At the end of Revelation 7, the apostle John had been treated not merely to a great musical performance on earth but to the mixed choir of saints and angels in heaven, giving glory to God and to the Lamb. The opening of the first four seals on God’s scroll had showed the riders of woe going forth into the earth. The fifth seal sounded the souls of the martyrs crying out for justice, followed by the sixth seal and the unleashing of God’s judgment. Chapter 7 cut back and forth between heaven and earth, showing how God’s servants are sealed below and glorified above. John’s angel interpreter finally looked ahead to the ultimate bliss awaiting Christ’s people, with God sheltering them with His presence and the Lamb leading them to springs of living water.

There remained one seal to be opened, however, and Christians naturally expect it to bring Jesus’ appearing to end the age of judgment. At the start of chapter 8, the seventh seal is opened, yet instead of a glorious vision of Christ’s return, “there was silence in heaven for about half an hour” (v. 1). At the brink of the very end, the music above is stopped and every breath is held. “Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord,” commanded the prophet Zechariah, “for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling” (Zech. 2:13).

We should understand the silence of Heaven at the opening of the seventh seal in two ways. First, it reflects awe at the glory and majesty of the Sovereign Lord who comes in splendor and light. In the Old Testament, awed silence is commanded before the coming of God to judge: “Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is near” (Zeph. 1:7). In addition to expressing awe, the silent pause of the seventh seal serves the literary purpose of John in writing the Book of Revelation. If we were listening to it being read for the first time, we might think that the book was concluding with the opening of the seventh seal. Yet there is more to reveal: more contours of history and more details of God’s plan to save His people. Therefore, just when Christ is about to step out from the clouds of glory onto the earth, Revelation pauses with only the silence that attends His coming.

The opening of the seventh seal produces more than silence in heaven. Immediately, John is shown “the seven angels” who will appear in the next section, who “stand before God,” and to whom “seven trumpets were given” (v. 2). We are not told the identity of these seven angels. However, in Scripture we find two angels “who stand before God,” Gabriel (Luke 1:19) and Michael (Jude 9). Jewish aprcryphal writings supply the names of the other five as Uriel, Raphael, Raguel, Sariel, and Remiel (1 Enoch 20:2-8). Since John identifies these angels as “the seven,” it’s probably best to understand them as the seven archangels.

Before any trumpets are blown, however, another angel “came and stood at the altar with a golden censer.” This bowl or fire pan contained “much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne” (v. 3). As he made his offering, “the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel” (v. 4). Having performed this ministry, the angel “took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were pearls of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake” (v. 5).

In Luke 12:49, Jesus said, “I came to cast fire on the earth, and I wish that it were already burning!” The flaming judgments of Revelation 8:5 correspond to the opening of the seventh seal, the silence of which signifies Christ’s return and the fiery cleansing of the world to which Jesus looked forward. It is further obvious that His fire is cast down in response to the prayers revealed by the fifth seal (Rev. 6:10). In judgment of the seventh seal, Christ has responded to their pleas and avenged His martyred church.

The emphasis on prayer in this passage makes a number of important points. First and foremost, we see that prayer is the means by which God accomplishes His purpose in history. This is the point that we are to notice in verses 3-5, a point so important that the seven archangels are interrupted from blowing their trumpets. God reveals the strength of His covenant bond with His people and His attention to their prayers by first sending the angel to offer up the prayers of the saints and only then using their container to cast fiery judgments on the world. One reason that this needs to be emphasized is that Christians tend to rely on our own activity and to focus on what we can do against sin and evil, while we often neglect the far more important resource of prayer. In contrast, the biblical idea of holy warfare places prayer first and our own activity second.

As Christians in America face mounting threats to religious liberty and furious assaults on moral decency and truth, we must therefore recommit ourselves to the ministry of prayer. Worldly powers advance, and Christians have tried to meet them with worldly means: through the legislature, the media, and the courtroom. These are legitimate means, but means that the world is able to use more effectively than Christians can. These are the arenas in which the spirit of unbelief has power. Prayer is the arena in which Christians have a greater power than that of the world. While our own activity must fail without prayer, prayer alone in the hands of God is mighty to bring God’s judgment on the enemies of His kingdom.

A second vital point from this passage is that the prayers of Christians are certain to be received and answered by God. This is the point of the incense that the angel mixed with the censer of prayers to offer before God. The function of the incense was to make the prayers sweet-smelling in God’s presence. There is no doubt that something needs to be done to make our prayers acceptable to and effective with God, as were the prayers brought to God’s temple by this angel. All our prayers are defective, many are selfish or foolish, and all are corrupted in some way by the sin that makes them unacceptable in God’s presence.

What will not only get our prayers through but make them sweet-smelling in God’s presence? The answer is not found in the angel himself, since angels cannot mediate for God’s people, which is why we should never pray to them. The answer is found in the mediation of Jesus Christ, through His perfect life and sin-atoning death, and by means of His present intercession on behalf of the church (Rom. 8:34; Heb 7:25). The Bible teaches that “there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5). Jesus told His disciples, “Whatever you ask the Father in my name, he [will] give it to you” (John 15:16).

Finally, the vision of the seventh seal shows that the great prayer of the church is prayer for the kingdom of Christ to come. The prayers placed in the angel’s golden censer came from the martyrs who sought God’s judgment to avenge them (Rev. 6:10). Jesus’ teaching on prayer placed a similar priority of His kingdom (Matt. 6:9-10). Christians are encouraged in the Bible to pray for our own needs and for those of friends and neighbors. But the priority of our prayer lives should be given to the spread of the gospel, the preservation and strength of the church, the ministry of God’s Word, and the thwarting of godless and wicked powers in our world. These are the prayers that according to Revelation matter the most, the prayers that God will answer with power from heaven at the time of His choosing, and the prayers that we should be most privileged to offer in Christ’s name.

Will you commit to pray for the kingdom of Christ? Praying in His name for the cause of His gospel and for His judgment on rebellious evil, we may be heartened by the vision of the angel gathering our prayers into a golden censer, sweetened with the incense of Christ’s atoning work, and offered up before God’s throne, awaiting the day when our most fervent prayer will be answered. This is the prayer with which the entire book of Revelation – and the whole Bible – concludes. “Come, Lord Jesus!” we pray. He answers with words most precious to our hearts: “Surely I am coming soon” (Rev. 22:20).

Revelation 8:1-5 Study Questions:

What mood and feeling is created by these opening verses of chapter 8?

How does the pause of chapter 7, as we wait for the seventh seal finally to be opened in chapter 8, heighten the drama and add emphasis here?

What role do you think the trumpets will play in this vision? What is the role of the angel with the censer (vv. 3-5)?

How does the picture of the prayers of the saints being offered up before the throne at this crucial moment challenge the way we think about prayer?

Now we see what takes place as a result of the preaching ministry of the 144,000. Remember that John is in heaven, and he sees all these things from an eternal point of view. As we have already discussed, there is no chronological sequence, no time limitation, no past, and no future in the heavenly orientation. From our earthly standpoint John sees events that are taking place at the close of the seven-year week. He seems to see ahead to the end of the seven-year period, witnessing a great multitude, too great to be counted, that has come through the Great Tribulation. They are not only Jews, but come from every tribe, people, and language. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. And they have palm branches in their hands (v. 9).

When was the last time a crowd of people stood with palm branches in their hands, giving praise to Jesus as their King? Palm Sunday of course; that is the day Jesus rode on the back of a donkey, down a mountainside and into the city of Jerusalem. In this vision of John, there is a clear prophetic link between the events of Revelation 7 and the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Israel was given the opportunity to receive her King – but tragically, the leaders of Israel rejected Him. But a day will come when Jesus is welcomed by a vast, innumerable throng of both Jews and Gentiles, people from across the planet. They will welcome and worship their King with palm branches, just as the throngs that lined the streets of Jerusalem did 2000 years ago – only this time, the King will not be rejected and crucified. Moreover, this event will be intimately associated with the final restoration of Israel.

The white-robed multitude in heaven is occupied in the praise of God for their salvation (v. 10). The word ‘salvation’ in verse 10 literally means ‘rescue’. But often in the Old Testament the word seems to mean ‘the victory through which rescue is won’. So it seems to be here. The church above is centered on the sovereign grace of God and the saving work of Jesus Christ on the cross! This is what Christians should be excited about now as well, while still suffering the trials of earth. Not only does the church give praise to God for salvation, but the angelic host gathered around responds with their own adoration (vv. 11-12). How unbelievably great will be the joyful adoration of the heavenly host when all the redeemed stand before their God! If you can see yourself in this throng – and you can through faith in Jesus Christ – doesn’t the hope of glory strengthen you for the trials of your life?

As so often happens in Revelation, John’s vision becomes more animated as one of the worshiping elders turns to ask him a question to ensure that he got the point (vv. 13-14). At first, John’s vision was intended to show the suffering Christians of earth who they are as the glorified church of Christ. Now the elder wants to make clear how the church got there, highlighting the great deliverance achieved through Jesus.

The elder makes two points for John and his readers to emphasize. First, the church arrives in heaven, having come “out of the great tribulation” (v. 14). Christians on earth should realize that trials and persecutions are likely to occur and that we will be saved only by persevering in faith against all opposition. The elder’s second point directs us to the Lamb: “They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (v. 14). The saints in heaven did not save themselves. It was not by their own prowess that they conquered through tribulation. With clarity that belongs to those already in heaven, the elder ascribes the salvation of believers to the cleansing power of Christ’s blood.

John’s vision has given us a glorious perspective on the heavenly reality that corresponds to the suffering church on earth. Yet even these saints in heaven have a future. John has shown the heavenly destiny of believers and has learned of their deliverance through Christ’s blood. He now concludes the chapter, and this entire cycle of visions that began in Revelation 4, with a spectacular description of the eternal destination to which this great multitude of Christ’s people are headed. For those who have trusted in Christ the vision of our future destination is the most uplifting source of encouragement, enabling us to endure the trials and tribulations of this life with joy and hope in service to Christ. If you have not turned to Christ, the blessings awaiting His people urge you to consider the future that you will never know unless your sins are washed clean through faith in His blood.

First, John hears of the shelter that God provides with His own glorious presence (v. 15). The saints are admitted before the throne of the holy God because their sins have been washed clean and they are justified in Christ. Worshiping in God’s sanctuary, they have immediate access to the glory of His presence. They are now, as Paul put it, “filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:19). On His part, God receives the church as His own dearly beloved children. The Sovereign Creator spreads His presence over them like a tent, so that they dwell in Him forever. As a kingdom of priests, the believers fulfill the purpose for which they were made and then were redeemed in the unending adoration of a God whom they more fully know as eternity stretched on forever.

Second, John is told of the blessing that attends Christ’s people in the shelter of God’s love (v. 16). Here is the bliss of the salvation rest to which Christ’s people now journey in the wilderness of a sinful world. On earth, believers are subjected to every kind of deprivation and hardship, but the promise is held before us that our struggle will not be in vain. In the age to come, there is no hardship, trial, or loss, but only the gain of fullness and joy. David anticipated this bounty in the closing words of Psalm 23 (Ps. 23:5-6).

Psalm 23 connects with the third feature of our eternal destination: Christ’s eternal shepherding (v. 17). All through this vision, believers have stood before God on His throne and the Lamb. In eternity, just as God makes His presence a tent for us, the Lamb shepherds us to the fullest experience of eternal life, guiding us “to springs of living water.” “Come,” he summons, “everyone who thirsts, come to the waters…, that your soul may live (Isa. 55:1-3).

Revelation 7:9-17 Study Questions:

Who makes up the great multitude that John sees (v. 9), and how does this crowd seem to differ from those described in verses 4-8?

How does this passage help us understand how God is involved in our lives in the midst of great suffering or difficulty?

What is the response of the multitude to what God and the Lamb have done for them (vv. 14-15)?

What does it mean that God will “shelter” those gathered around Him “with his presence” (v. 15)?

At this point, John glimpses the further future, the vision of the New Jerusalem itself (Rev. 21). In a wonderful role reversal the Lamb will turn into a Shepherd, assuming the royal role of John 10 (the “good shepherd”) and indeed the divine role of Psalm 23. This Lamb-turned-Shepherd guides the flock of His people to springs of living water (v. 17). What does this symbolize?

When in your life have you experienced God as Lamb or God as Shepherd?

The central place of Israel in history, in current events, and in God’s plan for the future is abundantly clear: Israel occupies a central place in God’s program of human history and God will not let the world forget or ignore the Jewish people. Yet as I have studied various commentaries on the book of Revelation and on other books of the Bible, I have been struck by the fact that a surprisingly large number of Bible scholars ignore the important place God has reserved for this great and historic race of people. The same grace which God has shown to His church (to Christians like you and me, and to these Bible scholars) God is still in the process of displaying toward His people, Israel – yet so many scholars seem blithely unaware of God’s grace toward Israel. Across the span of history and throughout the pages of His Word, God has plainly stated His eternal plan for the people of Israel. Now, as we open the pages of Revelation 7, we shall see the culmination of that plan.

In Revelation 6, we saw the opening of the six seals of judgment. But as we come to Revelation 7, we come to a pause between the first six seals and the seventh and final seal. It is as though God declared an intermission after the terrible scenes of judgment in Revelation 6. In this beautiful interlude in Revelation 7, God treats us, the viewers of this astounding vision recorded by the hand of John, to a kind of a flashback. What we essentially have in Revelation 7 is a flashback that supplies a missing piece of the Revelation puzzle. We are taken back to the beginning of the judgments of the seven-year tribulation period to see the working out of God’s plan from a different vantage point. What we will see in this flashback is the selection of a special group of Jews who will be given a special mission during the last days.

The book of Revelation is an unusual blend of literal events and symbols, and there are certain symbols to be found in the opening of Revelation 7. One such symbol is the phrase “the four corners of the earth.” This phrase simply refers to the four compass directions, north, south, east, and west. In verses 1-3 four angels are depicted as holding something that is about to come upon the earth. They have been commanded to restrain the four winds, which symbolize the devastating power of natural forces. The land, the sea, and the trees also appear as symbols in these verses. The land or the earth is frequently used as a symbol for Israel throughout the Old Testament. The symbol of the sea is often used throughout Scripture to describe the Gentile nations in general and the pagan nations in particular. The symbol of the trees frequently speaks of individuals in various places in Scripture.

The four angels who hold back the winds are the first four of the seven angels which sound their trumpets in the following chapters of Revelation. If you carefully compare what takes place under the judgments of the seven angels you will see that the first four of the seven angels control events which affect the land, the sea, and the trees.

In this passage, the four angels are commanded to hold back the winds of destruction until a very important group of people has been sealed by God. The angel which seals this group is described as “coming up from the east,” or more literally “from the rising of the sun.” This is an allusion to the prophecy of Malachi, the last book in the Old Testament. There the prophet predicts that for those who revere the name of God, “the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.” This is a poetic description of the coming of Jesus Christ in glory and in power. Thus it is in relationship to the coming of Christ that this special group is marked by the angel of the rising sun with the seal of God’s ownership.

There is no mystery about what it means when this special group is “sealed” by God. Today, all believers are sealed by God in a special way. That is why Paul tells us, “Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.” The presence of the Holy Spirit in us as Christians is the unmistakable mark of God’s ownership upon our lives; as Paul declares in Romans, “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children” (Rom. 8:16). The same Holy Spirit who has sealed us as God’s children will also seal this chosen group that is described in these verses. These are thus Spirit-filled, Spirit-led people. The seal is placed upon their foreheads, which indicates that the Spirit rules over their minds, their thoughts, and their will. They are governed by the mind of Christ.

Together with the vision of the angels, John heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel. The first question about this body concerns its identity. The 144,000 sealed servants are to be taken symbolically rather than literally. The number is achieved by multiplying twelve, for Israel, by twelve, for the apostles, to signify the entirety of the redeemed church. This matches the heavenly city of chapter 21, with twelve gates for Israel’s tribes and twelve foundations for the apostles (Rev. 21:12-14), signifying the entirety of the redeemed church. This number is multiplied by a thousand probably to show the great multitude of Christ’s people. The idea of the Christians’ being numbered like Israel’s tribes may suggest that the church forms an army, carrying forth the banner of the gospel. With the winds of judgment and calamity being restrained for their passage and having being sealed by God, the church triumphantly advances to heaven.

When we think of the church in terms of Israel marching from Egypt to the Promised Land in the days of the exodus, we are reminded of the necessity of or perseverance in faith. Most of the Israelites who departed from Egypt under Moses never entered the Promised Land because of their rebellion and unbelief. Hebrews 4:2 warns that many who attend church today are like the outward members of Israel who never entered salvation, explaining that “the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.” This warns us that mere membership or attendance at church does not grant us salvation, but only by true saving faith and the indwelling Holy Spirit. Revelation 7 assures us that true believers are sealed by God so as to persevere all the way to heaven.

The question is: “Are we true believers, and do our lives bear testimony to the presence and power of God’s Spirit?” The first application of Revelation 7, then, is for us to know the reality of the Spirit’s presence in our lives, rather than a mere outward Christianity. Have we embraced Christ in a living faith, which alone can attest to our sealing by God for salvation?

Two more applications flow from these visions. Verses 9-10 show the church above praising God for its salvation. We should notice that this scene matches that of the Feast of Tabernacles in Israel, which celebrated both the successful completion of the exodus and the ingathering of the annual harvest. We see this especially in the waving of palm branches, which was one of the chief features of this festival, praising God for the ingathered harvest. How appropriate this worship will be in heaven, when the entire harvest of Christ’s people will have been gathered in. John’s vision continues in verses 11-12 with the angels of heaven worshiping God because of what they have learned through our salvation. Knowing this, we should endeavor to live now in such a way that watching angels will marvel at the power of God’s grace in our lives so as to praise our Savior forever.

Finally, we are reminded of the gospel imperative that shapes the calling of every Christian. Why has judgment not yet come? Why are the angels restraining the four winds? The answer: so that the full number of God’s elect people may come in. Our present history exists for the saving of the great multitude that will worship above. Like the twelve tribes in marching order, the church is sent through history on a gospel mission, to take the good news of Jesus Christ throughout the world so that countless millions will be saved. Do we have a missional mind-set and zeal that fits this picture? What role are you playing in the great harvest of the gospel for salvation? Do you pray for specific people to be saved? Do you warmly invite neighbors to church? Are you prepared to explain the gospel message of Jesus to others, and are you willing to do so? What a joyful privilege it is for us to be His servants on earth, sealed and protected by His Spirit, to carry the gospel to the lost. “The harvest is plentiful,” Jesus told His disciples, but then sadly regretted that “the laborers are few” (Matt. 9:37).

Revelation 7:1-12 Study Questions:

What are the angels at the four corners of the earth doing and why?

The idea of “harming” the earth, the sea and the trees in verse 3 is harsh. Why then, has the authority to harm God’s creation been given to these angels?

The “seals” on a scroll were the kind of sticky wax whose purpose, in the ancient world and sometimes in the modern as well, was to keep important documents secure against prying eyes. You could always tell if the seal had been broken, since it would be stamped with the mark of the one who had sealed it up.  How does the term seal take on a new, though somewhat related, significance here (vv. 2-4)?

Who makes up the 144,000 that John hears will be sealed (vv. 4-8)?

What benefit might the “seal” offer to those marked with it?