Between the sixth seal and the seventh seal, a parenthetical scene appears, and we see God sealing those preachers who will deliver the remaining people on earth during the first half of the Great Tribulation.
Four angels holding back the wind (Rev. 7:1)
"After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, or the sea, or on any tree" (Rev. 7:1, NKJV).
After the first six seals are opened, four angels will stand at the earth's four corners to prevent any wind from blowing. This does not mean the earth will become square. It simply a symbolic expression meaning the angels will be standing at the four points of the compass: north, south, east, and west. They will control the winds of the earth. The wind signifies war, and God commanded that angels in charge of the war to suspend it until all the preachers of the gospel be sealed on their foreheads (Rev. 7:2, 3).
The sealing mentioned here is not the same as the sealing of the Holy Spirit. Our being drawn today to faith in Jesus and to salvation is done by the invisible sealing of the Holy Spirit upon our souls. In that day, however, God's sealing on the forheads of His servants will be visible to everyone. Later Satan will also seal those who follow the Antichrist with the number 666 on their foreheads or hands.
The sealing of the preachers of the gospel (Rev. 7:2 - 8)
The angel from the east
"Then 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 granted to harm the earth and the sea, ..." (Rev. 7:2).
We are not told who this angel from the east is, but we are told that he will have authority over the other four angels. The four angels will have the power to harm the earth and sea, but just before they unleash their great power, the angel from the east will intercede with a loud voice and stop them from harming the earth, the sea, or the trees until they have sealed the servants (preachers) of the gospel (Rev. 7:3).
Those who are sealed are all Jews
Those sealed are the preachers of the gospel who will deliver the remnants of God during the first half of the Great Tribulation. Furthermore, Rev 7:4 - 8 tell us they are all Jews - 144,000 out of every tribe of the sons of Israel.
Why are the tribe of Dan omitted and the tribe o Manasseh included instead? There is a definite reason for that:
1 Kings 12:25 - 30 describes how idolatry was committed in the northern kingdom of Israel. Jeroboam, its first king, made two golden calves and set one in Dan and the other in Bethel, the hill country of Ephraim. Both the tribes of Dan and Ephraim worshipped the calves. God had said earlier that He would blot out the names of those who serve other gods from under the heaven (read Deut. 29:18 - 20). Therefore, the name of Dan was omitted from the list of the twelve tribes of Israel and replaced by the tribe of Manasseh, who was the firstborn of Joseph.
Today there are many heretics who deceive people using the number 144,000. Jehovah's Witnesses maintain that only 144,000 people, who are their members, will go to heaven. However, Rev. 7:4 - 8 clearly state that 144,000 will come from the twelve thribes of Israel, which exclude all Gentiles.
The purpose of the 144,000 Jewish preachers
The 144,000 are the Jewish preachers who will gleam the remaining souls in the first half of the Great Tribulation. Why does God choose them for that purpose?
Those who preached the gospel first were Jews. Those who recorded the Bible were also Jews. And it is only right that our Lord would again use His chosen people as those who would complete His kingdom.
These 144,000 Jews are like the 7,000 people God preserved during the time of Elijah (1 Kings 19:18); they did not bow their knees to Baal but kept their faith in God to the very end. The end-time Jews will have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and entered into salvation. God will seal them for His use as preachers of the gospel, and they will preach it everywhere during the first half of the Great Tribulation.
A great multitude of people who will be saved (Rev. 7:9 - 14)
The 144,000 Jewish preachers will present the gospel so diligently, even sacrificing their lives, that the people who are saved out of all nations and the people cannot be numbered. As John saw them, they are "standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands" (Rev. 7:9).
One of the elders told John, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Rev. 7:14).
This great multitude before the throne of God will come out of the Great Tribulation. They will be saved people. Their white robes are proof that they are washed clean by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, and the palm branches they hold are tokens that they overcame the Antichrist and the Great Tribulation. However, the martyrs, as we saw in Revelation 6, were lying flat under the altar. Therefore this great multitude of people standing around the throne did not pass through martyrdom.
The important point for us is that those who rely on the precious blood of Jesus will be saved even in the midst of the Great Tribulation. We must witness diligently for Christ. Even if people do not believe now, they may believe and go to heaven when they are exhorted by the 144,000 preachers.
I notice that when most prophetic Bible teachers talk about the "Great Tribulation," they are talking about the last three and one-half years of the seven-year period. But in Rev.7:14, the term refers to all those who have come out of the entire seven-year Great Tribulation.
What is implied by the great multitude who are saved (Rev. 7:15 - 17)
"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 dwell among them" (Rev. 7:15).
This is a very special promise. On earth, during the Great Tribulation, the saved will not be safe anywhere. They will either starve, die of disease, or be murdered. There will be no way to escape the clutches of the Antichrist. Suddenly, they will find themselves in the throne room of God, face-to-face with Jesus, surrounded by angels, clothed in white robes, and protected by God.
They will not sit on the throne. They will stand before the throne and give praise to God, waving the palm branches in their hands. They do not wear crowns, nor do they receive rewards, because they did not believe early according to faith. The saints (like all of us) who were already saved before the Great Tribulation, however, receive golden crowns as their rewards.
When God dwells among the saints of the Tribulation, they shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat (read Rev. 7:16). Because those people went through so much hunger and thirst, God will not make them suffer any longer. From this we can imagine how much pain they suffer from the Antichrist: "... for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes" (Rev. 7:17).
The Seventh Seal
"When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets" (Rev. 8:1, 2).
When this seal is brokem, the scroll will be completely open. Nothing will remain to restrain the carrying out of the remaining judgments. Before they can begin, though, there will be silence in heaven for about a half hour.
The flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder coming from the throne of God will cease. The four living creatures will cease their talk about the holiness of God. The twenty-four elders will suspend their declarations about the worthiness of the Lamb. The heavenly hosts will stop their singing, and the Tribulation saints will cease their praise. An eerie, foreboding silence will move across heaven. Everyone will wait in anticipation of what is to come next. Will people be given time to repent? Will God destroy the earth? Something will be on the horizon - something of tremendous importance!
Even while God executes judgment, He still wants human beings to repent and be gleaned into the salvation of eternal life, freed from the snare of the Devil. That is why God waits silently for half an hour. It is a chance for people to throw themselves on His mercy and avoid the approaching judgment that will begin with the opening of the seven seal.
Out of all the angels in heaven, only seven particular angels constantly stand in the presence of God. They are most commonly known as archangels, but some call them the angels of the Presence. Anyway, each of them was given a trumpet.
The eighth angel - one having a golden censer
"Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne" (Rev. 8:3, emphasis added).
After the silence of half an hour, the seven angels stand, with each one holding a trumpet. One angel comes with a golden censer full of incense and offers the incense on the altar of God.
In Old Testament times Solomon's temple contained the holy place and, behind a curtain, the holy of holies. entrance to the holy place was restricted to the high priest alone, and even he could enter the holy of holies only once a year, and that not without blood. The holy of holies is where God dwells.
John saw there an angel who was about to offer incense. Who is this angel? Since angels do not have the priesthood, none of them can become the high priest. The priesthood was reserved for Aaron and his descendants. There is another person, however, who has become a priest in the order of Melchizedek. He is Jesus Christ, our high priest (read Heb. 7:20 - 22). Therefore I believe it is Jesus who offers the incense from the golden censer on the altar of God.
The incense Jesus received was offered with the prayers of the saints (Rev. 8:3, 4). As our hign priest, Jesus still carries out the work of receiving prayers of the saints and offering them on the altar of God. As the hight priest who offers sacrifice for us, He also never stops praying for us.
You may be wondering what is meant by the prayers of all the saints, if the saints are already in heaven. One thing you must know for sure is that saints pray not only when they are on earth, but also when they are in heaven. The Bible clearly calls us "a royal priesthood" (1 Peter 2:9). And since part of the job of priests is to intercede for others, we will pray all the more while we are in heaven. Threrfore the saints in heaven are praying for the salvation of more souls on the earth, and the remaining souls on earth pray that they may be gleaned into salvation. To those prayers is added the intercessory prayer of Jesus, and thus the golden censer becomes full of the incense of prayers.
Prayers of the saints consumed (answered)
"Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake. So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound" (Rev. 8:5, 6).
The next scene shows that the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar and hurled it onto the earth, followed by peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake. That means Jesus receives our prayers, offers them to God and, as the high priest who prays for us, receives an answer from the Father and brings it to the world.
Once the burning censer has hit the earth, the seven angels (or more correctly, archangels) will prepare to sound their trumpets. The prayers of the saints will be heard, and the whole world will be ripe for judgment. God's wrath will be kindled to unleash the next set of judgments, and the seven angels will prepare to sound the alarm.
From this point God will avenge the martyred saints. Therefore we must not stop praying, for our prayers surely turn into incense as they ascend before His throne and His answers come down and are fulfilled in our lives.
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