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Rev 7:1-3 – Part 1, Sealing The 144,000

Updated May 17, 2024

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.
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.

Introduction

As always, we must keep ourselves focused on how these words “proceeding from the mouth of God,” can be “lived by” (Mat 4:4), and “kept” by “he that reads and hears the things… written therein” (Rev 1:3). It will help us to do this if we remember what the goal is of those who are given to read, hear, and keep the sayings of this book. That goal is to “have a part in the first resurrection” and preclude having any part in the second death:

Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

This “first resurrection” is the “work of God” about which the multitude inquired. This multitude is the five thousand who had just been miraculously fed by Christ. They wanted to know what was expected of them to “endure unto everlasting life.”

Joh 6:26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.
Joh 6:27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
Joh 6:28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

The multitudes did not realize it, but what they were asking was, “How do we keep the sayings of the prophecy of this book?” Christ’s answer reveals that our works are not our works at all, and our faith is not our faith at all:

Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

‘Believing on Him whom He hath sent’ means that if Christ makes a statement, then we must believe what He says and do what He says to do. For example, if He says:

Rev 2:11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

Then “the work of God” is for us to believe on Him whom He has sent”, and not say the exact opposite, and attempt of twist and distort the doctrine of ‘living by ever word that proceeds out of the mouth of God’ into meaning the exact opposite of those very words, and teach that even “he that overcometh” must also “be hurt of the second death” because the words ‘second death’ have proceeded out of the mouth of God. What utter heresy! Such a doctrine removes all incentive to overcome in this present time because there is no way to avoid being ‘hurt of the second death.’

There are two separate and distinct groups in this seventh chapter. The first group is numbered as being 144,000. The second group comes after the first group, and we are told that it consists of “a great multitude, which no man could number.” The first group is the first to die to their carnal-minded, rebellious old man in “this present time” (Rom 8:18). The second group consists of all the rest of mankind who are not part of the 144,000. The 144,000 who rule are raised up in “the resurrection of life” which occurs just prior to the beginning of the one-thousand year reign of Christ and His 144,000 “firstfruits unto God and the Lamb.” The second group “which no man could number” is the latter harvest whose judgment did not begin at the house of God… in this present time” (Rom 8:18). This “great multitude which no man could number” is the latter fruit of the redemptive work of Christ’s sacrifice. They are the second group who must die to the kingdom of their own carnal-minded rebellious old man. Hence the phrase “the second death… [which] is the lake of fire/white throne judgment, which immediately follows the short season of rebellion by the nations in the four quarters of the earth… when the thousand years are expired.”

Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

It is only after the destruction of all flesh in all “the nations in the four quarters of the earth” that we are told that all of mankind, “a great multitude which no man could number”, stand before a “great white throne” in what Christ calls “the resurrection of damnation” (Joh 5:28-29), which should read ‘the resurrection of judgment.’ “The resurrection of judgment” is the judgment of those who “obey not the gospel of Christ… in this present time.” It is at this judgment, the great white throne judgment, that “them that obey not the gospel of Christ” will appear, in answer to Peter’s rhetorical question in 1 Peter 4:17, below.

Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged [“the resurrection of judgment” (Joh 5:28-29)] every man according to their works.
Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This [“resurrection of judgment” (Joh 5:29-29)] is the second death.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? [The answer is they will appear at the great white throne judgment of Revelation 20:11-15]
1Pe 4:18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? [Rev 20:11-15]
1Pe 4:19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

It is most instructive that this seventh chapter reveals the salvation of all mankind before the judgments of the seventh trumpet and the seven last plagues are revealed to us. This is the point of doing that:

Rom 11:30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they [the “great multitude which no man could number” (Rev 7:9)] also may obtain mercy.
Rom 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

Now with this assurance of the salvation of all men, the holy spirit has prepared us to begin to understand “the work of God which He is working “after the counsel of His own will” (Eph 1:11).To begin to understand the way the Lord will accomplish this goal of a the salvation of His firstfruits, and the salvation of all men we must first learn the Biblical meaning of the words ‘four’, ‘angels,’ ‘winds’ and ‘earth.’

We will demonstrate with the scriptures themselves that the number four signifies the whole of whatever is under consideration. We will show that ‘angels’ are messengers with a message or doctrine, that ‘winds’ and angels both effect the work of God with all of mankind, and we will again demonstrate that the ‘earth’ signifies the many called who are in rebellion against the doctrines of their own Creator.

What does the number four signify in scripture?

Here we will review our earlier study on this number. Once we know the scriptural meaning behind this number, and the scriptural meaning of the words ‘angel,’ ‘winds,’ and ‘earth,’ then we will understand the meaning of “the four angels,” “the four corners of the earth,” and “the four winds of the earth.”

Here are a few of the scriptures which reveal the Biblical meaning of the number four.

Four Equals The Whole

The number four throughout God’s Word signifies the whole of whatever is under discussion.

The whole earth:

Gen 2:10  And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.
Gen 2:11  The name of the first [is] Pison: that [is] it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where [there is] gold;
Gen 2:12  And the gold of that land is good: there [is] bdellium and the onyx stone.
Gen 2:13  And the name of the second river [is] Gihon: the same [is] it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.
Gen 2:14  And the name of the third river [is] Hiddekel: that [is] it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river [is] Euphrates.

Waters in scripture symbolize God’s nourishing Word. It is symbolized here as the nourishment for the whole land of Havilah and the whole land of Ethiopia. While the words ‘the whole’ are not used along with the rivers Hiddekel and Euphrates, nevertheless “the sum of God’s Word” (Psa 119:160) will demonstrate that this number always carries with it the significance of ‘the whole’ of whatever is under consideration.

Here is the link to our studies on the spiritual significance of the number four:

The Number Four

The whole tribulation of God’s elect:

Gen 15:13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

Four hundred years symbolizes the whole period of tribulation endured by God’s elect at the hands of the world. Egypt was a very religious society. As such it symbolized Israel being carried away into Babylon long before Israel was carried away as slaves into Babylon. Babylon is simply God’s people in captivity in the world. Four hundred years is but the ‘whole’ as opposed to the complete period of time when God’s elect are “strangers in a land that is not theirs.” Four hundred is the symbol for the whole time God’s elect spend under the dominion of the flesh:

The whole of the flesh is to be subdued by God’s elect:

2Sa 21:22 These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.

The whole of God’s elect who are the outcasts of this world.

1Sa 22:2  And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.

The whole process of apostasy:

Pro 30:15 The horseleach hath two daughters [ Protestants and Catholics], crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough:
Pro 30:16 The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough.
Pro 30:18 There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not:
Pro 30:19  The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.
Pro 30:20  Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.

The whole of God’s elect in the whole earth:

Isa 11:12  And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

‘Four’ in the New Testament

The whole body should care for the whole body:

Mar 2:3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.

Our flesh is wholly slothful.

Joh 4:35  Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.

The whole of death will be destroyed:

Joh 11:17  Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already.

Our whole covering is Christ:

Joh 19:23  Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout.

The whole time of our struggles with the flesh:

Act 7:6 And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years.

The whole of mankind will be called of God:

Act 10:11 And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: [The animals in this sheet represent the whole of mankind]

Wholeness of patience:

Act 10:30 And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,

Whole-hearted vigilance on the part of the Adversary.

Act 12:4 And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.

The whole church should witness of Christ:

Act 21:9 And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy.

The whole church is under the law:

Act 21:23 Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;

Being wholly anchored in any way:

Act 27:29  Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day.

The whole of God’s elect:

Mat 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Rev 4:6 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.

Rev 6:6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

Rev 15:7 And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth forever and ever. The whole spirit working with the whole church:

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.

The whole strength of the cross (the altar is the cross), versus the strength of the flesh:

Rev 9:13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
Rev 9:14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.
Rev 9:15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.

The whole world is deceived:

Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

The Greek word translated as ‘quarters’ here in Revelation 20:8 is G1137, ‘gonia’. It is best translated as ‘quarters’ instead of corners. It is an entirely different word than the word translated as ‘corners’ describing the “great sheet knit at four corners” full of unclean beasts which was shown to Peter in Act 10. That word is G746, ‘arche’, and has nothing in common with the word translated as ‘corners’ here is Revelation 7:1. It would be best translated as ‘quarters’ here in Revelation 7:1. ‘Arche’, G746, is most often translated as ‘beginning’ as in this verse:

Joh 1:1 In the beginning [G746: ‘arche’] was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

This word ‘arche’ generally conveys the concept of being first in power or position, but it is also translated as ‘corners’ as in the “four corners” of the sheet let down to the earth before Peter in Acts 10. That is a study for another time and place.

The earth is a sphere, and this Greek word, G1137, ‘gonia’ conveys the concept of something that is capable of being quartered as we speak of quartering an apple or any piece of fruit. These “four angels” were “standing on the four quarters of the earth”. It does not convey the corners of a flat rectangle like the sheet of Acts 10.

What do the ‘winds’ signify?

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.

We learned in the previous chapter that the shaking of a fig tree by a “mighty wind” causes it to cast its “untimely figs”:

Rev 6:12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
Rev 6:13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

The Greek word translated here as ‘wind’ is G417, ‘anemos’, and it is used to signify the work of both Christ and the adversary. Those “untimely figs” which are caused to be cast from the fig tree by a “mighty wind” signify the deadly fruits of our many false doctrines which are exposed for the lies they are when “the spirit of Truth”, Christ and the doctrines of Christ are made known to us:

Joh 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth [“A mighty wind”]; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he [Christ] dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

Jude uses this same symbol to signify the negative application of this same Greek word, G417, ‘anemos’:

Jud 1:10 But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.
Jud 1:11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.
Jud 1:12 These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds [G417: ‘anemos, “every wind of doctrine” (Eph 4:14)]; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;

Eph 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind [G417: ‘anemos’] of [false] doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

This ‘amemos’, ‘wind’ is the spirits we are commanded to try before we believe them:

1Jn 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets [with false doctrines] are gone out into the world. [Doctrines are spirits which dominate our lives]

These “four winds” will also “hurt the earth”, which ‘earth’ signifies those who are not sealed with the seal of God (vs 3).

Summarizing what we covered today:

We have learned that this seventh chapter is all about two very distinct groups. The first group is those who die to the kingdom of their old man first and are given part in the first resurrection. The second group are those who will be the second to die to the kingdom of their old man in “the second death/ lake of fire at the great white throne judgment. We saw that this chapter gives us the outcome and the product of the opening of the seven seals, and the judgments of the seven trumpets and the seven last plagues. That outcome being the salvation all “all in Adam” (1Co 15:22).

We have learned that the number four signifies the whole of what ever is under discussion. In this instance it is the whole of mankind.

We have learned that the Greek word ‘gonia’ should read ‘quarters’ rather than ‘corners.’

Finally we saw that the word ‘wind’ signifies ‘the spirit’ be that spirit for good or for evil.

We will stop here for now and wait until our next study to discover who these ‘four angels’ are and all the other signs and symbols of these first three verses of Revelation seven.