1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, 3 saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”
In the blog post Be Certain of the Rapture Jesus uses the phrase "the four winds" in the context of the diaspora right before the siege in 70 AD. Here the four winds are stopped for a time. No harm shall come to the earth, sea or tree until the servants of God are sealed. After this sealing, then the winds would blow.
The seal here is Strong's 4972, the same as the seven seals in chapter 6, the seal of the seven thunders in 10:4, the sealed dragon in 20:3 and the command from the angel in 22:10 not to seal the words of the book. This is different from the mark, Strongs 5480, which is used by the beast to identify those who follow the beast. We also need to define the forehead and hand. The tribes here had their foreheads sealed, then when they were unsealed in chapter 14, they had the name of God and Jesus on their forehead. The language here is similar to that in Ezekiel 9 where God marked the men who sighed and groaned over the abominations that were committed in Jerusalem. Those who mourned over sin were marked by God and spared his wrath. This will be covered more in chapter 13 when the mark of the beast is addressed, and in 14 when the tribes are unsealed and the name is on their forehead.
More evidence about the tribes being sealed for a time and not marked is shown in chapter 14, where is says they are virgins. A woman is an ideology or religion. Wisdom is a woman in Proverbs, as well as Wickedness in Zechariah 5:8. The woman in chapter 12 is the persecuted church, the harlot in chapter 17 is the catholic church, and the virgins in Matthew 25 are the newly formed churches after the reformation. We have the tribes here shown as virgins in chapter 14, with God and Jesus on their forehead and this is fulfilled in the Philadelphia church age. This is something new, they have not been defiled with women, meaning the New Jerusalem will not look like the churches we have today. They are the promised tribes of Israel that come back to the land, the door that is open that no man may shut. They will know the ways of God and of Jesus, and have the insight of the New Jerusalem as shown in Revelation 3:13. The seal is the gap in time prophesied in chapter 11, the 1260 years when the outer courts are trodden by the gentiles. This is fulfilled in years, 1260 years between the take-over of the Muslims to the First Aliyah where the tribes started migrating back to the promised land, and the Hebrew language was restored. It's also the gap in time in chapter 10 when the thunders were told to seal up the fulfillment of their words to the time of the 7th trumpet.
In Revelation 9:4 we see the earth and sea, and the trees and grass see their judgement, and this is during the fall of the Byzantine empire.
4 And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel: 5 12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed, 12,000 from the tribe of Reuben, 12,000 from the tribe of Gad, 6 12,000 from the tribe of Asher, 12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali, 12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh, 7 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon, 12,000 from the tribe of Levi, 12,000 from the tribe of Issachar, 8 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000 from the tribe of Joseph, 12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed
"The number is a prophetic number, 12 x 10 x 10 x 10. There isn't a limit on the number of those that are kept in God's promise. Nearly every prophet and several psalms carry this promise of redemption for God's inheritance. Here is the promise in Isaiah 65:
17 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. 19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress. 20No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the young man shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed. 21 They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the Lord, and their descendants with them. 24 Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,” and in Galatians 3:29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise."
9 after this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
Here is a beautiful commentary by Matthew Henry from biblehub: The first fruits of Christ having led the way, the Gentiles converted later follow, and ascribe their salvation to God and the Redeemer, with triumph. In acts of religious worship we come nigh to God, and must come by Christ; the throne of God could not be approached by sinners, were it not for a Mediator. They were clothed with the robes of justification, holiness, and victory; and they had palms in their hands, as conquerors used to appear in their triumphs. Such a glorious appearance will the faithful servants of God make at last, when they have fought the good fight of faith, and finished their course. With a loud voice they gave to God and the Lamb the praise of the great salvation. Those who enjoy eternal happiness must and will bless both the Father and the Son; they will do it publicly, and with fervour. We see what is the work of heaven, and we ought to begin it now, to have our hearts much in it, and to long for that world where our praises, as well as our happiness, will be made perfect.
13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 “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. 16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.
Another quote from Matthew Henry: They have had sorrows, and shed many tears on account of sin and affliction; but God himself, with his own gracious hand, will wipe those tears away. He deals with them as a tender father. This should support the Christian under all his troubles. As all the redeemed owe their happiness wholly to sovereign mercy; so the work and worship of God their Saviour is their element; his presence and favour complete their happiness, nor can they conceive of any other joy. To Him may all his people come; from him they receive every needed grace; and to him let them offer all praise and glory.
The sun is the roman emperors who struck down the testimony of Jesus by destroying the precious books and scrolls, and sent out hot wind means they sent out laws and edicts that allowed for persecution of both the word and the body. The Decian and Diocletianic Persecutions were touched on in previous chapters, but every Christian should spend time reading what our fellow believers endured for the sake of the testimony of Jesus. From Wikipedia "List of Book Burning Incidents": ... on February 23, 303, Diocletian ordered that the newly built Christian church at Nicomedia be razed, its scriptures burned, and its treasures seized. Later persecutions included the burning of both the Christians themselves and of their books. As related in later Christian Hagiography, at that time the governor of Valencia offered the deacon who would become known as Saint Vincent of Saragossa to have his life spared in exchange for his consigning Scripture to the fire. Vincent refused and let himself be executed instead. In religious paintings he is often depicted holding the book whose preservation he preferred to his own life (see illustration in Saint Vincent of Saragossa page). Conversely, many other Christians, less courageous, did save their lives by giving away their Scriptures to be burned. These Christians came to be known as Traditores (literally, "those who give away").
Chapter 7 (pdf)
Download