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Bern Zumpano frames Revelation 7 as an essential interlude inserted between the Sixth and Seventh Seal Judgments to maintain the prophecy's chronological logic and continuity. Chapters 6 through 19 cover the entire seven-year Tribulation period, with the last three and a half years being the Great Tribulation initiated by the Antichrist's ascent to full power. Zumpano notes that the Tribulation is primarily God's final dealing with Israel, secondarily with Gentile unbelievers, and is a time of God trying to save souls by taking away man's idols (including the earth) and exposing them to the evil (Satan and demons) that they preferred over Him. The sixth seal marks the official beginning of the wrath of God, and the seventh seal will unleash seven Trumpet Judgments, which in turn lead to the seven Bowl Judgments, a "triple whammy" of escalating severity designed to capture man's attention.

Revelation 7 begins by introducing four angels restraining the four winds (judgments) of the earth until a separate angel seals 144,000 bond-servants of God on their foreheads—specifically 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel (Jews). This is an angelic sealing (distinct from the Holy Spirit sealing of the Church) that confirms them as God's people and protects them from harm during the impending judgments, as they are later seen standing with the Lamb in heaven (Revelation 14). Zumpano highlights that this angelic sealing is immediately counterfeited by Satan with the Mark of the Beast (666) on the forehead or hand of unbelievers, sealing them as Satan's forever. The tribes listed in Revelation 7 are not the original 12; Dan and Ephraim are substituted with Levi and Joseph. Zumpano explores the scholarly debate, postulating that Dan and Ephraim may have been excluded from the sealing—and thus left unprotected to endure the Tribulation—due to their severe history of idolatry (e.g., King Jeroboam's golden calves, 1 Kings 12), although he acknowledges that all tribes sinned, noting that Dan and Ephraim are restored and receive a portion in the Millennial Reign (Ezekiel 48).