Revelation 7:1Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

By the four angels, some understand that those undergoing disasters can in no way escape the wrath of God, either on land or at sea. Some refer this to the earlier persecution of the Jews by the Romans.

But we think that all this must happen in a far more intense way at the coming of the Antichrist. It will not be in the land of the Jews in particular, but throughout the whole earth. At its four corners, as he says, the angels will stand, carrying out the ministry appointed to them by God and unknown to us.

The restraining of the winds testifies to the destruction of creation's subjection and to the inevitability of evil. For everything that grows on the earth grows and is nourished by the winds. By their help, men also sail upon the sea.

It is evident that here the evangelist is speaking of what befell the Jews during the war with the Romans. This happened to them because of the crucifixion of the Lord and their outrage against Him.

The four angels holding the four corners of the land of the Jews are keeping watch, so that none of the Jews marked for destruction may escape. Perhaps they brought upon them fear of flight, dissensions, or an unseemly longing for homeland, wives, and kin. This is what is figuratively indicated by their holding the four sides of Judea.

Here the four chief kingdoms are meant: the Assyrian, Persian, Greek, and Roman. In a certain way, by their power they stifled all and allowed no one to breathe freely, according to his own will. By earth here are meant the various provinces, by sea the islands, and by trees people of the most diverse characters and occupations. Otherwise, all this may be understood as follows. The four angels, and likewise the four winds, are interpreted according to Daniel’s prophecy: Behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea, and four great beasts came up from the sea (Dan 7:2-3).

The seal of the living God is the Spirit of adoption, as is clear from the following words of the Apostle Paul: “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Eph 4:30). “God has sealed us and given the pledge of the Spirit in our hearts” (2 Cor 1:22).

By the name “seal of the living God” is meant the Cross of the Lord, the sign of the King of eternal glory, on which He suffered for our salvation. Saint Andrew of Caesarea says of this: “This will be especially so at the coming of the Antichrist, when the seal of the Life-giving Cross will distinguish the faithful from the unbelieving.”

The winds of the earth, in the opinion of the interpreters, are the preachers of the Word of God. For as the wind, breaking up the clouds, waters the earth, makes it fruitful, and gladdens the face of the earth, so preaching waters, gladdens, and makes human minds fruitful.

The four angels stationed at the four corners of the earth were already ready to begin harming the earth and the sea. Then the apostle John saw another angel, who halted the destructive activity of the four angels until seals should be placed on the foreheads of the servants of God. According to St. Andrew’s interpretation, this will be fulfilled at the coming of the antichrist, when the seal of the Life-giving Cross will distinguish from unbelievers those who bear the sign of Christ openly and boldly before the faithful.