The Revelation

Who Can Stand? The Interlude of Revelation 7
Lesson 14 Bobby Stafford

Who Can Stand? The Interlude of Revelation 7

Introduction
In Revelation 7:1–17, John pauses between the sixth and seventh seals to answer a urgent question from chapter 6: “Who is able to stand?” God seals His servants and reveals a victorious multitude before His throne.

Persecution, Promise, and the Purpose of the Interlude
Revelation was written near the close of the first century to congregations in Asia Minor who suffered under Roman pressure. The sixth seal had unveiled earth-shaking judgment against persecutors (Revelation 6:12–17). Before the seventh seal sounds, the Spirit gives an interlude (Revelation 7) to comfort the faithful: God knows His people, marks them as His own, and brings them safely through tribulation to His presence. This “pause” is not a change in sovereignty. It is a pastoral answer to a pastoral question: when judgment rolls, who will stand? God’s sealed servants will.

Held Back by Heaven—Winds Under Command
John sees four angels at the four corners of the earth holding back the winds (Revelation 7:1). Throughout Scripture, destructive winds often picture divine judgment (Jeremiah 49:36–37; Hosea 13:15). Judgment is not chaotic; it moves only at God’s command. Another angel rises from the east with the “seal of the living God,” crying, “Do not harm… till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads” (Revelation 7:2–3). God restrains the winds until His people are identified and secured. Heaven never loses track of the church on earth (2 Timothy 2:19; John 10:27–29).

Sealed Servants—Numbered for Protection, Not Extinction
John hears the number of the sealed: 144,000 from the tribes of Israel (Revelation 7:4–8). The list itself signals symbolism (tribal substitutions and ordering), pointing beyond ethnic Israel to the fullness of God’s covenant people. Twelve (God’s people) times twelve (completeness) times a thousand (vastness) expresses totality. God has all His own, not one missing (Ezekiel 9:4–6; Hebrews 12:22–24). The seal is not ink on skin; it is God’s ownership and protection known by holy lives and faithful confession (Ephesians 1:13–14; 4:30; Revelation 14:1–5).

The Great Multitude—From Tribulation to Throne
After hearing the numbered, John looks and sees what cannot be numbered: a great multitude from all nations, clothed in white, palm branches in hand, crying, “Salvation belongs to our God… and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9–10). An elder explains: “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:14). Some endured and died natural deaths; others were martyred; all were cleansed by Christ’s blood (Acts 22:16; 1 John 1:7; Revelation 1:5). Their present is worship; their future is shepherded joy—no hunger, no scorching heat, every tear wiped away by God (Revelation 7:15–17; Psalm 23; Isaiah 49:10; Revelation 21:4).

First-Century Comfort, Everlasting Truth
To saints in Smyrna, Pergamum, and Thyatira the message rang clear: God’s judgment would humble Rome, and God’s care would hold His church (Revelation 2:10; 3:10; 2 Thessalonians 1:6–10). The pattern still stands. The church may be pressured, but the Lamb seals, saves, and shepherds. The question “Who can stand?” is answered at the cross and the throne: all who wash their robes in the blood of Jesus (Romans 5:9; Revelation 22:14).

Who Can Stand? By the Lamb’s Blood and With the Lamb’s People
Endurance grows where God plants us—in worship, in mutual strengthening, and in confident hope. We assemble, we pray, we witness, and we refuse idolatry. We rest our future, not in empires, but in the One who commands the winds and counts His saints.

Who Can Stand? Sermon Outline:

• Text & Aim

  • Primary Text: Revelation 7:1–17

  • Aim: Assure the church that God seals His people, sustains them through tribulation, and brings them to victorious worship before His throne.

   

• I. The Interlude of Mercy (Revelation 7:1)

  • Four angels, four corners—judgment restrained under heaven’s command (Jeremiah 49:36–37; Hosea 13:15).

   

• II. The Seal of the Living God (Revelation 7:2–3)

  • Another angel from the east; servants marked as God’s own (Ezekiel 9:4–6; 2 Timothy 2:19; Ephesians 1:13–14).

   

• III. The 144,000—Completeness of the Covenant People (Revelation 7:4–8)

  • Symbolic fullness: 12×12×1000; God knows each name (John 10:27–29; Hebrews 12:22–24).

   

• IV. The Innumerable Multitude—From Every Nation (Revelation 7:9–10)

  • White robes and palm branches—purity and joy; salvation confessed to God and the Lamb (Psalm 118:25–26; John 12:13).

   

• V. Washed in the Blood of the Lamb (Revelation 7:13–14)

  • Cleansed by Christ’s sacrifice; robes made white (1 John 1:7; Acts 22:16; Revelation 1:5).

   

• VI. Shepherded Forever in God’s Presence (Revelation 7:15–17)

  • No hunger, no scorching heat, tears wiped away; the Lamb shepherds to living fountains (Psalm 23; Isaiah 49:10; Revelation 21:4).

   

• VII. Pastoral Answer to Present Pressure

  • “Who can stand?”—Those sealed by God, steadfast in faith, joined to Christ’s people (Revelation 6:17; 2 Thessalonians 1:6–10; Revelation 2:10).

   

Call to Action

Fix your heart on the Lamb who seals and shepherds. If you have not yet washed your robes, come to Christ in obedient faith—believe, repent, confess His name, and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16). If you are weary under pressure, lean into the assembly, prayer, and the Word. Take courage: God counts you, seals you, and will bring you home.

Key Takeaways

• God restrains judgment until His servants are sealed and secure (Revelation 7:1–3; 2 Timothy 2:19).

• The 144,000 portrays the complete people of God—none forgotten, none lost (Revelation 7:4–8; John 10:27–29).

• The great multitude stands by grace, robes washed in the Lamb’s blood (Revelation 7:9–14; 1 John 1:7).

• The Lamb shepherds His people to unending comfort and worship (Revelation 7:15–17; Psalm 23; Revelation 21:4).

• “Who can stand?” All who hold fast to Christ in faithful endurance (Revelation 6:17; Revelation 2:10).

Scripture Reference List

• Revelation 6:12–17 — Sixth seal; “Who is able to stand?”

• Revelation 7:1–17 — Interlude; sealing; great multitude before the throne.

• Ezekiel 9:4–6 — Marking the faithful before judgment.

• Jeremiah 49:36–37; Hosea 13:15 — Winds as instruments of judgment.

• Ephesians 1:13–14; 4:30 — Sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.

• 2 Timothy 2:19 — “The Lord knows those who are His.”

• John 10:27–29 — The Shepherd knows and keeps His sheep.

• Hebrews 12:22–24 — Mount Zion, the assembly enrolled in heaven.

• Acts 22:16 — “Be baptized and wash away your sins.”

• 1 John 1:7 — Cleansed by the blood of Jesus.

• Psalm 23; Isaiah 49:10 — Shepherding and protection.

• Revelation 21:4 — God wipes away every tear.

• 2 Thessalonians 1:6–10 — God repays affliction and comforts the saints.

• Revelation 2:10 — “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

Prepared by Bobby Stafford of the church of Christ at Granby, MO

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