Revelation 7:9-17

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Please stand if you are able for the reading of God’s word. Today we are in Revelation 7:9-17

Revelation 7:9–17 (CSB)

After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: Salvation belongs to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!

All the angels stood around the throne, and along with the elders and the four living creatures they fell facedown before the throne and worshiped God, saying, Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever. Amen.

Then one of the elders asked me, “Who are these people in white robes, and where did they come from?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” Then he told me: These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

For this reason they are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple. The one seated on the throne will shelter them: They will no longer hunger; they will no longer thirst; the sun will no longer strike them, nor will any scorching heat. For the Lamb who is at the center of the throne will shepherd them; he will guide them to springs of the waters of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

Please have a seat

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Have you ever had the opportunity to worship at a church in a different culture? There is something that’s like delightfully crazy about it.

In Jordan this summer, we got to attend two different churches, and both had a group of hymns, eastern hymns, they called them which i had never heard of, nor did I have any like recollection of. The meter was strange to my ears, the melody was not intuitive to my western trained ears. And yet - the words when translated were profound and wondrous, and I was surrounded by my brothers and sisters in Christ, speaking a different language, with a different song, and it was amazing! There was an ancient quality to it that was profound to me.

I’ve had the opportunity to worship with a congregation in the Dominican Republic. Their music fast, lively, spirited. Some of the best musicians I’ve met! The congregation was enthralled with dancing and shouting. And it went for hours!

Beyond just international experiences, within our own country we have such incredible churches around the states all with different expressions.

At a church planters conference I’ve attended, it was lead by leaders form around the country, and they led us in songs from many different cultures and churches, from triumphant hymns, to glorious gospel spirituals, to soaring modern songs, all directed to our God. And it was being song by 5 thousand people in glorious harmony!

You know, we’ve raged worship wars in our christian culture here in America over the last century. What style, what hymns, what instruments, what words, so on, so forth. And yes, there is some value in searching the Scripture for what is best and appropriate. However - there is something beautiful in the splendid differences in taste and culture.

Of course churches in the south have different styles then in the north. Of course churches in Jordan have different hymns then in New York. Of course black churches had a different culture than a predominately white church.

But when all those individual pieces are brought together, it’s splendid. It becomes a mosaic. Like a stain glass window - each color is beautiful in its own right and has it’s own color, but when the sun casts its light through all the pieces together, it creates a beautiful image far beyond the beauty of just one individual piece.

Todays passages brings to mind not just this beauty, but to the scandalous nature of the Gospel in which we who were once from different peoples, are now one with all of the saints grafted into the vine of God’s people forevermore.

This section is tied to the one before - where John hears the number of the sealed of God, and now he turns to see. Look at Revelation 7:9

Revelation 7:9 CSB

After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands.

The imagery in this one verse alone is so deep.

John sees a vast multitude, the idea being many crowds and throngs of peoples. And it is made up of people from every nation, tribe, people, language - and there are so many people that no one could number them!

In our day, over the last two thousand years, we would count Christianity as a huge religion. Billions of people perhaps over the last millenia have come to faith in Christ. So we read this and see a great multitude and it doesn’t seem very significant for us - yeah Christianity is successful!

But remember this book was written to persecuted Christians living in Asia Minor toward the end of the first century. christians were not a huge majority of the world at this point. The Church at this point was a desperately persecuted minority! And even the jewish people, in the scheme of the roman empire, was desperately small.

They would have been used to the imagery and idea of Christians being martyred and persecuted and small.

It would have been deeply overwhelming, I believe, for them to hear this vision - the Church, victorious because of the kingship of JEsus Christ. Whose gospel will be preached to every people, until the great multitude hears and responds.

Friends - JEsus is our victorious king. Even in times of uncertainty, of recession, of feeling like the church is losing it’s grip and standing in culture - Look to the throne of God, see the multitude of saints around the throne - of which NO ONE COULD NUMBER! Christ is victorious.

This should provide great hope for the Church, especially when the Church is going through periods of exile or strife. Because remember - we overcome, we conquer, by following Jesus - as a lamb as if slain. We walk through the suffering, faithful to the gospel of God. Loving God, loving our neighbors. Living above reproach. Singing songs and hymns and spiritual songs to GOd and to each other.

Also notice the position of the multitude here. Where are they -

Standing before the throne and before the lamb.

The very presence of God, and standing - in white, signifying purity and holiness. We will see later that they are washed white in the blood of the lamb - but there is something incredibly compelling about the position of the mulitude.

For in Revelation 6, all of the rulers and kings, and people of the earth - those who are in the systems of the world, called out in Revelation 6:16-17 this

Revelation 6:16–17 CSB

And they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, because the great day of their wrath has come! And who is able to stand?”

Who is able to stand? Those whose robes are made white. And now the great multitude, who were persecuted and despised, and lived according to values of the kingdom of God rather than the ways of the world, stand in the presence of God, clothed in white robes.

So positionally the church here stands in victory. But they don’t just have white robes - they have palms in their hands - look at verse 9 of chapter 7 again:

Revelation 7:9 CSB

After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands.

Clothed in white robes, and with palm branches in their hands. This relates back not only to the triumphal entry at the start holy week in the gospels, palm sunday, but also to the feast of tabernacles.

This is found in Leviticus 23:40-43 if we want to put that up on the screen

Leviticus 23:40–43 CSB

On the first day you are to take the product of majestic trees—palm fronds, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook—and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. You are to celebrate it as a festival to the Lord seven days each year. This is a permanent statute for you throughout your generations; celebrate it in the seventh month. You are to live in shelters for seven days. All the native-born of Israel must live in shelters, so that your generations may know that I made the Israelites live in shelters when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.”

The jewish people were, in order to celebrate and remember God’s protection during the wilderness wanderings, take palm branches, and make little shelters, or forts out of it, and live in them to remember what happened.

To remember that God protected them. That ultimately, God was their shelter and led them out of Egypt. So there is a typological point being drawn here, from ISrael’s delieverance from Egypt and then through the wilderness, and places on the church.

The church, have been redeemed out of the hands of the enslavement to sin, like Egypt, and then walked in the wilderness as they moved toward the promised land over the river - meaning our journey in this world is a pilgrimage until we get to be with our king in the promised land.

The multitude in heaven, are celebrating a form of the feast of tabernacles in heaven for God has delivered them from their wanderings and has brought them home.

JEsus has led them from slavery into life, As Jude 5 says

Jude 5 CSB

Now I want to remind you, although you came to know all these things once and for all, that Jesus saved a people out of Egypt and later destroyed those who did not believe;

Powerful that the new testament writes of JEsus leading the people out of Egypt. And he leads us still today.

The multitude in heaven not only wave their branches, but they worship - look now at revelation 7, verse 10

Revelation 7:10 (CSB)

And they cried out in a loud voice: Salvation belongs to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!

Friends this is so important, don’t miss this. Salvation belongs to our God who is on the throne, and to the lamb. Don’t miss this.

The multitude are not there, in the presence of God and redeemed because they earned their own salvation. NO. they didn’t get to the end and hope that their good works would outweigh their bad, and that hopefully God will see that - sound familiar?

No Salvation belongs to God and to the Lamb! They are saved by the grace and decree of God! And if the salvation belongs to God - who can stop that? Can death? no. Can empires? No! Can Kings? No! can war? NO! Can presidents? No! Nothing can. Salvation belongs to God - who is the king of the universe and beyond. And Jesus, our victorious Lord. It is obtained by HIS power.

So we don’t rest on our own victory, or lack thereof. We cling, and rest, and hide in HIS victory.

As the hymn says: “My hope is built on nothing less. Than Jesus blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on JEsus name. On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.”

We don’t stand before the throne holding our degrees or diplomas or accolades, or careers in our hands - we stand with palms - declaring that we were protected and brought out of darkness by GOD. His salvation. His Provision. And therefore we rest in him.

In response to the multitude’s cry, now heaven responds - look at verse 11 and 12:

Revelation 7:11–12 (CSB)

All the angels stood around the throne, and along with the elders and the four living creatures they fell facedown before the throne and worshiped God, saying, Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever. Amen.

The response of heaven to the praise of the saints, is more praise. And friends - this is the right response. When we see people come to faith, when we see others worship rightly, it should inspire something within us towards praise.

We now see a brief back and forth between JOhn and one of the elders. Verse 13 and 14

Revelation 7:13–14 (CSB)

Then one of the elders asked me, “Who are these people in white robes, and where did they come from?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” Then he told me: These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

This type of back and forth between agents in heaven and the visionary has other examples in ancient apocalyptic literature.

The elder asks a rhetorical question - hey who are these people in white, and where did they come from.

John responds- sir you know, you tell me!

And then the elder says - these are the ones coming out of the great tribulation, they washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb.

GK Beale points out that the phrase “the greate tribulation” with a definite article only occurse one other time in the NT, which is Matthew 24:21, and both that and this one in Revelation seem to be referring to Daniel 12:1, where it says there will come a time of tribulation that has not come upon the earth until that time.

As I’ve stated other times - I do not believe that the tribulation is limited only to the final days before Christ’s return, but that it started with the ascension of Christ, and continues throughout the current age till JEsus comes again.

I say this, with Beale and Dwyer, and other scholars, for John else where seems to use the prophesies of Daniel as starting in the time of Christ and onward. He seems to indicate that the hour of testing in Revelation 3:10 alludes to Daniel 12, and therefore is in Johns view as he writes to the church two thousand years ago.

Also, GK Beale writes that 21 out of the 23 times Paul uses the word tribulation refers to present reality. Not just a coming thing.

This fits in line that all the saints around the throne - all the redeemed of God, have come through the tribulation of life on earth, to be remade in the blood of the lamb.

Like Christ, we walk through suffering of this world, faithful to God the Father and the work he has for us. They are made clean, redeemed, washed white in the blood of the lamb.

Then we get into the last three verses.

Revelation 7:15–17 (CSB)

For this reason they are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple. The one seated on the throne will shelter them: They will no longer hunger; they will no longer thirst; the sun will no longer strike them, nor will any scorching heat. For the Lamb who is at the center of the throne will shepherd them; he will guide them to springs of the waters of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

For what reason are they before the throne?

BECAUSE they washed their robes in the blood of the lamb. Because they ahve tasted his salvation. Because they are redeemed and excepted and loved.

For tHAT reason, they now serve him. We don’t work to earn approval.

No - we are approved and therefore we work. And God shelters us. And sustains us. And protects us. And the lamb is our shepherd, and guides us to springs of the water of life - and wipe away every tear from their eyes.

This saved multitude enjoys God’s goodness and presence and redemption. And it’s glorious.

The idea is all of our needs are met, all of our wounds are healed. Completely fulfilled and complete in God’s presence. Surrounded by the angels, and elders, and brothers and sisters from all the peoples of nations of the world, brought together and united in the blood of the Lamb.

What a glorious passage - and that brings us to our question:

So What?

First - we need eachother and our unique cultures, values, gifts, and personalities. We need expressive worship, and somber worship. We need loud worship, and quiet music. We need intellectual hymns, and emotional laments. We need all the people of God to bring what they got and praise. For its in that glorious hamonoy we see the picture of Revelation 7 played out.

Beyond just the music - friends we need each other. We need the diversity of gifts. We need different personalities and stories. We are not made to go through life alone. Nor are we supposed to all look alike, or be alike. We need the beautiful differences amongst us. From ethnic and cultural and racial differences, to personal and family differences. We need each other.

so lean in - join a group, take someone out for a meal. host a game night. Head to the Yax’s on friday and come play.

When youre happy, share your good news. When your sad, share your sad news. But don’t go through it alone. We need each others.

Second - It’s GODs salvation. It’s his victory. So boast in your weakness, and praise God for salvaiton. Go to him by grace through faith, and follow him into new jerusalem.