Rev. 7 is an interlude between the opening of the sixth and seventh seals. John received two new visions that answered the question posed in Rev. 6:17, "For the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
Four angels were seen at the four corners of the earth holding back the winds from blowing on the land, or on the sea or on any tree. Another angel called out to the four angels to withhold their judgment on the earth until he had finished sealing God's servants on their foreheads ... suggesting that the winds represented God's judgments coming on the world.
Then John heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 Jews ... 12,000 from each tribe of Israel. The seal on their foreheads is the name of the Lamb and His Father (14:1).
Next, John saw a countless multitude from every nation, tribe and tongue, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” And the angels and the four living creatures fell down on their faces and worshipped God (7:9-12).
An elder asked John, "Who are they? And where do they come from?" and then answered his own questions. They were the ones who came out of the great tribulation, and they had washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb ... they were before the throne of God; and they served Him day and night in His temple (7:13-14).
Did they come out dead or alive? The New Living Translation suggested that they died in the great tribulation. The "yet to be slain" in Rev. 6:11 was now seen to be fulfilled i.e., the great multitude appeared to be the rest of the number of fellow servants and brethren to be killed just like the souls of the martyrs under the altar.
In this sequence of the NARRATION, the event (of the countless multitude standing before the throne and serving God) occurs now but in the sequence of the STORY, it is still in the future. It is as if the story has fast forwarded to a time after the great tribulation.
The elder went on to say that blessings await these who came out of the great tribulation. The Lamb shall be their Shepherd who would lead them to springs of living water and wipe away every tear from their eyes (7:17). Now the agony of their lives would be over (7:16) indicating the sufferings they went through ... they had been hungry, for they couldn’t buy food without the mark of the Beast; they were thirsty, for the rivers were turned to blood; they were scorched with the burning sun.
Why does God allow pain and suffering to happen … to me … to you … to our loved ones? What have we done to deserve this pain? Pain and suffering raise profound questions … unanswerable questions … because no answer to questions of the mind can satisfy the cry and anguish of the heart.
Are you going through a difficult situation in your life? May our LORD deliver you out of your troubles. Meanwhile, I pray that He will grant you the grace to endure and to trust Him, having the confidence that He will wipe away every tear from your eyes.
A Comparison of the 144,000 and the Multitude