Who is able to
stand? Chapter 7
After this, I saw four
angels standing at the four corners of the
earth, holding the four winds of the earth,
so that no wind would blow on the earth,
or on the sea, or on any tree.
I saw another angel ascend from the sunrise
[east], having the seal of the living
God. He cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom
it was given to harm the earth and the sea,
saying, "Don't harm the earth,
neither the sea, nor the trees,
until we have sealed the bondservants of our God
on their foreheads!" I heard the number
of those who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand,
sealed out of every tribe of the children of
Israel: (Revelation 7:1-4)
This
chapter is an intermission
or insertion between the 6th
and 7th
seal that parallels similar ones at the same location for the
Trumpets and Bowls located in Revelation 10:1-11:19 and 16:13-16.
4 angels, 4
corners, 4 winds – 3+4=7; 3x4=12
4
is the symbolic number
for this world
throughout Scripture. In Revelation angels can mean various things,
possibly actual angels
at times but often people
as well. In this passage the holding back of the winds
is directly connected
to the process and finishing of a sealing
activity. This is
significant for unpacking the possible meaning of what these angels
may represent. But it should be safe to say that whatever they mean,
it is something that happens from an outside source rather than
something we try to do for ourselves.
And after the thousand years, Satan
will be released from his prison, and he will come out to deceive the
nations which are in the four corners of the
earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to the war;
the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
(Revelation 20:7-8)
Then Satan answered Yahweh, and
said, "Does Job fear God for nothing? Haven't you made
a hedge around him, and around his house, and around all
that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands,
and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth your hand
now, and touch all that he has, and he will renounce you to your
face." Yahweh said to Satan, "Behold, all that he
has is in your power. Only on himself don't put forth your
hand." So Satan went forth from the presence of Yahweh.
While he was still speaking, there
came also another, and said, "Your sons and your daughters were
eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house, and behold,
there came a great wind from the wilderness, and struck the
four corners of the house, and it fell on the young men,
and they are dead. I alone have escaped to tell you."
(Job 1:9-12, 18-19)
Again I lifted up my eyes, and saw,
and behold, four chariots came out from
between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of
brass. In the first chariot were red horses; in
the second chariot black horses; in the third
chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot
dappled horses, all of them powerful.
Then I asked the angel who talked with me, "What are these, my
lord?" The angel answered me, "These are the four
winds of the sky, which go forth from standing before the
Lord of all the earth."
(Zechariah 6:1-5)
But immediately after the oppression
of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its
light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the
heavens will be shaken; and then the sign of the Son of Man will
appear in the sky. Then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and
they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with
power and great glory. He will send out his angels with a great sound
of a trumpet, and they will gather
together his chosen ones from the four winds, from one end
of the sky to the other.
(Matthew 24:29-31)
It is
important to note that these winds
originate from the earth,
not from heaven. Harmful
winds represent violence.
Contrast
these kind of winds with what Jesus talked about as a wind
that comes from God in
John 3:8.
The wind blows where it wants to,
and you hear its sound, but don't know where it comes from and where
it is going. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.
(John 3:8)
Jesus
makes it clear that at least this wind is something
we do not control and
cannot even predict. Yet the nature of wind is to carry
along things with it, and
the stronger
it becomes the more it overcomes
anything resisting its power.
Here
are a few other ideas to consider when looking for the meaning of
wind. Wind is what comes
out of a mouth that is
used to form words,
to sing
and breath
for sustaining life
as well as what is used for blowing
trumpets. We would expect
the powers of darkness to counterfeit
every aspect of God's design, including wind, and it is apparent that
the winds referred to here are from the opposing
forces in the war bent on
creating problems, harm
and destruction.
These
4 angels
could be viewed as representing God's counter
response to the 4 horsemen
previously exposed as counterfeits. The 4
directions of the compass
here may also correspond
to the 4 creatures around
the throne of heaven representing the 4 groups of God's people camped
around the sanctuary. If so, maybe these 4 angels might at least in
part represent God's design for social
organization by which the
people involved can be re-formed
and restored to God's
image and develop
His likeness in their
character permanently through the transforming
of their minds by social
interaction with others.
These
verses about sealing parallel
others found in John 3 where we find wrath
contrasted with a seal
as a witness of
God's truthfulness.
Keep in mind that the true definition of wrath
is God releasing people
to suffer the natural
outcome of their own
choices to reject His authority in their lives.
What he has seen and heard, of that
he testifies; and no one receives his witness. He who has received
his witness has set his seal to this, that God is true.
For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God;
for God gives the Spirit without measure. The
Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand. One who
believes in the Son has eternal life, but one who disobeys
the Son won't see life, but the wrath
of God remains on him.
(John 3:32-36)
This
provides valuable evidence for use in defining
the meaning of this seal.
The emphasis here relating to this seal is confident
trust that God is true.
Connect this to Paul's statement about lies and truth and judgment,
and it all begins to become more clear.
For what if some were without faith?
Will their lack of faith nullify the faithfulness of God?
May it never be! Yes, let God be found true, but
every man a liar. As it is written, "That
you might be justified in your words, and might
prevail when you come into judgment."
(Romans 3:3-4)
Jesus
alone is the only truthful
witness as to the
truthfulness and reliability
of God. Jesus was sent to
this world to testify to
the truth, the truth
about God, in order to counter
the myriads of lies that
have infected not only all of humanity but that have influenced the
thinking of untold numbers of beings
throughout the universe
who are involved in this conflict as well. This world is the central
stage where the main activities and battles are being carried out in
the war between Christ and Satan, and the war revolves around what
we will believe about the character
of the One who is in charge of all creation and whether His
methods and ways can
be trusted or whether He
is selfish as Satan asserts.
This
sealing process
is all about the condition
of the mind,
heart
and character.
It involves our choices of how
to relate to truth and lies
and our cooperation
with the work of God to transform
us entirely through the
renewing of our mind.
Therefore I urge you, brothers, by
the mercies of God, to present your bodies a
living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual
service. Don't be conformed to this world, but be transformed
by the renewing of your mind, so that you may
prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of
God. For I say, through the grace that was given me, to every man who
is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he
ought to think; but to think reasonably,
as God has apportioned to each person a measure of faith. For even as
we have many members in one body, and all the members don't have the
same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ,
and individually members one of another.
(Romans 12:1-5)
Coming
next in this chapter we read that each tribe listed is composed of
exactly the same number
of people – 12,000. Why are the numbers listed for each tribe so
uniform?
We need to see that the sealing process is all about maturing
and growing up into the
truth, not merely factual
or doctrinal truth but much more importantly reflecting the truth
about God and His design for humans to reflect His heart. This can
only be accomplished through the social
organizational structure
given by God in the template of the arrangement
of the 12 tribes around
the sanctuary in the wilderness. This is provided to us as the same
means by which the body of
Christ becomes organized
and united
to perfectly synchronize
with the Head and each
other to become the Bride
prepared to marry the Bridegroom. The exact same
number for each tribe can
represent fullness of
maturity on the part of
those prepared to reflect
the full truth in the
last days just as Jesus did.
This
process of preparation for
the final events that
will test the character of every person alive near the end, comes
about as we become willing
to synchronize with God's
design for social organization which is all rooted
in the family structure.
The arrangement of the tribes in 4 groups of 3 around the sanctuary
provides the pattern
we need to understand in order to better cooperate with God's work in
our lives today. That pattern reveals all
the possible social relationships
in an amazing design matrix where we may discover how God is
preparing and uniting His
children for the final
showdown. Our preparation is in learning
to live in a healthy family relationship
relating to each of the 3 social bonding types, as well as to our
extended family
represented as tribes
in which we can find our
unique source of identity
among 'our people' and where we are integrated
into the bigger picture
as it relates to Christ's body.
the four angels to whom it was given
to harm the earth and the sea
This
harm is not inflicted
but rather is released.
Notice that up to this point the angels are restraining the winds, so
they are not the cause
of them but rather are the ones
restraining them. Other
forces are behind these damaging winds. Harm described as resulting
from God's wrath are results
of the effects of evil
released because of
withdrawal of God's
protection, not
infliction of evil directly from God.
A
classic example is in the story of Job.
Harm was initiated by
Satan against Job when
God's protection was
temporarily released from
around Job's life and family. There can be two
sources of evil. There is
harm brought about through choices to violate
natural law.
God's laws are principles that have inherent
within them blessings
and curses.
These are not arbitrary
inflictions or rewards but rather consequences
that flow from choices or
actions. When a
principle/law is violated
in the natural world (God's kingdom is all based on such laws), there
are natural consequences
that flow out from that. On the other hand, initiated
evil always comes from
Satan,
not God, which was made quite evident in that story. Others
might be complicit in
carrying out Satan's designs, but evil
originated with Satan and
will not go extinct until Satan goes extinct. Yet God
is still too often viewed as causing
what He permits
throughout history. This is one of the main issues addressed in this
book.
Earth
and sea together can
represent all the surface
of this planet and all the
people involved. Earth
might represent less
violent people while seas
might be more turbulent.
That is one possible explanation. However, there are likely better
ones since a key phrase used throughout this book is all
who dwell on the earth referring
to those aligning with the principles of violence and the dragon.
no wind would blow
on... any tree
Trees
sometimes represent leaders,
but the metaphor can apply
to anyone.
God needs time to develop His children and grow
them up into the full maturity of Christ
to prepare and fit them for the massive crisis looming ahead. Those
who are faithful
leaders
among His people need protection
from spiritual harm
as they shepherd others needing
mentoring
as the body
of Christ is knit
together
before the time of crisis is released. Here are some Scripture
examples trees. Keep in mind that the two warring systems
are represented by the two trees
in the Garden of Eden.
Blessed
is the man who doesn't walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand
in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers; but his
delight is in Yahweh's law. On his law he meditates day and night. He
will be like a tree planted
by the streams of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season,
whose leaf also does not wither. Whatever he does shall prosper.
(Psalms 1:1-3)
The
righteous shall flourish like the palm tree.
He will grow like a cedar
in Lebanon. They are planted in Yahweh's house.
They will flourish in our God's courts.
They will still bring forth fruit in old age.
They will be full of sap and green,
(Psalms 92:12-14)
For
there will be a day of Yahweh of Armies for all that is proud and
haughty, and for all that is lifted up; and it shall be brought low:
For all the cedars of Lebanon,
that are high and lifted up,
for all the oaks of Bashan,
For all the high mountains, for all the hills that are lifted up, For
every lofty tower, for every fortified wall, For all the ships of
Tarshish, and for all pleasant imagery.
(Isaiah 2:12-16)
The
light of Israel will be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame; and
it will burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day. He
will consume the glory of his forest,
and of his fruitful field, both soul and body.
It will be as when a standard bearer faints.
(Isaiah 10:17-18)
to
appoint to those who mourn in Zion, to give to them a garland for
ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the
spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees
of righteousness, the planting of Yahweh,
that he may be glorified.
(Isaiah 61:3)
Blessed
is the man who trusts in Yahweh, and whose trust Yahweh is. For he
shall be as a tree planted
by the waters, who spreads out its roots by the river, and shall not
fear when heat comes, but its leaf shall be green; and shall not be
careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding
fruit.
(Jeremiah 17:7-8)
The tree that you saw,
which grew, and was strong, whose height reached to the sky, and the
sight of it to all the earth; whose leaves were beautiful, and the
fruit of it much, and in it was food for all; under which the animals
of the field lived, and on whose branches the birds of the sky had
their habitation: it is you,
O king, that are grown and become strong; for your greatness is
grown, and reaches to the sky, and your dominion to the end of the
earth.
(Daniel 4:20-22)
Yahweh,
I cry to you, For the fire has devoured the pastures of the
wilderness, and the flame has burned all the trees
of the field.
(Joel 1:19)
Even
so, every good tree produces good fruit;
but the corrupt tree produces evil fruit.
A good tree can't produce evil fruit,
neither can a corrupt tree produce good fruit.
Every tree that doesn't grow good fruit is cut down,
and thrown into the fire.
(Matthew 7:17-19)
The
first sounded, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood,
and they were thrown to the earth. One third of the earth was burnt
up, and one third of the trees were burnt up,
and all green grass was burnt up.
(Revelation 8:7)
They
were told that they should not hurt
the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any
tree, but only those
people who don't have God's seal on their foreheads.
(Revelation 9:4)
The
family arrangement
within the extended tribes parallels the design
of trees. We even call
our history our family
tree. The design of trees
in how the trunk and branches are arranged is the example of how we
are arranged socially
and how all the different components of our makeup is to complement,
strengthen and relate to everyone around us. One reason that trees
must be protected from harm by restraining the winds is because trees
represent the outline of
how the tribes are
connected with each
other. Through the template God provided, we may find a safe
environment for our
formative process of growth to become
integrated into the body
of Christ where we may discover
our proper place and function
according to the principles of heaven, united
in purpose
and spirit.
He gave some to be apostles; and
some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, shepherds and
teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, to
the work of serving, to the building
up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to
the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of
the Son of God, to a full grown man,
to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
that we may no longer be children, tossed back
and forth and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the
trickery of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error; but
speaking truth in love, we may grow up
in all things into him, who is the head, Christ; from whom
all the body, being fitted and knit together through that which every
joint supplies, according to the working in measure of each
individual part, makes the body increase to the building up
of itself in love.
(Ephesians 4:11-16)
We are
not meant to live alone,
attempting to relate to God apart
from the design He has
given. God said during creation week it was not
good for a human to be alone.
A tree is defined by the natural relationship
of how branches and leaves
connect and how
fruit is produced. Jesus
used a vine as the example of how we are to live
in community to produce
much fruit. Hierarchy
distorts this resulting
in attempts to produce fruit in isolation
on our own. This can result in imagining
that God views us critically
or refuses to accept us
until we get our act
together. This is another
scheme of the enemy that
must be defeated
by consenting to be integrated
into God's family by His
Spirit.
I saw another angel
ascend from the sunrise [east]
In our
study of prophecy we find that generally those who come
from the East are usually
in favor with God or come directly from
God. The magi
that welcomed Jesus' birth came from the East. The second
coming of Jesus is seen
to originate from the East. The east
side of the encampment of
Israel was represented by the Lion
represents emotional
intensity and is one of
the symbols of the Lamb.
East represents great joy,
but the hijacked version
of this represents the intense
fear that Satan uses to
manipulate all who dwell
on the earth. Jesus
designs that we should live
in His presence where
there is the most intense
joy. This angel messenger
who comes from the East
is likely associated
with the angel found at the beginning of chapter 18.
After these things, I saw another
angel coming down out of the sky, having great authority.
The earth was illuminated with his glory.
(Revelation 18:1)
I
believe the sealing
process preparing a people to meet Jesus
involves those who are
willing to have their
entire thinking and living
transformed by the glory
of the true gospel, the mind-altering
good news that Jesus
brings about the truth of
God's heart and how evil
will be defeated. God's
glory is the truth about His character of love and that there is no
darkness at all in Him.
This is the light that must be absorbed
and reflected by all who
will be sealed, for the sealing means a deep settling
into the real truth that
brings full alignment of the life into harmony
with the life of Jesus.
But this is done through receiving and cooperating
with the process and power provided from heaven, not
through efforts of our own
to make ourselves righteous. The authority
that this mighty angel relies on to illuminate the earth is the
commission given by Jesus
along with the permission
given by those who choose
to allow God to renew
their minds and to enable
them to live just as Jesus
lived, loving, serving,
forgiving and demonstrating the truth about how
God thinks and relates to
sinners.
Keep
in mind that this entire
chapter is a direct response
to the question left dangling from the last chapter asking who
is able to stand when the
Lamb shows up. It will be those whose lives
and minds
and hearts
have been transformed
by living in and reflecting God's love personally who will be
prepared to meet Him with joy instead of feeling terror when He
comes.
the seal of the living God
What
do you think is intended to be emphasized by the word living
in reference to God here?
In
contrast to false gods in materialism? Yet demonic spirits
are alive. How might this
relate to turning away
from false sources of power
and pleasure that seem
very alive?
There
are a number of ways to relate to this word seal.
Let's begin by looking at the definition
from Strong's for the Greek word translated seal here.
a
signet
(as fencing in or protecting from misappropriation); by implication,
the stamp
impressed (as a mark of privacy, or genuineness),
literally or figuratively:--seal.
I
believe this can involve various ways in which we use the word seal
too. A seal can be a symbol,
a mark
made by pressing a signet
ring onto wax to create an
impression.
A seal
might also refer to something put around inside a door opening to
prevent air from moving
from one area to another. Sealing is used as a protective
coating for wood or metal
objects to preserve them
from harm caused by
outside forces such as moisture that could result in rot
or rust. A seal finish
also acts to enhance and
preserve the natural beauty
of wood and to highlight
its uniqueness. A clear
finish coat locks in all
that has been done
previously such as sanding, polishing and staining as the sealing
coat. Such a sealer is usually transparent, yet it is essential so
that all the work leading up to the sealing will not have been in
vain.
They were told that they should not
hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any
tree, but only those people who don't have God's seal
on their foreheads. (Revelation
9:4)
In a dream, in a vision of the
night, when deep sleep falls on men, in slumbering on the bed; Then
he opens the ears of men, and seals
their instruction, That he may withdraw man from his
purpose, and hide pride from man.
(Job 33:15-17)
For he says to the snow, 'Fall on
the earth;' likewise to the shower of rain, and to the showers of his
mighty rain. He seals up the hand of every man,
that all men whom he has made may know it.
(Job 37:6-7)
Have you commanded the morning in
your days, and caused the dawn to know its place; that it might take
hold of the ends of the earth, and shake the wicked out of it? It is
changed as clay under the seal, and stands forth
as a garment. From the wicked, their light is withheld. The high arm
is broken.
(Job 38:12-15)
You shall make a plate of pure gold,
and engrave on it, like the engravings of a signet,
'HOLY TO YAHWEH.' (Exodus 28:36)
Who is this who comes up from the
wilderness, leaning on her beloved? Under the apple tree I aroused
you. There your mother conceived you. There she was in labor and bore
you. Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal on your arm;
for love is strong as death. Jealousy is as cruel as Sheol. Its
flashes are flashes of fire, a very flame of Yahweh. Many waters
can't quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man would give
all the wealth of his house for love, he would be utterly scorned.
(Song of Solomon
8:5-7)
Wrap up the testimony. Seal
the law among my disciples. I will wait for Yahweh, who
hides his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.
(Isaiah 8:16-17)
Yahweh said to him, Go through the
midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set
a mark on the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry over all
the abominations that are done in the midst of it. To the
others he said in my hearing, Go you through the city after him, and
strike: don't let your eye spare, neither have you pity; kill utterly
the old man, the young man and the virgin, and little children and
women; but don't come near any man on whom is the mark:
and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the old men that were
before the house. He said to them, Defile the house, and fill the
courts with the slain: go you forth. They went forth, and struck in
the city. (Ezekiel 9:4-7)
He who has received his witness has
set his seal to this, that God is true.
(John 3:33)
Don't work for the food which
perishes, but for the food which remains to eternal life, which the
Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has sealed
him. (John 6:27)
He received the sign of
circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith
which he had while he was in uncircumcision, that he might be the
father of all those who believe, though they be in uncircumcision,
that righteousness might also be accounted to them.
(Romans 4:11)
Now he who establishes us with you
in Christ, and anointed us, is God; who also sealed us,
and gave us the down payment of the Spirit in our hearts.
(2 Corinthians 1:21-22)
But we all, with unveiled face
beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed
into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the
Lord, the Spirit. (2 Corinthians
3:18)
to the end that we should be to the
praise of his glory, we who had before hoped in Christ: in whom you
also, having heard the word of the truth, the Good News of your
salvation,--in whom, having also believed, you were sealed
with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is a pledge of our
inheritance, to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise
of his glory. (Ephesians
1:12-14)
Don't grieve the Holy
Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed
for the day of redemption.
(Ephesians 4:30)
However God's firm
foundation stands, having this seal,
"The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Let every
one who names the name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness."
(2 Timothy 2:19)
Sealing
people is a process of
settling them permanently
into the character
that their choices have
created over time. There
can be a hardening of the
heart by those who resist
the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. This hardening is similar
to the sealing process,
yet the opposite
in some respects. This sealing we see here is not
hardening the heart but
rather sealing in the
grace, truth and love
that have been allowed to soften
the heart and make it
function as designed
again. The sealing is
needed in order to
protect the heart from
reinfection of
selfishness, greed, pride and anything foreign to the kingdom of
heaven. It is the counterpart
of the mark of the beast
which we will study later, a mark that is rooted
in fear while the seal
of God is about love and
mercy.
In
effect, this sealing is the process
of maturing the character
until it beautifully
reflects the character
of God. This takes place
by remaining exposed to
the light of God's glory
and being transformed by
that light to take on
permanently the image of
God internally. All who
refuse this maturing process become more immature as the character of
selfishness reduces their
capacity to see objective
reality in truth. Those who are sealed in preparation for the final
events of this world's history are sealed
in the fruit of the Spirit of God
that they reflect, just as those who receive the mark of the beast
reflect the spirit of the beast they endorse and follow. This sealing
transforms God's children
into light-emitting stones
to compose the temple of God, whose lives are made into transparent,
living lights to bring
glory and honor to God in the midst of intense darkness.
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