The Christians in the first century lived in a society that was much further along in their anti-Christian policies than we are today. What is encouraging is that Christianity grew and thrived and eventually overwhelmed the anti-Christian Roman paganism around them, simply by living the Christian life as Christ intended and by being faithful to that testimony. That’s the message of Revelation for us today.
GOD’S PEOPLE ARE PROTECTED FROM GOD’S WRATH – 7:1-8:
These four winds are the wrath of God and God causes these angels to hold back the wind so it doesn’t blow God’s wrath, to give the angel time to seal the “bond-servants of our God” on their foreheads. This “seal” on the forehead is a metaphor (emoji) from the book of Ezekiel (9:4-6) where God told Ezekiel to do the same thing so that when Babylon invaded Judah, the faithful would know that God knew those who were His and He would protect them. God doesn’t necessarily protect us from the wrath of “Babylon” or “Rome” or the “United States of America” but He will protect us from His wrath as we will see later in this chapter. Notice even this angel is sealed by the living God; this angel belongs to God and he serves at God’s discretion.
Christianity grew out of the religion of Israel as a plant grows out of the seed. It is connected, but different. The church of Christ is the true Israel of God, Paul says in Galatians 6:16; Philippians 3:3 (the “true circumcision”). The point of this paragraph, however, is to show that God protects those who are His, who are sealed. The evil in the world might take our lives, but God will protect our spirits, our souls.
WE ARE SEALED BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST – 7:9-17:
Christians stand before the Lamb, clothed in white robes – symbolizing their purity and holiness in the eyes of God. That’s why Christians can stand before God. The palm branches in their hands are an imagery from the Feast of Tabernacles which celebrated God’s deliverance and protection of Israel during the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. Of course, the Jews took palm branches and laid them on the ground as Jesus entered into Jerusalem. He entered as the King, but a King who was humble, riding on the foal of a donkey. Humble faithfulness to God is what God requires, regardless of what our society does.
These individuals are those who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. In other words, Christians. We pointed out last week from our study of the “First Passover” that the blood of Christ washes our sins away when we are baptized into Christ: Acts 22:16; Ephesians 5:26-27; Hebrews 10:22.
There is also the imagery here of God spreading His “tabernacle” or “tent” over Christians. This denotes protection. While it is true that we will have spiritual bodies in heaven and therefore will not need to eat or drink, the idea in verse 16 is more the fact that all our needs are provided. We will not need to eat or drink; we will not be hungry or thirsty any more. The sun will not “beat down” on us nor will heat because we are protected by God’s tent overshadowing us.
The Lamb is in the center of the throne; He is our shepherd. He will guide us to “springs of the water of life.” Again, all our needs will be provided. And, there will be no pain or sorrow in heaven. God will wipe every tear from our eyes.
We have had a relatively long and pro-Christian / peaceful period in the history of America. But that is an anomaly relative to the broader history of mankind. Jesus promised that His children should expect persecution. That’s why Jesus warns us to not be ashamed of Him or His words. We still must teach and defend Christ’s gospel; that’s “rich reality” #2.
But chapter 7 helps us see that the suffering we endure in this life does not compare to the glory God will give to us if we can stay faithful to the end.
God knows those who are His. Find strength in this fact.
Paul Holland