Welcome to EBible Fellowship's Bible study in the Book of Revelation. This will be study #25 of Revelation, chapter 1, and we are continuing to look at verse 7 of Revelation 1:

Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

We have been taking our time and moving carefully through the verse, making sure we try to cover everything that the phrases in this verse might apply to, and we have come to the point of the closing part of the verse:

...and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

Tonight we want to look at the word 'kindreds.' This particular Greek word, 'phule;' it is Strong's number 5443. And, by the way, I tell you that, so you can check it out, so you can follow along with what we are saying about it in the verses we are going through. You would need a concordance to turn to that number, and you will see if what is being said is correct, or not, and you can also find all the places in the Bible where this word is used.

Now we are not going to be able to go to every place where this word is found. It is found 30 times in the New Testament, but we will go to a great number of them, and of the thirty times 'phule' is found in the New Testament, twenty four times it is translated as 'tribe' or 'tribes,' plural, and the remaining six times it is translated as 'kindred' or 'kindreds,' as we have in our verse in Revelation 1, verse 7.

Now to see how this word is used, we are going to go a little further in the Book of Revelation, to Revelation, chapter 7, where we are going to find that in just a few short verses this Greek word 'phule' will be found fourteen times (almost half of the thirty, or half of the times it is found in the Bible), as it is found in Revelation 7, beginning in verse 4, where it says:

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...

That is 'phule,'

...of the children of Israel. Of the tribe of Judah....

Now every time I mention the word 'tribe,' it is that same word we are looking at:

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.

Now in verses 4 through 8, 'phule' is found thirteen times, and every time it is translated as 'tribe' or 'tribes,' and it is referring, well, God is making reference to the 'tribes' of Israel, but, of course, He is talking about those that are saved, and twelve thousand from each of the twelve tribes, and that would total 144,000.

Now these 144,000 are not 144,000 Jews (descendents of Abraham.) This is a number and a figure God is using, a type and a figure, to typify all those that He would save during the church age, as God likens the 144,000 to the firstfruits in Revelation, chapter 14. The firstfruits, the Pentecostal harvest, if you remember in Acts 2, where God began to pour out His Spirit on the day of Pentecost, and that began the church age and the bringing in of the firstfruits.

So God likens 144,000 to all those that became saved during the 1,955 years of the church age, from 33 A.D. until 1988, and, so, these twelve thousand from this tribe, and twelve thousand from that tribe (from the tribes of Israel), is a figure of speech to typify the elect of God. There were far more than 144,000 that God saved over those many centuries, although it was not what we would have thought, but certainly more than 144,000 - perhaps a handful of millions; we do not know for sure, but the 144,000 represent the sum of the total of elect that God saved throughout the church age. And they were people, some were Jews and many were Gentiles. God is not bound to say that He only saves people from these particular tribes - that is the type and picture God is using - and we have to understand that.

But it does mean that these thirteen instances are representative of the elect, that the Greek word 'phule,' thirteen times out of the thirty, is pointing to the elect through this language.

And then we come to verse 9 of Revelation 7, and it says there:

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues...

And, here, the English word 'kindreds' is the same word that has been translated as 'tribe' or 'tribes,' and it is our word in Revelation 1, verse 7. Again, it is referring to, in this case, the elect, although it is "of," it says. That is an important word, that it is "of all nations," (a great multitude that will be clothed with white robes, indicating that God saved them), "of all nations," and "of the kindreds" and "of the people," and "of the tongues." It is not all nations and all kindreds and all tribes, but it is "of" them, so we have to keep that in mind.

Now we looked at 'tribes,' and I just want to go one other place, in Revelation 21, where 'phule' is translated as 'tribes' in verse 12. It says:

And had a wall great and high...

This is describing the New Jerusalem.

... and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:

Again, the same word, and again pointing to the elect, because the twelve tribes of the children of Israel, as well as the twelve apostles of the Lamb in the New Testament, are used of God here as a representation of all those saved in the Old Testament and those saved in the New Testament, and, so, this word identifies very much with the people of God.

Well, 'kindreds' is found six times. "Phule" is translated 'tribe' or 'tribes' twenty four out of the thirty times, and six times it is translated as 'kindred' or 'kindreds,' in our verse in Revelation 1:7, the verse we just read in Revelation 7, verse 9, and I want to read the other four times that we will find this word translated as 'kindred.' It is all in the Book of Revelation, in Revelation, chapter 5, verse 9:

And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

Now, again, this is referring to those redeemed, the elect, and they are out of every 'kindred,' every 'tribe.' Could this be referring to the fact that God saves from the 'tribes' of Israel, as well as (from) the other people of the world? Well, it could. It could. But I do not know if we will find an answer to that, but let us keep looking at the three more verses. In Revelation 11, verse 9:

And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.

Now, here, 'kindreds' would seem to just refer to unsaved people that are in the world, and they are not suffering the dead bodies of the two witnesses to be put in graves.

Then in Revelation 13, verse 7:

And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him...

This is referring to the beast that comes up out of the sea, and, here, the beast is referring to Satan's rule in the world during the great tribulation. A little later we will see another beast coming up out of the Earth, with two horns like a lamb, and that is referring to Satan's rule in the churches. So, again, the 'kindred,' here, would apparently be pointing to people of the world.

And one last verse, Revelation 14, verse 6:

And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,

So that is all of the instances that the Greek word 'phule' is translated as 'kindred' or 'kindreds.' One thing you might have noticed is that in every other verse where we find this word translated as 'kindred' or 'kindreds,' it is in association with "nations, tongues and people," except one place in Revelation 13, verse 7, it was just 'tongues' and 'nations,' and 'people' were not mentioned. But five out of the six places where 'kindred' is found, it is in association, or in conjunction, with these other words to describe the people of the world.

The only exception to that is Revelation 1, verse 7. Normally, we could say, where this word is found without those other words ('peoples,' 'nations,' and 'tongues'), it is translated as 'tribe' or 'tribes,' in every instance, but in Revelation 1, verse 7. Let me read it again to remind you of what this verse says:

Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

Well, we could certainly replace the word 'kindreds' here with the plural word 'tribes,' and it would read, "and all 'tribes' of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen." And that reminds us of what we find in Matthew, chapter 24. Let us turn to Matthew 24, and I will begin reading in verse 29:

Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn...

That is our Greek word 'phule,' and, here, it is by itself, that is, we do not read of 'nations' and 'people' and 'tongues,' and, so, it is a plural word, and God translates it as the plural word 'tribes:' "...then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."

We really have a lot of similarities with our verse in Revelation 1, verse 7, and this verse, and I think there are at least three similarities: Revelation 1:7 says, "Behold, he cometh with clouds," and that is the first thing, as Matthew 24:30 tells us towards the end of the verse, "and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."

And the second thing is in Revelation 1:7, "...and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him." All tribes of the earth shall wail, and here in Matthew 24:30, "...then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn." Well, it so happens that the word 'mourn' is a translation of the same Greek word translated as 'wail' in our verse in Revelation 1, verse 7, so we have three identical elements: we have Christ coming in the clouds, we have tribes of the earth wailing (or the kindreds of the earth wailing), and, here, the tribes of the earth mourning, and they are saying the same thing.

This is helping us to realize that the ones that are seeing Him coming in the clouds, these tribes of the earth that are mourning, are true believers. I think we can safely say that as we look at this Greek word 'phule,' and how many times it identifies with the people of God, either Israel of historic national Israel (we did not look at many places, but when the apostle Paul says he is of the 'tribe' of Benjamin, that is our word, so there would be a reference to historical Israel and one of their 'tribes'), or, we have seen that it refers to twelve thousand from each of the 'tribes' of Israel, and that would be spiritual Israel, the Israel of God, those elect that God saves and counts them as spiritual Jews, because they have been circumcised in heart, as the Bible speaks of it That is, when we become born again and our sins are cut off, we are circumcised in a spiritual way, and we become part of the Israel of God.

So, this word 'phule,' the 'tribes' of the Earth, would point to the true believers. The only exception to this is when it is found in conjunction with the other words ('people,' 'nations,' and 'tongues)' and then it could just indicate the peoples of the world, of the various 'tribes' of the Earth.

But, normally, when it is found alone, as it is in Revelation 1, verse 7, and as it is here in Matthew 24, verse 30, it identifies, again, either with national Israel or spiritual Israel. And, here, it would seem to identify with the true believers. They are the ones, the 'tribes' of the Earth, that are mourning when they see the sign of the Son of man in heaven.

And what is that 'sign?' Well, remember what Luke 21, says in verse 25:

And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;

Here, the 'signs' are in the sun, moon and stars and, of course, they are in the heavens (they are in the sky above), and they are the celestial lights; and they are the types that God is using to illustrate that the light of the Gospel ends when they go dark, when the sun is darkened and the moon is not giving its light, and the stars fall. It is a figure that God is using to illustrate the removal of the light of the Gospel from this world: that is the "sign of the Son of man in heaven." It is the Heaven that the Bible unfolds, as the Scriptures (likened to a scroll) are opened. God established these lights in the heaven above, spiritually speaking, and on the beginning of the day of judgment on May 21, 2011, God folded up, rolled up, the scroll that the Bible had established, and He put out the Gospel lights, and never again would He save anyone that had not become saved already. This is the 'sign of the Son of man,' that is, this is a 'sign' in the Bible, as that is the only place we are permitted to find a 'sign.'

This is likened to the 'sign' of Jonah.' Remember when the Jews were seeking after a 'sign,' and the Lord Jesus said that no sign shall be given to this evil and adulterous generation, but the 'sign' of the prophet Jonah. And where could the 'sign of Jonah' be found? Only in the Bible - that is where you read about Jonah, and the history of Jonah, when he was swallowed by a whale and vomited out, and so forth.

The 'sign' that God permits is in the Scripture, and we are privileged and blessed to have entered into the phase of God's judgment plan, of His final plan for mankind, where we are witnessing the 'sign of the Son of man.'

What is this 'sign' telling us? Well, when we see the sign that the sun is darkened and the moon is not giving its light, that is, the law of God, the Bible; when we see the 'sign' that the celestial 'lights' that God has established are no longer in place (they are no longer shining), illuminating the Earth, and they are no longer providing salvation for sinners, then we know that Christ is coming in the 'clouds.' He is here as Judge of the Earth and, finally, it will result in the last day of this period, and the last day of Earth's existence, and the end of the world. This is why God says when you see these things come to pass (and He says this a little bit further on in verse 33 of Matthew 24), "so, likewise, ye, when ye shall see all these things," (and keep in mind that 'see' has to do with 'seeing' with the eyes of understanding), "when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors."

That is, when you see the 'sign' of the Son of man in heaven, God is saying, "it is near," because Christ has not yet destroyed the Earth; He has not yet created a new Heaven and a new Earth, and fulfilled all things, and brought us into the glorious, eternal future that He has promised. But, you can know, "lift up your head," it says in another Gospel, that "it is near," that these things are close at hand, very close.

We have gone through the great tribulation. Now we are in the time immediately after the tribulation, and we are progressing, in other words, through Matthew 24, and through God's overall plan. And now the day of judgment is here, and God will complete His purpose for this, and then that will be everything that He has in store for this world.

Now let us look at this idea, here, that the tribes of the earth that are mourning are true believers, and this leads us back to Zechariah, chapter 12, and we are going to begin in verse 9. We looked at this the other day, and it says in Zechariah 12, verse 9:

And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.

And I will stop reading there. Now this passage is becoming more and more interesting as we are continually led back to it. We saw before that this has to be the elect in view, as verse 10 says, "I will pour upon the house of David" (and David is a type of Christ), "and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem" (and, again, God likens the elect to 'Jerusalem,' like the figure in the Book of Revelation, of the "Jerusalem above," the bride of Christ; it consists of all of the elect), and notice that God will pour upon Jerusalem "the spirit of grace and of supplications" (and it is by grace we are saved), and "they shall look upon me whom they have pierced" (we pierced Christ because He died for our sins and our transgressions), and "they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son." And this would have to be the true believers that are mourning, God's people, the elect. And then it speaks of "a great mourning in Jerusalem," and, again, following the context, it would seemingly be referring to 'Jerusalem above.' The people of God are mourning. And the language of 'looking upon him who they pierced,' well, Revelation 1:7 ties that to the day of judgment.

But look at how this passage opened up in verse 9:

And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

Is that not interesting? If we thought this referred to the first coming of Christ, then that statement in verse 9 does not seem to fit. But if we understand that it is referring to God's judgment on the churches, then that makes it much more interesting.