Revelation 7

Revelation 7  •  13 min. read  •  grade level: 10
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That the great day of the Lord’s wrath, though anticipated in Revelation 6, had not yet come is plainly seen in this chapter. Before that could arrive, God’s elect of Israel had to be marked out for preservation, and an innumerable multitude of Gentiles are to be brought through the great tribulation. This chapter therefore constitutes a kind of parenthesis between the sixth and seventh seals. The first six seals were opened in immediate succession; but now there is a pause, and our attention is directed to an action from heaven in relation to Israel, and to those about to be redeemed from among the nations, before the last seal is broken. We read, “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. 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” (vss. 1-3).
Angels, as ever, are the ministers of God’s providential government. Here they are seen in the character of the executors of His judgments. (Compare Matt. 13:41-42,49-5041The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; 42And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13:41‑42)
49So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, 50And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13:49‑50); Isa. 37:3636Then the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. (Isaiah 37:36).) They are presented here indeed as the restrainers of the powers of evil, as well as the executors through these, in God’s own time, of His vengeance. They stand upon the four corners of the earth, the whole earth (the number four being the symbol of earthly completeness) being under their delegated control. Note also that they hold (“hold fast”) the four winds of the earth. The four winds are symbols, as one has written, “of those disturbing elements, existing in all quarters, which God can at His will let loose in judgment.” Daniel thus said, “I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea” (Dan. 7:22Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. (Daniel 7:2)). The sea in this scripture, as in our chapter, represents the nations in a state of tumult or commotion (compare Rev. 13:11And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. (Revelation 13:1)), while the earth sets forth rather the nations in the enjoyment of ordered government. Trees are often used in Scripture as figures of the great ones of the earth. (See Dan. 4:19-2219Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonied for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spake, and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies. 20The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth; 21Whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation: 22It is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth. (Daniel 4:19‑22); Ezekiel 17:31.)
We learn then that no judicial scourge or chastisement can fall upon the nations in the enjoyment of ordered government, upon the seething mass of the peoples when characterized by insurrection or revolutionary violence, or upon the kings or princes of the earth until permitted of God; nay, until He sends it, even as He formerly sent the surrounding nations to punish His people Israel for their sins and transgressions.
We learn, secondly, that God’s government of the world is in view of His people. The command given to the four angels by the angel ascending from the east was, that they were not to hurt the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, “till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.” (vs. 3) In like manner, when judgment was about to fall upon Jerusalem, the Lord caused a mark to be set upon the foreheads of the men that sighed, and that cried for all the abominations that were done in the midst thereof (Ezek. 9:44And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. (Ezekiel 9:4)), and this faithful remnant was preserved in the midst of the overflowing scourge.
The angel that ascended from the east had the seal of the living God. It has been thought by many that this angel is no less a personage than our blessed Lord. It is undoubted that He does appear in this book (as we may be permitted to see) under the guise of an angel; but here we prefer leaving the answer undecided. The difference between this sealing and that of believers now with the Holy Spirit will be at once perceived by the instructed reader. Believers of this dispensation are sealed immediately upon receiving the forgiveness of sins, and they are sealed unto the day of redemption (Eph. 4:3030And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30)). The 144,000 of this chapter are sealed with the seal of the living God for preservation through the judgments that will fall upon the world, and which will constitute for Israel the day of Jacob’s trouble (Jer. 30:4-94And these are the words that the Lord spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah. 5For thus saith the Lord; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. 6Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? 7Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it. 8For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him: 9But they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them. (Jeremiah 30:4‑9); see also Matt. 24:21-2221For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. (Matthew 24:21‑22)); and they are sealed for blessing on the earth in the kingdom of their glorious Messiah.
This 144,000 are composed of 12,000 from each tribe. (It will be noticed that Dan is omitted, whereas in Deuteronomy 33 Simeon is omitted. The reasons for these omissions are not known, but many conjectures are offered.) The number is symbolical. Twelve is the number of administrative perfection of government in man; and it thus appears in the foundations, gates, and dimensions of the new Jerusalem (Rev. 21). It will mean, therefore, a perfect number reserved for the kingdom, and through whom Messiah will govern the nations upon the earth. They will not all be gathered in, though all are foreknown, at the same time; for only two tribes will be in the land when Messiah appears in His glory; and it will not be until after He has established His throne, that He will fetch the ten tribes out of their hiding-places, and after He has purged out the rebels in the wilderness, bring them back to the land (Ezek. 20:33-4433As I live, saith the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you: 34And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out. 35And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face. 36Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord God. 37And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant: 38And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the Lord. 39As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord God; Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto me: but pollute ye my holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols. 40For in mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord God, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve me: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the firstfruits of your oblations, with all your holy things. 41I will accept you with your sweet savor, when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen. 42And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to your fathers. 43And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed. 44And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have wrought with you for my name's sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord God. (Ezekiel 20:33‑44); Jer. 309They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn. 10Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock. 11For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he. 12Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all. 13Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow. 14And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the Lord. 15Thus saith the Lord; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not. 16Thus saith the Lord; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. 17And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border. 18I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the Lord my God. 19Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth. 20Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord. (Jeremiah 31:9‑20)). But every one who has the seal of the living God on his forehead will be preserved and will, at the appointed time, be restored to blessing in Immanuel’s land.
Following upon this, we are introduced to another class who will be brought in safety through the unparalleled troubles which are yet to occur. “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; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb” (vss. 9-10). It should be remembered that this vast multitude is seen in a vision, and that therefore at the time of the vision they were not yet existent, much less delivered; but before the great tribulation, God permits His servant to see the issue of His ways of grace in the midst of His governmental judgments (Rev. 7:1414And 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. (Revelation 7:14)). This innumerable throng of Gentiles (for they are composed of “all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues”) are the elect of God’s purpose for earthly blessing outside of the elect of Israel, those, therefore, who will be preserved through the hour of temptation (not kept out of it, as the church will be (Rev. 3:1010Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. (Revelation 3:10)), but saved through it) which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. It may be added that they are nowhere else spoken of in Scripture; it is, in fact, a new revelation, and one that shows the victorious energy of God’s grace in the face of the most complete display of Satan’s power that the world will have ever witnessed.
Their position is before the throne, and before the Lamb. The heavenly saints, as typified by the four and twenty elders, are seated on thrones round about the throne; these stand before the throne, and before the Lamb. The difference, with its import, will at once be perceived; and, in fact, as will be afterward seen, this multitude, while occupying a very special place of blessing, are still on earth. They are clothed with white robes, fruit of the efficacy of the blood of the Lamb (vs. 14). It may be rather that, while the blood of the Lamb is the fundamental and efficacious cause of all their blessing, the white robes may indicate moral suitability to their position. They had maintained practical holiness. They have palms in their hands— the emblem of their victorious deliverance. But if victors, they have overcome, as another class in Revelation 12, “by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” (vs. 11) The ascription of praise which they render is also very different from that of the heavenly saints in Revelation 5. These cry (they do not sing), “Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.” (vs. 10) Redemption is not the ground of their praise; it is rather their deliverance (salvation—salvation through their unequaled sorrows) which they celebrate, although they ascribe all to God, God in His government, and to the Lamb “as having the title to the government and deliverance of the earth as a present thing.”
The angels enter now upon the scene, and worship God prostrate on their faces before the throne, “Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God forever and ever. Amen” (vs. 12). “The four living creatures and the elders do not worship here, because their own relationships were different, and these are not what are spoken of here” (Synopsis, J. N. Darby, 5:527). They are interested spectators of the homage which the white-robed multitude render to God and the Lamb, but, “naturally, salvation to the Lamb was not their own part of the song,” for they had ever stood in their own creature-perfection; and hence they, having added their “Amen” to the praise of the multitude, worship their God, ascribing to Him their sevenfold theme of praise (Compare Rev. 5:1212Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. (Revelation 5:12)), and sealing it with another “Amen.”
Having been permitted to see, through John, the victorious and worshipping Gentile throng, their character and blessing are now unfolded. “And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of [the] great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (vss. 13-14). Note first how every family in heaven is interested in the activities of God and the Lamb both in grace and government, and also how closely the glorified in heaven is bound up with the redeemed on earth. It is only in our minds that heaven and earth are so widely sundered. The angels, as we have seen, delight in beholding this Gentile throng; and now one of the elders steps forth (otherwise we would not have known that they were in the scene), and as commissioned, explains to John who this multitude is. First, then, they have come out of the great tribulation. It is not only, as in our translation, great, but emphatically the great tribulation, the time referred to, as already indicated, in Revelation 3:1010Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. (Revelation 3:10). It is not the same thing as “Jacob’s trouble,” though undoubtedly connected with if not springing out of it; and it will occur during the three years and a half of the antichrist’s fearful sway, sustained as he will be by the head of the western empire, the first beast of Revelation 13. It is to this same period our blessed Lord refers when He says, “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matt. 24:2121For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. (Matthew 24:21)). He speaks of the Jewish trouble, while “the great tribulation” has reference to the oppression and persecution through which the Gentiles will have to pass. In the contemplation of this fearful event, it is no small consolation to find that God will use the unexampled sorrows of that day, if on the one hand for the chastisement of the haughty peoples of the earth, on the other hand for the blessing of this vast throng of souls. They will come out of this terrible tribulation, and, moreover, they will have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. It is most interesting to note that in all dispensations every family of the saved will alike have to trace all their blessing back to the efficacy of the blood of the Lamb. It may again be remarked that in Scripture we are never said to wash our own robes in the blood of Christ; but garments were always washed, as in the case of the leper, in water. The meaning may therefore be, that being under the virtue of the blood of the Lamb, this multitude had preserved themselves from the contaminations around through the Word of God.
The character of their blessing is next given: “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” (vs. 15). We have before given the explanation of their position “before the throne of God,” and the very next sentence confirms the interpretation that they occupy this blessed position on earth; for we are expressly told that there is no temple in heaven (Rev. 21:2222And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. (Revelation 21:22)). “They are not only as Israel in the courts, or the nations in the world: they have a priest’s place in the world’s temple. The millennial multitudes are worshippers—these priests. As Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, ever in the temple itself [where they, like her, serve day and night] they have always access to the throne” (Synopsis, J. N. Darby, 5:528-9). Besides this, God will, as with Israel of old in the wilderness, spread His tabernacle over them, the source of all their blessing.
His presence thus enjoyed, as well as His guardian care, “They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. 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” (vss. 16-17). Now, under the shepherd (The word “feed” is better rendered “shepherd.”) care of the Lamb, and enjoying His immediate protection, guidance, and ministry, they are blessed forever; for they should never more know hunger or thirst, but should be abundantly satisfied; nor should persecution or sorrow ever more reach them; for the Lamb Himself shall lead them to “fountains of waters of life” and God shall wipe away “every tear” from their eyes. There will surely be not one of all this multitude who will not, with overflowing heart, confess that their past sorrows are not worthy to be compared with the ineffable blessings on which they have now entered. For though they are on earth, the reader will not fail to remark that their blessings are described, at least in their highest character, in the same way as those enjoyed in the eternal state. Of this multitude, equally with those of the new earth, it is said that God wipes away their tears. (The question of the bodily condition of this multitude, whether in a changed state or not, is left unrevealed. Certainly their blessings are of a very high order and permanent.)