An Interlude of Worship (preaching resource for 5/11/25, Easter 4)

This post exegetes Revelation chapter seven, providing context for the RCL Gospel reading on the fourth Sunday of Eastertide (5/11/25). Insights are drawn from Grant Osborne ("Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament") and George R. Beasley-Murray ("New Bible Commentary").

"John's Vision of Heaven" by Ottheinrich (public domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Introduction

In coming to the seventh chapter of Revelation we are anticipating the opening of the last (seventh) seal. Through these seals, John is given “inside knowledge” concerning the outworking of God’s covenant with humanity (and, indeed, all the cosmos). The rest of the book of Revelation will retrace this seven-step, progressive cycle, adding more detail each time through. But just before and following the opening of the seventh seal, there is an “interlude” during which the saints of God are sealed and the saints and angels join their voices in worshipping God who is sovereign over all.

The sealing and worship of the saints 

Revelation 7:1–17

1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: 

Because the sixth seal heralded the culmination of history as we know it, we would expect the final (seventh) seal to reveal what lies beyond—the fullness of the kingdom. But first God has an important “interlude” vision for John—one of several in the book—all given to comfort the reader by emphasizing God’s sovereign control over the rather terrifying circumstances that are being revealed. In this interlude, John sees in vision “four angels … holding back the four winds of the earth.” This is an alternative symbol for the four horsemen of chapter six—the four winds (held back by the four angels) and the four horsemen represent God’s judgment on the earth-dwellers. These forces move only as and when God designates. We are reassured that when they do move, the followers of Jesus who God has “sealed” will not be destroyed, though some will be martyred (Rev. 6:9-11). 

If being martyred and sealed seems contradictory, it is not. Jesus warned us not to fear those “who kill the body but cannot kill the soul” (Mat. 10:28). Revelation gives Jesus’ followers both comfort and focus in the face of persecution. It is the heavenly, not the earthly, that matters. Believers need not fear destruction of the soul. God is with them—indeed his loving presence will never be more “real” than when they stand faithfully with him in times of persecution.

3 "Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God." 4 Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel. 5 From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben 12,000, from the tribe of Gad 12,000, 6 from the tribe of Asher 12,000, from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000, from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000, 7 from the tribe of Simeon 12,000, from the tribe of Levi 12,000, from the tribe of Issachar 12,000, 8 from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000, from the tribe of Joseph 12,000, from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000. 9 After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb."

This multitude are “sealed” as God’s “servants.” These are apparently the faithful followers of Jesus in every age (with particular emphasis on those who were martyred). Here is a flashback to the progression of history in the first six seals, leading to the climactic culmination in the opening of the seventh. Here the resurrected saints/martyrs are sealed as God’s special possession. They are God’s new Israel (thus the listing of Israel’s tribes; see also Gal. 6:16)—a group that includes people from “every nation, tribe, people and language” (though note that some commentators believe that the Israelite tribes refer to Jewish Christians while the multitude represents Gentile Christians. It is more likely, however, that one innumerable group is in view).  

These followers of Jesus are in heaven, “standing before the throne”—a place of great honor. They are dressed in “white robes”—symbolizing victory (see Rev. 3:4-5; 6:11). They wave palm branches—a reminder of God’s provision of Israel in the wilderness (celebrated by the Jews annually in the Feast of Tabernacles). These resurrected saints celebrate not their own achievement, but that of the true Victor—the one who sits on the throne—God and his “Lamb” Jesus:

11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying: "Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!" 13 Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes-- who are they, and where did they come from?" 14 I answered, "Sir, you know." And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

This cry of celebration from the angelic hosts echoes Psa. 3:8 (see also Rev. 19:1). Their praise gives voice to the redeemed multitude. In this praise, all the promise and glory of the Bible and of this book in particular come into focus in one great, climactic moment of celebration. God’s plan is now fully realized and the eternal glory of his people is about to begin. 

One of the angels (an “elder”) asks and answers an obvious question: Who are these people? How did they get before God’s throne? The answer has two parts. First, they have come out of “the great tribulation.” This is likely a reference not to a single and final period of persecution, but to the broad sweep of Christian history which has had many periods of intense persecution. Secondly, these martyrs have come to heaven through the victory of the Lamb of God in whose blood the garments of the martyrs have been washed. Jesus’ blood is an atoning sacrifice (Rom. 3:25) and a ransom payment (Eph 1:7). His blood cleanses (Heb. 9:23) and purifies (1 John 1:7). Therefore, through faithfulness in the face of terrible tribulation, and through the blood of Jesus the Victor, these redeemed saints have been given robes of both victory and purity. The image here is of salvation as ultimate victory  made possible by Jesus himself—a victory that we participate in through faith—and that faith, like Jesus’ blood, is God’s good gift to his children who will receive it.

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 spread his tent over them. 16 Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. 17 For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

The elder has turned from prose to poetry—these three verses read like a hymn. It recounts the rewards given in eternity to the faithful followers of Jesus. The highly symbolic language is similar to Revelation chapter 21. The point is that these martyrs, because they are washed in the blood of Jesus, are worthy to stand in God’s presence and there to serve him forever. A similar idea is presented in Ephesians 1:20 where Paul says that we are raised up with Christ and seated with him in the heavenly realms where we share all that he has, including his exaltation to God’s throne as the great Victor. And now in God’s presence, these faithful ones serve (worship) God day and night, participants in the priesthood of Jesus at the throne of the universe where God spreads his “tent” (tabernacle) over them. 

Here is a reference to God’s presence in guiding and protecting his people. In Jesus, God has “tabernacled” with humanity (John 1:14). And now in glory, this dwelling of God with his people is brought to fullness. The resurrected saints will spend eternity with God. This knowledge is of great comfort to those facing persecution and even martyrdom. They need not fear what men can do. The Lamb is their shepherd—he will never leave or forsake them, and in heaven he will remove all their earthly pain and sorrow (see Isaiah 25:8).

Silence in heaven 

Revelation 8:1–5

1 When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 

With the removal of the seventh seal, the scroll (Rev. 5:1-8a) is now fully open, and the events that inaugurate eternity are ready to begin. But first there is hushed silence. Perhaps it is given to make room for the prayers of the saints to be heard (verse 3). It certainly creates an air of expectancy—all in heaven are in breathless anticipation as they await God’s final actions in bringing history to a close, and the earth-dwellers (sinners) are silent in the face of imminent judgment. 

2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. 3 Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. 4 The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel's hand. 5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.

The angels are involved in the heavenly worship which includes the prayers of the saints. All heaven is involved in the prayer to God given us by Jesus, “Your kingdom come.” The angelic host and the saints both on earth and in heaven join in the “hallelujah choruses” (see Rev. 19:1-8) praising God and longing for the fullness of his kingdom to arrive. The thought of God’s final victory over the forces of evil produce both anticipation and prayer. Here is seen a combination of judgment and joy. This is because God is seen as brining both love and justice. These issues are not to be seen as separate—they are interdependent aspects of God’s being, revealed to us fully in the person of Jesus who is both Savior and Judge. And now God’s saints are reassured that God hears their prayers and will act on their behalf, in his time.

Conclusion

And now the scene is set. Seven angels have been given seven trumpets. God is about to move decisively and with great power. We find this account in Revelation chapter eight.