From the Geneva Notes . The explanation of the vision, in which the angel tells first the acts of the saints, that is, their sufferings and work of faith in Christ Jesus, in this verse. From Matthew Henry's Commentary . From Wesley's Notes . In worldly things, men are ambitious to get as high as they can.
Christians have a far more noble ambition.
Twelve by twelve implies fixity and completeness, which is taken a thousandfold in 144,000. From The People's New Testament , B.W. Johnson, 1891. These numbers are not to be taken literally, but only signify that a great number, not a countless number, but a part of each tribe of Israel, accepted the gospel. The verb to seal is sfragizw . It means to make an imprint in wax and it was often done with a signet ring.