Revelation 7

Revelation 7:1-8

THE FOUR WINDS . While the sixth seal may be styled the seal of Revolution, the mighty changes of this period are not all violent. If the reader will turn to the seventh chapter he will find that it is a record of visions witnessed by the apostle which precede the opening of the seventh seal. The events of this chapter, however, belong properly to the period embraced by the sixth seal. We quote the beginning of Chap. VII.: 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. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed a hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. 7:1-4. It is “after” the events described in the preceding chapter, that these things are seen. Events are therefore described which follow, at least in their consummation, the great political revolution effected by Constantine. Four angels are seen standing at the four corners of the earth holding the four winds, lest they should be blown upon the earth. It is as though four dark storm clouds, charged with fury, were about to rush upon a land, and then some mighty hand was reached forth to stay them in their career and hold them suspended in the heavens, until another work was done. These four angels represent four hurtful agencies which are to do a work of destruction. This impending ruin is arrested and held back until some work of God is accomplished, which is described as the sealing of his servants.

These four hurtful angels are ordered to suspend their proposed work by another angel, who is seen arising from the East, having the seal of the living God. He cries with a loud voice, commanding them to withhold their hurtful power until the servants of God should be sealed in their foreheads. Then there were sealed of Israel one hundred and forty-four thousand; and besides these, John says, “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, who cried, Salvation to our God who sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.”

Revelation 7:9-17

It will be observed that there are two classes here represented. There are twelve thousand who are sealed from each tribe of Israel, and then a great multitude, out “of all nations.” The first company is composed of Jews, while the second and larger company is composed of Gentiles. In the fourteenth chapter we find again a company of one hundred and forty-four thousand with the Lamb upon Mt. Zion, evidently, from the same number, to be identified with these. We are there told that they were a term whose spiritual signification is that they had never been defiled by idolatry, and that they were “the first fruits” unto the Lamb. These marks, as well as the literal statement here that they were of the tribes of Israel, identify them as the Jewish members of the Church.

These had never been guilty of idolatrous fornication, and had been the first fruits of Christianity. Though, at the period we have reached, the original first fruits were no longer upon the earth, yet they were represented by the Jewish Christian element The thought, as it appears to me, is to bring before the wind that ,it this period of triumph there were the Jew and the Gentile elements. I am aware that many commentators have held that this refers to spiritual Israel. All Christians belong to this spiritual Israel, but it is evident that a different meaning is intended here.

1. Those sealed are taken out of the tribes of Israel. They are a remnant, while the great body of the membership of the tribes is left unsealed.
2. The Gentile Christians are named immediately after. These are of the spiritual Israel also, but since they differ from the one hundred and forty-four thousand, the latter must belong to the literal Israel. There are twelve thousand from each tribe, except Dan, which is omitted, and the number twelve is completed by enumerating Levi and the two sons of Joseph. I suppose that this number, small compared with the whole number of Israel, is chosen to show that it was only a remnant of Israel which had accepted Christ. These are said to be sealed in their foreheads. The sealing of the servants of God with the seal of God in their foreheads, must refer to an open and real acknowledgment of Christ by men. The seal is the mark of God, as the seal of the United States is the mark of the United States.

This mark is not in some secret place, but where it may be seen by all who meet and behold the sealed face. In Chap. XIII. the servants of the beast receive his mark on their foreheads and their hands. Here a mark on the forehead is understood to be an open profession, while a mark in the hand indicates service. In our present passage the mark on the forehead evidently refers to an open profession of service. It is not a seal in the heart or spirit, which would refer to the Holy Spirit, but a visible mark, seen of all men.

An open profession of Christ, an acknowledgment of his name, a public testimony of his grace, a life devoted to his service, a warfare that kept continually unfurled the banner of the Cross, the fellowship of the sufferings of the Master, would be equivalent to the seal of God in the forehead. The four angels of destruction are held back until a countless multitude are thus sealed. This can only be satisfactorily explained by regarding it as foreshadowing a glorious triumph of God and the Lamb. The same meaning must be attached also to the song of salvation. An innumerable multitude, from all nations and tongues ascribe praise to God, who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb. I regard this as susceptible of no other explanation than the one we have already given. We quote: 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. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and four beasts, 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. 7:9-12. Here is,

1. An innumerable multitude.
2. They are of every nation.
3. They are clothed in white robes. White robes are the mark of triumph.
4. They have palms in their hands. Palms belong to victors.
5. They join in a song of praise to the Lamb as the author of their salvation. This is evidently a heavenly picture, representing a great triumph of the saints immediately after the events last described. The subsequent portion of the chapter is in harmony. “Who are these,” it is asked, “arrayed in white garments?” It is answered: “These are they who have come up through great tribulation and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Then, in the remaining verses of the chapter, the constancy of these saints in the service of God, their enjoyment of the presence of God and the Lamb, the fulness of their souls fed upon the bread of Heaven, and the blessedness of their present and everlasting state, are outlined, presenting a sublime picture of a triumphant Church,–triumphant on earth, triumphant in heaven. Those who have come through the (there is an article in the Greek) great tribulation of a suffering and persecuted Church, are permitted to witness its justification and victory. Having indicated that the chapter describes a suspension of four destructive powers which were about to be let loose, until a great triumph of the Church was accomplished, I return to inquire concerning these powers. There are four angels of destruction that are restrained from their work until a great triumph of the Christian religion has been wrought. An angel is a messenger. The term may represent a pure spirit sent from the skies, or any earthly agency chosen to accomplish certain work. “He maketh the winds his messengers,” as well as the spirits of the sky. There are here four angels–four agencies of destruction. They are appointed to a certain destructive work, but are held back for a time.

Will the reader turn to the eighth chapter and examine the events that occur upon the opening of the seventh seal? He will find seven angels with seven trumpets. The angels are divided into two bands; the first, of four angels, and the second, of three (verse 13). The first four trumpet angels of the eighth chapter are the four hurtful angels of the seventh. Both evidently represent four instruments of destruction. There is, then, a work of destruction that will be accomplished.

There are four instruments of destruction that will accomplish it. These four instruments are restrained until another work is done. What is doomed to destruction? We will find in the sequel that it is the Roman Empire, which is now in its decline and hastening to dissolution; and we will discover also what the four angels signify who wrought its destruction. What is the work which must be accomplished before the angels are let loose to destroy? The four agencies or invasions that utterly overthrew the Roman Empire, ended ancient history and gave birth to modern nations. Before we listen to the trumpet angels and behold the tides of invasion pour down upon the Roman world, we must ask if these agencies were kept back from their destructive work until a glorious triumph of the Christian religion took place? Before the trumpet angels begin to blow, was there of every nation, kindred and tongue, a countless multitude who ascribed the glory of their salvation to the Lamb?

Did Christianity effect a great conquest in connection with the reign of Constantine and before the tide of Barbarian invasion set in? We ask these questions concerning the records of the history of the Church, for we think there can be no doubt in the mind of any candid and discriminating reader concerning the meaning of the symbolism of this chapter. Let the student of prophecy always bear in mind, first, that this is a symbolical picture of great historical events connected with the history of the saints; and, second, that the scene of these events is not heaven and eternity, but the earth and time. These hurtful winds are held back that they may not blow upon the earth. Hence, sure or the meaning of the symbolism, we repeat the question: Does history record such a triumph before the accomplishment of the destruction to be wrought by the hurtful angels? Was there such public recognition of Christianity as signified by the mark of the seal of God upon the forehead, upon the part of the civilized world? THE FALL OF . We have already found that the religion of the Roman Empire was revolutionized in the reign of Constantine. For three centuries the ceaseless conflict between the old and the new faith had gone on. Christianity had grappled with hoary religions, entrenched in. the superstitions and affections of men, with the mighty Roman power, and with sin in the human heart. It had been crushed to the earth, but, bruised and bleeding, had risen and continued the conflict. At last, after ages of trial and suffering, it had triumphed over all opposition and become the religion of the civilized world.

The temples of Jupiter and Mercury and Mars had been. closed, and their idols broken into dust, never to be restored. An old religion had been utterly destroyed. One century before, if Paul had returned to the earth, he would have looked upon a Pagan world. Had he returned in the last half of the fourth century, he would have looked upon a land of churches and Christians, probably more generally devoted to the Christian religion than any country now upon the face of the earth. Until this sealing, this mighty triumph, is effected, the four winds are held. We repeat that it is significant that we will find following close upon the, triumph of Christianity the Roman Empire utterly overthrown by four agencies, symbolized when four angels blow their trumpets under the seventh seal. It was a part of the providence of God that these agencies should be restrained until the empire was converted to Christianity. Indeed, to this providence we may attribute the fact that Europe at this day and for a thousand years, as well as the descendants of Europeans in America, acknowledge the Christian faith. Had the overwhelming hordes of northern barbarians rushed down upon the civilized world before the new faith had been firmly planted, it could hardly have survived the wreck of empires and civilization; but, deeply rooted in the hearts of the vanquished, when all else was lost, Christianity rose above the ruins of the past and pointed the ferocious invaders to the Cross of Christ. The conquerors, in their new lands, laid aside the Paganism of their fathers and accepted a new religion from those whom they had vanquished. The new nations that emerge from the darkness of the Middle Ages, seated within the vast boundaries of the old Roman Empire, all acknowledge the Christian faith. We have thus briefly explained what events were predicted by the four hurtful angels who were restrained, and have shown the fulfillment in the glorious triumph of the Cross of Christ before the downfall of the Roman Empire.

Revelation 7:10

10. Salvation to our God who sitteth upon the throne, etc. They ascribe to God and the Lamb the glory of their salvation. It is a song of praise from the lips of the redeemed, such as is sung, in substance, every Lord’s day in ten thousand congregations.

Revelation 7:11-12

11, 12. All the angels stood about the throne. Also the four living creatures, and the elders, all evidently being the same as those described in Chapter V. There the elders and four living creatures began the song of praise, the angels joined in the first chorus, and all creation sung the second. Here the redeemed sing the song, and the angels, elders and four living creatures join in the chorus. It is the same ascription of praise and glory to God.

Revelation 7:13

13. One of the elders saith unto me. One of these heavenly elders. One had spoken unto him in Chapter V concerning the sealed book. He now asks him concerning the countless multitude in white robes, not for information, but in order to give it.

Revelation 7:14

14. These are they which have come up through great tribulation. It will be noticed that the Revision translates: “These are they which came out of the great tribulation.” This specifies some particular tribulation, for the article occurs in the original. That tribulation is described in chapter 6:9-11. There it is seen that to each of the suffering and praying saints is given a white robe, the same robe now worn by the mighty multitude of singers. That tribulation was the awful persecution of the latter part of the third century, the determined attempt of imperial Rome to blot Christianity from the face of the earth. To those who stood firm, remained true, the white robes were given, and now in the glorious triumph that followed within the next fifty years they wear them and sing their songs of rejoicing. They have washed their robes. It is explained why their robes are so white. They have been washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb. He has cleansed them from all sin. They are the saints who have been true in tribulation and have worked out the great triumph. Some have died as martyrs and all have been in peril of martyrdom; but now they are honored. The thought relates mainly to this martyr class who have purchased the great triumph.

Revelation 7:15

15. Therefore now they are before the throne of God. As the apostle looks into the future he beholds the destiny of all those sealed. They have a home in heaven, around the throne of God. There they serve, night and day, continually in his temple, so that the redeemed always know that they are in the Father’s house.

Revelation 7:16-17

16, 17. They shall hunger no more. Their sorrows, trials, and tribulations, of body as well as mind, are over forever. They shall not hunger or thirst, because “the Lamb shall feed them” with the Bread of life, and “lead them to living fountains” of the waters of life. Nor shall they ever sorrow, because God shall “wipe all tears from their eyes.” In other words, he will take away every cause that makes our mortal tears to flow, and fill our hearts with everlasting joy. The figure is a very tender one; of a loving Father wiping away and drying up the tears of his children. The reader should note the picture of heaven here presented. It is, 1.

A place of praise from rejoicing souls; 2. The saints enjoy the immediate presence and care of God and the Lamb; 3. Tears never fall. Every cause of sorrow is removed forever. Suns do not scorch, and hunger and thirst are never felt; 4. The Lamb tenderly supplies the wants of the saints, and God dries up every source of tears; 5.

The saints engage in unceasing service of God. They served him on the earth; now they serve him before the throne. AND . 1. Though God may permit his saints to suffer he never forgets them. 2. “All things shall work for good to them that love God.” Sometimes they may not see the good in the darkness that environs them, but it will finally be revealed and enjoyed. 3. Pure and lasting joy is generally born out of a baptism of suffering. Christ bore the cross before be received the crown. So must his disciples. Those who wore the white robes came up out of the great tribulation. 4. Only those who have white robes can enter heaven. Nothing that is defiled by sin can ever enter there (Revelation 21:27). Only the blood of Christ can make our robes white by cleansing us from sin. If we would be cleansed we must come to him and obey him. 5. You may have tears and sorrow here, but if you secure the white robes, the time cometh when every pang that rends the heart shall cease, and every tear that blinds the eye shall be wiped away forever. “Earth hath sorrow, sin and pain, and bitter tears,” but when the trials of earth are ended these are left behind. In the heavenly home “God shall wipe away all tears from your eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain.”