1. The Four Winds
The Introduction
“The four winds,” where is this mentioned in the Scriptures? The Bible tells us in
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.” Friends our understanding of this phrase is so important that our
eternal destiny hinges on it, especially if we have access to God’s word. We are living in the
most momentous times of earth’s history, even at the climax of the ages, at the end of all
things, and trust me if we were to liken the final days of earth’s history to the length of the
most intense rollercoaster, we are only at the beginning of the end. Although I have not been
on a rollercoaster in almost 10-15 years, there is something very interesting about the fastest
rollercoasters around, and that is though it may start off slow, it picks up speed very quickly. It
will be the same with earth’s final events, it will start off slow, but become very rapid. The
major reason that this topic is so important is because though many people are looking and
anticipating the second coming of Christ (as we should), many are denying the reality that
between now and the second coming of Christ, that there is a crisis we must meet. Before
infinite glory, there is a short time of intense suffering. We will now look at what this suffering
includes and how we can stand in it.
The Sixth Seal
In Revelation 6: 12-17 is a depiction of the second coming of Christ. The way that we
know this is because of verses 16 and 17, which states “And the kings of the earth, and the
great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman,
and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to
the mountains and rocks, fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne,
and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able
to stand?” Now a day in the Bible does not always mean a literal day, but can sometimes mean
a time/period. The period when God’s wrath will be revealed, according to Revelation 15: 1, is
the period when the seven last plagues shall be released by God, through His angels, upon the
earth. It states according to Revelation 15: 1 “And I saw another sign in heaven, great and
marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them [the seven last plagues] is
filled up the wrath of God.”
The wrath of God= the seven last plagues
The Day of the Lamb’s (God’s) wrath= the period when the plagues will be poured out
The reason that the day of the Lamb’s wrath is the same as the day of God’s wrath, is
because the Lamb is God. John the Baptist speaking of Jesus Christ states in John 1: 29 “The

2. next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh
away the sin of the world.” This means that the word “lamb” figuratively and symbolically, in
the Bible, represents Jesus Christ. Therefore when Revelation 6: 17 states “…and from the
wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of his [the lamb’s] wrath is come; and who shall be able to
stand…” it is Jesus’ wrath, because “the lamb” is a symbolic name for Christ. According to the
Bible however Christ is not just the Lamb, but He is God. John 1: 1 states “In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
This “Word who was God” according to John 1: 14 was made flesh in Jesus Christ, the
verse states “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” Who was the only
begotten of the Father, but the Son “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son (Jesus), that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.” (John 3: 16) Therefore the day of the Lamb’s wrath, is the same as the day of Christ’s
wrath, and the day of Christ’s wrath is the same as the day of God’s wrath, for Christ is both
God and the Lamb, and according to the Bible, we saw earlier that God’s wrath is manifested in
the seven last plagues, and culminates in the second coming.
The great question however that Revelation 6 ends off with, is “who shall be able to
stand” when God’s wrath, or the seven last plagues are poured out? Now keep in mind that
there are seven seals in the book of Revelation, and what we are taking about in this article
takes place within or under the sixth seal, as stated in Revelation 6: 12. You would expect then
that after revelation 6 ended in such a dramatic way, Revelation 7 would move onto the
seventh seal, but instead Revelation 7 is a chapter in which God takes the time to answer the
question of “who shall be able to stand?”
The Four Winds
Before Revelation 7 ever answers the question of “who shall be able to stand [during
the time of the seven last plagues that culminate in the return of Christ…]” It first answers the
question “What is the condition of the world when men and women are called to stand?” This
is found in Revelation 7: 1-3, it is in these three verses that our study finds its focus. Revelation
7: 1-3 states:
“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. 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,
saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our
God in their foreheads.”
Notice that according to the verses above, there are angels standing at the four corners
of the earth, symbolizing that there are heavenly intelligences stationed everywhere on planet
earth (east, west, north, and south). Why are they there however? The verse states to hold “the
four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any
tree.” One of the things to keep in mind when studying the book of Revelation, is that it is a
book of signs and symbols, and these symbols need to be unlocked. It makes sense then that

3. words like winds, sea, earth and tree are therefore symbolic of something else, for the angels
would not be told to just protect inanimate objects. Let us begin unlocking:
Winds: “When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a
whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.” (Proverbs 1: 27) Therefore in the
Bible wind represents: desolation, destruction, distress, and anguish.
Sea: “And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are
peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” (Revelation 17:15) The waters/sea in
prophecy symbolizes a greatly populated area, filled with many people, multitudes, nations and
people who speak different languages.
EARTH: The earth is the exact opposite of the sea in the Scriptures, so whereas the sea
represents an area that is greatly populated, the earth represents a place that is scarcely
populated.
TREE: “Belteshazzar answered and said, my lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the
interpretation thereof to thine enemies. The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was
strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth; Whose
leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the beasts
of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation: It is
thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto
heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth.” (Daniel 4: 20-22/ Psalm 1: 3) According to
these two texts, a tree in the Bible can represent a king, the nation/kingdom that he reigns
over, and also a blessed or righteous person.
Now let us make sense of all that we have gone over so far. Revelation 7: 1 states:
“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.”
This means that there are heavenly intelligences stationed at the four corners of planet
earth (east, west north, south/ everywhere on the earth), that are holding back the four winds
(which we have seen represents destruction, desolation, and anguish), meaning that they are
holding back the total world-wide outburst of destruction, desolation, distress, and anguish.
This means friends that if we think that with the political upheaval, the wars in different
countries, the crime and destruction, that this is it…. we are sadly mistaken. The Bible is letting
us know, that as much chaos as the world is in today, this is pudding compared to what is
coming. The world is building up slowly to a final crisis that will lead to the battle of
Armageddon. God in mercy and love is holding back a world-wide crisis through the angels that
he has positioned all over the world, but when the gospel goes to every place on planet earth,
and those who choose to stand on God’s side are sealed, then the four winds will be released.

4. When I first found out about this, I was blown away, I knew nothing about these
prophecies, and that the Bible was so connected. I did not see it as a scare tactic either, instead
I realized that Jesus was showing me the future, and the reason He does everything is because
He loves me, for the verses we are studying are found in the book of Revelation, and this is how
the book begins “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his
servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto
his servant John…” (Revelation 1: 1) It is Jesus, in love, who sends you and I these warnings, he
lets us know what is going to happen before it even happens. Why? Jesus says in John 13: 19
“Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.”
Prophecy is not meant to scare us, but as intense as it may be sometimes, it is given to help us
to believe that Jesus is who He said He was, and to know that the same God, who knows the
future, is the same God, who if we trust/believe in Him, can hold our lives in His hand, and
protect us. Plus if we know what is coming, we are better able to prepare. What love, that God
would reveal these things to us, instead of keeping us out of the loop.
I encourage each of us to study God’s word, and depend on Him, believe in Him, and
trust in Him. In light of what is coming upon the world, we need not fear, but trust that Jesus,
the God of prophecy died for us; and if we trust in Him, he will save us. If we will give Christ our
lives, it matters not what we have done, or how broken our lives may be, our background, or
how others may perceive us, He loves us. If we come to Him, it matters not the sin, He will
receive us as we are, and begin to change us. He will give us the strength to repent of our sin
and overcome it. If Christ died for us, then what is He not willing to give, if we will only come?
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in
him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3: 16)