6.  Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand.  Of the
    tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand.  Of the tribe of
    Manasses were sealed twelve thousand.

    7.  Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand.  Of the
    tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand.  Of the tribe of
    Issachar were sealed twelve thousand.

    8.  Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand.  Of the
    tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand.  Of the tribe of
    Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.

A clear understanding of the two visions in the chapter before us can be obtained only by considering the plan of the prophecy already referred to.  The events are narrated by series.  A particular theme is taken up and followed through to its completion; then the narrative returns and another theme is introduced.  But this is not all.  Whenever the history of abounding error or iniquity is set forth, we have in immediate connection and in perfect contrast therewith a history of the true people of God; thus, the contemporaneous history of righteousness and iniquity, truth and error, a true church and a false one.  The visions of this chapter cover the same period of time as the events described in the preceding chapter, but form the most perfect contrast.  The student of Revelation who unfolds the dark history of apostasy and iniquity contained in the preceding seals might naturally be led to ask, Is this the melancholy end of God’s church?  Does it deteriorate rapidly and turn out so badly, after all?  As an answer to these questions, God gives us next a history of his own people, showing that he preserved his own church complete, although Antichrist reigned in power.

The principal points in the vision before us are the tempestuous winds about to descend upon the earth, and the sealing of God’s servants.  The first of these, being drawn from nature, would lead us to look for its fulfilment in political events; while the latter, derived from human life, directs us into the affairs of the church.  The “four winds of the earth” from the “four corners of the earth” signify all the winds from every direction—­the cardinal points of the compass; while the four angels signify all the agencies that have control of these winds, which for the present are held in restraint in order to give opportunity for the sealing of the Lord’s servants. Angels in the Scripture is frequently used to denote evil agencies as well as good, the context determining which is meant.  See Chap. 12:7.  The design of the winds was to “hurt the earth, the sea, and the trees.”