Revelation 7:2-3

Revelation 7:2-3

[2] And  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,  [3] Saying,  Hurt  not  the earth,  neither  the sea,  nor  the trees,  till  we have sealed  the servants  God  in  their  foreheads. 

What does Revelation 7:2-3 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Another (Gr. allon, another of the same kind) angelic messenger appeared in the East. In Scripture divine salvation often comes from the East (cf. Genesis 2:8; Ezekiel 43:2; Matthew 2:1). He possessed a seal from "the living God," the title adding solemnity and vitality to the seal. [1] A seal was a symbol of ownership ( 2 Corinthians 1:22), authentication ( John 6:27), and protection leading to final salvation ( Ephesians 1:14; Ephesians 4:30). A signet ring typically made the distinctive impression on the seal in John"s day. [2] This seal is probably the name of the Lamb and His Father (cf. Revelation 14:1; Isaiah 44:5). The angel instructed the four angels to withhold their judgment on the earth until he had finished sealing God"s servants on their foreheads (cf. Ezekiel 9:4). The servants in view are believers in Jesus Christ (cf. Philippians 1:1, et al.) who are Jews ( Revelation 7:4-8).
". . . they, like Saul [3], will be set apart to be God"s messengers to the Gentiles." [4]
The seal could be visible ( Ezekiel 9:4) or invisible ( 2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:14; Ephesians 4:30), but the mention of their foreheads suggests a visible seal (cf. Revelation 14:1). Some take the seal as a metaphor of salvation. [5]
"It was not uncommon for a soldier or a guild member to receive such a mark as a religious devotee. The mark was a sign of consecration to deity ... The forehead was chosen because it was the most conspicuous, the most noble, and the part by which a person is usually identified ..." [6]
Their sealing marks these believers off as God"s redeemed people and guarantees their protection from divine judgment while they carry out their service for God on the earth during the Great Tribulation ( Revelation 14:1; Revelation 14:3-4; cf. Revelation 13:16-18; 2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13; Ephesians 4:30). Their seals may not protect them from harm that other people inflict on them (cf. Revelation 13:7; Revelation 13:15; Revelation 20:4) but from the divine judgments sent on unbelievers in the last half of the Tribulation (cf. Revelation 16:2). Evidently God will give these144 ,000 believers special protection in the last half of the Tribulation because its calamities will be much more severe than those in the first half. Antichrist will also mark his followers in a similar way ( Revelation 13:16-18; Revelation 14:9; Revelation 14:11; Revelation 16:2; Revelation 19:20).