We have arrived at Revelation 7:1, which begins with the words, “And after these things.” What things? The sixth seal is opened, creation is disrupted and dismantled, and we hear the earth's inhabitants cry in mortal distress: “The great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” John then sees four angels standing at the four corners of the earth. These angels stand in the north, east, south, and west. Together, they have power over the whole earth. What is our human power... nothing. When God intervenes, and creation is dismantled, deadly fear remains. But look at the power of God's heavenly servants; four angels together can rule the whole earth with their power. If they are so powerful, how great is God's power, since they derive their power from God? Can we imagine that on Judgment Day, man will be in mortal agony at the sight of God and His power? But on the other hand, what this vision here in Revelation 7:1 is for God’s people. The power of their God surpasses every other power. We read that these four angels “hold the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.” Who are these four angels? We read in verse 2b: “The four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea.” These four angels are to carry out God's judgment; they have received power from God to carry out judgments that affect the whole creation: sea and earth, yes, even those mighty trees, everything. These are the judgments we read about at the end of chapter 6. The judgments we heard about when the sixth seal was broken. We read this in Revelation 6:12-14: “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.” But these angels, who are ready to carry out their task, must wait... What does this teach us? That everything is firmly in God's hands. Everything is ready to carry out the final judgment. But in His love, grace, and mercy, there is still a delay... Next time, we will hear about that delay. But for now, let us reflect on the precious thought that God is delaying His final judgment and that there is still time for mercy. Let us reflect on the fact that no matter what happens, even if the Earth is destroyed, God is in charge and has everything under control.