요한계시록 Chapter 7

Translation: ESV

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.

Key Message

Even before judgment, God pauses the judgment to protect his people.

▸This is an interlude scene inserted amid the seal judgments of chapter 6.

This is an interlude scene inserted amid the seal judgments of chapter 6. 'The four corners of the earth' signifies the whole world, and four angels hold back and stop 'the four winds.' Wind is an instrument of judgment (Ezekiel 37:9, Daniel 7:2). Judgment is imminent but momentarily paused. This pause is for God's people to receive the protective seal.

Related Verses

Then he said to me, 'Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.'
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,

Key Message

God's seal is his mark declaring that he will protect his people even amid judgment.

▸An angel carrying 'the seal of the living God' comes from the rising of the sun (the east).

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."

Key Message

God seals and distinguishes his servants before the judgment begins to protect them.

▸'Until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads' commands that God's people be sealed first before the judgment begins.

4

And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

Key Message

144,000 is a number symbolizing the complete and full totality of God's people—not one is missing.

▸'144,000' has the mathematical structure of 12×12×1,000, representing the 12 tribes of Israel × the 12 apostles × 1,000 (fullness).

5

12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed, 12,000 from the tribe of Reuben, 12,000 from the tribe of Gad,

Key Message

God's protection includes all the tribes of Israel completely and without discrimination.

▸The list of the twelve tribes begins.

6

12,000 from the tribe of Asher, 12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali, 12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,

Key Message

The list of God's people seeks completeness, and regardless of any variation, God's saving intent remains unchanged.

▸The tribal list continues.

7

12,000 from the tribe of Simeon, 12,000 from the tribe of Levi, 12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,

Key Message

Levi's inclusion is the realization of the new covenant in which all of God's people become priests in Christ.

▸The inclusion of the tribe of Levi in the list is also unusual.

8

12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000 from the tribe of Joseph, 12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.

Key Message

God's people are sealed in a complete number representing all of Israel—not one is missing.

▸The list of the twelve tribes concludes with Benjamin.

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,

Key Message

An innumerable multitude from every nation stands before God through the Lamb's redemption.

▸The second vision begins.

10

and crying out with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"

Key Message

Salvation belongs solely to God and the Lamb, and does not come from any human effort or power.

▸The praise of the great multitude is simple and intense: 'Salvation (sōtēria) belongs to our God 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,

Key Message

All beings in heaven worshiping God together with the redeemed multitude is the image of eternal worship.

▸The angels respond to the great multitude's praise and join in the worship.

12

saying, "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen."

Key Message

Giving eternal glory to God in sevenfold praise is the core of heavenly worship.

▸This is the praise of the angels.

13

Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?"

Key Message

God is one who explains what is difficult for us to understand.

▸One of the elders poses a question to John.

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.

Key Message

The great redeemed multitude are those who have passed through the great tribulation and been cleansed by the Lamb's blood.

▸The identity of the innumerable multitude is revealed: 'the ones coming out of the great tribulation.

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.

Key Message

The redeemed serve before God's throne day and night, and God himself shelters them with his presence.

▸The blessed state of the innumerable multitude is described.

16

"They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.

Key Message

Those who pass through the great tribulation have all pain and deprivation completely resolved in God's kingdom.

▸This is a quotation from Isaiah 49:10.

17

"For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

Key Message

The Lamb becomes the Shepherd, guiding to living water, and God himself wipes away every tear.

▸The Lamb simultaneously fills two roles: the Lamb and the Shepherd.