Revelation Study 11 chapter 7
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Who Can Stand? Rev. 6:17
Who Can Stand? Rev. 6:17
for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”
This is the question carried forward from chapter 6 to chapter 7
If this great day of wrath, a term reserved for Judgement Day and the end of the world, then who will survive it. .
Johns vision shifts to not who is judged and doomed but rather who is being saved, sealed for the day of redemption, maybe spared to a degree??
There is a pause in the action, and this scene is shown to us.
After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
Four angels/messengers, these are not the horses, these are angels employed by God
The four corners of the earth and the four winds symbolize the totality of the world in common biblical images
So what are these angels doing? Holding back the four winds, so that no wind might blow on earth, or sea, or against any tree.
Based on what has begun to happen in Revelation 6, what are these winds? At the end of verse 2 it reads, “the four angels who had been given power to harm the earth and the sea.”
Here is the parallel from chapter 6 with the 4 horses who were to take peace from the earth and cause great harm.
The power of the four winds of the Bible is tremendous, both figuratively and practically. It can churn the great sea, it can uproot and scatter powerful empires (Daniel 7:2, 8:8, 11:4, Zechariah 2:6). The combined power of the four winds of heaven was to be deployed against the nation of Elam, to scatter the people in all directions (Jeremiah 49:36).
Daniel declared, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea.
Up! Up! Flee from the land of the north, declares the Lord. For I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heavens, declares the Lord.
And I will bring upon Elam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven. And I will scatter them to all those winds, and there shall be no nation to which those driven out of Elam shall not come.
And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four chariots came out from between two mountains. And the mountains were mountains of bronze. The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses, the third white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled horses—all of them strong. Then I answered and said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” And the angel answered and said to me, “These are going out to the four winds of heaven, after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth.
back to Revelation
After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
The dismantling of creation will have to wait
The holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree (Revelation 7:1). This would amount to a circulation pattern of the atmosphere in which there are no highs or lows whatever, or an atmosphere of infinite calm!
Total stillness, utter calmness as another messenger angel employed by God ascending from the rising of the sun.
Who is this messenger? An angel, Jesus? He is ascending or rising, and He does carry the seal of God, but might not be.
Again, John doesn’t take the time to specify or describe Him. But this “angel” does command the 4 angels to not act until “we” have sealed the servants of our God.
It might be cool to point out the parallels in chapter 6 and 7
The four horsemen and the 4 angels
the martyrs under the altar and the sealing of the saints
Wrath of the Lamb and He who sits on the throne and salvation and compassion from God and from the Lamb
Let’s look at the command, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”
This seal was a marking of those who are God’s.
Revelation 9:4 tells us that only the people who didn’t have the seal of God on their foreheads could be harmed by 5th trumpet.
The marking of God’s own with a seal is nothing new.
Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”
And the Lord said to him, “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.” And to the others he said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him, and strike. Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. Kill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but touch no one on whom is the mark. And begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the house.
A judgement passage—angels striking down those not of God and sparing those of God.
“God’s slaves are sealed “on the forehead” an allusion to Ezekiel 9:4-6, a judgement passage in which six guardian angels appear, five to put to death the idolaters and the other with a writing tablet to mark those who grieved over the apostasy of the nation. The placement on the forehead made it a public proclamation that the person belonged to God. That mark was the letter tav the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, which in ancient script would appear as an X or T, which to Christians would symbolize the name of Christ or the cross. This is in direct contrast to the mark of the beast in 13:16, denoting the person as belonging to satan. It is clear that there is no middle ground. You either belong to Christ or belong to satan, and that will determine you eternal destiny.” Osborne, Revelation. pg. 139
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
This is the complete # of God, those who would be saved will be saved, marked and spared to a degree what’s to come.
12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed,
12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,
12,000 from the tribe of Gad,
12,000 from the tribe of Asher,
12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,
12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,
12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,
12,000 from the tribe of Levi,
12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,
12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,
12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,
12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.
Judah is first not Reuben, Jacobs firstborn but disqualified himself by sleeping with his fathers concubine
Manasseh the firstborn of Joseph’s sons is included and Dan, one of Jacobs sons is left off, Dan fell into idolatry possibly the reason. A warning for those churches dealing with false prophets and those leading them into idolatry like Jezebel and Balaam.
Significance of 12 is people of God, 12k = all of the community of all of God’s people, no one is missing, 144K symbolically represents this.
Each and every one of God’s people is included
Up to this point, this is what John has heard, the 144K and the 12k from each tribe, but what John hears and what he sees can be described differently, like the lion of Judah and the Lamb who looked as if He’d been slain.
So what does John see?
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
A great multitude that couldn’t be numbered, so not 144K, but people from every nation, all tribes, and people and languages, representation from the 4 corners of the earth.
In chapter 6 the martyred are asking God, “how long until you avenge our blood?” and now here in chapter 7 this is a future view of all of God’s saints in heaven, an uncountable multitude.
And they sang a new song, saying,
“Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.”
Where are they? standing before the throne.
Where aren’t they? they are not under the altar.
So this might be all of God’s redeemed, not just those martyred, which seems likely, but includes those martyred possibly.
They are given white robes, symbolic of purity and victory or conquering, persevering to the end of life or to death.
Great multitude holding palm branches, Festival of Tabernacles
During the festival of tabernacles or feast of booths, the people would have, wave, carry palm branches.
The Festival of tabernacles commemorates when the people of God lived in tents after being liberated from Egypt and God dwelling among them.
It is closely tied to and only lies 5 days after the Day of Atonement, the one day the high priest can go into the holy of holies and burn the incense of prayers to God, having been cleansed himself by offering sacrifices to God for Himself and the people for the forgiveness of sins.
When the sins of the people were placed on a slain lamb to earn Gods forgiveness.
This was a celebration because God has rescued His people and removed their sin.
They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
Salvation belongs to our God, and to the Lamb, it is not ours, not earned, but His and given as a gift, and it’s only by the Lamb.
Now the N.T. saint celebrates salvation and forgiveness as well
Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
John is asked a leading question, “who are these?”, John replies, sir, you know.
These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation—depending on how you view eschatology, the end times and the great tribulation have not yet come, or they have been going on since the fall and especially since the resurrection of Jesus.
Is there a difference between tribulation and great tribulation? There seems as if there should be
Jesus promised tribulation and many hardships,
strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.
But as the end approaches, as judgement falls, the “tribulations will become more intense, become great.
“At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book.
This is another indicator that the saints will experience not only tribulation but the intensification in the tribulation as well.
I’m not going to tell you either way, it’s not important, what is important is that all the redeemed, be it from the beginning or those from out of the tribulation period at the end, all will receive white robes, that have been made white by being washed/cleansed in the blood of the Lamb.
“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 shelter them with his presence.
They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
the sun shall not strike them,
nor any scorching heat.
For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
They are before the throne of God, first time not Jesus, saints sharing inJesus’ exaltation.
The royal priesthood will now serve Him and worship Him day and night in His temple, figurative temple, dwelling
God will shelter them, cover them, envelop them with His glory and presence. All of these are relational,
Now comes the removal of all suffering, no hunger, no thirst, no baking sun and heat
The Lamb is their shepherd, their guide and provider, giving them living water.
He will also wipe away every tear from their eyes, future hope with no pain or suffering in His presence.
God will wipe every tear
On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,
of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
And he will swallow up on this mountain
the covering that is cast over all peoples,
the veil that is spread over all nations.
He will swallow up death forever;
and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,
and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
for the Lord has spoken.
It will be said on that day,
“Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.
This is the Lord; we have waited for him;
let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
they shall not hunger or thirst,
neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them,
for he who has pity on them will lead them,
and by springs of water will guide them.
“For behold, I create new heavens
and a new earth,
and the former things shall not be remembered
or come into mind.
But be glad and rejoice forever
in that which I create;
for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy,
and her people to be a gladness.
I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and be glad in my people;
no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping
and the cry of distress.
No more shall there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not fill out his days,
for the young man shall die a hundred years old,
and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.
They shall build houses and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
They shall not build and another inhabit;
they shall not plant and another eat;
for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
They shall not labor in vain
or bear children for calamity,
for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the Lord,
and their descendants with them.
Before they call I will answer;
while they are yet speaking I will hear.
The wolf and the lamb shall graze together;
the lion shall eat straw like the ox,
and dust shall be the serpent’s food.
They shall not hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain,”
says the Lord.
A Psalm of David.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.