Revelation 7: Those who can stand before the throne

Chapter 7 answers the question that closed the sixth seal by showing people identified by God before further harm and people standing before the throne. Four angels restrain destructive winds until servants receive the living God's seal. John then hears the exact number 144,000 arranged by tribes of Israel, a list notable for its unusual order and omissions. After hearing that number, he sees a multitude no one can count from every nation, kindred, people, and tongue. The relationship between those two companies is interpreted differently, but both scenes make belonging to God the answer to exposed human vulnerability. The white-robed multitude has come through great tribulation, has washed its robes in the Lamb's blood, and now serves before God's throne. The chapter closes by turning the Lamb into shepherd: he leads them to living waters, and God himself wipes tears from their eyes.