King James Version
Revelation 7
17 verses with commentary
The 144,000 Sealed
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.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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....</strong> This verse from Revelation's vision of sealed servants and innumerable multitude - god's protection and salvation employs apocalyptic imagery rich with Old Testament allusions and sy...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
**VII.**
(1)* **And after these things **. . Better, And after this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding fast the four winds of the earth, that there might not blow a wind upon the earth, nor upon the sea, nor upon any tree.* In the sixth seal the winds had blown, and had shaken violently the fig-tree, causing its untimely figs to drop off: the untimely or winter fi...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. I know--**Greek, "I have knowledge of (perfect) Him." Compare with this verse 1Jo 1:8.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 7
Chapter Outline
A pause between two great periods.(1-3)
The peace, happiness, and safety of the saints, as signified by an angel's sealing 144,000.
(4-8)
A song of praise.(9-12)
The blessedness and glory of those that suffered martyrdom for Christ.(13-17)
**Verses 1-8**
In the figurative language of Scripture, the blowing of the four winds together, means a ...
Read full commentary →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,
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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,...</strong> This verse from Revelation's vision of sealed servants and innumerable multitude - god's protection and salvation employs apocalyptic imagery rich with Old Testament allusions and symbolic mean...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **And I saw another angel . **. .—Translate, *And I saw another angel going up from the rising of the sun, having a seal of the living God, and he was crying with a great voice to the four angels to whom it was given to injure the earth and the sea, saying, Injure ye not the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads.* The angels appear...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
5. Not merely repeating the proposition, 1Jo 2:3, or asserting the merely opposite alternative to 1Jo 2:4, but expanding the "know Him" of 1Jo 2:3, into "in Him, verily (not as a matter of vain boasting) is the love of (that is towards) God perfected," and "we are in Him." Love here answers to knowledge in 1Jo 2:3. In proportion as we love God, in that same proportion we know Him, and vice versa, ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 7
Chapter Outline
A pause between two great periods.(1-3)
The peace, happiness, and safety of the saints, as signified by an angel's sealing 144,000.
(4-8)
A song of praise.(9-12)
The blessedness and glory of those that suffered martyrdom for Christ.(13-17)
**Verses 1-8**
In the figurative language of Scripture, the blowing of the four winds together, means a ...
Read full commentary →Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads....</strong> This verse from Revelation's vision of sealed servants and innumerable multitude - god's protection and salvation employs apocalyptic imagery rich with Old Testament allusions and symbolic meaning. The Greek text uses vivid apocalyptic language characteris...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6. abideth--**implying a condition lasting, without intermission, and without end.
**He that saith ... ought--**so that his deeds may be consistent with his words.
**even as he--**Believers readily supply the name, their hearts being full of Him (compare Joh 20:15). "Even as He walked" when on earth, especially in respect to love. John delights in referring to Christ as the model man, with t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 7
Chapter Outline
A pause between two great periods.(1-3)
The peace, happiness, and safety of the saints, as signified by an angel's sealing 144,000.
(4-8)
A song of praise.(9-12)
The blessedness and glory of those that suffered martyrdom for Christ.(13-17)
**Verses 1-8**
In the figurative language of Scripture, the blowing of the four winds together, means a ...
Read full commentary →And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel....</strong> This verse from Revelation's vision of sealed servants and innumerable multitude - god's protection and salvation employs apocalyptic imagery rich with Old Testament allusions and symbolic meaning. The Greek text uses vivid ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **And I heard the number of** **them . . . **Translate, *And I heard the number of the sealed: there were a hundred and forty and four thousand sealed out of every tribe of the sons of Israel.* There are two or three questions which these verses suggest. What are we to understand by the number twelve thousand from each tribe? Who are these who are drawn from the tribes of Israel? Why is there ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7. Brethren--**The oldest manuscripts and versions read instead, "Beloved," appropriate to the subject here, love.
**no new commandment--**namely, love, the main principle of walking as Christ walked (1Jo 2:6), and that commandment, of which one exemplification is presently given, 1Jo 2:9, 10, the love of brethren.
**ye had from the beginning--**from the time that ye first heard the Gospel w...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 7
Chapter Outline
A pause between two great periods.(1-3)
The peace, happiness, and safety of the saints, as signified by an angel's sealing 144,000.
(4-8)
A song of praise.(9-12)
The blessedness and glory of those that suffered martyrdom for Christ.(13-17)
**Verses 1-8**
In the figurative language of Scripture, the blowing of the four winds together, means a ...
Read full commentary →Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand.
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KJV Study Commentary
The sealing of 144,000 from Israel's tribes represents God's preservation of His elect during judgment. The number 144,000 (12 tribes × 12,000) symbolizes completeness, not a literal count. Reformed interpretation sees this as the church universal—both Jewish and Gentile believers, the true Israel of God (Galatians 6:16). The seal marks divine ownership and protection (cf. Ephesians 1:13), assurin...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8. a new commandment--**It was "old," in that Christians as such had heard it from the first; but "new" (Greek, "kaine," not "nea": new and different from the old legal precept) in that it was first clearly promulgated with Christianity; though the inner spirit of the law was love even to enemies, yet it was enveloped in some bitter precepts which caused it to be temporarily almost unrecognized,...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 7
Chapter Outline
A pause between two great periods.(1-3)
The peace, happiness, and safety of the saints, as signified by an angel's sealing 144,000.
(4-8)
A song of praise.(9-12)
The blessedness and glory of those that suffered martyrdom for Christ.(13-17)
**Verses 1-8**
In the figurative language of Scripture, the blowing of the four winds together, means a ...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
The continued enumeration emphasizes the methodical, complete sealing of all God's covenant people. Each tribe's inclusion demonstrates that God's promises to Israel find fulfillment in the church, with no faithful remnant forgotten. The specific number (12,000 per tribe) symbolizes ordered perfection—God knows each of His own by name. Reformed theology sees this as election's certainty; the Fathe...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
9-11. There is no mean between light and darkness, love and hatred, life and death, God and the world: wherever spiritual life is, however weak, there darkness and death no longer reign, and love supplants hatred; and Lu 9:50 holds good: wherever life is not, there death, darkness, the flesh, the world, and hatred, however glossed over and hidden from man's observation, prevail; and Lu 11:23 holds...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 7
Chapter Outline
A pause between two great periods.(1-3)
The peace, happiness, and safety of the saints, as signified by an angel's sealing 144,000.
(4-8)
A song of praise.(9-12)
The blessedness and glory of those that suffered martyrdom for Christ.(13-17)
**Verses 1-8**
In the figurative language of Scripture, the blowing of the four winds together, means a ...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
The completion of the sealing from all 12 tribes underscores covenant comprehensiveness. The listing includes tribes often omitted (like Simeon absorbed into Judah), showing God's exhaustive knowledge and care. Notably, Dan is excluded (replaced by Joseph's sons), possibly due to Dan's idolatry (Judges 18). This demonstrates that covenant participation requires faith, not mere lineage. Reformed th...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
9-11. There is no mean between light and darkness, love and hatred, life and death, God and the world: wherever spiritual life is, however weak, there darkness and death no longer reign, and love supplants hatred; and Lu 9:50 holds good: wherever life is not, there death, darkness, the flesh, the world, and hatred, however glossed over and hidden from man's observation, prevail; and Lu 11:23 holds...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 7
Chapter Outline
A pause between two great periods.(1-3)
The peace, happiness, and safety of the saints, as signified by an angel's sealing 144,000.
(4-8)
A song of praise.(9-12)
The blessedness and glory of those that suffered martyrdom for Christ.(13-17)
**Verses 1-8**
In the figurative language of Scripture, the blowing of the four winds together, means a ...
Read full commentary →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.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The final tribes sealed complete the picture of God's comprehensive redemption. The 144,000 symbolizes the church militant—still on earth, protected during tribulation. The seal (Greek 'sphragis') marks ownership and destination, like ancient shipping marks indicating cargo's owner and port. This sealing is the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14), guaranteeing believers' preservation until final redem...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
9-11. There is no mean between light and darkness, love and hatred, life and death, God and the world: wherever spiritual life is, however weak, there darkness and death no longer reign, and love supplants hatred; and Lu 9:50 holds good: wherever life is not, there death, darkness, the flesh, the world, and hatred, however glossed over and hidden from man's observation, prevail; and Lu 11:23 holds...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 7
Chapter Outline
A pause between two great periods.(1-3)
The peace, happiness, and safety of the saints, as signified by an angel's sealing 144,000.
(4-8)
A song of praise.(9-12)
The blessedness and glory of those that suffered martyrdom for Christ.(13-17)
**Verses 1-8**
In the figurative language of Scripture, the blowing of the four winds together, means a ...
Read full commentary →The Great Multitude in White Robes
After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number , of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robe...</strong> This verse from Revelation's vision of sealed servants and innumerable multitude - god's protection and salvation employs apocalyptic imagery rich with Old Testament allusions and...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **After this I beheld . . .**—Better, *After these things I saw, and behold! a great multitude which no one was able to number*, *out of every nation*, *and (all) tribes, and peoples, and tongues*, *standing before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches in their hands. “*A great multitude:” We have just had the picture of the sealing of a multitude which cou...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**12. little children--**Greek, "little sons," or "dear sons and daughters"; not the same Greek as in 1Jo 2:13, "little children," "infants" (in age and standing). He calls ALL to whom he writes, "little sons" (1Jo 2:1, Greek; 1Jo 2:28; 3:18; 4:4; 5:21); but only in 1Jo 2:13, 18 he uses the term "little children," or "infants." Our Lord, whose Spirit John so deeply drank into, used to His disciple...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-12**
The first fruits of Christ having led the way, the Gentiles converted later follow, and ascribe their salvation to God and the Redeemer, with triumph. In acts of religious worship we come nigh to God, and must come by Christ; the throne of God could not be approached by sinners, were it not for a Mediator. They were clothed with the robes of justification, holiness, and victory...
Read full commentary →And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb....</strong> This verse from Revelation's vision of sealed servants and innumerable multitude - god's protection and salvation employs apocalyptic imagery rich with Old Testament allusions and symbolic meaning. The Greek text uses vivid apocalyptic language characteristic of Jewish pr...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **And cried with a** **loud voice **. . .—Better, *And they cry with a loud voice, saying, The salvation to our God who sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb. *Their cry, littered with a loud voice, is the acknowledgment that their salvation—the salvation which they now taste—is due not to themselves, but to their God and to the Lamb. The salvation here must, I think, be taken in its most ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
13-14. All three classes are first addressed in the present. "I write"; then in the past (aorist) tense, "I wrote" (not "I have written"; moreover, in the oldest manuscripts and versions, in the end of 1Jo 2:13, it is past, "I wrote," not as English Version, "I write"). Two classes, "fathers" and "young men," are addressed with the same words each time (except that the address to the young men has...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-12**
The first fruits of Christ having led the way, the Gentiles converted later follow, and ascribe their salvation to God and the Redeemer, with triumph. In acts of religious worship we come nigh to God, and must come by Christ; the throne of God could not be approached by sinners, were it not for a Mediator. They were clothed with the robes of justification, holiness, and victory...
Read full commentary →And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,
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KJV Study Commentary
The angels, elders, and living creatures surrounding the throne depict the cosmic scope of worship. Angels stand ('hestēkeisan') in readiness to serve, while the posture of falling before the throne demonstrates humility before divine majesty. This heavenly liturgy models earthly worship—centered on God's throne, responsive to His acts, corporate in nature. Reformed theology emphasizes that worshi...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **And all the angels **. . .—Translate, *And all the angels were standing round the throne, and the elders, and the four living beings* . . . *saying, Amen. *The great concourse of angels—those among whom there has been joy in heaven when a sinner has repented—now add their “Amen” to the cry of the redeemed, and then raise the seven-fold ascription of praise—
“Amen!
The blessing, and the glor...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
13-14. All three classes are first addressed in the present. "I write"; then in the past (aorist) tense, "I wrote" (not "I have written"; moreover, in the oldest manuscripts and versions, in the end of 1Jo 2:13, it is past, "I wrote," not as English Version, "I write"). Two classes, "fathers" and "young men," are addressed with the same words each time (except that the address to the young men has...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-12**
The first fruits of Christ having led the way, the Gentiles converted later follow, and ascribe their salvation to God and the Redeemer, with triumph. In acts of religious worship we come nigh to God, and must come by Christ; the throne of God could not be approached by sinners, were it not for a Mediator. They were clothed with the robes of justification, holiness, and victory...
Read full commentary →Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.
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KJV Study Commentary
The sevenfold doxology ascribes complete attributes to God: blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might. The number seven symbolizes perfection; these attributes encompass all divine excellencies. The 'Amen' bookends (beginning and ending) confirm and seal the ascription—meaning 'truly' or 'it is certain.' Reformed theology emphasizes God's aseity (self-existence); He possesses ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15. Love not the world--**that lieth in the wicked one (1Jo 5:19), whom ye young men have overcome. Having once for all, through faith, overcome the world (1Jo 4:4; 5:4), carry forward the conquest by not loving it. "The world" here means "man, and man's world" [Alford], in his and its state as fallen from God. "God loved [with the love of compassion] the world," and we should feel the same kind...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-12**
The first fruits of Christ having led the way, the Gentiles converted later follow, and ascribe their salvation to God and the Redeemer, with triumph. In acts of religious worship we come nigh to God, and must come by Christ; the throne of God could not be approached by sinners, were it not for a Mediator. They were clothed with the robes of justification, holiness, and victory...
Read full commentary →And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?...</strong> This verse from Revelation's vision of sealed servants and innumerable multitude - god's protection and salvation employs apocalyptic imagery rich with Old Testament allusions and symbolic meaning. The Greek text uses vivid apocalyptic language characteristic o...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **And one of the elders answered, saying unto me.**—The seer had asked no question, but the elder answers the wondering thoughts and questionings which fill his mind. Perhaps this scene was in Dante’s mind when he described himself in Paradise:
*“*Silent was I, yet desire
Was painted in my looks; and thus I spake
My wish more earnestly than language could.”
—Paradiso, iv. 10-12.
The elder ask...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**16. all that is in the world--**can be classed under one or other of the three; the world contains these and no more.
**lust of the flesh--**that is, the lust which has its seat and source in our lower animal nature. Satan tried this temptation the first on Christ: Lu 4:3, "Command this stone that it be made bread." Youth is especially liable to fleshly lusts.
**lust of the eyes--**the avenu...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 13-17**
Faithful Christians deserve our notice and respect; we should mark the upright. Those who would gain knowledge, must not be ashamed to seek instruction from any who can give it. The way to heaven is through many tribulations; but tribulation, how great soever, shall not separate us from the love of God. Tribulation makes heaven more welcome and more glorious. It is not the blo...
Read full commentary →And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb....</strong> This verse from Revelation's vision of sealed servants and innumerable multitude - god's protection and salvation employs apocalyptic imagery rich with Old Testament allusions and symbolic meani...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **And **I **said unto him **. . .—The form in which the answer of the seer is given shows how completely the elder had anticipated his thoughts; for he describes his reply as instantaneous. *And I have said, My Lord*—the language is that of reverent regard, but not of worship (see Revelation 19:10; Revelation 22:8-9)—*thou knowest*—*i.e.,* it is for thee to tell me: thy knowledge and thy view...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**17. the world--**with all who are of the world worldly.
**passeth away--**Greek, "is passing away" even now.
**the lust thereof--**in its threefold manifestation (1Jo 2:16).
**he that doeth the will of God--**not his own fleshly will, or the will of the world, but that of God (1Jo 2:3, 6), especially in respect to love.
**abideth for ever--**"even as God also abideth for ever" (with whom...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 13-17**
Faithful Christians deserve our notice and respect; we should mark the upright. Those who would gain knowledge, must not be ashamed to seek instruction from any who can give it. The way to heaven is through many tribulations; but tribulation, how great soever, shall not separate us from the love of God. Tribulation makes heaven more welcome and more glorious. It is not the blo...
Read full commentary →Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them....</strong> This verse from Revelation's vision of sealed servants and innumerable multitude - god's protection and salvation employs apocalyptic imagery rich with Old Testament allusions and symbolic meaning. The Greek text uses vivid apocalypti...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **Therefore are they before the throne . . . **—Better, *On this account are they before the throne of God*—*i.e.,* because they so washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (Comp. Revelation 22:14, where a well-supported reading is, “Blessed are they that wash their robes, that they may have right to the tree of life,” &c.) They are before the throne: they are like Hi...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**18. Little children--**same Greek as 1Jo 2:13; children in age. After the fathers and young men were gone, "the last time" with its "many Antichrists" was about to come suddenly on the children. "In this last hour we all even still live" [Bengel]. Each successive age has had in it some of the signs of "the last time" which precedes Christ's coming, in order to keep the Church in continual waitin...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 13-17**
Faithful Christians deserve our notice and respect; we should mark the upright. Those who would gain knowledge, must not be ashamed to seek instruction from any who can give it. The way to heaven is through many tribulations; but tribulation, how great soever, shall not separate us from the love of God. Tribulation makes heaven more welcome and more glorious. It is not the blo...
Read full commentary →They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat....</strong> This verse from Revelation's vision of sealed servants and innumerable multitude - god's protection and salvation employs apocalyptic imagery rich with Old Testament allusions and symbolic meaning. The Greek text uses vivid apocalyptic language characteristic of Jewish prophet...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **They shall hunger no more **. . .—Better, *They shall not hunger any more*, *nor yet thirst any more; neither at all shall the sun light upon them*, *nor any heat.* The negatives are emphatic, and rise in force as the verse proceeds. None of the privations which they have endured for Christ’s sake shall trouble them; none of the dissatisfactions and weariness of life shall afflict them; for...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**19. out from us--**from our Christian communion. Not necessarily a formal secession or going out: thus Rome has spiritually gone out, though formally still of the Christian Church.
**not of us--**by spiritual fellowship (1Jo 1:3). "They are like bad humors in the body of Christ, the Church: when they are vomited out, then the body is relieved; the body of Christ is now still under treatment, a...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 13-17**
Faithful Christians deserve our notice and respect; we should mark the upright. Those who would gain knowledge, must not be ashamed to seek instruction from any who can give it. The way to heaven is through many tribulations; but tribulation, how great soever, shall not separate us from the love of God. Tribulation makes heaven more welcome and more glorious. It is not the blo...
Read full commentary →For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes....</strong> This verse from Revelation's vision of sealed servants and innumerable multitude - god's protection and salvation employs apocalyptic imagery rich with Old Testament allusions and symbolic meaning. The Greek te...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **For the Lamb . . .**—Translate, *Because the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall tend them, and shall lead them to fountains of waters of life* (or, *life-springs of waters); and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes.* The Lamb is described as “the Lamb in the midst of the throne.” The writer told in Revelation 5:6 that he had seen a Lamb in the midst of the throne. When...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**20. But--**Greek, "And." He here states the means which they as believers have wherewith to withstand. Antichrists (1Jo 2:18), namely, the chrism (so the Greek: a play upon similar sounds), or "anointing unguent," namely, the Holy Spirit (more plainly mentioned further on, as in John's style, 1Jo 3:24; 4:13; 5:6), which they ("ye" is emphatical in contrast to those apostates, 1Jo 2:19) have "fro...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 13-17**
Faithful Christians deserve our notice and respect; we should mark the upright. Those who would gain knowledge, must not be ashamed to seek instruction from any who can give it. The way to heaven is through many tribulations; but tribulation, how great soever, shall not separate us from the love of God. Tribulation makes heaven more welcome and more glorious. It is not the blo...
Read full commentary →