Revelation 7:9-17
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Revelation 7:9-17 Introduction:
Revelation 7:9-17 Introduction:
The sealed Israelites And Redeemed Gentiles(some Jews)
This is the first of several parenthesis in Revelation. It is given to show us a great work of grace that happens during the tribulation.
Parenthesis - a word, clause, or sentence inserted as an explanation or afterthought into a passage that is grammatically complete without it, in writing usually marked off by curved brackets, dashes, or commas.
Will bring comfort to those who are distressed.
who are they? not the church as they are in heaven watching the proceedings.
They are the redeemed ones who have passed thru the tribulation.
There position is before the throne during his millennial reign.
Rev 7:9-10 - Gentiles out of the great tribulation.
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!”
Rev 7:13-14 an elder tells John that this great multitude came out of the great tribulation and were washed clean by the blood of the lamb on the cross.
Because the multitude is listed after the 144,000 in Rev 7:1-8 it is easily assumed they are the 144,000. They are not.
The multitude receive salvation by the blood of Christ. They are so many that no one can count them all.
Multitude - Group of people, mob, great many, Crowd - a large number of things or people considered together.
Gen 22:12 For You said, ‘I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’ ”
Ex 16:2 Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.
Ps 42:4 When I remember these things, I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go with the multitude; I went with them to the house of God, With the voice of joy and praise, With a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast.
Mk 1:33 And the whole city was gathered together at the door.
Lk 12:1 In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
Nations - peoples, gentiles, people group (social), people group (land). Nations is not referred to as Israel, only as gentile nations or peoples.
Tribes - a social division of people; often based on lineage. People social group or 12 tribes of God’s people (Israel).
Tribe—a collection of families descending from one ancestor. The “twelve tribes” of the Hebrews were the twelve collections of families which sprang from the sons of Jacob. In Matt. 24:30 the word has a wider significance. The tribes of Israel are referred to as types of the spiritual family of God (Rev. 7:1-8).
1 Easton, M. G. (1893). In Easton’s Bible dictionary. New York: Harper & Brothers.
Peoples - people group (social) n. — a large group of people based on various cultural, physical, or geographical ties.
Tongues - language, speech, language (supernatural) ⇔ tongue n. — any language but often referring to a language one has never studied and a supernatural ability to speak (or be understood) in it.
White Robes - This great multitude has been cleansed of all sin as they wear white robes. See Rev. 3:5, 18; 4:4; 6:11 for other usages of white robes or garments. They are all given to those who have been made holy by the blood of Christ.
Palm tree—(Heb. tamar), the date-palm characteristic of Palestine. It is described as “flourishing” (Ps. 92:12), tall (Cant. 7:7), “upright” (Jer. 10:5). Its branches are a symbol of victory (Rev. 7:9). “Rising with slender stem 40 or 50, at times even 80, feet aloft, its only branches, the feathery, snow-like, pale-green fronds from 6 to 12 feet long, bending from its top, the palm attracts the eye wherever it is seen.” The whole land of Palestine was called by the Greeks and Romans Phoenicia, i.e., “the land of palms.” Tadmor in the desert was called by the Greeks and Romans Palmyra, i.e., “the city of palms.” The finest specimens of this tree grew at Jericho (Deut. 34:3) and Engedi and along the banks of the Jordan. Branches of the palm tree were carried at the feast of Tabernacles (Lev. 23:40). At our Lord’s triumphal entrance into Jerusalem the crowds took palm branches, and went forth to meet him, crying, “Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Matt. 21:8; John 12:13).
John is able to discern the multitude is of all nations, tribes, peoples and languages(tongues).
The great commission in Matthew 24:14 will be completed before the end as Jesus promised. We see the result of this commission here standing before the throne and giving all glory of there salvation to Christ.
People will be Identifiable in heaven as individuals. Every soul will have a unique body.
They are standing before the throne and the lamb in heaven. We see divine sovereignty.
Clothed in white robes, they are arrayed for holy service, priests, ministers to God.
Palm Branches - Reminds us of Jesus triumphant entry into Jerusalem riding on a donkey. See John 12:12-16.
The Jews were singing Hosanna, save us now.
They are an emblem of victory. The Roman General , after a victory would ride into Rome and palm branches would be waved in victory.
Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the lamb.
They worship God the source of the redemption plan.Salvation is not what we earn, it is something God gives out of love. The Father sent the son, The son did the salvation works. All we can do is say thank you and praise the works of the son and the father who sent the son. And let us not forget the holy spirit
who convicted us, resides in us, guides us and teaches us.
11 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, 12 saying:
“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom,
Thanksgiving and honor and power and might,
Be to our God forever and ever.
Amen.”
Rev 7:11-12 - Angels, Elders (Church), 4 living creatures (Cherubim), all heavenly creatures join the worship of the multitudes.
They are all worshipping God for his glory and grace. He is just and is pouring out his wrath on a unbelieving world and still allows grace to free this multitude out from under this all deserving judgment.
God’s wisdom is all knowing. He knows that his wrath causes the people of the earth to choose salvation by grace or to accept the last hope of a dying world system.
God knows we must choose or we will be lost forever. In his wisdom he oppresses the world causing freewill to be activated.
13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?”
14 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.
Rev 7:13-14 -The identity of the “great multitude”.
One of the elders makes John know who the elders are.
The multitudes come out of the “great tribulation”
They are probably martyrs from the great tribulation.
The message was from the 144,00 and angels, and many were saved during the time of God’s great wrath being poured out.
They were saved by the blood of Christ, just like the OT saints, NT saints and now the tribulation saints.
15 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. 16 They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; 17 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.”
Rev 7:15-17 - What this great multitude does and how it is blessed.
They worship God day and night and serve him.
They enjoy the immediate presence of God. They are back in relationship with God.
They desire the Lord. See Psalm 27:4.
The lamb will Sheppard them. They will have loving care and nurture, He will provide for all needs and lead them to living fountain of waters.
The redeemed will have no tears of sorrow or pain.
9 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.
Rev 6:9-11 Fifth Seal: The cry of the Martyrs.
Here we find those who were slain by standing firm in there faith to the Lord. They have been given white robes.
It appears they are the great multitude mentioned in Rev 7:9-17.
Rev 13:15 The beast is given power to kill all who do not take the mark of the beast. Those who refuse become martyrs of the tribulation period.
Rev 20:4 we see the souls who had been martyrs for Jesus will be with him in his millennial rule.
These are the tribulation saints and not the Church saints. And they are not the OT or millennial saints. These are the peoples who were killed in the tribulation. And they are not the 144,000.
Revelation 7:9:17 Summary
Blood of the lamb.
Henry Ironside - But there is one thing I wish especially to press upon both saved and unsaved, and that is this: Whether in dispensations past, in the present age, in the period of judgment just before this world, or in that glorious millennial age, every one who is saved at all will be saved through the precious blood of Christ. God has never had any other way of reconciling man to Himself than through the blood of His Son. In Old Testament times, men were saved, if I may so say, on credit. The Lord Jesus Christ had already pledged Himself to pay the fearful debt with His own most precious blood, and all who, in every dispensation, owned their guilt and believed the record God had given, were justified by faith on the basis of the work that Christ was yet to accomplish. That work having now been completed, God has manifested His righteousness in passing over these sins done aforetime in the days of His forbearance, and now He shows Himself to be just and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus. If you own your sin, dear unsaved one, if you confess your guilt and put your heart’s trust in that blessed One, who on Calvary’s cross gave Himself for you, then you will be justified and accepted with God in all the value of that precious blood. In the coming hour of tribulation, the hundred and forty-four thousand of Israel, and all the Gentiles who receive their message, will be saved in exactly the same way, but saved for earth—not for heaven. To the very end of the millennium that precious blood will still have the same cleansing efficacy, and the last soul who trusts in Christ will have an unimpeachable standing before the throne of God through its infinite value.1
1 Ironside, H. A. (1920). Lectures on the Book of Revelation (pp. 132–133). Neptune, N. J.: Loizeaux Brothers.
What about 2nd chances?
Jeremiah 13:16 and 2 Thessalonians 2:11 make the case that those who reject grace in the church dispensation will not get a second chance in the tribulation period. When the unsaved reject the convicting holy spirit there comes a point of no return and God gives the person over to there dark and deceiving heart.
Note: Since the Holy spirit and Church has been removed (raptured) , what happens to the holy spirit during the tribulation period?
Henry Ironside - This is not to say that the Holy Spirit will not act afterwards, during the tribulation period, but His operations will be similar to His activities in Old Testament times. From heaven He will influence the hearts of men, opening the eyes of the remnant of Israel, and through them reach, as we have seen, an innumerable multitude of Gentiles. But there is no promise that He will operate for blessing on the hearts of those who have had the opportunity to be saved and have refused it. They will be given up to the strong delusion of the last days. They will believe the lie of the Antichrist, and thus go into judgment because they deliberately refused the truth when it was offered to them, choosing instead error and sin.1
1 Ironside, H. A. (1920). Lectures on the Book of Revelation (pp. 134–135). Neptune, N. J.: Loizeaux Brothers.
John Walvoord - Chapter 7 of the book of Revelation serves as a review of the situation described in the previous chapters and emphasizes two important facts. First, God is going to judge Israel in the period of great trial, and 12,000 from each tribe, totaling 144,000, will be protected and sealed from the judgments which will fall upon the world in general. Second, a great multitude of Gentiles will also be saved, but many of these will be martyred, and a multitude of the martyred dead are found in heaven rejoicing in the presence of the Lamb and representing every tongue and nation. It is an indication that even in the tragic closing hours prior to the second coming of Christ to the earth, countless souls will find Christ as Saviour and be saved by His grace.1
1 Walvoord, J. F. (2008). The Revelation of Jesus Christ (p. 149). Galaxie Software.
Rev 7 shows Gods grace in the 7 year tribulation period. This is a time of Gods wrath poured out on an unbelieving world. He will seal 144,000 and use them and angels to save the great multitudes from this 7 year period of time. Most who receive grace will be killed. God will allow satan to have power over the saints of this time period accept for the 144,000.
Reflection:
How is God showing his grace during the Church dispensation (time period)? Do we have saints being killed for there beliefs. Who is God using to share grace to this time period?
How strong is our faith? Peter denied Jesus 3 times in one night. Are we not glad he was reinstated.
Are we willing to die for our faith? Are we willing to testify for our faith?
How is God showing his grace during the Church dispensation (time period)? Do we have saints being killed for there beliefs. Who is God using to share grace to this time period?
How strong is our faith? Peter denied Jesus 3 times in one night. Are we not glad he was reinstated.
Are we willing to die for our faith? Are we willing to testify for our faith?