Revelation 7:2

Rev 7:2-3. And I saw another angel ascending from the east — To intimate the progress which the gospel should make from the east to the west; having in his hand the seal of the living God — In order to impress a mark upon those who should believe and obey the gospel, and dedicate themselves to his service. And he cried with a loud voice — Thus showing the great importance of what he uttered; to the four angels to whom it was given — At present to restrain the winds, but afterward to loose them with great violence, and by them to hurt the earth and the sea — To injure them in a terrible manner; saying, Hurt not the earth, &c. — Execute not your commission with respect to punishing the inhabitants of the earth; till we have sealed the servants of God — Marked them out as such, and secured them from the impending calamities in a manner by which they shall be as clearly distinguished from the rest of mankind as if they were visibly marked on their foreheads. Bishop Newton thinks that this expression, sealing on the forehead, is used in allusion to the ancient custom of marking servants on their foreheads, to distinguish what they were, and to whom they belonged: and that as, among Christians, baptism was considered as the seal of the covenant between God and believers, so the sealing here spoken of signifies the admitting them into the visible church of Christ by baptism; and that their being said to be sealed on their foreheads can imply no less than that those who before, in times of persecution, had been compelled to worship God in private, should now make a free, open, and public profession of their religion, without any fear or danger of thereby exposing themselves to persecution. To this, however, must be added, that this sealing doubtless implies that very many should not only be baptized, and make a profession of Christianity, but should also be really converted to God, made new creatures in Christ; and, having believed in him, should, as the apostle observes, (Eph 1:13,) be sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise; that is, both stamped with God’s image, and assured of their sonship by the Spirit of adoption and regeneration; and should possess that Spirit, in his witness and fruits, till they should receive the redemption of the purchased possession.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rev 7:2. Ἄλλον, another) This other angel is distinguished either from the angel who makes proclamation, ch. Rev 5:2; or from the four angels who hurt, in this passage.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rev_7:2-3. ἄλλον ἄγγελον. That an angelnot an archangel[2254]is to be thought of,[2255] not Christ,[2256] to be silent concerning the Holy Spirit,[2257] results not only from the appellation ἌΓΓΕΛΟς, but especially from the fact that this ἌΛΛΟς ἌΓΓ. is designated in the clearest way by the contrast with the angels mentioned in Rev_7:1, as of a different nature. The mode of expression also, Rev_7:3, Τ. ΔΟΥΛ. Τ. ΘΕΟῦ ἩΜῶΝ, suits most simply the mouth of an angel, not of Christ.[2258] Cf. especially Rev_8:3, Rev_10:1, Rev_14:6; Rev_14:8-9; Rev_14:17, Rev_18:1.

ἈΝΑΒΑΊΝΟΝΤΑ ἈΠῸ ἈΝΑΤΟΛῆς ἩΛΊΟΥ. John, therefore, sees how the angel comes forth,[2259] while the first four angels stand already in their places as he looks upon them; the angel now entering will take part in the act. The expression and ἉΠῸ ἈΝΑΤ. ἩΛΊΟΥ admits of no allegorical meaning; the annexed ἩΛΊΟΥ renders impossible the interpretation of the ἈΝΑΤΟΛΉ, with a vague allusion to Luk_1:78, as referring to Christ,[2260] so as to make the sense that the other angel is sent by Christ or God.[2261] The quarter of the heavens, the east, is designated; but not because of the look towards Judaea,[2262] or to Patmos, and especially the Christian lands where the light of the gospel first shone,[2263] which is here out of place; not because the Hebrews always turned first towards the east,[2264] whereby properly nothing is explained; not because the throne of God whence the angel proceeds[2265] is regarded as in the east,[2266] for that is nowhere indicated in the Apoc.; nor because, as plagues have their origin in the east, for the earth (Rev_8:7) is Asia, so also the sealing:[2267] but because it is appropriate and significant that the angel, coming for a victorious employment which brings eternal life, should arise from that side from which life and light are brought by the earthly sun.[2268] The angel himself, who does not descend from heaven, but rises from the horizon,[2269] is represented after the manner of the rising sun.

ἝΧΟΝΤΑ, cf. Rev_1:16.

ΣΦΡΑΓῖΔΑ ΘΕΟῦ ΖῶΝΤΟς. Without meaning[2270] is the metonymy accepted by Grot.: The sealed constitution of the King. The angel has a seal (in his hand) which he will press upon the foreheads of the servants of God. The gen. θεοῦ ζ. designates simply, that the seal belongs to the living God; that it has been delivered by God,[2271] is, therefore, self-evident, but not expressed. The attempt has been made to conjecture the legend of the seal. Beda, C. a Lap., Grot., Böhmer, regard it the sign of the cross; with more probability, Eichh., Ew., De Wette, Ebrard, etc., propose the name of God and of the Lamb.[2272] But since the text says nothing, nothing can be inferred.[2273] As the definite article is absent, the idea is left open that there are different seals of God for different purposes. In this passage, the mark made by the seal, upon the foreheads of the servants of God, does not mean what the χάραγμα indicates, which the worshippers of the beast receive upon the forehead or the right hand,[2274] viz., the belonging to one Lord and serving him;[2275] for they who receive the seal are already servants of God. The question is as little as to the fact of their being recognized and outwardly shown to be servants of God, or that they receive the letter and seal to their being servants of God,[2276] as that they are rendered secure from the approaching sufferings, but that, notwithstanding the approaching suffering, they are guaranteed their perseverance in the state of being servants of God; therefore the suffering does not come until the sealing of the servants of God has occurred. It is significant, with respect to this purpose of the sealing, that the seal belongs to the living God, whereby it is not said that he is the true and actual, and hence not that it is only his seal which is valid,[2277] but that he as the living also gives life.[2278] Yet the conception of the glory, for which the sealed are preserved, is that they attain to eternal life in the sight of the living God.[2279]

ἜΚΡΑΞΕΝ ΦΩΝῇ ΜΕΓΆΛῌ. The call with a strong voice is in general peculiar to heavenly beings; it does not always have a special purpose.[2280] Beng refers the loud cry of the angel to the fact that he wished to restrain the four angels who desired to make a beginning of the affliction; Hengstenb. finds therein the certainty of the command that has been given.

The most probable idea is, that the call is to penetrate to the ends of the earth where the angels stand.

ΟἸς

ΑὐΤΟῖς, as Rev_3:8.

ἘΔΌΘΗ, Κ.Τ.Λ. Concerning the aor. in the sense of a plusquampf., cf. Winer, p. 258. On the conception of ἘΔΌΘΗ, cf. Rev_6:4. The ἈΔΙΚΕῖΝ, injuring,[2281] would occur if the angels would let loose the winds which they still hold; the command ΜῊ ἈΔΙΚΉΣΑΤΕ, Κ.Τ.Λ., still hinders this.[2282] It is contrary to the context to regard the ἈΔΙΚΕῖΝ as consisting rather in holding fast the winds, because, had the winds blown, they would have cooled off,[2283] or blown away,[2284] the approaching plagues; according to Herder, the restraining of the winds is to be regarded an ἈΔΙΚΕῖΝ, as thereby the sultriness of death is occasioned before the irruption of the plagues. From the fact that in what follows, the letting loose of the devastating winds is not reported, the view that just this restraining of the winds is destructive[2285] follows as little as the necessity of understanding the winds as a figurative designation of retributive visitations of all kinds.[2286] For, that it is not devastating tempests, but other plagues of many kinds, which proceed from the opening of the seventh seal, has in a formal respect its foundation in the fact that the succeeding seal-vision cannot justly be regarded and be treated further as a matter from the simple visions occurring between the last two seals; but a difficulty actually arises only if, hindered by a mechanical literalism, it cannot be seen that the holy fantasy of the prophet sees in Rev_7:1 sqq. the storm impending, which afterwards, however, is not seen in its approach, because (Rev_8:1 sqq.), in place of the desolating winds, hail and fire, and other plagues, come forth.

It is noticeable that in Rev_7:2, the trees are not especially mentioned, as in Rev_7:1; Rev_7:3, because it is self-evident that they belong to the earth;[2287] there lies therein, however, a manifest hint that neither the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, are to be understood figuratively. Hengstenb. asks, indeed, how the sea, if it be meant in the proper sense, could be injured by winds; he does not consider that the specification in which the trees, as objects most easily injured by storms, are especially made prominent with the simplicity of nature,[2288] is meant only to serve[2289] to make visible how the entire earth, from whose four ends the winds are to rage, will be injured.

ἌΧΡΙ ΣΦΡΑΓΊΣΩΜΕΝ. Until we shall have sealed. Cf. Winer, p. 279. The plur. indicates that the angel has associates, who need not be further mentioned.[2290] With the whole train of thought of Rev_7:1 sqq., Hengstenb. conflicts when he advances the opinion that the four angels are to help in the sealing. The older interpreters, as Calov., refer the plur. to the Father and the Son, from both of whom the Holy Ghost (the seal) proceeds. [See Note LII., p. 255.] ΤΟῪς ΔΟΎΛΟΥς ΤΟῦ ΘΕΟῦ ἩΜῶΝ. This noble designation pertains especially to saints from Israel. Gen_50:17; Isa_61:6.[2291] Yet the reference in the connection is to Israel alone, although the expression in itself, because of the art., could include also the Gentiles. [Note LIII., p. 256.] To the angel here speaking, who is to seal, belong only the definite, more accurately designated servants of God, of Rev_7:4 sqq. The Τ. ΘΕΟῦ ἩΜῶΝ is significant; the angel himself, together with his associates, is, because of his relation to the same God, a fellow-servant of those for whose service he has been sent.[2292]

ἘΠῚ ΤῶΝ ΜΕΤΏΠΩΝ ΑὐΤῶΝ. The mark which the servants of the beast have received is, like the brand of slaves in ordinary life, impressed upon the right hand or forehead:[2293] the servants of God bear the seal and name of the Lord only on the forehead. That this is the most visible place,[2294] is a reason sufficient only with respect to those servants of the beast: with respect to the servants of God, however, it is found in the fact that the noblest part of the body bears the holy mark.

[2254] Stern.

[2255] C. a Lap., Grot., Beng., Eichh., Ew., De Wette, Rinck, Ebrard.

[2256] Beda, Aret., Zeger, Calov., Böhmer, Hengstenb.

[2257] Vitr., who interprets the seal used by this angel as the public profession of the purer faith wrought by the Spirit.

[2258] Cf. already Beng.

[2259] Grot.

[2260] Grot.

[2261] Calov.

[2262] Wetst.

[2263] Stern.

[2264] De Wette.

[2265] Ew. ii.: As though, by the Divine commission, he had commanded the sun to shine no longer with such excessive heat, but to reserve its ardor (Rev_7:16). But this supplementary fiction is in violation of the context, and Rev_7:16 has no analogy with the situation of Rev_7:1 sqq.

[2266] Ew. i.

[2267] Beng.

[2268] Cf. C. a Lap., Hengstenb., Ebrard, Volkm.

[2269] Beng.

[2270] Cf. Rev_7:3 : σφραγ.

ἐπὶ τ. μετώπων αὐτ.

[2271] Eichh.

[2272] Cf. Rev_14:1, Rev_3:12.

[2273] Hengstenb.

[2274] λαμβάνειν; Rev_13:16, Rev_14:9; Rev_14:11, Rev_16:2, Rev_19:20, Rev_20:4.

[2275] So Ewald, etc.

[2276] Hengstenb.

[2277] De Wette.

[2278] Bengel, Ew., Hengstenb., Klief.

[2279] Cf. Rev_2:7; Rev_2:10, Rev_3:5, Rev_7:14 sqq., Rev_22:1 sqq.

[2280] Cf., e.g., Rev_6:1 with Rev_5:2.

[2281] Rev_6:6.

[2282] Cf. Alcas., C. a Lap., Vitr., Eichh., Ewald, De Wette, Hengstenb., Ebrard.

[2283] Bengel. Cf. Rev_8:7 sqq.

[2284] Rinck.

[2285] Rinck.

[2286] Hengstenb.

[2287] Ebrard.

[2288] Cf. De Wette.

[2289] Cf. Rev_5:13.

[2290] Bengel, Ew., De Wette, Rinck.

[2291] Beng.

[2292] Cf. Rev_19:10, Rev_22:9.

[2293] Rev_13:16, Rev_14:9, Rev_20:4.

[2294] Aret., Beng., Stern, etc.

NOTES BY THE AMERICAN EDITOR

LII. Rev_7:3. σφραγισώμεν

Beck: Sealing, in general, serves partly for authentication or confirmation, partly for assurance. Here it is accomplished by means of the seal of the living God, the Divine, royal seal (Rev_7:2). Divine sealing designates a real act, a covenant act, whereby the one who receives it is acknowledged and authenticated as belonging to God by an actual mark of discrimination (Rom_4:11). In the N. T. sense, the Holy Spirit is the Divine seal of the covenant, and the sealing occurs by the communication of the Holy Spirit (2Co_1:22; Eph_1:13; Eph_4:30). The idea of the living God is concentrated especially in the quickening Spirit of the new covenant. By the communication of this Spirit, man is not merely assured of, or promised, something new, but something real is given him. There is then in man a new spirit entirely different from what he previously had; a spirit such as was manifested in Christ, and which thus animates him with an entirely different inner life from what he had before, a life actually rooted and nourished in Christ and God. A result of this communication of the spirit is that they who receive it are elect (1Th_1:4 sq.; 2Th_2:13). At the same time, they are armed by the Spirit, and by his power assured against a fall and wandering astray (Rev_3:10; 2Ti_1:7; 2Ti_1:12; 2Ti_1:14; 1Pe_1:5; 1Jn_4:4; 1Jn_5:18). The reference to error and a fall dare not be here excluded, as, at the crisis of the world, the wisdom, patience, and fidelity of believers will, in various ways, be expressly put to the test (Rev_13:8-10, Rev_14:12). But, as in ch. Rev_7:3, the sealing is presented in direct contrast with the harm inflicted upon the world, there is in this sealing also a security, by Gods preservation, against the plagues from God, impending over the world. Cf., as analogies, Exo_12:7; Exo_12:13; Eze_9:4. But this does not prevent those sealed against the Divine judgments and temptations, from having still to suffer many troubles from men, of whom the greater part, even during the Divine judgment, do not come to repentance, but rather are guilty of all sorts of manifestations of godlessness. Cf. the epistles, chs. 2 and 3; also Rev_6:11, Rev_13:10; Rev_13:15; Mat_24:9. In the time of expectation, therefore (Rev_6:11), in the nearness of Gods judgments, there occurs a sealing, i.e., an especial spiritual strengthening and providential assurance of those elected as belonging to the people of God. According to the character of the book, the sealing is typified before the sight of John; hence an angel appears with a golden seal in his hand, although the Divine sealing is the work of the Spirit of God, and not of an angel. The sealing further occurs by an impression on the forehead, and thus is externally imparted to the sealed. If we compare ch. Rev_14:1, where the same number, one hundred and forty-four thousand, recurs, only in another connection, it is the name of the Father of Jesus Christ that is written or impressed as a mark upon the forehead. The sealing itself is not there mentioned, since this had preceded the persecution; there the one hundred and forty-four thousand have experienced both sealing and persecution. The seal contains the name of the owner; after they have been sealed on the forehead with Gods seal, they continue to carry there Gods name. Cf. also Rev_3:12, Rev_22:4. Therefore by the seal of God on the forehead is designated the Divine disposition externally expressing itself in their personal conduct, and thereby also giving assurance externally that marks them as belonging to God. The antithesis to this mark of God is the mark of the beast on the forehead (Rev_13:16). Gebhardt: A symbol of the Divine assurance that his servants should not be smitten by the greater plagues which were yet to come.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Not only another, or differing in number from the common Angels of God, but also in essence, office, and operation excelling all Angels: that is, Christ Jesus the eternal Angel or word of God, and mediator of the covenant. So hereafter Rev. 8:3 and 10:1, 5.

Now God provideth against the danger of his elect by commandment, verses 2 and 3, and by sign or figure, both for those of the nation of the Jews, thence unto verse 8, and also of the Gentiles, verse 9.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

from the east--Greek, "the rising of the sun." The quarter from which God's glory oftenest manifests itself.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 2. The seal of the living God] This angel is represented as the chancellor of the supreme King, and as ascending from the east, απο ανατολης ηλιου, from the rising of the sun. Some understand this of Christ, who is called ανατολη, the east, Lu 1:78.

Four angels, to whom it was given to hurt] Particular agents employed by Divine providence in the management of the affairs of the earth; but whether spiritual or material we know not.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(2) And I saw another angel . . .—Translate, And I saw another angel going up from the rising of the sun, having a seal of the living God, and he was crying with a great voice to the four angels to whom it was given to injure the earth and the sea, saying, Injure ye not the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads. The angels appear as carrying out the purposes of God. This angel rises into view from the door of the dawn. In the midst of the dark symptoms of coming storm and judgment there springs up a light for the righteous and joyful gladness for such as are true-hearted: they need not be afraid of evil tidings whose hearts stand fast believing in the Lord. This angel carries a seal of the living God. The seal is the emblem of security. The seal was placed on our Lord’s sepulchre to keep the tomb safe from invasion; the king’s seal was, in the same way, placed on the stone which was laid at the mouth of the den in which Daniel was imprisoned: “the king sealed it with his own signet” (Dan_6:17). The intrusting of the seal into the hands of others was the token that royal authority had been for the time delegated to man. So Jezebel “wrote letters in Ahab’s name, and sealed them with his seal” (1Ki_21:8). Esther obtained the use of the king’s seal to protect her countrymen from the mischief devised by Haman: “for the writing which is written in the king’s name, and sealed with the king’s ring, may no man reverse” (Est_8:8). There is also a seal of the living God. St. Paul tells us that this seal bears two legends. “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’” (2Ti_2:19). On the one side, it is dependence on and communion with God; on the other side, it is holiness of life. The sealed are found in Christ, not having their own righteousness, but the righteousness which is of God by faith (Php_3:9). For this is the righteousness which will endure to the end, and which is found in them who are “sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance” (Eph_1:13-14). God’s image and superscription is impressed on such; just as afterwards we are told of all the servants of God, “His name shall be in their foreheads” (Rev_22:4). This token is a true safe-guard and talisman; as the sprinkled blood on the lintel protected the house from the destroying angel at the first Passover. It is a token also of those who have not conformed to the evil world; they are like those whom Ezekiel saw in Jerusalem, when the Lord sent the man with the inkhorn “to set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done” (Eze_9:4). There has been much misapprehension respecting this act of sealing. It has been said that it implies security, and assures God’s servants of protection in the coming judgments: this is, in a sense, true; but the sealing, as will have been seen by the passages quoted above, is that sealing of the Spirit, that root of heavenly life in the soul, which is the pledge of the soul’s union with God; and the terms of the charter of their protection are, Who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? In the Bible idea, sin, or moral defilement, is the only real evil: all other things work together for good. The breastplate which turns aside the fiery darts is the breastplate of righteousness: those who, escaping the corruptions which are in the world through lust, become partakers of the divine nature are in consequence victorious over all the evil. They are not exempt from the vicissitudes and tribulation of life: the winds are let loose to blow, but they are sealed, and they cannot be shaken; for what and who can separate them from the love of Christ? They are sealed by the Holy Spirit; they have an earnest of that Spirit in their hearts (Eph_4:30, and 2Co_1:22), and the pledge of His power in their lives. St. John gives the same two-fold test as St. Paul (2Ti_2:9): (1) “Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit” (1Jn_4:13); and (2) “Hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments” (1Jn_2:3). The sealing is on the forehead: it is God’s mark, but it is where all may see it. “By their fruits ye shall know them.” The cry of the angel is, Injure not the sea nor the trees. Doubtless the sea and trees are mentioned as these are the objects which would be most disturbed and injured by a storm of wind. Trees are used as emblems of real and of pretended religionism. The true-hearted in faith are described as trees planted by the waterside, whose fruit does not wither; and it is singular that St. Jude, who pictures the Antinomian teachers of his day under the image of autumn trees (not trees whose fruit withereth, as in English version) without fruit, immediately adds an expression which almost suggests the sudden uprising of a testing storm: the fruitless trees are “plucked up by the roots” (Jud_1:12).

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. ascending] Probably the Heaven from which St John looks down on the earth formed a vault over it, or at least rested on walls surrounding the earth; cf. Enoch xviii. 8, “I saw, from the end of the earth, the firmament of the heaven which rests upon it.” This Angel, then, mounted up the eastern side of this vault or circling wall (probably flying up, just outside it), till he was high enough to see, and to be heard by all the four Angels, even the one on the extreme western side of the earth.

having the seal] Perhaps this marks this Angel as one specially favoured and trusted: see Gen_41:42; Est_3:10; Est_8:2. But there seems no good reason for the notion, popular in modern times, that this angel, or any other, is to be taken as representative of Christ. He appears, when He does appear, either in His own person, or under a symbol that is obviously symbolic: it would be out of harmony with the scope of this Book, and indeed with New Testament theology generally, to obscure the distinction between Him and created Angels. The words “our God” in the next v. marks this Angel as a fellow-servant both of the other four, and of the elect on earth. It is far better to illustrate this vision by Mat_24:31, as we have seen the earlier images of that chapter reproduced under the former seals. This Angel’s office, however, is the marking, not the gathering of the elect: he represents and effectuates God’s love in its individual, not in its comprehensive aspect.

to hurt the earth, &c.] viz., by letting the winds forth, to blow and produce storms.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And I saw another angel,.... Not Constantine, who came from the eastern parts to the empire, with the true knowledge of God, and the authority of God to propagate it; and who repressed the four angels, or evil spirits, contention, ambition, heresy, and war, from doing the mischief they otherwise would; and sealed the saints, by giving them a platform of doctrine at the council of Nice, as Brightman and others think. But the uncreated angel, the angel of the covenant, the Lord Jesus Christ; for who but he should have the privy seal of heaven, who is the angel of the great council, as the Septuagint render Isa 9:6 and who could speak in such an authoritative manner to the four angels, "saying, hurt not the earth", &c. but he who is the head of all principality and power? and who should seal the servants of the Lord, but he who has them in his hands, and keeps them by his power, so that none of them shall perish? And to him agrees all that follows:

ascending from the east; from Judea, from Zion, from whence Christ, as the salvation, or Saviour of Israel, came, Psa 14:7; and whose name is the east, as some render Zac 3:8; he is the dayspring from on high, the sun of righteousness, who rose from the east, the place of the rising sun, and brought light, life, and joy to his people, when he came to seal them. Compare with this Eze 43:1.

Having the seal of the living God; having the impress of deity upon him, being the brightness of his Father's glory, and the express image or character of his person; having a testimony, an authentic proof and demonstration of his being the Son of God, of his being the true and living God; as also a commission from God, as Mediator, being sealed by him; and having all power and authority from him, to seal and secure the people which were given unto him, and for which purpose he now came: to which may be added, that Christ has the Spirit, with his gifts and graces, without measure, by which the saints are sealed unto the day of redemption; and moreover has likewise the seal of the book of life, or of eternal election, in his hands; the elect are chosen in him, and the book of life, in which their names are written to eternal life, is in his keeping, and is therefore called the Lamb's book of life. The Jews speak (a) of the east gate of one of the palaces they suppose above, which they say is shut all the six days, and on the sabbath day is opened, and the governor of this palace has two ministers, one on his right hand, and one on his left, and two seals in their hands, , "the seal of life", and the seal of death, and all the books of the world, before them; an, some are sealed to life, and some to death, with which this passage may be compared. They speak also of an angel that presides at the eastern part of the heavens, who receives the prayers of the Israelites, whose name they call "Gazardia" (b), as this same angel is said to offer up the prayers of the saints, Rev 8:3.

And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels; to show his power and authority over them, they being his creatures and ministers; and to express his great concern for his people, his care of them, and affection for them; and to signify the danger they were in through the calamities that were coming on, should they not be sealed:

to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea: they had a commission from God to let loose the winds, or to bring on wars, devastations, calamities, and plagues, of various sorts, upon the Roman empire, now Christian; and on the seat of the beast, not only on the continent, but upon the islands also, even upon all the nations, tongues, and people subject to the see of Rome.

(a) Zohar in Exod. fol. 100. 1. (b) Zohar in Exod. fol. 79. 2.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

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,

Ver. 2. Another angel] Whether Christ, or Constantine acted by Christ, it much matters not.

Having the seal] Whereof Christ is the great Lord keeper.

With a loud voice] Out of his great care of his elect. As Croesus’ dumb son burst out into loud speech to save his father, ανθρωπε, μη κτεινε τον Κροισον. (Herod.)

To the four angels] Who are at Christ’s beck and check.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And I saw another angel - Evidently having no connection with the four, and employed for another purpose. This angel, also, must have been symbolic; and all that is implied is, that something would be done as if an angel had done it.

Ascending from the east - He appeared in the east, and seemed to rise like the sun. It is not easy to determine what is the special significancy, if any, of the east here, or why this quarter of the heavens is designated rather than the north, the south, or the west. It may be that as light begins in the east, this would be properly symbolic of something that could be compared with the light of the morning; or that some influence in “sealing” the servants of God would in fact go out from the east; or perhaps no special significance is to be attached to the quarter from which the angel is seen to come. It is not necessary to suppose that every minute thing in a symbol is to receive a complete fulfillment, or that there will be some particular thing to correspond with it. Perhaps all that is meant here is, that as the sun comes forth with splendor from the east, so the angel came with magnificence to perform a task - that of sealing the servants of God - cheerful and joyous like what the sun performs. It is certain that from no other quarter of the heavens would it be so appropriate to represent an angel as coming forth to perform a purpose of light, and mercy, and salvation. It does not seem to me, therefore, that we are to look, in the fulfillment of this, for any special influence setting in from the east as what is symbolized here.

Having the seal of the living God - Bearing it in his hands. In regard to this seal the following remarks may be made:

(a) The phrase “seal of the living God” doubtless means what God had appointed, or which he would use; that is, if God himself came forth in this manner, he would use this seal for these purposes. People often have a seal of their own, with some name, symbol, or device, which designates it as theirs, and which no other one has a right to use. A seal is sometimes used by the person himself; sometimes entrusted to a high officer of state; sometimes to the secretary of a corporation; and sometimes, as a mark of special favor, to a friend. In this case it was entrusted to an angel, who was authorized to use it, and whose use of it would be sanctioned, of course, wherever he applied it, by the living God, as if he had employed it himself.

(b) As to the form of the seal, we have no information. It would be most natural to suppose that the name “of the living God” would be engraven on it, so that that name would appear on anyone to whom it might be affixed. Compare the notes on 2Ti 2:19. It was customary in the East to brand the name of the master on the forehead of a slave (Grotius, in loco); and such an idea would meet all that is implied in the language here, though there is no certain evidence that there is an allusion to that custom. In subsequent times, in the church, it was common for Christians to impress the sign of the cross on their foreheads (Tertullian de Corolla; Cyrill. lib. vi. See Grotius). As nothing is said here, however, about any mark or device on the seal, conjecture is useless as to what it was.

(c) As to what was to be designated by the seal, the main idea is clear, that it was to place some such mark upon his friends that they would be known to be his, and that they would be safe in the impending calamities, There is perhaps allusion here to Eze 9:4-6, where the following direction to the prophet occurs: “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the people that sigh, and that cry, for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. 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: slay utterly old and young, both maids and little children, and women; but come not near any man upon whom is the mark.” The essential ideas in the sealing, in the passage before us, would therefore seem to be:

(1)That there would be some mark, sign, or token, by which they who were the people of God would be known; that is, there would be something which would answer, in this respect, the same purpose as if a seal had been impressed upon their foreheads. Whether this was an outward badge, or a religious rite, or the doctrines which they would hold and by which they would be known, or something in their spirit and manner which would characterize his true disciples, may be a fair subject of inquiry. It is not specifically designated by the use of the word.

(2)It would be something that would be conspicuous or prominent, as if it were impressed on the forehead. It would not be merely some internal sealing, or some designation by which they would be known to themselves and to God, but it would be something apparent, as if engraved on the forehead. What this would be, whether a profession, or a form of religion, or the holding of some doctrine, or the manifestation of a particular spirit, is not here designated.

(3)This would be something appointed by God himself. It would not be of human origin, but would be as if an angel sent from heaven should impress it on the forehead. If it refers to the doctrines which they would hold, they could not be doctrines of human origin; if to the spirit which they would manifest, it would be a spirit of heavenly origin; if to some outward protection, it would be manifest that it was from God.

(4)This would be a pledge of safety. The design of sealing the persons referred to seems to have been to secure their safety in the impending calamities. Thus, the winds were held back until those who were to be sealed could be designated, and then they were to be allowed to sweep over the earth. These things, therefore, we are to look for in the fulfillment of the symbol.

And he cried with a loud voice - As if he had authority to command, and as if the four winds were about to be let forth upon the world.

To whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea - Who had power committed to them to do this by means of the four winds.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Having the seal. This sign is generally supposed to be the sign of the cross. In the East, it was the custom to impress some indelible mark upon the soldiers. This sign [the sign of the cross] amongst the ancient Christians was used on every occasion. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

By this other angel, some understand an angel by nature; some, a man, Elijah, or Constantine; others, Christ himself, called an Angel, Exo 23:20. It is not much material whether we by this angel understand Christ, or some angel which he made his instrument. He gives a command to those four angels, whom God had made the ministers or executioners of his wrath and justice in the world.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

2. Another angel—Not, as Hengstenberg, the Lord Jesus Christ in person, but the impersonation of his redeeming and authenticating power.

Ascending from the east—Literal Greek, from the rising of the sun. This quarter is designated as the source of redeeming light and glory. Notes on chap. 16 and Luk_1:78. So Mal_4:2 : “To you that fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall arise with healing [salvation] in his wings.”

Ascending—As if coming from a fountain of divine splendour at or beneath the horizon.

Seal—The purpose of a seal is first to secure a thing, as the closure of the door of Christ’s sepulchre; and second, to authenticate a thing as truly belonging to the sealer. So, a seal is affixed to a signature to indicate that it is the signer’s own signature, deliberately made. The justified soul is sealed at his justification; his name being written then in the book of life, and the adoption into the sonship of God being bestowed. This seal may be forfeited by apostasy, as said in Eph_4:30, where see note.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And I saw another angel ascending from the east; from the rising of the sun. Again no individual angel is particularized, though an archangel may be intended, as he has authority over the first four. He proceeds from that quarter whence comes light; and, like the Sun of Righteousness, he rises with healing in his wings; for his mission is to render secure the servants of God. Wordsworth thinks Christ, or a messenger from Christ, is meant a view shared by Hengstenberg; Vitringa says the Holy Ghost; Victorinus, the Prophet Elijah. That this angel was of like nature with the first four appears probable from the words in ver. 3, "till we have sealed the servants of our God." Having the seal of the living God. The sealing instrument with which they seal God"s servants. Of its nature we are told nothing beyond what is contained in ver. 3. He is specially referred to as "the living God," since, by this sealing, life is imparted. We have here the shorter expression, "the living God," not, as in all ether places of the Apocalypse, "him that liveth forever and ever". (Rev_4:9 Rev_5:14 Rev_10:6 Rev_15:7) And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels (cf. Rev_1:10 Rev_5:2 Rev_6:10) to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea; that is, by letting loose the winds, as shown by vers. 1 and 3. Bengel and Rinck, looking only at the immediate context, thought that the hurt was done by preventing the winds from blowing on the earth and cooling it in the scorching plagues which follow. (see Rev_8:7) The trees are not mentioned, being included in the earth; and this appears to indicate that the expression, "the earth, the sea, and the trees" (vers. 1 and 3), signifies the world in general, without being intended to represent individual parts, as the great men, etc.. (see on Rev_5:1)

HOMILIES BY S. CONWAY. Vers. 2, 3. The sealed of God.

This chapter tells of a time of suspended judgment. All things were ready. The awful calamities told of when the sixth seal was broken are on the point of descending upon the earth. "But a whole chapter intervenes. Might it not be apprehended that amidst convulsions so terrific the Church itself might founder? Who shall secure Christ"s servants against being involved in that catastrophe? Such is the misgiving to which the particular revelation now before us would minister." A season of suspense is commanded; destruction is to be delayed until the servants of God be sealed. The command comes from that quarter whence Christ himself, the Day spring from on high, the Morning Star, came on his mission of mercy and of hope. The four winds are the symbols of God"s judgments. (cf. Jer_49:36, Jer_49:37) The angels who are about to let them loose are bidden pause. Like as, ere the last judgment came upon Egypt, there was time given to enable the people of God to sprinkle the lintel and door posts of their houses with the blood of the Paschal lamb, which was God"s seal of preservation for them. And like, too, to that remarkable parallel, from which, indeed, the imagery of our text is derived, which we find in Eze_9:2-6, Eze_9:11. As was the object of the sealing there, so it is here. Now, whether we take the primary reference of the impending judgments, which for a while were delayed in their execution, to be those, as we think, which were then about to fall upon Jerusalem and the apostate Church of Israel; or those which at the time of Constantine, through the threatened overwhelming of the empire, were imminent on her frontiers; or those which corruption, venality, and hypocrisy, engendered by Constantine"s having made Christianity the court religion, were about to bring upon the Church; or which is probably the most correct way to understand St. John we include all these, and all other similar ones, not omitting the last great judgment of all, which at any time may have hung or shall hang over nations, Churches, and communities however we interpret this revelation, it is as true as the judgments them selves that the merciful Lord does grant seasons of suspense, his judgments are delayed until his servants are marked, proclaimed as his own, and secured from real evil by his own sovereign and sacred seal. For historical illustrations of this sealing we may wisely turn to the pages of Josephus and of Gibbon, the historians of the Jewish war and of the fall of Rome. And so exact are oftentimes the correspondences between authentic history and these visions of St. John, that we can hardly be surprised that not a few have declared that what is called the historical interpretation of the hook is the only true, reasonable, and reliable one. It certainly is fascinating for its interest, but as for its reliableness, that may he admitted when its advocates can show anything like near agreement amongst themselves. It is better, therefore, to take the broader view, which admits all these correspondences, and the applicability thereto of these various visions, but which refuses to limit their meaning and application to anything less than all like correspondences which have occurred since St. John wrote, and which shall occur to the end of time. Now, to a thoughtful observer, it can hardly be a question but what our own days are days of suspended judgment, and days also in which the sealing of the servants of God is going on. For man"s sin, as ever, clamours for judgment from God, and righteousness wronged and slain upon the earth cries, like the blood of Abel, unto God that he should avenge it. And the judgment will one day come. The history of nations and Churches is scattered over with the records of such judgments, and will be so again, until men learn wisdom and turn unto the Lord. But our security, whenever they come, is in the seal of God, told of here. Let us think, then, of this seal, the sealed, and the sealing. And

I THE SEAL.

1. What is it? With the Scriptures in our hand, we can have no doubt that the Holy Spirit of God is meant. (cf. 2Co_1:21, 22 Eph_4:30) The work that he does in and upon his people is the sure sign and seal that they are his. "The Holy Spirit is God"s seal. Where he is there is safety. Where he is God sees his mark, his own possession, one who belongs to him, one over whom he watches, one whom he will keep in that "hour of temptation which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

2. And this seal is the holy character which the Spirit of God creates in and impresses upon a man. The Spirit does other and blessed work upon us besides this. It is by him we are led to put our trust in Christ; by him we are assured that we are Christ"s, and that he is ours, that we are pardoned, accepted, saved; by him also we are comforted and sustained under trial, and made possessors of the peace of God which passeth all understanding; and by him, hope, the blessed hope of eternal life, the onlook to things eternal, which is so full of joy, is created and preserved and strengthened more and more. But all this is within the man; the seal is that which is impressed on him, is that which we call the man"s character. And it is a holy character, such as the Holy Spirit would of necessity pro duce.

3. And it is the seal of the living God. It belongs to him, his sign and mark. There is none other like it, nor has been, nor can be. Holy character can come but from the grace of God alone, from the operation of the Holy Spirit given by God in response to earnest desire. We cannot produce it in ourselves by any mere act of will, by any moral discipline, by any rules or regulations we may devise or adopt. Except a man be born of the Spirit he cannot become a member of the kingdom of God. Holy character that which shone pre-eminently in the Lord Jesus Christ, who, as none other, was "holy, harmless, and undefiled," who "knew no sin is the result of the grace of God, is the impress of the seal of the living God, which is the Holy Spirit of God.

4. And it is a visible thing. The seal being "on their foreheads" is meant to teach this fact. And holy character is a visible thing. If invisible it assuredly does not exist. Men may prate forever about their experiences and their feelings, but if there be no manifest holy character, then the seal of the living God is not there. Have we this seal? Is it plain and conspicuous as would be the impress of a seat upon our forehead? It is fatal to be without it; for "if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." Therefore to quicken our own self inquiry in this matter, let us consider

II THE SEALED. And we observe concerning them:

1. They are not numerous. But twelve thousand out of each tribe a very few compared with those left unsealed. A mere handful, but a "remnant saved.

2. And they are out of, not coextensive with, the professing Church of God. Not all Israel are of Israel. (Rom_9:6) They all professed loudly to be of the seed of Abraham, but their entire history shows how little they, as a people, possessed the Spirit. To be a professed member of the Church may be quite another thing from being one of the sealed of God.

3. And they are from no one part of the Church. Twelve tribes are told of, not any one or two. "Nulla salus extra Ecclesiam," by which Rome means her Church and none other, for other she would affirm there is none. And the like sectarian exclusiveness is chargeable against not Rome alone. But wherever it is found, the fact told of here, that the sealed come from all sections of the Church, plainly condemns it. We ought to rejoice that in all Churches the sealed ones are to be found, and are limited to none. Indeed, those tribes which loomed largest in the eyes of men, such as Ephraim and Judah, furnished no more of these sealed ones than did those who were least, such as "little Benjamin," and other like smaller tribes. Many who were first should be last, and the last first. And it often is so still.

4. Portions of the Church may become so corrupt as to furnish none of the sealed. The tribe of Dan is left out. It first fell into idolatry, and was for centuries one of the headquarters of that calf worship whereby "Jeroboam made Israel to sin." This may account for its omission in this list of the tribes, and if so suggests the reason wherefore none of the chosen of God were found amongst its people. And there may be Churches and congregations now without one earnest godly person amongst them. Let us ask how is it with the Church or congregation to which we belong.

5. They do not suffer from not belonging to any specially privileged portion of the Church. If any tribe was specially privileged it was that of Levi. They were regarded as the Lord"s portion; the priesthood belonged to them. They were deemed too sacred to be classed with the other more secular tribes. But here they have no advantage; they are with the rest, and no more of God"s chosen come from them than from any other tribe. We might have thought it would have been otherwise; but it is not so, and it suggests the truth that the working of God"s Spirit in and upon men is independent of what we call privilege. It is good and blessed to have means of grace, aids to worship and faith; but, if the soul will yield itself up to God, he wilt not let it suffer loss for the lack of these things when, as is often the case, they may not be had.

6. The Lord knoweth them all. "The foundation of the Lord standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his." In keeping with this we find the number of the sealed that which denotes fixedness and completeness. They are all there, all delivered, not from earthly trials, but from Divine judgments; not one of them is lost. Blessed are they on whom this seal of the living God is found. For note

III THE SEALING. What was its purpose and intents? These were various according to those whom it was designed should he affected by it.

1. The sealed ones themselves.

(1) The sealing should assure them that God would ever keep a people for his Name in the midst of the earth. As they saw the seal of God upon here one and there another, and as they remembered how it had ever been so, they would be saved from the despair which fell upon Elijah, who thought he alone was left to stand up for God. But God showed him the seven thousand sealed ones, and so comforted him. And as we behold them now we are assured that such shall never be wanting.

(2) It would mutually encourage them. It would show them that they were not alone; the joy and strength which come from the communion of saints would be theirs.

(3) It would be full of help to themselves; for as a seal attests validity and genuineness in that to which it is attached, so this seal would prove that their title to be called children of God and heirs of eternal life was valid and true. And as a seal is a mark of ownership like our government broad arrow on all its property so this seal was God"s declaration they were his; and blessed is that soul that is assured of this. And as a seal secures and guards, as the tomb of our Lord was sealed, so this seal is the guarantee of deliverance and safety amid all possible ill. It was this seal which made Paul break forth into that paean of exultant praise with which the eighth chapter of his Epistle to the Romans concludes. And similar gladness shall it give to all upon whom this seal is found. But:

2. To the unsealed this sealing has intent and purpose. To lead them to confess the beauty of holiness. This has ever been the mighty converting force. The holy character wrought by the Spirit of God has made such impression upon the minds of ungodly men that they have been constrained to gaze at it, to admire, to confess its excellence and goodness, and to feel the wretched contrast of their own lives, and to long after the like seal of God for themselves. And so it has won many to inquire, to repent, to believe, and to be saved. "Let your light so shine," etc. (Mat_5:16)

3. To the ministers of his judgments. That they might spare the sealed ones. They do. The retreat of the Christians to Pella ere Jerusalem fell, the protection granted to the Church at Rome Augustine tells of it in the midst of the havoc that Alaric and his Huns wrought upon the rest of Rome, are illustrations. The passing over of the houses of Israel has been repeated again and again in like circumstances, and will be repeated whensoever such circumstances recur. As the badge of the white cross secures immunity in the midst of war to those who wear it, for it is known that they are ministers of mercy, go where they will, so the seal of the living God, the holy, beautiful, Christ-like lives of his people, have often made men love and honour them, prize and preserve them amid horrors of battle, or of famine, or of pestilence, or aught beside. And at the last great judgment day, when the angels of wrath see the seal of the living God, they will pass over those on whom it is found. What urgency, then, does all this lead to St. Paul"s well-known words, "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption! S.C.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And I saw another (a good) angel ascending from the east - The plagues begin in the east; so does the sealing. Having the seal of the only living and true God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels - Who were hasting to execute their charge. To whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea - First, and afterwards "the trees."

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

angel

(See Scofield "Heb 1:4")

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Observe here, 1. The special and distinguishing care which God took of his church and faithful people before he suffered the approaching storm to come upon the world: he did by another angel cry to the four angels that were ready, as God’s executioners, to hurt the earth, that they should hurt nothing until the servants of God were sealed in their foreheads; and his crying with a loud voice intimates his great care to preserve his faithful ones.

Quest. What was this sealing?

Ans. Some understand it of an external visible sealing, by setting a mark upon their foreheads for preservation, according to Eze 9:4 the letter Tau; doubtless there was some notification made by Almighty God to the destroying angels, of every one whom he would have preserved.

Others do understand this seal to be internal, by sanctification; and from whence we may gather, that inward holiness is the best guard against temporal or spiritual judgments.

But take this sealing in either sense, either for an outward or inward sealing, the notion doth imply,

1. That the persons sealed are of precious and excellent esteem with God.

2. It imports preservation and security from danger: God sealeth his people, that the destruction coming upon others may escape them: thus here God’s servants were sealed, that they might be preserved: that they are kept either from sin and error, or from judgment and danger,is not from themselves, but from God’s care and love towards them in the sealing of them, the angel said, Hurt not the earth,&c.till we have sealed the servants of our God, &c.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. I saw another angel. The picture is that of an angel having the seal of the living God. The object of this seal is indicated in verse 3. The seal was a mark of ownership. The seal of God on the forehead would mark those sealed at God's. The seal mark on the forehead would be visible to everyone; hence the seal in the forehead has been understood to be the public confession and profession of Christ. This angel would thus symbolize a great and successful movement to evangelize the race.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

2. ἀναβαίνοντα. Probably the Heaven from which St John looks down on the earth formed a vault over it, or at least rested on walls surrounding the earth; cf. Enoch xviii. 5, ἴδον πέρατα τῆς γῆς τὸ στήριγμα τοῦ οὐρανοῦ. This Angel, then, mounted up the eastern side of this vault or circling wall (probably flying up, just outside it), till he was high enough to see and to be heard by all the four Angels, even the one on the extreme western side of the earth.

ἔχοντα σφραγῖδα. Perhaps this marks this Angel as one specially favoured and trusted: see Gen 41:42; Est 3:10; Est 8:2. But there seems no good reason for the notion, popular in modern times, that this Angel, or any other, is to be taken as representative of Christ. He appears, when He does appear, either in His own person, or under a symbol that is obviously symbolic: it would be out of harmony with the scope of this Book, and indeed with New Testament theology generally, to obscure the distinction between Him and created Angels. The words “our God” in the next v. mark this Angel as a fellow-servant both of the other four, and of the elect on earth. It is far better to illustrate this vision by Mat 24:31, as we have seen the earlier images of that chapter reproduced under the former seals. This Angel’s office, however, is the marking, not the gathering of the elect; he represents and effectuates God’s love in its individual, not in its comprehensive aspect.

οἶς ἐδόθη αὐτοῖς. Cf. Rev 3:8.

ἀδικῆσαι, by loosing the four winds—for something far beyond common storms. No parallel is yet known to this sign of the end: “the Great Tribulation” certainly begins when the four winds are loosed.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

East [ανατολης ηλιου] . Rev., more literally, the sunrising. See on Mt 2:2; Luk 1:78. Compare Eze 43:2.

The four angels. Compare Mt 24:31.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.