forgotten but have the promise of His mercy toward those who will embrace and follow Jesus.