Revelation 7:9-17
9 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,
10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"
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."
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.
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."
When you hear or read the Book of Revelation, and particularly Chapter 7, what does it say to you? Does this part of God’s holy word have any relevance or meaning for you personally?
Your eschatology [doctrine of last things] will interpret Scripture. And nowhere in the Bible is that more important than in Revelation.
Even if you have not objectively studied eschatology you will have a bias built on other material that you have heard or read. By an objective study I mean have you read with an open mind material that challenges your preconceived notions of the doctrine of last things?
You will most likely fall into one of two groups of Bible believing saints.
One group has been taught that this scene in 7:9-17 concerns a horrific “great tribulation” that is yet to come and that its duration will last only 42 months. Further, as a Christian you will have been “raptured” out of harm’s way and will not suffer in the “great tribulation”.
Recently I challenged a man who held this current and popular system of eschatology and he was puzzled and asked me if I was a Baptist. That only demonstrates how pervasive this view is in our day.
The other group believes that the Church [capital “C”] has been and is continually being persecuted and the “great tribulation” is not limited to a brief span of time in the future but that the Church is suffering now and that individuals will continue to be subject to persecution until the end of this present age or until they are safe with the redeemed of God in heaven.
So as to help ensure that we are communicating I am using the term “Church” with a capital “C” and by that I mean the true Church of born again believers [the invisible Church] and not the professing local body that is made up of true believers and too often those who are deceived and lost but still claim to be believers [the visible church].
The former group looks for a “millennial age”, a literal 1000 year reign of Christ on the earth and that “millennium” is yet in the future.
The latter group believes the “millennium” is not a literal 1000 year period but is a perfect period of time from the first advent of Jesus Christ until He returns before the creation of the new heavens and the new earth.
This preacher’s view is that the Book Revelation is intended for your comfort right now as you live for Jesus Christ in a world of sin. In other words, I am in the second group of believers.
Now continuing from the message on “The Mystery of the 144,000” [7:1-8] we will take up “The Great Tribulation Myth”. The reason for this title is not to ridicule those who are in the first group who look for a “great tribulation” from which they are excluded, but rather to emphasize the significant difference between a specific and limited “great tribulation” out yonder and a continual persecution of the Church on earth.
Revelation 7 interrupts the opening of the seven seals after seal number six is opened and answers the question of 6:17, “Who is able to stand?” Or, “What happens to the saints [servants] of God when these great judgments revealed in the seals are being delivered to the wicked?”
The answer is that the agents of God’s wrath [7:1] are restrained until the servants of God have been sealed on their foreheads. This is the sealing of the Holy Spirit and gives assurance to the believer that even if they are martyred for the cause of Jesus Christ that God will keep them safe from His wrath and condemnation.
Their symbolic number is 144,000 of the “tribes of the children of Israel”. This is not a number to be understood literally as only 144,000 but is the perfect number of God’s elect. Only God knows the actual number of the redeemed of the Lord and it is a perfect and complete number.
The 144,000 is no more an actual number of the redeemed than are the measurements of the New Jerusalem given in 21:16 as 12,000 furlongs [1.5 miles] in its length, width, and height, its actual limits. The measurements of the New Jerusalem present a perfect cube and a symbol of perfection by the use of “12”.
If you ever see how the term “1000” is used to mean perfection in Revelation it will go a long way towards solving the meaning of the “millennium” or 1000 years of chapter 20. By what system of interpretation can you take one word in a chapter that is so obviously full of symbolic language and insist that the “1000 years” just must be a literal period of time. You must bring that preconceived notion to the text to come away with such an interpretation.
We saw that the names of the “twelve tribes of Israel” in vs. 5-8 cannot be taken literally as the OT tribes not only because two of the names from Genesis 49 are missing from the list in Revelation 7 but also that the order of the names is not the same. This is as clear a signal as can be given that John’s language is not to be taken literally.
The scene of the 144,000 [1-8] is of the saints on earth who are suffering persecution. This is the Church militant as she suffers tribulation for the sake of Christ and answers the question” “Who is able to stand?” The answer is those who are sealed on their foreheads.
The symbolism of chapter 7 is further supported by the correlation between the symbols in Revelation 7 and in Revelation 21 & 22.
The seal on the forehead:
7:3 saying, "Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads."
22:4 They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.
The twelve tribes of Israel:
Rev 7:4 the tribes of the children of Israel
21:12 Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
The nations:
7:9 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,…
21: 24 And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.
25 Its gates shall not be shut at all by day(there shall be no night there).
26 And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.
The throne of God:
7:9 standing before the throne and before the Lamb
7:15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple.
22:1-3
1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
3 And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him.
The wiping of tears:
7:17 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
21:4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes;
There are more comparisons but these will serve our purpose to make the point that if the names and numbers in chapters 21 & 22 are symbolic then so must the comparable terms in chapter 7 be symbolic.
After John hears the 144.000 the scene changes at verse 9 and now John sees a great multitude which no one could number. The great multitude is the same redeemed of the Lord as the 144,000 but now they are in heaven and they worship God and praise Him for their salvation.
Revelation 7:9 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,
Alas, I am not wise enough to follow the counsel of James Ramsey whose excellent commentary on verses 9-17 reads as follows:
“The next verses describe still further the perfected bliss and glory of this spiritual kingdom, with all of its thousands of ministering servants – the angelic hosts – in terms that scarcely need a word of explanation, but are only enfeebled by any comment; and that have fed the faith and hopes of suffering saints in all ages; from which, too, the whole church has derived much of those conceptions of future bliss which have become thoroughly incorporated with all her thinking and feeling. For the comfort of the struggling believer, the whole of those overwhelming glories are brought into striking contrast with the tribulations through which they have passed, and by which they have been prepared for it, thus uniting in one the sorrowing and the triumphant church. The wonderful process, too, of their purification is described in language which bears the unmistakable stamp of divinity upon it: “they washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Mysterious, but glorious process of almighty love and power! ‘Oh! The depth!’ ” [page 328]
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."
And so ignoring Mr. Ramsey’s advice and no doubt enfeebling these wonderful words we will continue with our spiritual exposition of chapter 7.
There is a scene on the earth of 144,000 known only to God and a scene in heaven of a great multitude which no one could number who worship the Lamb.
We will reserve comments on chapter 14 except to point out that same 144,000 are seen in chapter 14 and they are worshipping God and they are said to be the “redeemed from the earth”. Brother Gables commented to me that if the 144,000 is a literal number then they are all literally “virgins” according to 14:4.
In verse 9 the saints are dressed in white and they stand before the throne of the Lamb who is the Creator and the Redeemer. The saints are dressed in white and this is a fulfillment of the promise that Jesus made to the church at Sardis:
Revelation 3:4-5
4 You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.
5 He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments,
White symbolizes holiness. The martyred souls under the altar [6:9-11] are given white robes. [Cf. 3:18; 4:4; 7:13]
The saints hold palm branches in their hands as a sign of victory. John, who writes this Book, mentions the palm branches that welcomed Jesus in His Triumphant Entry to Jerusalem [John 12:13]where He publicly proclaimed that He was Messiah in the fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9.
The saints robed in white are eternally grateful for their redemption through the blood of the Lamb of God.
10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"
The curse of Babel [confusion] is removed. The confusion of languages is no more. The saints of God all sing the same song. They come from all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues and they sing of their salvation:
"Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"
Jude calls it our “common salvation”. By that Jude means that there is only one way to be saved and that is by Holy Spirit regeneration through God-given faith in Jesus Christ.
Dear souls if your song of salvation is tainted with any of your works or your “free-will” decisions you will not find yourself at the throne of God in heaven.
If you believe that you are saved because of anything that you contributed, especially your “decision” to accept Christ, then you cannot honestly testify that
“Salvation belongs to our God?
Titus 3:4-7
4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared,
5 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,
6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Not too long ago I heard a preacher actually pray and thank God that he had made his “decision” to be saved. I am not the judge of any man’s eternal state but that prayer sounded too much like the Pharisee who prayed in the temple and thanked God that he was not like that publican.
Brothers and sisters this is the scene of the great multitude who have been justified by His grace and now have eternal life and are joint heirs with Jesus Christ.
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."
The scene in chapter 7 is very nearly the same as the scene in chapter 5 except the order of the worshippers is reversed. Here the saints are named first and then the angels and the elders and the four living creatures. Each song of worship lists seven attributes – the number of perfection and completes. Count them sometimes.
The angels emphasize their song of worship with “Amen –Amen” [so be it].
"Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom,
Thanksgiving and honor and power and might,
Be to our God forever and ever. Amen."
You will recall that the Lord Jesus said:
“Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." Luke 15:10
And the Apostle Peter writes:
10 Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you,
11 searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.
12 To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven — things which angels desire to look into. (1 Peter 1:10-12)
Those who insist that we must understand the OT prophets as they understood their prophecies need to study what the apostle writes: not to themselves
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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.
In 5:5 an elder tells John not to weep because the Lion of the tribe of Judah is worthy and has prevailed [overcome]. Now an elder asks John a question, not because the elder did not know the answer, but to teach John and us a fact.
This is a great teaching technique. You school teachers know that you never ask a question to which you do not know the answer.
The elder, calling attention to the countless multitude dressed in white, wants John to acknowledge that the Lion of the tribe of Judah has fulfilled the OT promises of salvation. The saints in white robes are indeed the ones who were purchased by the blood of the Lamb [5:9].
John gives the perfect answer to the elder’s question: "Sir, you know."
John knows his Ezekiel and John gives to the elder the same answer that Ezekiel gave to the LORD.
Ezekiel 37:1-3
1 The hand of the LORD came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones.
2 Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry.
3 And He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?"
So I answered, "O Lord GOD, You know."
The answer from the elder will be interpreted by you eschatology.
These are the ones who come out of “the great tribulation”.
These are either a set of souls yet to be redeemed in a yet future “great tribulation” or they are all Christians from all time who have suffered persecution for their witness for Jesus Christ. If you will read Hebrews 11:4-38 sometime you will find my understanding of who these saints in white robes are. Saints in the OT and in the time of the Apostle John and down through the ages and in our day have suffered because they hold on to their confession of Jesus Christ, even unto the shedding of blood.
We sing, “Nothing but the blood of Jesus”, and so it is! When we find ourselves in that eternal state of glory that will be our song, “Nothing but the blood of Jesus”.
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;
I go back to Mr. Ramsey’s comment that these words are only enfeebled by my words of explanation. However, it seems prudent for me to briefly comment on “His temple”.
There is no actual temple in heaven.
Revelation 21:22
But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
The “temple” is not an OT structure but refers to the “holy of holies” or the place where God is.
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."
John continues to call on the OT:
Isaiah 49:10
They shall neither hunger nor thirst,
Neither heat nor sun shall strike them;
For He who has mercy on them will lead them,
Even by the springs of water He will guide them.
God will remove all of the things that can cause suffering, hunger, thirst, and the heat of the sun and lead them to “living fountains of waters”.
Isaiah’s prophecy of restoration from the Babylonian captivity was fulfilled and its application to the Church is stated by John here in Revelation.
The “living waters” were given to the Samaritan woman at the well in Sychar in John 4. In John 7 Jesus offered regeneration to those who had a spiritual thirst.
John 7:37-39
37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.
38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."
39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
At the close of the Apocalypse Jesus says:
21:6 And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.
22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.
John goes to the OT in Isaiah and Jeremiah where God says that He will swallow up death and wipe away every tear from their eyes.
Isaiah 25:8
He will swallow up death forever,
And the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces;
Jeremiah 31:16
Thus says the LORD:
"Refrain your voice from weeping,
And your eyes from tears;
Revelation 21:4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."
This concludes my understanding of Revelation 7. As I said at the beginning of this message it is not my intention to ridicule the interpretation that “raptures” the church out of the earth before the “great tribulation”.
The seventh chapter of Revelation gives us two scenes: the first is of the Church on earth sealed with the Holy Spirit as judgment falls on the wicked and unrepentant. They are protected and delivered not from it but through it. In the second scene the saints have come through the great tribulation and they are in a state of eternal worship having washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
They were sealed on earth; now they wear victorious robes of white and wave palm branches of victory around the throne of God and of the Lamb.
Does this explanation give you comfort?
Let me ask it this way: “Are you convinced that except for the blood of Jesus Christ as your righteousness and acceptance by a holy God that you ought to be in hell? Not with the redeemed of God in heaven but with the condemned eternally separated from the peace of God!
Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel." (Mark 1:14-15)
