Revelation Chapter 7

Verses 1-8

And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. 2 And 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 given to hurt the earth and the sea, 3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. 4 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 of the children of Israel. 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.[1]

Verse 1

After these things – This speaks of a transition from the opening of the six seals into the intermission.

I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth – Johns vantage point is still from a heavenly perspective. He is high enough that he can look down and see four angels standing at the earths corners. The phrase should not indicate that John views the world as flat, but should rather demonstrate that the angels shall cover the whole face of the earth. There is no place out of their power.

Holding the four winds – Winds are destructive forces, as we know in our own experience of hurricanes and tornadoes, and were seen in Biblical times as agents of judgement.

That the wind should not blow on the earth, sea, nor tree – These angels are described as the beings that hold back or allow the winds to blow across the earth. They are currently holding to winds back, and are in a ready state to release them upon the earth (verse 2).

Verse 2

And I saw another angel – This angel is unidentified by John, but he comes from the east, which is the direction of blessing.

Having the seal of the living God – This seal is different from the seals on the scroll, which were there to hide and protect the contents. This seal was a seal of ownership, which would be used to identify ones property.

Kings would use a similar seal on their orders to signify they were legal, or on merchant licenses to grant permission to conduct business.

Saying with a loud voice – This angel comes as the judgements are ready to be poured out and he says with a loud voice, literally, to be shouting, at the four angels, to whom it was given power to hurt the earth and the sea. These angels were given the power to carry out their task and they were ready to release their winds.

Verse 3

Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees – The unknown angels comes carrying an important message, “stop the destruction!”. He instructs them that they shall not hurt anything upon the earth.

Until we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads – This seal would offer protection to Gods servants from the judgements which shall continue to pour out. In a similar way the Israelites, during the plagues of Egypt, were protected, this seal shall protect God’s servants.

In addition to the protect this mark will provide, this mark is also a mark of ownership. It is worth mentioning now, as we shall see, that all people have a mark of ownership, whether it be Gods mark or the beasts mark (13:16-17, 14:9, 16:2, 19:20, 20:4).

Verse 4

The first reference to the hundred and forty-four thousand occurs here. We shall see them again in chapter fourteen as well. There is much debate among scholars about who these people are. Some, as myself, believe this refers, literally, to those from the tribes of Israel. Others have taught that the church is the true Israel. It is my believe that the church is raptured at the beginning of the tribulation, and the naming of each tribe in verses five through eight signify this refers literally to the tribes of Israel.

Verses 5-8

These verses contain the full list of the sealed, twelve thousand people from each tribe of Israel.

Verses 9-17

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; 10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. 11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, 12 Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. 13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? 14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. 16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; eneither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. 17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.[2]

Verse 9

A great multitude, which no one could number – John now sees a great multitude that stood before the throne and the Lamb. John does not know the number of this multitude, but that it is which no one could number.

Of all nations, kindreds, people, and tongues – This signifies that there are people in Heaven from all round the earth. People from every nation and tongue are included in the people groups. Those who favor the one hundred and forty-four thousand as a spiritual Israel rather than a literal point to this verse as evidence. In doing so, I believe they miss the transitional words at the start after this I beheld.

Verse 10

With a loud voice – Crying out would be a better picture of what is going on.

Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb – Again, we see here that Christ is ascribed to the same place as God. The saints from verse nine now ascribe their salvation to God and the Lamb. More appropriately, salvation is ascribed to God through the Lamb. That is, Gods working through Christ.

Verse 11

The angel, and the elders and beasts from chapter four are then prompted into worship. Fell before the throne – This is in the prostate form of worship that is common in eastern religions. This is a position that is face down, hands forward before the throne.

Verse 12

Amen – Those worshipping begin with proclaiming “amen”, which is their assent to the cry from the multitude.

Blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honour, power, and might – This is a sevenfold blessing “the blessing” in Greek, the ascribe unto God. This worship matches that of the worship in chapter 5:12, save “thanks” being replaced with “wealth”.

It is interesting that the angels, who have not been redeemed are participating in this heartfelt worship of gratitude as well. It is understood to be their awe of God’s saving power and it’s benefits. 1 Peter 1 tells us that our redemption is the wonder that the angels long to peer into.

Verse 13-14

In this verse, One of the elders asked John who this multitude was. John, who had likely not yet known of their identity tossed the ball back into his court saying Sir, thou knowest. That is more literally, “You are the one who knows, why are you asking me?” This is a rhetorical question that forces a confession of ignorance. The elder then answers his own question.

These are they who came out of the great tribulation – This particular multitude will be what we call the tribulation saints. They are those who endured through the tribulation and were saved in that period of time.

Who washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb – To many, this phrase may be confusing, “how can washing garments in blood turn them white?” This is the supernatural cleansing of the person by the blood of Christ. It is solely by the blood and death of Christ that we can stand before the throne of God properly clothed. The efficacy of Christs atoning death is strongly asserted in this verse. Though this group came from the tribulation, the garments and the blessings they received are promised to all who are Christs.

Verse 15

Therefore they are before the throne – That is to say, it is for this reason, because of the blood and death of Christ, they are before the throne.

They serve Him day and night – Heaven will not be void of activity. Though John does not explicitly state in what manners the service shall include, this is a picture of some form of work going on in the heavenly. Leon Morris interprets that this is a scene where Heaven is a Holy Sanctuary and all are priests in God’s temple. Day and night simply means, “without end.”

He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them – Those who are in the Lambs Book of Life shall enjoy the presence and company of God dwelling among them throughout eternity.

Verse 16

They will never again hunger – Their hunger shall be satisfied as they eat from the tree of life (2:7, 22:14).

Never again shall they thirst – Most of the people who came from the tribulation have either starved to death, or died of dehydration. It is stated that those who dwell in the kingdom will have their thirst satisfied (22:1-2).

Nor will the sun beat upon them – During the tribulation, the wicked will be scorched with the sun. Throughout our normal lives, we have worked and dwelt under the sun, with benefits and with consequence. For the saints of the great tribulation, many will be forced to flee under the sun, to some degree, becoming responsible for the deaths of dehydration. It is promised that in the new heavens and earth, we will not need a sun, because God will be our source of light (21:23).

Nor scorching heat – Though this could refer to the heat of the sun, I find this unlikely as it has already been mentioned. But those in heaven will find shelter from the scorching heat of lightning, weapons of war, and fire. For many centuries, Christians were burned at the stake, and heaven will offer protection and rest from these scorching heats.

Verse 17

These promises are fulfilled and possible because of The Lamb which is in the midst of the throne. It is by His substitutionary death on the cross that He was able to provide for the needs of those He saved. It is the Lamb who will be their shepherd, and describes a reversal in role. He went from being the Lamb, the one who was to be sacrificed, to the one who would Lead them to living fountains of waters, fulfilling the promise to satisfy thirst in verse sixteen.

God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes – It will be on this glorious day that God will finally be able to wipe away tears from our eyes. We will be free from sin, pain, sorrow, suffering, illness. All things which would cause us to cry, shall be taken away from us, and God will wipe away all tears.

[1] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Re 7:1–8). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[2] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Re 7:9–17). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.