(please help ;-;) According to this passage, the GREATEST motivation for English exploration should be
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“After this I saw four angels standing upon the four corners of the earth, holding tight the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow upon the earth or upon the sea or upon any tree.” (Revelation 7:1)
What does this mean for us today? These “four winds” are a vivid symbol of destructive judgment about to be let loose on a wicked earthly society, on the surging “sea” of lawless humanity, and on lofty treelike rulers that draw support and sustenance from the people of the earth.
“And I saw another angel ascending from the sunrising, having a seal of the living God; and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying: ‘Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until after we have sealed the slaves of our God in their foreheads.’” Revelation 7:2,3 (NWT)
Though this fifth angel is not named, all the evidence indicates that he must be the glorified Lord Jesus. In line with Jesus’ being the Archangel, he is here shown to have authority over the other angels. (1 Thessalonians 4:16; Jude 9) He ascends from the east, like “the kings from the rising of the sun”—Jehovah and his Christ—who come to execute judgment, as did kings Darius and Cyrus when they humbled ancient Babylon. (Revelation 16:12; Isaiah 45:1; Jeremiah 51:11; Daniel 5:31) This angel also resembles Jesus in that he is entrusted with sealing anointed Christians. (Ephesians 1:13, 14) Further, when the winds are unleashed, it is Jesus who leads the heavenly armies in executing judgment on the nations. (Revelation 19:11-16) Logically, then, Jesus would be the one to command that destruction of Satan’s earthly organization be held back until God’s slaves are sealed.
What is this sealing, and who are these slaves of God? The sealing began at Pentecost 33 C.E. when the first Jewish Christians were anointed with holy spirit. Later, God proceeded to call out and anoint “people of the nations.” (Romans 3:29; Acts 2:1-4, 14, 32, 33; 15:14) The apostle Paul wrote about anointed Christians’ having a guarantee that they “belong to Christ” and added that God “has also put his seal upon us and has given us the token of what is to come, that is, the spirit, in our hearts.” (2 Corinthians 1:21, 22; compare Revelation 14:1.) Thus, when these slaves are adopted as God’s spiritual sons, they receive a token in advance of their heavenly inheritance—a seal, or pledge. (2 Corinthians 5:1, 5; Ephesians 1:10, 11) They can then say: “The spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are God’s children. If, then, we are children, we are also heirs: heirs indeed of God, but joint heirs with Christ, provided we suffer together that we may also be glorified together.”—Romans 8:15-17.
