Bible Questions and Answers

A visitor writes,

"Hello. Why isnt the tribe of Dan not included in the 144,000 in Revelation chapter 8? Francis"

I take it that you mean Chapter 7

Revelation 7:1 After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. 2  Then 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 granted to harm the earth and the sea, 3  saying, "Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads." 4  And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed: 5  of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand were sealed; 6  of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand were sealed; 7  of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand were sealed; 8  of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed. 9  After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10  and crying out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" 11  All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12  saying: "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honour and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever. Amen." 13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?" 14  And I said to him, "Sir, you know." So he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15  "Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. 16  "They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; 17  "for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

Sons of Israel named:

Judah 
Reuben 
Gad 
Asher 
Naphtali 
Manasseh 
Simeon 
Levi 
Issachar 
Zebulun 
Joseph 
Benjamin

Names missing – Ephraim and Dan

Both the numbers and the names are to be understood symbolically as representing the Christians. The time period being that of Constantine.

Bishop Newton in his ‘Disserations’ writes:

As the church of Christ was first formed out of the Jewish church and nation, so here (v.4-8) the spiritual Israel is first mentioned; and the number of the thousands of Israel is that of the twelve patriarchs multiplied by the twelve apostles, which we shall find to be a sacred number throughout the Revelation. But the twelve tribes are not enumerated here in the same method and order, as they are in other places of Holy Scripture. Judah hath the first rank and precedence, because from him descended the Messiah. Dan is entirely omitted, and Ephraim is not mentioned, because they were the principal promoters of idolatry, and therefore Levi is substituted in the room of the one, and Joseph is mentioned instead of the other.

This seems to me a reasonable explanation. The references to Dan and Ephraim’s idolatry are as follows:

Judges 18:30  Then the children of Dan set up for themselves the carved image; and Jonathan the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.

Judges 17:1 Now there was a man from the mountains of Ephraim, whose name was Micah. 2  And he said to his mother, "The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you, and on which you put a curse, even saying it in my ears—here is the silver with me; I took it." And his mother said, "May you be blessed by the LORD, my son!" 3  So when he had returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, "I had wholly dedicated the silver from my hand to the LORD for my son, to make a carved image and a moulded image; now therefore, I will return it to you." 4  Thus he returned the silver to his mother. Then his mother took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to the silversmith, and he made it into a carved image and a moulded image; and they were in the house of Micah. 5  The man Micah had a shrine, and made an ephod and household idols; and he consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.

Hosea 4:17  "Ephraim is joined to idols, Let him alone. 18  Their drink is rebellion, They commit harlotry continually. Her rulers dearly love dishonour. 19  The wind has wrapped her up in its wings, And they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.

The emancipation of the Church in the time of Constantine was also the beginning of its slide into spiritual harlotry to become the Mother of Harlots in Revelation 17.

I hope you find this helpful,
God bless,
Glenn