Saturday's Prayer 27SEP25

Revelation Friday Night Bible Study 26SEP25 (Revelation 7)

The Four Angels at the Four Corners

 

“After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea. Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God” (Revelation 7:1-3).

 

             

            In 590 A.D., Rome experienced a major outbreak of the bubonic plague, which affected the Eastern Roman Empire. It was preceded by the great plague of Justinian, which began in 540 A.D. These two plagues resulted in thousands of deaths, with as many as 10,000 people believed to have died daily. The plague caused rapid deaths. Living with, touching, or merely entering the room of an infected person was believed to have passed on the disease. According to historians, many people collapsed and died in the streets.[1] Pelagius II, Bishop of Rome, was one of the unfortunate victims of the bubonic plague, also known as the “plague of the groin,” which caused his untimely death. However, his successor, Pope Gregory I, who was still a deacon at the time, organized a procession to pray for protection and for the plague to end. He sought to return the people’s hearts to God through prayer. According to Pope Gregory I, he later witnessed a vision of the archangel Michael sheathing his sword after wiping blood from it atop Hadrian’s Mausoleum (castle of Crescentius), as a sign that the plague was over and an answer to prayer.[2] While this testimony is of one pope’s vision, angels have often been sent by God to administer judgment or end it.

In John’s vision, he saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of judgment and preventing them from blowing. So, we have four angels, four corners, four winds, and possibly four types of judgments. The number four in the Bible is often associated with the earth, creation, seasons, and completeness. During creation, on the fourth day, God created the sun, moon, and stars to light the day and night, to establish temporal order, and as signs for days, years, months, and seasons. In Hebrew, the word for seasons is moed, which means appointed times, as they relate to God’s holy days. As a reminder, there are four seasons, and the earth has four directions: north, south, east, and west.[3] The four angels were tasked with preventing the full measure of God’s wrath from being released upon the earth until told to do so. The Bible often speaks of four methods God used as judgment against Israel: famine, plagues, pestilence, and the sword.

There are a lot of calamities that could take place in the world if it weren’t for God holding back the winds. Even though there are things taking place worldwide, God has still shown mercy in not allowing the full judgment of His wrath to take place. He is giving everyone enough time to come to repentance and turn from their wicked ways. The Bible says: “Daniel said: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea” (Daniel 7:2). Yet, that time is coming when the four winds will be released to allow judgment upon the whole earth.

            In John’s vision, the four angels were holding back the winds until all the foreheads of God’s people had been sealed. God’s people will be sealed with a special seal to separate them from those who are lost. Yes, there will be another seal from the devil for those who accept the mark of the beast, but we will visit that topic in an upcoming lesson. For now, we want to make sure that you understand there is one of two seals that a person will receive. One will be God’s seal for those who are saved, and the mark of the beast, which is for those who will accept Satan and his dominion. A child of God cannot have both. The Bible says: “Now the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. Then the Lord called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side and said to him, ‘Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it’ ” (Ezekiel 9:3-4).  

 

“Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.

From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed,

From the tribe of Reuben 12,000,

From the tribe of Gad 12,000,

From the tribe of Asher 12,000,

From the tribe of Naphtali 12,000,

From the tribe of Manasseh 12,000,

From the tribe of Simeon 12,000,

From the tribe of Levi 12,000,

From the tribe of Issachar 12,000,

From the tribe of Zebulun 12,000,

From the tribe of Joseph 12,000,

From the tribe of Benjamin 12,000” (Revelation 7:4-8.

 

 

 

            John heard the number of those who were sealed. It was 144,000 from the tribes of Israel. Jacob, son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham, had twelve sons, from whom their descendants became known as the twelve tribes of Israel. However, the name of Dan, one of Jacob’s sons, was replaced with Manasseh, Joseph’s son. The tribe of Dan had done evil in the eyes of God. Therefore, this accounts for why his name is missing from the list of the twelve tribes among the 144,000. However, some Christian sects believe the antichrist will come from the tribe of Dan. This belief is credited with some of the second-century church fathers, such as Irenaeus and Hippolytus, and ancient rabbis who claimed that the Antichrist would be a Jew from the tribe of Dan. Yet, the Bible does not definitively say this.

One important thing to understand is that the 144,000 is symbolic and not literal. So that you can be clear, let’s break this down. 12 (tribes) x 12,000 (people from each tribe) = 144,000, which represents completeness.

 

The Great Multitude

 

“After this, I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb’ ” (Revelation 7:9-10).

 

 

            After seeing the 144,000, John saw many people from all across the earth standing before God’s throne and the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and holding palm branches, shouting praises to God. This lets us know that there will be more than just 144,000 people who make it to Heaven, but there will be people from all over the world, regardless of race, color, sex, or background, who will be stamped with the seal of God and be given a white robe of righteousness to wear. The Bible says: “I put on righteousness as my clothing; justice was my robe and my turban” (Job 29:14).

        Those saints who made it were holding palms in their hands, and they praised God. This type of praise was similar to the one that took place when Jesus was on earth before He went to the cross. Many celebrate this day as Palm Sunday, which was the week before His death and resurrection. The Bible says: “They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel!” (John 12:13). What a day of celebration it will be for all who make it to Heaven. All the sufferings that the saints have gone through on earth will be worth every tear, heartbreak, and pain just to finally be able to see the face of Jesus and sing of His goodness. 

 

Praises to God

 

“All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!” (Revelation 7:11-12).

 

 

John witnessed all the angels surrounding the elders and the four living creatures falling to their faces and worshipping God before His throne, while singing praises to Him. God is worthy of our praise. He sent His son, Jesus, to die for our sins. He is forever wonderful and faithful. Jesus bore the weight of the world upon His shoulders so that we may have eternal life. No one deserves more honor and praise than our Lord. Just as God was worshiped in John’s vision, we should have a daily worship in our hearts, minds, and souls for the Lord. The Bible says: “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:6-11).

 

Those Who Endured

 

 “Then one of the elders asked me, ‘These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?’ I answered, ‘Sir, you know.’ And he said, ‘These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’ ” (Revelation 7:13-17).

 

 

            John was asked by one of the elders about the people who wore white robes. It wasn’t that the elder did not know the answer, for the elder explained to John who they were and what they symbolized. The elder seemed to be making it definitively clear for John’s personal understanding. The people in white robes had gone through the great tribulation and became victorious through the blood of the Lamb. The Bible says: “For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again” (Matthew 24:21).

 

The saints, who made it, served God continuously with honor. As a result, they never had to hunger, thirst, or go through the hardships of life ever again. For the Lamb was their shepherd who would give them living water, so they would never thirst again, and all tears would be wiped from their eyes. The Bible says: “On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.

Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them’ ” (John 7:37-38). How wonderful it will be to go to Heaven and say goodbye to the heartaches of this world. There will be no more pain, sorrow, hate, evil, and death. God will wipe away all tears, and forever we will be with the Lord. The Bible says: “For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5).

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[1] Pandora Dewan, "Plagues in Roman Italy Linked to Climate Change, Scientis..," Newsweek, last modified January 26, 2024, https://www.newsweek.com/plague-roman-empire-italy-climate-change-1864371.

[2] Philip Kosloski, "During an Extreme Plague Pope Gregory Had This Consoling Vision of St. Michael the Archangel --Aleteia," Aleteia — Catholic Spirituality, Lifestyle, World News, and Culture, last modified May 7, 2019, https://aleteia.org/2019/05/07/during-a-deadly-plague-pope-gregory-had-this-consoling-vision-of-st-michael-the-archangel/.

[3] BibleStudy.org Editorial Staff, "Meaning of Numbers in the Bible: The Number 4," BibleStudy.org, last modified 2025, https://www.biblestudy.org/bibleref/meaning-of-numbers-in-bible/4.html.