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Revelation 7:2-3 reveals Christ as another Angel. Christ is called “another Angel” because He stands in the position of one who has been sent by God. As the unique, special Angel, Christ is the One sent by God to carry out His economy.
According to the revelation of the entire Bible, Christ was sent by the Triune God. This is unveiled in Exodus 3, where Moses, when he was called by God in the wilderness of Sinai, saw the Angel of Jehovah and heard His voice (vv. 1-4). Here the title the Angel of Jehovah refers mainly to Christ, the Son of God, as the One sent by God (cf. John 8:42) to save His people from their situation of suffering (cf. Judg. 6:12-22; 13:3-22). According to verses 2 and 6 of Exodus 3, the Angel of Jehovah, the sent One, was Jehovah Himself, the sending One (cf. Zech. 2:6-11), and Jehovah is the Triune God (Exo. 3:6, 15). This is confirmed by the words of Jehovah to Moses in Exodus 3:6: “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Here Jehovah is revealed as the God of three generations — the God of the father, his son, and his grandson. That God is the God of three persons implies that He is the Triune God — the Father, the Son, and the Spirit (Matt. 28:19). For the purpose of calling and sending Moses, God, the sending One, appeared to him as the sent One (cf. John 20:21).
In the Old Testament Christ was called “the Angel of Jehovah,” who is God Himself (Gen. 22:11-12; Zech. 1:11-12; 3:1-7). In Genesis the Angel of Jehovah spoke to Abraham. In Revelation He is again called the Angel (10:5, 9), and in 7:2 Christ is specifically revealed as another Angel. There are many angels in the air who serve God’s purpose, but above them is another Angel, the unique Angel.
In Revelation Christ is referred to as another Angel four times (7:2; 8:3; 10:1; 18:1). Revelation indicates that as another Angel Christ cares for God’s chosen people (the Israelites), executes the prayer of the saints concerning God’s economy, possesses the earth in the future, and appears in glory to make the whole earth the kingdom of God (7:2-8; 8:3-5; 10:1-5; 18:1; 11:15).
Revelation 7:2-8 indicates that this Angel takes care of God’s chosen people, Israel. Israel has been and still is under persecution. The entire world has been trying to diminish Israel, so Israel needs special care in order to be preserved. The little nation of Israel is surrounded by many Arab countries, yet it still survives. This is because another Angel is taking care of Israel.
While Christ is in the heavens carrying out God’s economy, which is mainly concerned with God’s judgment of the earth, He takes care of God’s people (vv. 1-3; 8:3-5). This is fully revealed in Revelation 7 and 8. God has two peoples — the children of Israel and the church composed of redeemed saints. No matter how much this earth is judged by Christ in God’s administration, He will take care of the chosen Israel and the redeemed church. We all are under Christ’s care in His administration. It does not matter what the other nations say or do, for the nation of Israel is under the care of Christ’s universal administration. The other countries may try to do certain things, but any attempt to frustrate Christ’s care will be in vain because of the watchful concern of the universal Administrator.
Revelation 7:2 speaks of Christ as “another Angel ascending from the rising of the sun.”
Verse 2 goes on to say that Christ as another Angel has “the seal of the living God.” In verses 4 through 8 we see that God will seal one hundred forty-four thousand “out of every tribe of the sons of Israel,” sealing twelve thousand out of each of the twelve tribes. These are the Israelites who will keep the commandments of God during the great tribulation (12:17; 14:12). Altogether, one hundred forty-four thousand faithful Israelites will be sealed on their foreheads. This seal will be a mark recognizable to the angels sent to judge the earth. This is God’s way of preserving His chosen Israelites while He is executing His judgment upon the earth.
In His work as another Angel, Christ not only takes care of Israel but also cares for the redeemed saints of the church. This is seen in Revelation 7:9-17, where we have a vision of the preservation of the redeemed ones throughout all the tribulations. The Lord’s way to preserve the remnant of Israel is to seal them and leave them on earth. His way to preserve the redeemed saints is to take them away by means of rapture. Eventually, all the redeemed saints will be raptured from earth to heaven.
Verse 2 also tells us that Christ as another Angel cries “with a loud voice to the four angels to whom authority was given to harm the earth and the sea.” He orders the angels who were going to damage the earth to wait until those of Israel are sealed.
In verse 3 Christ says, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we seal the slaves of our God upon their foreheads.” According to Revelation 8, the first trumpet is to harm the earth and the trees (v. 7), the second trumpet is to harm the sea (vv. 8-9), the third trumpet is to harm the rivers (vv. 10-11), and the fourth trumpet is to harm the heavenly hosts (v. 12). Before the executing of the first four trumpets, God will seal His chosen Israelites to preserve them from the supernatural calamities which will be carried out by these trumpets. The first four trumpets will harm only the earth, the sea, the rivers, and the heavenly hosts. It is the fifth trumpet that will torment men directly. God’s sealing of His chosen Israelites is especially to preserve them from the torment of the fifth trumpet (9:4).
According to prophecy and their present situation, the children of Israel have returned to the land of their fathers in unbelief. They still cling to their old religion, and they do not believe in God according to His New Testament economy. They are actually in rebellion against Him. When the Lord Jesus came, God changed the dispensation from that of keeping the law to that of believing in the Lord Jesus. But the Jews would not accept this change, and they refused to turn from keeping the law to believing in the Lord Jesus. This was their rebellion, stubbornness, and disobedience. God has borne with them for centuries, and even while, according to His sovereignty, they have returned and been restored as a nation again, they are still in unbelief. They do not believe in the Lord Jesus. The prophecies regarding Israel indicate that they will remain in unbelief until the last day. God, however, is sovereign, and He will always take care of the nation of Israel, not for their sake but for His economy. He knows that among the unbelieving Jews there are some faithful ones, and before He will judge the earth with supernatural calamities, He will seal them.
Revelation 7:17 unveils that for our experience and enjoyment Christ is also our Shepherd.
Verse 17 says, “The Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them.” In this verse the term them refers to all of God’s redeemed ones, including both those in the Old Testament age and the New Testament age. All the redeemed ones are considered God’s flock, of which Christ is the Shepherd.
In Revelation 7:17 we see that the Lamb will shepherd them and guide them to springs of waters of life. Shepherding includes feeding. Under the shepherding of Christ, we “will lack nothing” (Psa. 23:1). The believers throughout the generations have been under the shepherding of the Lord as the good Shepherd (1 Pet. 2:25). As the Chief Shepherd (5:4) and the great Shepherd of God’s flock (Heb. 13:20), He will shepherd us for eternity as the Lamb of God and guide us to springs of waters of life so that we may have eternal satisfaction, without thirst or hunger (Rev. 7:16-17). By shepherding the flock of God, Christ accomplishes a great part of God’s organic salvation, His salvation in life (Rom. 5:10).
In His shepherding the flock of God, the main thing Christ does is to guide us to the many different springs of waters of life. In Revelation 7:17 springs of waters of life refers to the unique water of life in different aspects. In keeping with this, John 7:38 speaks of the many rivers of living water flowing out of a believer’s innermost being, whereas Revelation 22:1 speaks of the one river of water of life proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the New Jerusalem. This indicates that there will be the unique river of water of life that issues into many rivers for our enjoyment. The rivers of living water are the many flows of the different aspects of life (cf. Rom. 15:30; 1 Thes. 1:6; 2 Thes. 2:13; Gal. 5:22-23), originating from the one unique river of water of life (Rev. 22:1), which is God’s Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2). In eternity we will drink of many springs and enjoy many different waters. How good this is!
To the world and to the Jews Christ is the Ruler of the kings, but to a great multitude of redeemed saints mentioned in Revelation 7:9-17, the Lamb is the Shepherd. Verse 14, which says, “These are those who come out of the great tribulation,” refers to tribulations, sufferings, persecutions, and afflictions experienced by God’s redeemed people throughout the ages. They have in their hands palm branches, which signify the victory of the saints over tribulation, which they have undergone for the Lord’s sake (vv. 9-14; cf. John 12:13). Palm trees are also a sign of satisfaction gained through being watered (Exo. 15:27). When He shepherds and guides them to springs of waters of life, He brings them to God Himself. These dear ones, who love God and seek Christ at any cost, gain the supply of living water, which is God Himself. This living water sustains them and enables them to overcome every obstacle.
Many believers have been sustained by the Lord to overcome all obstacles and to come to the springs of the waters of life. They can testify that in their background in religion there was no living water to refresh them. In religion there is only dryness. Some of the believers who were brought up in Judaism surely can confirm that they found only a desert with no supply of living water in the Jewish religion.
We need to praise the Lord for bringing us to the church, where there is a fountain which is God Himself, the source of living water. This living water flows unceasingly so that it fills us to the point of overflowing. It is when we are full of this thirst-quenching water that we can easily overcome whatever comes across our path. By the living water out of this spring, we can overcome all things.
The Lamb, who today is in the heavens, is the One who is shepherding us. He exercises His rulership over the universe, the nations, and the Jews. Yet He also leads His seekers to God as the springs of waters of life. The following chorus from one of our hymns speaks of our enjoyment of the springs of waters of life:
Drinking at the Fountain that never runs dry,
Drinking at the Fountain of life am I;
Finding joy and pleasure
In abounding measure,
I am drinking at the Fountain of life.
Hymns, #322
In the church we find a never ending, sure supply. In this drink we find joy and pleasure in abounding measure. By His heavenly ministry, the Lamb has brought us to a wonderful fountain.
