Revelation 7:1; The Four Winds

Revelation 7:1 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. 

The four winds were mentioned in our Lord’s Olivet discourse in Matthew 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

The immediate context reveals the Lord’s Coming on earth visibly in Matthew 24:29-30 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Barnes observed, “That is, from the four quarters of the globe–east, west, north, and south. The Jews expressed those quarters by the winds blowing from them.”

It is a literal restraining of the winds from the north, south, east and west by the angels signifying perhaps devastation that comes with destructive hurricanes and storms that uproots trees, create possible tidal waves disrupting life on earth and in the sea.

Times of reprieve, are good times for self-reflection, a good time to prepare the heart for the storms to come. When we set our hearts to follow after God in our good days, we develop good habits that enable us to seek Him in the stormy days.

We seek God through the blessing of meditation upon His Word with our bibles opened. As we hide God’s Word in our hearts in the good times, the hidden word becomes our mainstay in the times of storm.

God knows our frame. He is gracious. Let us make the most of our days of peace to be strengthened in the inner man through the diligent study of His Word. Amen.