We have arrived at Revelation 7. This chapter answers the cries that rang out in 6:17: “For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” and the earlier cry from the souls under the altar in 6:10: “How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” Yes, there are those who will stand on the day of judgment. They are those who have already lost their lives here on earth, spiritually. Those who have acknowledged that they are guilty of death because of their sins and had no choice but to flee to the Lamb in their mortal distress. He is the Prince of Life! His servants remain standing. Revelation 6 ended with the opening of the sixth seal. We are taken to the end times when the sixth seal is opened. Creation is disrupted and dismantled, and God's creative word draws the first creation back into itself. Revelation 7 is a continuation of Revelation 6, showing us the other side of the opening of the sixth seal.
Revelation 7 can be divided into two parts: verses 1-8 and verses 9-17. Both depict those who heed God's Word. Verses 1-8 describe what is happening on Earth. Angels are at their posts, doing their work. What work? All who heed God's Word will surely be saved and redeemed. None of them will be lost. And precisely because this number must be complete, there is a delay, a postponement in God's plan. Verses 9-17 take us to heaven, to the time just before the Second Coming. We see an enormous crowd standing in heaven before the throne. It becomes clear that the crowd of those who are saved and redeemed is so large that they cannot be counted. Moreover, what peace they know! It is unheard of—a stark contrast to those on Earth crying out in mortal distress.
What comfort the words of Revelation 7 bring. The end of the end times will not be easy; creation will be disrupted and dismantled. But the Lord knows his sheep, each one of them, and the total number from all places and all times is too great to count. That multitude will be with the Lord, and the Lamb is always with them. Let us, amid affliction, look forward to that time which will certainly come.