Commentaries:
<< Revelation 6:17 Revelation 7:2 >>
Revelation 7:1
God is postponing the events that He has just described. If He does not do this, the events narrated in chapter 7 would have no opportunity to take place. In this historical digression, God will create an environment—even within the Tribulation (the fifth seal), the heavenly signs (the sixth seal), and the blowing of the trumpets (the beginning of the seventh seal)—that will make possible the conversion of an innumerable multitude of people. Even though all this trouble is going on, God will provide a way and means for many people to be converted.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Revelation 10 and the Laodicean ChurchRelated Topics: Digression | Digression, Historical | Fifth Seal | Great Tribulation, The | Historical Digression | Innumerable Multitude | Seals of Revelation | Seals of Revelation , The Sixth | Seals of Revelation, the Fifth | Seals of Revelation, The Seventh | Seventh Seal | Sixth Seal | Tribulation | Trumpets | Trumpets, Blowing of
Revelation 7:1-17
Within the book of Revelation, there are inset chapters. An inset chapter is one that does not follow the time sequence established by the rest of the book. It explains in more detail events that are necessary to understand more fully what is happening in time sequence, so the insets are historical digressions that give greater clarity to the revelation.
In Revelation 6:12, we find the sixth seal is opened. But the seventh seal is not opened until Revelation 8:1—a whole chapter and a half later. But between these occurrences is a description of an event that is a necessary digression so that we will understand what is happening to a group of people during some of the events that have already been prophetically described. In the case of chapter 7, the digression is very close to being within the sequence of events, but it is still a digression, still an inset chapter.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Revelation 10 and the Laodicean ChurchRelated Topics: Digression | Inset Chapters | Seals of Revelation | Seals of Revelation , The Sixth | Seals of Revelation, The Seventh | Seventh Seal | Sixth Seal
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What Does Revelation 7:1 Mean?
In Revelation 7:1, the vision of four angels standing at the earth's four corners, holding back the four winds to prevent any wind from blowing on the earth, sea, or trees, occurs within an inset chapter. This chapter serves as a historical digression, pausing the sequence of events between the sixth and seventh seals to provide clarity on related happenings. This pause in the unfolding tribulations, including the fifth and sixth seals and the beginning of the seventh, allows God to create conditions during these times of trouble for the conversion of a vast multitude, ensuring that such transformations can occur amidst the described chaos.