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The Tribe Of Dan
Why is Dan not
in the Book of Revelation?
Why
is the tribe of Dan not listed with other Israelite groups in Revelation 7? Did
they commit some grievous sin?
The
verses in Revelation that lack a reference to this tribe of Israel are found in
chapter seven verses four to eight.
Dan
is the oldest son of Jacob (later renamed Israel) and Bilhah. His tribe was one
of Israel's largest and most important groups.
After
the Israelites left Egyptian bondage, a census showed Dan could field an army
of 62,700 fighting men (Numbers 1:39). Only Judah had more men.
The
quick answer to your question is that the Bible does not clearly tell us
exactly why the tribe of Dan is omitted from the prophetic listing found in
Revelation.
They
are certainly found in other lists that delineate the people of Israel (Numbers 2, 26, Joshua 19, and so on).
Scripture,
however, does give us a few clues as to why God might have decided not to list
Dan as part of the 144,000 Israelites saved during the Great Tribulation.
Because
the tribes, minus Dan, are enumerated so specifically in Revelation 7, it is
hard to accept the notion that the list in question refers to people who are
merely spiritual Israel (the church in general).
Instead,
it makes sense it refers to Christians given special protection or a special
role the Israelite descendants will play in the End Time.
Although
we may not know who would be part of each tribe that ultimately composes the
144,000 (or they may not know until it happens), God would.
They
would be, at least, part of the true Christians who stayed loyal to the Eternal
and did not serve Babylon the Great.
One
quite common speculation as to why the tribe of Dan is not listed in Revelation
comes from the fact that they had an enormous difficulty with idolatry.
Their
worship of idols began right after they fought for and secured their
inheritance in the Promised Land (Judges
18:1-2, 29-31).
They
became the first Israelites to commit this type of grievous sin.
The
idolatry of Dan was further encouraged when they, along with nine other tribes,
split from a united Israel after the death of Solomon.
The
newly formed Northern Kingdom was ruled by King Jeroboam.
Right
after he took power he became afraid his new subjects would travel to
Jerusalem, repent of splitting the kingdom, then kill him.
His
solution was to set up false gods within the kingdom that people could worship.
The first idol he placed was in the city of Dan (1
Kings 12:26-29).
The
Danites continued to indulge in idols up to the time of their captivity in 723
B.C.
Another
possible contributing factor as to why the tribe was omitted in the last book
of Scripture is that they were slack about dealing with the pagan Canaanites in
their midst.
Dan
also did not always participate with the rest of Israel in either defending the
country or in attempts to seize more land.
When
the prophetess Deborah sang about her victory over Jabin, the pagan
Canaanite king, she openly asked why they stayed on their ships (Judges 5:17).
As a
balance, it has to be admitted that Asher was also slack in the battle song of Deborah.
Gilead
stayed beyond Jordan. And why did Dan remain in ships? Asher continued on the
seashore and remained in his havens (Judges
5:17, HBFV).
As a
sidelight, the most well known Old Testament person from the tribe of Dan was
Samson.
Although
he was a judge of Israel for twenty years and known for his miraculous
strength, he was somewhat of a carnal man.
We
might never know for sure why this tribe is not in Revelation until we get a
chance to ask Christ upon his return.
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