After John saw so much, he was shown more. Jesus had opened six seals which reached all the way down through history to the 'great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?' Seriously, our Savior's return will be a GREAT day of wrath for many, we can't ignore that truth in favor of wanting to believe the lies that Satan weaves all about us. Too many want to believe that they will face no wrath, that there isn't even a God to exact any wrath other than the god portrayed in movies. That great day will arrive and John was witness to that day in the visions given to him.
Ask yourself a question… after the great day of wrath, after the return of our Savior then strife no longer matters- it's over- for all those who are Christ's are now redeemed and all those who are not Christ's are destroyed.
What John sees next isn't the seventh seal being opened, so he is still being shown things of the sixth seal. Perhaps in greater detail. We understand how we can be shown something and then we zoom in so we can see more detail. This has to be what is happening, because the angels work is finished after our Savior returns. So, having said that, let's look in greater detail at what John is being shown under the sixth seal.
Next, John saw four angels…
Rev 7:1 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.
Four angels standing on the four corners of the earth- North, South, East and West. These angels were holding the four winds of the earth. We all know how destructive wind can be in a literal sense, and we know that if there are four angels HOLDING the wind they are holding the four winds for a reason. This wind is being kept from blowing on earth, sea, and trees. The power of the angels needed to keep things from being destroyed is tremendous. Yet things need to be kept from being destroyed because God will have His way. God will keep things in check only allowing them to have their way according to His plans.
John watched the four angels protecting the earth and then he saw ANOTHER
angel. This angel came from the east and he had the SEAL of the living God.
Rev 7:2 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,
Rev 7:3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
This angel cried with a LOUD voice to those four angels. The four angels who were by God's command in control of allowing things loosed, the winds released, and those things, those winds, would be allowed to HURT the earth and sea once they were loosed. This angel cried loudly to those other angels in control saying, HURT NOT the earth, neither the sea nor the trees. DO NOT HURT anything yet! Do not let go of the winds, do not release the power that will hurt. Why? Because the other angel has to SEAL the servants of God in their forehead first. God's servants need to be protected, and they are protected by being sealed as belonging to God.
Now, I want to go to the writings we've been following- Daniel and Revelation by Uriah Smith, and I want to read what he has to say about the above.
I am not a Biblical scholar by any means. I seek God's truth only and I pray to God that He will open my understanding, helping me discern between truth and lies. Too many would have me believe that what I believe are just lies, but when I look at the very big picture of history hand in hand with God's word I can't help but believe that God has opened my eyes by the Holy Spirit to His Truth. Prayerfully all who seek God will know only His truth and nothing else. I'm not asking anyone to believe what I believe- they need to believe what God would have them believe- which prayerfully is His truth.
Excerpt-
'The chronology of the work here introduced is established beyond mistake. The sixth chapter closed with the events of the sixth seal, and the seventh seal is not mentioned until we reach the opening of chapter 8.
The whole of chapter is therefore thrown in here parenthetically. Why is it thus thrown in at this point? - Evidently for the purpose of stating additional particulars concerning the sixth seal.
The expression, "after these things," does not mean after the fulfilment of all the events previously described; but after the prophet had been carried down in vision to the close of the sixth seal, in order not to break the consecutive order of events as given in chapter 6, his mind is called to what is mentioned in chapter 7, as further particulars to transpire in connection with that seal.
Then we inquire, Between what events in that seal does this work come in?
It must transpire before the departing of the heavens as a scroll; for after that event there is no place for such a work as this. And it must take place subsequently to the signs in the sun, moon, and stars; for
p 459 -- these signs have been fulfilled, and such a work has not yet been accomplished. It comes in, therefore, between the 13th and 14th verses of Revelation 6; but there, as already shown, is just where we now stand. Hence the first part of Revelation 7 relates to a work the accomplishment of which may be looked for at the present time.
Four Angels. - Angels are ever-present agents in the affairs of the earth; and why may not these be four of those heavenly beings into whose hands God has committed the work here described; namely, holding the winds while it is God's purpose that they should not blow, and hurting the earth with them when the time comes that they should be loosed? For it will be noticed (verse 3) that the "hurting" is a work committed to their hands equally with the "holding;" so that they do not merely let the winds go when they are to blow, but they cause them to blow; they impel forward the work of destruction with their own supernatural energy. But the hurting process here brought to view does not include the seven last plagues. That work is given into the hands of seven special angels; this, into the hands of four. Or, it may be that when the time comes for the pouring out of the plagues, the seven angels who have specific charge of these judgments, unite with the four whose mission it is to cause the winds to blow, and all together bring on that pre-eminent exhibition of divine vengeance against a generation which is pre-eminent in guilt.
Four Corners of the Earth. - An expression denoting the four quarters, or the four points of the compass, and signifying that these angels, in their particular sphere, had charge of the whole earth.
The Four Winds. - Winds, in the Bible, symbolize political commotion, strife, and war. Dan. 7:2; Jer. 25:32. The four winds, held by four angels standing in the four quarters of the earth, must denote all the elements of strife and commotion that exist in the world; and when they are all loosed, and all blow together, it will constitute the great whirlwind just referred to in the prophecy of Jeremiah.
p 460 -- The Angel Ascending From the East. - Another literal angel, having charge of another specific work, is here introduced. Instead of the words "ascending from the east," some translations read, "Ascending from the sun rising," which is a more literal translation. The expression evidently refers to manner rather than locality; for as the sun arises with rays at first oblique and comparatively powerless, but increases in strength until it shines in all its meridian power and splendor, so the work of this angel commences in weakness, moves onward with ever-accumulating influence, and closes in strength and power.
The Seal of the Living God. - This is the distinguishing characteristic of the ascending angel; he bears with him the seal of the living God.
From this fact, and the chronology of his work, we are to determine, if possible, what movement is symbolized by his mission. The nature of his work is evidently embraced in his having the seal of the living God; and to ascertain what his work is, the inquiry must be answered what this seal of the living God is, which he bears with him.
1. The Term Seal Defined. - A seal is defined to be an instrument of sealing; that which "is used by individuals, corporate bodies, and states, for making impressions on wax, upon instruments of writing, as an evidence of their authenticity." The original word in this passage is defined, "A seal, i. e., a signet ring; a mark, stamp, badge; a token, a pledge." Among the significations of the verb are the following: "To secure to any one, to make sure; to set a seal or mark upon anything in token of its being genuine or approved; to attest, to confirm, to establish, to distinguish by a mark." By a comparison of Gen. 17:11 with Rom. 4:11, and Rev.7:3 with Eze. 9:4, in connection with the above definition, the reader will see that the words token, sign, seal, and mark are used in the Bible as synonymous terms.
The seal of God, as brought to view in our text, is to be applied to the servants of God.
We are not, of course, to suppose that in this case it is some literal mark to be made in the flesh, but that it is some institution or observance having special reference to God, which will serve
p 461 -- as a "mark of distinction" between the worshipers of God and those who are not in truth his servants, though they may profess to follow him.
2. The Use of a Seal. - A seal is used to render valid or authentic any enactments, or laws, which a person or power may promulgate. Frequent instances of its use occur in the Scriptures. In 1 Kings 21:8, we read that Jezebel "wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal." These letters then had all the authority of King Ahab. Again, in Esther 3:12: "In the name of King Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king's ring." So also in chapter 8:8: "The writing which is written in the king's name, and sealed with the king's ring, may no man reverse."
3. Where a Seal is Used. - Always in connection with some law or enactment that demands obedience, or upon documents that are to be made legal, or subject to the provisions of law. The idea of law is inseparable from a seal.
4. As Applied to God. - We are not to suppose that to the enactments and laws of God binding upon men, there must be attached a literal seal, made with literal instruments; but from the definition of the term, and the purpose for which a seal is used, as shown above, we must understand a seal to be strictly that which gives validity and authenticity to enactments and laws.
This is found, though a literal seal may not be used, in the name or signature of the law-making power, expressed in such terms as to show what the power is, and its right to make laws and demand obedience. Even with a literal seal, the name must always be used. (See the references above given.) An instance of the use of the name alone seems to occur in Dan. 6:8: "Now, 0 king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not;" that is, affix the sigmature of royalty, showing who it is that demands obedience, and his right to demand it.
In a gospel prophecy found in Isaiah 8, we read: "Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples." This must refer to a work of reviving in the minds of the disciples some of the claims of the law which had been overlooked,
p 462 -- or perverted from their true meaning, and this, in the prophecy, is called sealing the law, or restoring to it its seal, which had been taken from it.
Again, the 144,000, who in the chapter before us are said to be sealed with the seal of God in their foreheads, are again brought to view in Rev. 14:1, where they are said to have the Father's name written in their foreheads.
From the foregoing reasoning, facts, and declarations of Scripture, two conclusions inevitably follow: -
1. The seal of God is found in connection with the law of God.
2. The seal of God is that part of his law which contains his name, or descriptive title, showing who he is, the extent of his dominion, and his right to rule.
The law of God is admitted by all the leading evangelical denominations to be summarily contained in the decalogue, or ten commandments. We have, then, but to examine these commandments to see which one it is that constitutes the seal of the law, or, in other words, makes known the true God, the law-making power. The first three commandments mention the word God; but we cannot tell from these who is meant, for there are multitudes of objects to which this name is applied. There are "gods many and lords many," as the apostle says. 1 Cor. 8:5. Passing over the fourth commandment for the time being, the fifth contains the words Lord and God, but does not define them; and the remaining five precepts do not contain the name of God at all. Now what shall be done? With that portion of the law which we have examined, it would be impossible to convict the grossest idolater of sin. The worshiper of images could say, This idol before me is my god; his name is god, and these are his precepts. The worshiper of the heavenly bodies could also say, The sun is my god, and I worship him according to this law. Thus, without the fourth commandment, the decalogue is null and void, so far as it pertains to enforcing the worship of the true God. But let us now add the fourth commandment, restore to the law this precept, which many are ready to contend has been expunged, and see how the case will then
p 463 -- stand. As we examine this commandment, which contains the declaration, "For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is," etc., we see at once that we are reading the requirements of Him who created all things.
The sun, then, is not the God of the decalogue; the true God is he who made the sun. No object in heaven or earth is the being who here demands obedience; for the God of this law is the one who made all created things. Now we have a weapon against idolatry. Now this law can no longer be applied to false gods, who "have not made the heavens and the earth." Jer. 10:11. Now the author of this law has declared who he is, the extent of his dominion, and his right to rule; for every created intelligence must at once assent that He who is the Creator of all, has a right to demand obedience from all his creatures. Thus with the fourth commandment in its place, this wonderful document, the decalogue, the only document among men which God ever wrote with his own finger, has a signature; it has that which renders it intelligible and authentic; it has a seal. But without the fourth commandment, it lacks all these things.
From the foregoing reasoning, it is evident that the fourth commandment constitutes the seal of the law of God, or the seal of God. But the Scriptures do not leave us without direct testimony on this point.
We have seen above that in Scripture usage, sign, seal, token, and mark are synonymous terms. Now, the Lord expressly says that the Sabbath is a sign between him and his people. "Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep; for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you." Ex. 31:13.
The same fact is again stated by the prophet Ezekiel, chapter 20:12, 20. Here the Lord told his people that the very object of their keeping the Sabbath, that is, observing the fourth commandment, was that they might know that he was the true God. This is the same as if the Lord had said, "The Sabbath is a seal. On my part it is the seal of my authority, the sign that I have the right to command obedience; on your part it is a token that you take me to be your God."
p 464 -- Should it be said that this principle can have no application to Christians at the present time, as the Sabbath was a sign between God and the Jews only, it would be sufficient to reply that the terms Jew and Israel, in a true Scriptural sense, are not confined, to the literal seed of Abraham. Abraham was chosen at first because he was the friend of God while his fathers were idolaters; and his seed were chosen to be God's people, the guardians of his law and the depositaries of his truth, because all others had apostatized from him; and it is true that these words respecting the Sabbath were spoken to them while they enjoyed the honor of being thus set apart from all others. But when the middle wall of partition was broken down, and the Gentiles were called in to be partakers of the blessings of Abraham, all God's people, both Jews and Gentiles, were brought into a new and more intimate relation to God through his Son, and they are now called "Jews inwardly" and "Israelites indeed."
And now the declaration applies to all such; for they have as much occasion to know the Lord as had his people of old.
Thus the fourth commandment, or the Sabbath, is taken by the Lord as a sign between him and his people, or the seal of his law in both dispensations; the people by that commandment signifying that they are the worshipers of the true God, and God, by the same commandment, making himself known as their rightful ruler, inasmuch as he is their Creator.
In harmony with this idea, the significant fact is to be noticed that whenever the sacred writers wish to point out the true God in distinction from false gods of every description, an appeal is made to the great facts of creation, upon which the fourth commandment is based. (See 2 Kings 19:15; 2 Chron. 2:12; Neh. 9:6; Ps. 115:4-7,15; 121:2; 124:8; 134:3; 146:6; Isa. 37:16; 42:5; 44:24; 45:12; Job 9:8; Isa 51:13; Jer. 10:10-12; Ps. 96:5; Jer. 32:17; 51:15; Acts 4:24; 14:15; 17:23, 24, etc.)
We refer again to the fact that the same company who in Revelation 7 have the seal of the living God in their foreheads, are brought to view again in Rev. 14:1, having the Father's name in their foreheads. This is good proof that the "seal of
p 465 -- the living God" and the "Father's name" are used synonymously. The chain of evidence on this point is rendered complete, when it is ascertained that the fourth commandment, which has been shown to be the seal of the law, is spoken of by the Lord as that which contains his name. The proof of this will be seen by referring to Deut. 16:6: "But at the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name in, there shalt thou sacrifice the passover," etc. What was there where they sacrificed the passover? - There was the sanctuary, having in its holiest apartment the ark with the ten commandments, the fourth of which declared the true God, and contained his name. Wherever this fourth commandant was, there God's name was placed; and this was the only object to which the language could be applied. (See Deut. 12:5, 11, 21; 14:23, 24, etc.)
Having now ascertained that the seal of God is his holy Sabbath, having his name, we are prepared to proceed with the application.
By the scenes introduced in the verses before us, namely, the four winds apparently about to blow, bringing war and trouble upon the land, and this work restrained till the servants of God should be sealed, as though a preparatory work must be done for them to save them from this trouble, we are reminded of the houses of the Israelites marked with the blood of the paschal lamb, and spared as the destroying angel passed over to slay the first-born of the Egyptians (Exodus 12); also of the mark made by the man with a writer's ink-horn (Ezekiel 9) upon all those who were to be spared by the men with the slaughtering weapons who followed after; and we conclude that the seal of God, here placed upon his servants, is some distinguishing mark, or religious characteristic, through which they will be exempted from the judgments of God that fall on the wicked around them.
As we have found the seal of God in the fourth commandment, the inquiry follows, Does the observance of that commandment involve any peculiarity in religious practice? - Yes, a very marked and striking one. It is one of the most singular facts to be met with in religious history that, in an age of such boasted gospel light as the present, when the influence of Christianity
p 466 -- is so powerful and wide-spread, one of the most striking peculiarities in practice which a person can adopt, and one of the greatest crosses he can take up, even in the most enlightened and Christian lands, is the simple observance of the law of God. For the fourth commandment requires the observance of the seventh day of each week as the Sabbath of the Lord; but almost all Christendom, through the combined influences of paganism and the papacy, have been beguiled into the keeping of the first day. A person has but to commence the observance of the day enjoined in the commandment and a mark of peculiarity is upon him at once. He is distinct alike from the professedly religious world and the unconverted world.
We conclude, then, that the angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God, is a divine messenger in charge of a work of reform to be carried on among men in reference to the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. The agents of this work on the earth are of course ministers of Christ; for to men is given the commission of instructing their fellow men in Bible truth; but as there is order in the execution of all the divine counsels, it seems not improbable that a literal angel may have the charge and oversight of this work.
We have already noticed the chronology of this work as locating it in our own time. This is further evident from the fact that, as the next event after the sealing of these servants of God, we behold them before the throne, with palms of victory in their hands. The sealing is therefore the last work to be accomplished for them prior to their redemption.
In Revelation 14 we find the same work again brought to view under the symbol of an angel flying in the midst of heaven with the most terrific warning that ever fell upon the ears of men. We shall speak of this more fully when we reach that chapter. We refer to it now, as it is the last work to be accomplished for the world before the coming of Christ, which is the next event in order in that prophecy, and hence must synchronize with the work here brought to view in Rev. 7:1-3. The angel with the seal of the living God, mentioned in chapter 7, is therefore the same as the third angel of chapter 14.
p 467 -- And this view strengthens the foregoing exposition of the seal. For while, as the result of the work in chapter 7, a certain company are sealed with the seal of the living God, as the result of the third message of chapter 14 a company are brought out rendering Scriptural obedience to all the "commandments of God." Verse 12. It is the fourth commandment of the Decalogue and that alone which the Christian world is openly violating and teaching men to violate; and that this is the representative question in this message is evident from the fact that the keeping of the commandments, observing, with all the other moral precepts, the Lord's Sabbath, is what distinguishes the servants of God from those who worship the beast and receive his mark, which is, as will be hereafter shown, the observance of a counterfeit sabbath.
Having thus briefly noticed the main points of the subject, we now come to the most striking feature of all. In exact accordance with the foregoing chronological argument, we find this work already in process of fulfilment before our eyes. The third angel's message is going forth; the angel ascending from the east is on his mission; the reform on the Sabbath question has commenced; it is surely, though yet in comparative silence, working its way through the land; it is destined to agitate every country entitled to the light of the gospel; and it will result in bringing out a people prepared for the soon coming of the Saviour, and sealed for his everlasting kingdom.
With one more question we leave these verses, upon which we have so lengthily dwelt. Have we seen among the nations any movements which would indicate that the cry of the ascending angel, "Hurt not," etc., by the blowing of the winds, "till we have sealed the servants of our God," has in any manner been answered? The time during which the winds are held could not, from the nature of the case, be a time of profound peace. This would not answer to the prophecy. For in order to make it manifest that the winds are being held, there must be disturbance, agitation, anger, and jealousy among the nations, with an occasional outburst of strife, like a fitful gust breaking away from the imprisoned and struggling tempest; and these outbursts must be suddenly and
p 468 -- unexpectedly checked. Then, but not otherwise, would it be evident to him who looked at events in the light of prophecy, that for some good purpose the restraining hand of Omnipotence was laid upon the surging elements of strife and war. And such has been the aspect of our times for nearly half a century. Commencing with the great revolution of 1848, when so many European thrones pled into the dust, what a state of anger and political unrest has existed among all the nations of the earth! New and unlooked-for complications have suddenly sprung up, throwing matters into apparently inextricable confusion, and threatening immediate and direful war. And now and then the conflict has burst forth in fury, and a thousand voices have been raised to predict that the great crisis had come, that universal war must result, and the termination no man could foretell, when suddenly and unaccountably it has been extinguished, and all subsided into quiet again.
In our own land the terrible civil war of 1861 to 1865 is a notable instance. By the spring of the latter year, so great had become the pressure upon the nation for men and means to continue the war that it began seriously to impede the progress of the work symbolized by the ascending angel, even threatening to arrest it entirely. Those interested in these truths, believing that the time had come for the application of the prophecy, and that the words of the angel, "Hurt not," etc., indicated a movement on the part of the church, accordingly raised their petitions to the Ruler of nations to restrain the cruel work of tumult and war. Days of fasting and prayer were set apart for this purpose. The time at which this occurred was a dark and gloomy period of the war; and not a few high in political life predicted its indefinite continuance, and an appalling intensity of all its evils. But suddenly a change came; and not three months had elapsed from the time of which we speak, ere the last army of the Southern Confederacy had surrendered, and all its soldiers had laid down their arms. So sudden and entire was the collapse, and so grateful were all hearts for relief from the pressure of the terrible strife, that the nation broke forth into a song of jubilee,
p 469 -- and these words were conspicuously displayed at the national capital: "This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes." There are those who believe there was a definite cause for this sudden cessation of the strife, of which, of course, the world is but little aware. The sudden conclusion of the Franco-German war of 1870, of the war between Turkey and Russia in 1877-78, the Spanish-American war in 1896, and the recent war between Russia and Japan, may be cited as still later examples.'
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Clearly, living in the year 2020, we've a lot more history than Uriah Smith had. Our God is LONGSUFFERING, make no mistake. While our God is longsuffering He will not be mocked, and He will not be denied the ultimate ending. When the cup is filled, when all who will be His are His, then it will be over. Sealed… God's people will be sealed as His. May WE be sealed at His, keeping all His truth, now and always!
More soon. All by the will of our LORD by HIS MERCY and GRACE, HIS LOVE!
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