Revelation 7: Who Shall Be Able To Stand? 

The last verse of Revelation 6 poses the question, "Who shall be able to stand?" (Revelation 6:17). Revelation 7 is the answer to the question.

Answer: It is the 144 000 that will be able to stand.

• In Revelation 7:1-2, the four angels hold the four winds to protect the earth, the sea, and the trees until God seals the 144,000 in their foreheads.

• Revelation 7:3–8 states that the sealing of the 144,000 occurs prior to the release of the winds. They undergo this process to prepare them for the impending great tribulation (Revelation 6:17).

• The verses from Matthew 24:21, 22, and 29 make it quite obvious that this great tribulation is a reference to the end time of suffering that will fall upon the planet.

🔹The number 12

Throughout the Bible, the number 12 has a special connection with God’s people.

- Jesus had 12 disciples.

- There were 12 tribes of Israel.

- The New Jerusalem city has 12 foundations, 12 gates, 12 thousand furlongs, and a tree with 12 kinds of fruit yielded 12 times a year. 

- In Revelation 12:1, the 24 elders and 144,000 are multiples of 12. 

🔹Key questions regarding Revelation 7

• What is the seal of God?

• Who are the 144,000?

• Is the number literal or symbolic?

• What is the relationship between the 144,000 and the great multitude?

• Are they natural Israelites who live in the Middle East?

Revelation Chapter 7 - Verse 1

“And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.”

🔹Holding the four winds of the earth

Winds in Bible prophecy represent war, violence, bloodshed, and strife (Jeremiah 25:32-33). Therefore, these angels are holding back calamities that are to come upon the entire earth.

Jeremiah 25:32-33 - “32 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.

33 And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.”

Revelation Chapter 7 - Verse 2 to 3

2 And 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 given to hurt the earth and the sea,

3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.

🔹Servants

The sealing of God's people signifies the faithful servant's obedience to Him; in other words, only those who obey God receive the seal.

Romans 6:16 - “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”

They are to be sealed by the Holy Spirit, which is “given to them that obey Him.”

Acts 5:32 - “And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.”

🔹In their foreheads

Behind the forehead is what is commonly known as the brain's frontal lobe. Science has proven that a person makes all their decisions in this part of the brain. It is not a literal mark, for all to see, that is placed on the forehead. But it is a conscious, free will choice to follow all that the Lord has said in loving obedience, not forced compliance.

Psalm 119:11 - “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”

John 17:17 - “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”

Psalm 119:142 - “Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth.”

In the Bible, the heart represents the mind. The Word of God is truth, and the law is also truth. Therefore, the Word of God is also the law.

God's Word, which sanctifies them, should reside in the hearts (minds) of Christians (John 17:17).

Therefore, the law is in the minds or foreheads of God's sealed servants.

In the Old Covenant, the law was written on stone, but in the New Covenant, the law is in the minds of true Christians.

Hebrews 8:10 - “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people”

🔹God’s name

We read that the seal of God is in the foreheads of His servants. But we also read in the other chapters that the name of God is also in the foreheads.

Revelation 14:1 - "And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads."

Revelation 22:4 - "And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads."

Both Revelations 7 and 14 talk about the 144,000. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that the seal of God is connected to God's law and name.

Therefore, since the servants of God have the law in their minds or foreheads, then God’s name is in the law.

🔹Seal

- The definition of a seal according to dictionary.com:

Noun:

1. an embossed emblem, figure, symbol, word, letter, etc., used as attestation or evidence of authenticity: (Without the seal, the certificate is useless.)

2. a stamp, medallion, ring, etc., engraved with such a device, for impressing paper, wax, lead, or the like: (The king took the seal from his finger and applied it to the document.)

3. a mark or symbol attached to a legal document and imparting a formal character to it, originally wax with an impression: (Part of his job was stamping the lawyer's seal next to each of her signatures.)

4. a mark, sign, symbol, or the like, serving as visible evidence of something.

A seal is the same as a “mark” or “sign” and infers ownership and dedication. Abraham was to circumcise his house as a “sign” or “seal” that he belonged to God (Romans 4:11; Genesis 17:9–12). 

2 Timothy 2:19 - "Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity."

The high priest was to bear the engraving “Holiness to the Lord” on his “forehead” as a sign of his dedication to God (Exodus 28:36–38).

🔹Sealing in the Old Testament

Example – Sealing of people in Ezekiel

Ezekiel 9:4-6 - "4 And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.

5 And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity:

6 Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house."

In Ezekiel 9, God sealed the righteous people before destroying the wicked, and in the Book of Revelation, we see God sealing His servants before destroying the wicked.

- In Revelation, God’s people are “sealed” to protect them against the seven last plagues or four winds that “hurt” the earth (see Revelation 7:1-3; 16:2).

- At the same time, they are not protected from the persecution of the beast (Revelation 13:15–17; 20:4).

- Likewise, the “mark” of the beast gives protection to its worshipers from the beast’s persecution. 

- Yet they are not protected from the plagues of God (Revelation 15:1; 16:1–11).

The seal is the Holy Spirit

Ephesians 1:13 - “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise”

Ephesians 4:30 - “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”

2 Corinthians 1:22 - “Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.”

How do you receive the Holy Spirit?

1. Get baptized

Acts 2:38 - "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."

2. Pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Luke 11:13 - "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?"

3. Obey God

Acts 5:32 - "And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him."

John 14:15-17 - "15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you."

Therefore, in order to receive the Holy Spirit, you need to obey God's commandments (His law).

God's law is associated with love.

Romans 13:9-10 - "9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."

The first four commandments represent your love for God, and the last six represent your love for your neighbor (Matthew 22:36–40).

🔹The sealing is also related to God’s law

• A legal document is associated with a seal.

• A law demanding obedience has the proper seal.

• God's seal is connected to His divine and righteous law.

• Since we have established that God’s name is in the law; we need to establish, where in God’s law is His Name.

Isaiah 8:16 - “Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.”

Isaiah 8:16 reveals that God will seal His law among His own. A law is not valid unless it has a seal, and thus the law of God must also have a seal. For a seal to be authentic, it must contain three elements, 1. Name, 2. Title, and 3. Territory or domain that the person rules over. These are the three elements we should look for in God's law. Only the fourth commandment of the Ten Commandments, found in Exodus 20:8–11, contains all three.

• Name - Lord thy God.

• Title - Creator (made heaven and earth).

• Territory - Heaven and earth.

The Sabbath of the Bible, revealed in the fourth commandment, is a sign of God's ownership, and He is the Lord who sanctifies the believer (Exodus 31:13, Ezekiel 20:12, 20).

Those who obey the law receive the Holy Spirit (the seal).

Therefore, we see the connection between receiving the seal of God, the law, and keeping the Sabbath, which has God's name. 

Sign and seal are synonyms, according to the thesaurus.

From Romans 4:11, we are shown that the words sign and seal are used synonymously, that is, they are interchangeable with each other. In Exodus 31:17, the Sabbath is a sign or seal reminding us that God created all things; thus, the Sabbath is a sign or seal of creation.

🔹Obedience to the whole law one of the main factors in getting the seal

Acts 5:32 and John 14:15–17 clearly say that you need to obey God in order to receive the Holy Spirit.

James 2:10-11 - "10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

11 For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law."

As previously stated in the New Convent (Hebrews 8:10), God’s law is in the heart. 

James 2:10–11 says if you break one commandment, you are guilty of breaking them all. Therefore, to receive the Holy Spirit, you must obey all ten commandments, including the Sabbath, which has God’s name.

The Sabbath is also a sign or seal to remind us that it is God who sanctifies us (Ezekiel 20:12). The word sanctify means to make one holy. 

Ezekiel 20:20 explains how the believer receives this seal. We are told to hallow the Sabbath of God, which means we are to treat the Sabbath as sacred, keeping it holy. You cannot merely believe in the Sabbath; you must keep it holy.

Therefore, the seal of God is not a literal mark; however, it is one of God’s requirements and will become a distinguishing mark of God’s people in the coming days.

Next: Revelation Chapter 7: The 144 000

Previous: Revelation Chapter 7: Chapter Reading