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REVELATION CHAPTER SEVEN

Verse 1: “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.”

After John saw the Lord Jesus open the first six seals he saw the sealing, for salvation and service, of 144,000 Israelites (v.1-8), and also “a great multitude… of all nations and kindreds” (v.9-17). These are al saved and sealed during the Tribulation. The seventh seal will be opened in chapter eight. What God has done in this chapter is like a instant replay from another angle. What is recorded in this chapter took place before the opening of the fifth seal, which of God, and for the testimony which they held” (cf. 6:9-11). Those under the altar and these that we will see in this chapter are one and the same.

God knows the earth is round. He made it round (Isaiah 40:22). The phrase “four corners of the earth” refers to the four points of the compass north, south, east and west.

The four “winds of the earth” are the same that we saw under the sixth seal (6:12 & 13). These four angels will later “hurt the earth and the sea” (v.2). They will hurt the earth and the sea by releasing the four winds.

Verse 2 - 3: “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, saying, Hurt not the earth neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.”

Notice that this “angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God” tells the four angels holding back the four winds not to hurt the earth or sea, “till we (plural) have sealed the servants of God…” This angel is a very special one because he has the seal of the King of the universe. Today believers are sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:12-14, 4:30). Could this Angel be the Holy Spirit? I believe the Tribulation saints will be sealed the same way Church Age saints are, by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit Himself is the seal (Ephesians 1:13) so this Angel could also be Jesus. It is surely Christ or the Holy Spirit or perhaps both. Or could it be the Father and the Son sealing with the Holy Spirit.

The seal signifies security (Daniel 6:17; Esther 8:8), ownership (II Timothy 2:19), and a finished transaction (Jeremiah 32:9-12). Just as a Church Age christian, once he has truly trusted Christ, can never lose God’s salvation; so also the Tribulation christian. We are all purchased owned, and sealed for good!

Verses 4 - 8: “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 Judah 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 Asher were sealed twelve thousand.
Of the tribe of Naphtali were sealed twelve thousand.
Of the tribe of Manasseh 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 Zebulum were sealed twelve thousand.
Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand.
Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.”

Whe is this group of 144,000 people? Are they Seven Day Adventists? Are they Jehovah’s Witnesses? Are they Englishmen and white Anglo Saxons? No, Herbert W. Armstrong they are not Anglo Saxons! No, Watchtower they are not Jehovah’s Witnesses! No Helen White they are not Adventists! Well are they the Church? No, the Church was Raptured to be with Jesus in chapter four. Verse four tells us clearly who they are. They are Israelites from the twelve tribes of Israel! Do not believe “them who say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan” (2:9, cf. 3:9).

These 144,000 Israelites who are saved after the Rapture of the Church will later be “slain (by the Antichrist and his group) for the Word of God, and for the testimony which they held” (6:9). They are athe ones the Lord Jesus refered to in the Olivet Discorse when He said: “they shall deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you; and ye shall be hated of all nations for My name’s sake…And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” (Matthew 24:9 & 14; cf. Mark 13:9-13). They will preach the gospel of the kingdom to all nations. Some will believe them and be saved (v. 9-14); but most will not believe and be damned (Matthew 24:9; Mark 13:13, 16:16; John 3:36; I John 5:12). The 144,000 are the ones that the prophet Joel prophesied of when he said: “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I (God) will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions; and also, upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out My Spirit. And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD come. And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered…” (Joel 2:28-32). The preaching and prophesying of the 144,000 will result in the salvation of millions.

Notice that in the list of the twelve tribes Dan is missing and replaced by Manasseh, a son of Joseph (Genesis 41:51, 49:1-28). Scripture indicates that if a “tribe whose heart turneth away…from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of the nations…the LORDshall blot out his name from under heaven” (Deuteromomy 29:14-21). What tribe do you think set up idols first? (Judges 18:30) Where do you suppose King Jeroboam set up two golden calfs and told Israel, “behold thy gods”? (I Kings 12:27-31) Yes, he set them up in Dan, Most Bible scholars believe the Antichrist will be from the tribe of Dan based on this passage: “Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward” (Genesis 49:17). Even though Dan and for that matter all the tribes are in a sence blotted out from under heaven (few Jews know their tribal heritage); Dan will again find grace in the eyes of God. During the Millennium the tribe of Dan will be alotted a portion of land along with the other tribes (Ezekiel 48:2)

Verse 9 - 10: “After this I beheld and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and peoples, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God who sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.”

This chapter began with the sealing of the 144,000 Israelites sometime during the first half of the Tribulation before the opening of the fifth seal (6:9-11). Now we are projected forward to a time when the souls of these Tribulation saints are no longer under the altar, but have their glorified bodies. It is like when the Lord Jesus read from the book of Isaiah in the Synagogue of Nazareth (Luke 4:16-21). He read: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And He closed the book, and He gave it againg to the minister, and sat down…” (Luke 4:18-20). In Isaiah the passage continues: “To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God…” (Isaiah 61:2). There is a gap of more than 1980 years grace we are now in, and “the day of vengence of our God,” the Tribulation to come. Likewise there is a gap of at least 31/2 years between Revelation 7:2 and 7:9.

The 144,000 will win countless others to Christ during the Tribulation thus fulfilling the Lords command to proclaim the Gospel among all nations (Mark 13:10; Matthew 24:14). These are the ones referred to in chapter six as “their (the 144,000’s) fellow servants (Gentiles) and their brethren (according to the flesh)” (6:11).

All the redeemed of the Tribulation will be “clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands.” The white robes, as we have seen, signify salvation (3:4, 6:11, 7:14, 19:8). The “palms in their hands” signify the celebration of the feast of Tabernacles, which is a type of, and points to the Millennium (Leviticus 23:33-44, cf. 23:40; John 12:12 & 13).

All these Tribulation saints cry out “with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.” “This multitude recognizes the source of their salvation and victory. They cannot be kept silent. Who can when the grace of God does its mighty work of salvation in one’s heart! Immeditately the angels join with them in praise to the Father and the Son.” (J.V.I. pg. 84)

Verse 11 - 12: “And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four living creatures, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshiped God, saying, Amen! Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.”

Here again as in chapter four, and verse twelve we have the angels giving perfect seven fold praise to God.

Verse 13 - 14: “And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, Who are these who are arrayed in white robes? And from where did they come? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they who came out of the Great Tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

Here we have another proof of the pretribulation Rapture. John recognizes the elder, a member of the Church taken up at the just before the Great Tribulation, but he does not recognize those “who came out of the Great Tribulation” (cf. 4:1-4). (J.V.I. pg. 85)

We see in verse fourteen the clear statement that “a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds…” (v.9) “have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (v.14). “And without shedding of blood is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22). The blood that saves is the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom John the Baptist spoke: “Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29; cf. I Peter 1:18 & 19). The blood of God’s Lamb takes away the sin of the world. Only Jesus saves.

Verses 15 - 17: “Therefore aare they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He that setteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb who 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 teare from their eyes.

 When ever we see the word “therefore” in the Bible we should ask ourselves, “What is ‘therefore’ there for.” In this case “therefore” is there for this reason: The “great multitude” (v. 9) that “came out of the Great Tribulation…have washed their robes…in the blood of the Lamb” (v. 14), “therefore they are before the throne of God…and He…shall dwell among them.”

Now that God is dwelling among them “they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more.” During the Tribulation the Antichrist and the False Prophet will make Tribulation the Antichrist and the False Prophet will make it very hard for believers to live. Believers will not be able to buy from stores or sell, except to other believers who will all be in great economic trouble, because they refuse to take the “mark of the beast” which will be required (13:16 & 17). They will be forced to live hand to mouth. But God will provide! He always does. In this passage all that is in the past and will never happen again because “the Lamb…shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters.”

“Neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.” I believe that during the Tribulation the sun will nova, it will become much brighter and hotter than it is now. “Moreover, the light of the moon shall be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be seven fold, like the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and heal the stroke of their wound” (Isaiah 30:16). Also during the Tribulation God will shorten the day light hours so that all flesh will not be totally destroyed. “And except the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved; but for the elect’s sake, whom He hath chosen, He hath shortened the days” (Mark 13:20; cf. Luke 21:25). God will shorten the days by speeding up the rotation of the earth; or by placing the moon between the sun and earth; or some other way. But in this passage the scorching heat of the sun is in the past (16:8 & 9, 21:23, 22:5; Isaiah 24:23).

Jesus “shall lead them (and us) unto living fountains of waters; and shall wipe away all tears from their (and our) eyes.” (cf. John 4:4:14, 7:37-39; Revelation 21:3-6, 22:1 & 17). He will make everything right! Thank God for His love!



E-mail  KJV@LandmarkBibleBaptist.net

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