TUESDAY
Yesterday we saw that John heard the number of the sealed servants of God to be 144,000 and we said that we should take this as a figurative representation of the people of God in the era of redemption history from Christ’s ascension until his return. Remember, this is the answer to the question of who can stand against the wrath of God and the Lamb in their judgment on evil.
Revelation 7:9-17
A Great Multitude from Every Nation
9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
John sees a great multitude that no one can number. One can rather easily number a literal 144,000. The actual number is far more and the 144,000 is symbolic of God’s perfect kingdom. Similar to the Lion and the Lamb of chapter 5, where John hears of the Lion but sees the Lamb, these two are mutually interpretive. This is the same group, not two different groups as some would claim.
This group is from every nation, tribe, people and language. Contrary to the interpretation that these are people from ethnic Israel, this is the global church—the people of God from every nation. This brings up one of the biggest problems when Christians give their allegiance to their nation over and against their allegiance to Jesus and the kingdom of God. We identify “our primary tribe” as our nation or our subcategory within our nation (Republican, Democrat, Evangelical, white, black, etc.) instead of viewing ourselves primarily as a part of God’s global kingdom. This has implications for how we as Christians interact with immigration and foreign policy as examples. We must approach our political positions on these matters with an eye first towards our primary identity as a member in God’s global, diverse kingdom.
Note that they are standing before the throne. Again, like the Lamb of chapter 5, they stand because they are resurrected. They are clothed in white. Again this symbolizes their righteousness in Christ. The palm branches symbolize their joy. This comes with a victory motif as well, because palm branches were waved to welcome a king after a military victory. This is similar to the Triumphal Entry, which we remember on Palm Sunday.
They cry out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” The last time we saw the verb cry out was in 5:10, from the martyrs under the altar crying out for justice in the 5th seal. Now the believers cry out praises to God for his salvation. God’s judgment of evil comes with salvation (deliverance from judgment) of those who are sealed in Christ. Again, the scene in heaven is full of worship.
13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
This great multitude refers to the believers coming out the great tribulation. Again, this could be a more intense time of tribulation before the final judgment of God, but I think this refers to the entire era of redemption history between Jesus’ ascension and his future return—us.
Believers have “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” This is a description of the atonement. Believers’ righteousness (white robes) is through faith in Christ’s death on the cross and his blood shed for us to make us righteous. It is only through the blood of the slain lamb that one receives these white robes and the salvation from the judgment of God against evil. Then John describes the result of believers’ robes being washed in the blood of the Lamb. This is signified with the therefore beginning at verse 15.
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 shelter them with his presence. 16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. 17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
These are all beautiful images of God’s protection, provision, and leading of his people in the new creation. We will revisit these themes at the end of the book. For now, remember this is the hope of the people of God—their exemption from the judgment of God against evil and their salvation in the new creation.
John is writing to Christians to encourage them to remain faithful to Jesus in the midst of persecution and threats from the empire, pressure from their society, and idolatry and false teaching within the church. He reveals through his visions that God will one day judge evil. Faithfulness to Jesus results in salvation from the final judgment of God against evil and a place in the new creation in the presence of God.
Additional Content
The following is a missions update letter from Stephen Castellow, who is ministering to Muslim immigrants in the Dallas, Fort Worth area. Stephen came and did a missional living conference with us a few years ago:
Habib
We’ve mentioned Habib to you before. He’s a 20 year old Syrian refugee who moved to Fort Worth with his father, mother, two little brothers and little sister in February. In June, he heard the gospel in his apartment complex for the first time, and began to pray, “Jesus, if you are real, show me.” June 10 he had a dream in which Jesus appeared to him. June 11 he gave his life to Jesus and now calls that day his birthday. He is absolutely precious, full of joy, and is already an evangelist and sharer of this good news in his high school, apartment complex, and home! We have had the privilege of walking with him over these past few months, discipling him in the scriptures, in navigating the tension of living in a muslim home and community, and in learning about and walking in the power of the Holy Spirit. God is growing him so quickly!
“Jesus touched me!"
This past week, we had Habib over for dinner and felt led to read a passage about the Holy Spirit, and then to lay hands on him to pray. It was a very surreal experience. After several minutes of praying, inviting the Holy Spirit to come, and even offering Habib some prophetic words and scriptures we sensed God giving us for him, he opened his eyes. He was crying. He told us that He felt Jesus touching him on the arm- physically touching Him. He was shocked and in awe. He said he felt the Holy Spirit moving in His heart. “More than I’ve ever felt before. I felt dizzy. Like I was leaving earth,” He said to us over google translate. He also said during that time that Jesus was speaking to him in Arabic. “In Arabic,” he repeated with tears in his eyes. He was so moved at the Lord speaking to him in his language. We were able to share words of encouragement for him, mostly around the themes of God calling him to be an evangelist to many nations, languages and peoples. That Jesus had touched his heart so deeply so that many others would love Jesus the way that he does now. He had such a resounding yes in his heart to this. “I will share with my friends, and those in my high school. I will teach my siblings about Jesus. When I was a kid, no one told me about Jesus. No one took me to church. I will tell them about Jesus.” He also said, “As I keep learning english, I’ll be able to share the gospel in two languages!” He already is doing this. He is a voice to his parents and siblings and is having bold conversations in his high school. So much so that he is experiencing persecution from other muslim students. Praise God for Habib and the Lord’s beautiful work in his life!
Habib’s Family
Another MIRACLE! Just a couple weeks ago, Habib’s parents kicked him out of the house (for just a short time) for his bold apologetics in the home. He has been very clear to them that Mohammed is not God’s prophet and that Jesus is God. Wow. We’ve been praying for them and serving them through this tension. This Sunday, his mom and dad both agreed to go to an Arabic Christian church service with us, and so we brought them along, not knowing how any of it was going to go or what to expect from them. Well, it literally couldn’t have gone better. His dad in particular was deeply moved by Jesus throughout the entire experience! During worship, we looked over and saw his hands lifted up to Jesus in praise. We were shocked. After worship, the pastor (who was Syrian, so good for this Syrian family to see that and feel comfortable with his dialect!) led everyone into a time of intercession, repentance and prayer over the Middle Eastern nations suffering from war, hatred, and loss. Habib’s parents were crying. Habib was crying. We were crying. All of us were moved. After church, Habib’s father wanted to meet the pastor, and they had a conversation about salvation. The pastor said, “There is a way to know that your name is written in the book of life.” Habib’s dad started weeping. His heart was so soft to God’s presence and God’s family. It all felt like too much to even take in. After service, they were warmly welcomed by SO many Arabic speaking christians, and they made so many new friends! They literally didn’t want to leave to go to the feast we were about to enjoy together. Habib’s dad looked at us afterward and said (in Arabic), “You, you, you! You guys are the reason that God is giving us all of these unexpected blessings.” We believe he is so close to knowing God in Christ Jesus! Please pray that, in the days ahead, the Lord would orchestrate the right conversations around who Jesus really is and that this Truth would be met without offense or resistance by Habib’s parents! We are praying for a whole family decision to follow Christ!
Reflection
Reflect on your self-concept. Do you primarily view yourself as a member in the global kingdom of God? Has another tribal identity usurped that identity? How does viewing yourself first as a member in the global kingdom of God influence how you should think about matters like immigration and foreign policy?