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Revelation 7:1
ESV After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree.
NIV After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree.
NASB After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth so that no wind would blow on the earth, or on the sea, or on any tree.
CSB After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, restraining the four winds of the earth so that no wind could blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree.
NLT Then I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds so they did not blow on the earth or the sea, or even on any tree.
KJV 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.

What does Revelation 7:1 mean?

In this verse the apostle John reports that he saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth. Just as it is used today, the phrase "four corners of the earth" is not meant to suggest the earth is literally square. It means the angels had taken up positions at the points of the compass. They stood at the north, south, east, and west. They exercised authority to hold back the four winds.

The four winds represent God's judgment. In His pledge to destroy Elam—another name for Persia—God said, "I will bring upon Elam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven. And I will scatter them to all those winds, and there shall be no nation to which those driven out of Elam shall not come" (Jeremiah 49:36). Like John, Daniel also saw in a vision the four winds of heaven. He states in Daniel 7:2 that they were "stirring up the great sea," which meant the Mediterranean Sea. During the four angels' delay of judgment no wind would arise to shake a tree.
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