Revelation 7
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Important messages
1.
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.
2.
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,
3.
saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed
the servants of our God on their foreheads.”
4.
And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the
sons of Israel:
5.
12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed, 12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,
12,000 from the tribe of Gad,
6.
12,000 from the tribe of Asher, 12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali, 12,000 from
the tribe of Issachar,
8.
12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000 from the tribe of Joseph, 12,000 from
the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.
The
144,000 of Israel
John observes from heaven as four angels position themselves at
points north, east, south and west on the earth. They are detaining further
destruction, while heaven conducts redemptive purposes upon the earth (v.1). To
this day, we use the term, “the four corners of the earth”, speaking of the
four principle directions. I mentioned in the last chapter that God takes
little regard for satisfying the scientific demands of a few critical people,
educated far beyond their intelligence. He is concerned with communicating His
word to the common man.
The four winds is a
term used by the prophets and also by Jesus, in which case He speaks of the
gathering of the elect. They seem to indicate different kinds of world-wide
movement or turmoil. Angels are involved throughout the book of Revelation over
that, which takes place in nature. Here they hold back the wind, in 14:18 there
is an angel, which has power over fire, and in 16:5, there is an angel of the
waters.
Revelation 6:9-17
Labels:
Important messages
The
Last Set of Three Seals
9.
When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had
been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne.
10.
They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long
before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
11.
Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until
the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who
were to be killed as they themselves had been.
12.
When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great
earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like
blood,
13.
and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter
fruit when shaken by a gale.
14.
The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and
island was removed from its place.
15.
Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich
and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and
among the rocks of the mountains,
16.
calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of
him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb,
17.
for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”
The Fifth
Seal: End-time martyrdom
Now we come to the second division, which involves three seals,
and we have no mention of the four living creatures. Instead, when the fifth
seal is opened, the souls of martyrs in heaven speak. We are taking this literally,
understanding that there are conscious souls in the throne room of God, under
the altar. I suppose that they are those, who have been martyred from the time
of the apostles and up until the end times (v.9).
They are under the altar and the imagery of Leviticus is
extremely important for our understanding of the sacrifice of Christ and our
salvation: “The life of the flesh is in
the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that
makes atonement by the life” (Lev.17:11). Paul saw that his martyrdom was
relative to the drink offering in Leviticus: “I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my
departure has come” (2 T.4:6).
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