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.
Remember that the number four is metaphor for things pertaining to the Earth. Notice that the LORD Jesus Christ reveals through the Apostle John in this verse that the Earth has corners. Throughout Scripture there are references to the Earth as being flat and stationary. An Earth that is a ball shaped planet cannot have any corners. This writer is not promoting a flat Earth versus a globe shaped Earth controversy. This writer is just promoting what God says about His creation and will leave you, the reader, to figure out what is truth.
Winds brought/bring judgement and destruction upon the Earth. Returning to the Old Testament book of Genesis, chapter 41, the dream of Pharaoh that Joseph interpreted contained an East wind that brought famine. In Exodus chapter 10 an East wind brought locusts to destroy Egypt’s crops. 1 Kings 19:11 states, “And he said, go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake.” In Job 1:19 it states, “And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.” This wind appears to have been sent by Satan to afflict Job. Jeremiah 22:22 states, “The wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness.” Jeremiah 49:36 states, “And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation wither the outcast of Elam shall not come.” Jeremiah 51:1 states, “Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying wind;” A word study regarding “wind” lists so many verses that they cannot all be quoted here. The Apostle John is seeing four angels holding the four winds back from the Earth and the seas which is representative of holding back judgement and destruction.
Verses 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, 3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
The four angels on standby to release judgement upon the Earth are told by a fifth angel to stand down until all the servants of God are sealed. What does it mean to be sealed? The Greek word translated as “sealed” is “sphragizo” and it means to set a seal upon, to mark with a seal, to secure, to conceal, to hide or keep secret, to authenticate, or to place beyond doubt. To be sealed in the foreheads is metaphor for being secure in the knowledge of salvation, and to be a child of God. The forehead is metaphor for the brain or the thought process. People sealed by God mentally know they are saved by the blood of the LORD Jesus Christ and that they are secure in the spiritual Kingdom of God. So the inference is that whatever judgement is in store for the Earth is being held back until the very last person that is to be saved will be saved.
Application: Scofield doctrine teaches, because of his interpretation of Revelation 13:16, that people will be forced to take a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads, and if they do so, they will be damned. The Scofield doctrine renders this verse literally, but it is metaphor. This Biblical reference goes back to Moses in the Old Testament where the Hebrew people were commanded to think about the law of God. Again, it is metaphor and not literal. The servants of God are not physically marked in any way. They are sealed because they are known by God. The servants of the Devil are not marked physically. They are known by their father, the Devil and, of course, God knows who they are. The right hand is symbolic or metaphor for taking action and/or for power. The forehead is symbolic or metaphor for how a person thinks. So it is the thinking about God’s Word and acting upon God’s word that this verse represents. The Hebrew people understood this and a modern day Jew familiar with the Old Testament will also understand this. The Church has been brain washed through Satan and his servants and their incorrect end-time scenarios into believing a doctrine that is false. Again, the Scripture says what it says and means what it says. Twisting it to support false doctrine is very displeasing to the LORD.
1 Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: 2 That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. 3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. 4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. 10 And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, 11 And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full; 12 Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 13 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. Deuteronomy 6:1-13
Verse 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.
Some religious groups take the number of 144,000 and build an end time scenario around it. Some teach that only 144,000 people will be allowed into Heaven and all the rest of the saved people will live on a new Earth. There is no Scripture to support this theory. Again, the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ is metaphor and representative of things that have happened, are happening, and will happen. The Bible is also mathematical and the numbers represent something. The number, 144,000, represents all the Old Testament saints and all of the New Testament saints. There were 12 sons of Jacob that grew into a nation and there were 12 disciples that grew into a world wide Church. 12 x 12 = 144. The number 1,000 was the largest number in the mathematical understanding of the people in the Apostle John’s day. So the largest number he could record was 1,000. He did not see this multitude. He heard the number. It is metaphor for a whole bunch of followers of Jesus.
Verses 5-8 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. 6 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. 7 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. 8 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.
Each tribe presented here is a name of one of Jacob’s sons. However, Jacob’s son, Dan, is not listed here and Ephraim, Jacob’s grandson,is also not listed. The total number is 12,000 from each tribe. Religious groups that perform good works in the hope that they will be one of the 144,000 are doing so for the wrong reason. Their doctrinal belief is nonsense because if this verse is taken literally, the members of these groups would have to be Jews descended from the sons of Jacob. Since the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD, all genealogical records were lost and no person today can prove their lineage back to these specific men. It is also estimated that because of intermarriage over the centuries, most people will test positive for genetic ties to the Jews, but again, genetics cannot prove ties to one of these 12 patriarchs. These groups need to be doing good works to please the LORD and not to try and have a spot in eternity in Heaven. Scripture teaches that all of the people of God will go to Heaven when they shed their earthly body. Jesus said He was going to prepare a place for His people and He did not say it was only for 144,000.
The names of the children of Israel is what is important here.
Juda (Judah) means “praise”.
Reuben means “behold a son”.
Gad means “a troop or a great company”.
Aser (Asher) means “blessed”.
Nepthalim (Naphtali) means “all are over-comers”.
Manasses (Manasseh) means “forgetting”.
Simeon means “hearing”.
Levi means “joined”.
Issachar means “a price is paid”.
Zabulon (Zebulun) means “dwelling”.
Joseph means “fruitfulness or adding”.
Benjamin means “son of my right hand or joy“.
All of these names belong to every believer that has ever lived, that is living today, and who will be living in the future. Praise God. A price is paid by Jesus, and believers have a secure dwelling with Him. Look to Jesus or behold a son. Hear Him. Join a troop or a great company of believers. Believers become fruitful for the kingdom of Heaven, forgetting past sins and being a son of Jesus with joy. Jesus is our judge. Through Him we are forgiven and blessed and are over-comers.
Ephraim, one of the sons of Joseph and grandson of Jacob, is not mentioned in this list of names because his name means the same as the name of Joseph. Dan is also not mentioned as his name means “to judge” and Christian believers are forgiven and therefore not judged by God for punishment. Therefore, the name of Dan does not apply to the Christian. However, books have been written regarding the “lost tribe of Dan” which have no bearing on Scripture or on history as all the tribes were lost when they were scattered among the Gentile nations after the fall of Jerusalem. Again, no person calling themselves a “Jew” can prove that they are descendants of the twelve sons of Jacob. When Jesus pronounced judgement on the nation Israel stating that it would be desolate, that judgement came to pass.
Verses 9-10 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.
The Apostle John is now seeing in the vision the saints from all parts of the Earth, Jews and Gentiles, standing before the LORD. He is not hearing a number now, but seeing a great church service going on in Heaven.
Verses 11-12 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.
Application: Why did God create mankind? He did so to have fellowship with people and to receive praise and honor from those He created. He loves His people and He preserves His people, and according to this vision of the Apostle John, His people when in Heaven, along with the angels, will be praising and worshiping Him with their whole being.
Verses 13-14 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.
White robes represent righteousness. In the vision John is seeing the saints in Heaven. Notice that these saints came out of great tribulation, not out of “the Tribulation” as is taught in most organized evangelical establishment churches due to the Scofield doctrine. No Christian is without tribulation during their life here on Earth. The Devil is an enemy and he will try to destroy the Christian believer. The Church has been experiencing tribulation or distress since its beginning on the Day of Pentecost. It will not stop until the LORD Jesus Christ returns to this Earth to bring an end to everything, an end to time, and an ushering in of eternity. Jesus stated, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
Verses 15-17 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; neither 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. (Revelation 7)
These verses are among the most beautiful and most encouraging verses in the Bible. The Christian believer has much to look forward to in the Kingdom of Heaven.