“After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” Revelation 7:9-10.
“After these things”, means that after John saw the sealing of the 144,000 Israelite evangelists in Revelation 7:1-8, he sees another matter which obviously occurs at the end of the tribulation, a vision of a future event within a vision of a future event, so to speak.
This view of a multitude which cannot be counted is of tribulation saints, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation…” Revelation 7:14b.
Contrast this with the vision of the opening of the fifth seal in Revelation 6:9-11 where the souls of the martyrs are seen under the altar crying out:
“How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Revelation 6:10b.
They are given white robes and told to rest:
“until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.” Revelation 6:11b.
This further augments the thought that seal number five reveals martyrs from the middle of the tribulation and that the vision in Revelation 7:9-17 represents the entire number of those killed for Christ during the tribulation.
This vision is inserted here to show John and the reader the results of the preaching of the 144,000 evangelists, see Revelation 7:3-8 covered in the last post on 7-1-22.
This uncountable multitude stands before the throne in heaven and before the Lamb, “clothed with white robes”.
Even the white robes are not the result of their own doing, but they have, “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Revelation 7:14 last phrase.
These tribulation saints are not only clothed in white but they are holding palm branches in their hands. The palm branch is a symbol of rest, shade; it is also a sign of martyrdom and of victory.
This latter meaning, of martyrdom and of victory, is further upheld by the fact that this is the only place in Revelation where palm branches are mentioned.
Then this great multitude cries out:
“Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” Revelation 7:10b.
We were all hopelessly lost, unable to come up with a purchase price for our souls.
“…knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.” Galatians 2:16.
We did not even care.
“There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God.” Romans 3:10-11.
The conclusion is this.
“But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Titus 3:4-7.
On God’s part Scripture says this.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…” John 3:16a.
And on Jesus’ part He says this.
“I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10b.
Indeed salvation belongs to God and to the Lamb.
“And all the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: ‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.’” Revelation 7:11-12.
Do not miss the impact of the words spoken by the angels, elders, and four living creatures; Amen, blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might. These are eyewitnesses to the absolute perfection of God.
“Amen”, so be it. “Blessing”, literally means, good speaking, praise; in God’s case, to praise Him or call Him holy.
“Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name!” Psalm 103:1.
Personally I feel that we can bless God with our actions, as well as with our mouth. After all, what good is it for a young man to bless his parents and then go out and steal a car or rob a store? Would the shame not nullify the blessing?
“Glory”, primarily an opinion, an estimate, i.e. the honor resulting from a good opinion; God’s glory, of course, is who He is.
“Wisdom” comes from the Greek word, Sophia, the insight into the true nature of things. God is the only one who knows all there is to know about everything because He created everything; the result is that He has insight into the true nature of all things.
Men arrogantly pose theories dredged up from their own biased observations, which are influenced by their own preconceptions, or those of others.
Having not the faintest idea of what lies beyond our solar system and understanding no more than a fragment of an atoms makeup, or how this earth is structured, they confidently tell men how to live their lives while suffering shipwreck in their own.
This, my friends, is not wisdom, it is a fantasy world, yet there is hope.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10.
Why not seek the counsel of the One who made the rules? The Bible does not contain all there is to know, but it does contain all that we need to know.
And with that advice you can not only live your life more abundantly, but you can explore your world with a confidence unencumbered with meaningless speculation.
“Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, ‘He catches the wise in their own craftiness’; and again, ‘The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.’” I Corinthians 3:18-20.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” James 1:5.
If you want this wisdom you must ask sincerely and seek it diligently, with Bible in hand. There is no room for a “Gosh, I think I will try this” attitude, read James 1:5-8 carefully.
“Thanksgiving”, is the giving of thanks.
“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.” Psalm 100:4.
There is a good reason for continually giving thanks to the Lord. It is because we receive many blessings from the Lord daily and when we recognize one and thank Him for it, it highlights that blessing. And when another one comes along we start to recognize that there are many coming our way and we go from many thanksgivings to praise.
“…giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…” Ephesians 5:20.
“Honor”, a valuing – esteem, there are pitiful few who honor God today, with their constant blasphemies, crude references to the man upstairs, the big guy, or references to the Savior as JC.
Honor will not only be deserved and finally given, but it will also gladden the hearts of those who give it.
“Power”, acknowledges that God is the source of all power. Oh that we could comprehend the power of God, but the numbers are too big; our sun is 93 million miles away and yet it takes 8 minutes for a light particle traveling at 186,000 miles a second to reach earth.
The sun itself is 2,713,406 miles in circumference as opposed to our earth’s 24,901.55 miles. Yet VY Canis Majoris, the largest star in our galaxy is 3,063,500,000 km in circumference, which to the best of my calculations is 1,899,370,000 miles in circumference.
If it replaced our sun in the solar system it would extend out to Saturn. This giant would hold 7 billion of our suns, or if you would prefer, it would contain 7,000,000,000,000,000 of our earths, 7 quadrillion, that is a mess of real estate.
It would take a particle of light, not the eight minutes it takes to travel from the sun to earth, but eight years to travel around the circumference of VY Canis Majoris.
There must be bigger ones in the universe and hotter ones, black holes, and galaxies crashing into each other. God actually oversees all of this.
“Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” Matthew 10:29-30.
The Scripture tells us.
“By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.” Psalm 33:6.
God lit all of these great power pumps and set them in motion, mathematical motion, He is the source and the sustainer of it all. But, why does it have to be so huge?
There are many speculations on that question but David’s word on the matter is the important one to consider.
“When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor.” Psalm 8:3-5.
We have to remember how big God is and how small we are because we have a tendency to get a little big for our britches.
“Might”, strength; if you rightly consider God’s power, it is no great leap to envision His might, His strength.
However men continually look at God as though He were some senile Santa Claus. Very soon in this book of Revelation we will see who is right. Amen, so be it.
“Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, ‘Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?’ And I said to him, ‘Sir, you know.’ So he said to me, ‘These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’” Revelation 7:13-17.
See how this speaks of tribulation saints serving God in His temple, and neither hungering nor thirsting anymore, they shall not be struck by the sun anymore nor suffer from heat anymore.
These men and women have suffered not only at the hands of man, but through wars and famines and under the wrath of God during this period of intense suffering; they have earned a unique place in the presence of God and will be shepherded by the Lord Jesus Himself.
Christians in America today have little notion of what persecution entails, and we should thank the Lord for that, and at the same time imagine the horrors of this coming time period.
While you are in prayer do not forget that Satan has been tormenting the godly throughout the ages and even now he is practicing up for his most vile and sadistic moment during the tribulation period.
By using the most perverse of his children, sadistic men and women in Muslim countries where they murder the fathers, rape and murder the mothers and sell the children into slavery.
Everywhere in communist countries, Muslim countries, dictatorships, and lesser known religions, Christians are in prisons, dungeons, and torture chambers, and being executed for no other crime than that they are Christians.
“Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls – yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, and He will make me walk on my high hills.” Habakkuk 3:17-19.
It takes courage to say words like that – and to mean them!
“Still others [Old Testament believers] had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented – of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us. Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.” Hebrews 11:36-12:4.
Revelation 7:9-17 taken from godisrevealed.com updated on 11-14-16, reposted on 7-4-22.
For more information on God and the universe, you may want to watch a DVD by Louie Giglio, titled, “How Great is Our God”. It is part of what is called “Passion Talk Series” and may be ordered at 268generation.com or phone 1-800-632-0030. Parts of this may be found on the internet under Louie Giglio.
Another great DVD on intelligent design is called “Unlocking the Mystery of Life”, through Focus on the Family, family.org, go to the family store under shop category and enter DVD name.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.