A Glimpse of Heaven
04/25/10
Revelation 7:9-17
Pastor Greg Smith
We are continuing the season of Easter. The fact that Jesus has been raised from the dead is such an important truth that it takes a season to let it sink in. We want not only want to celebrate Easter, we want to live Easter— to live Easter lives.
At the heart of Easter message is the powerful declaration that the worst onslaught of evil and suffering is no match for power and goodness of God. God’s power and love triumphs in the end! Like 1 Corinthians 15 says,
“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus won the victory when he triumphed over death at Easter. God wants us to live in that victory!
This passage in Revelation 7 is a celebration of Jesus’ victory. To grasp the passage’s fuller meaning we need to go to chapter 6, where the first six seals on the scroll are opened. After the sixth seal is opened (verse 12), the physical foundations of creation are rattled. God’s wrath is poured out on a defiant creation. Destruction reaches such a pitch that all people hide. Key is their question in 6:17.
For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?
When John the Seer reaches that point in his visions, he stops. The suffering and destruction of the first six seals are overwhelming, and so he introduces a break, a timeout that he uses to lift the vision of God’s people from the difficulties of the present to the glories of the future. In 7:1-8, the angels of God seal the 144,000— 12 tribes of Israel, 12,000 from each tribe. A symbolic number that shows that all of God’s people are sealed for protection.
That seal is probably the same seal of the Holy Spirit we read about in Ephesians 1.
When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
The designation of twelve tribes times twelve thousand people per tribe envisions the church in this world as part of God’s army in battle with the powers of evil. All are accounted for. No one is lost.
An important turning point in the story is the difference between verse 4 and verse 7. In verse 4 John “heard the number.” In verse 9 he “looked.” What he sees is a vast international, multi-racial, multi-lingual throng of people so great that no one could count it. It’s like in Revelation 4 when John hears that the Lion of Judah is able to open the scrolls. But what he sees is “a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain.” The Lion is the Lamb. In the same way, the 144,000 sealed and protected is the “great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb.”
John gives us a glimpse behind the scenes. He pulls back the curtain to the reality that is unseen yet always present. We get a glimpse of the very presence of God where God’s victory is always celebrated. John is saying, “Are you suffering? Do you feel the grip of grief? Are you in death’s strong pull? Do you see suffering and injustice? Remember: the victory is already won. It is just a matter of time when this will all be revealed.”
9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”
The people he sees wear white robes and carry palm branches. The robe is an important piece of clothing in the Bible. It signals not only outward clothing, but reveals who the person is, what her or his status is. And so the prodigal son is given a new robe, not just so that he would have something clean to wear but as an indication of his restored place in the family (Luke 15:22). Believers, then, wear the white robe of purity, and they carry palm branches as signs of victory and joy following war.
The “crying out” of the multitude in 7:10 connects us with 6:10. There the impatient martyrs resting under the throne of God also cry out—in that case for justice. Here in 7:10 the answer is given in praises to God.
“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”
Another way to translate the word “salvation” is victory. The battle has been won. The victory celebration is ongoing!
In verses 11-12 heavenly beings join in the singing.
11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying:
“Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!”
As we might expect in Revelation, they use seven terms to praise God. The center one is often the most significant, and it is the word thanksgiving.
There are more scenes of worship in the book of Revelation than in all the other books of the New Testament combined. Notice how united they are as they worship! They are of one heart and mind. Notice how they cry out in a united voice. Yes, worship can be an individual experience— we all need more time spent in individual worship. But God’s ultimate purpose has never been just to save individuals. His goal is to create a people who will worship him in unity.
In worship, we seek to bring glory to God. Look at verse 12 again.
“Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!”
Worship by its very nature puts God at the center of a dialogue. In a sense, worship is only truly worship when it is directed towards the Lord. Of course, part of worship is fellowship. We support of each other and we learn from each other. But worship isn’t only fellowship. Worship points beyond ourselves.
Kierkegaard: we the worshippers are on the stage, God is the audience.
• Our songs are only worship when directed toward Him.
• The choir’s anthem becomes genuine worship when it is directed towards the Lord and his glory.
• Our prayers are only prayers when they are spoken to the Lord and not just as a clever way to get our message across to others.
Worship then puts God at the center and calls us to live our lives before his watching eyes— to live for his glory. One way to live the Easter victory flows out of worship
• First, we rehearse the fact that God is the center in our worship service,
• Then we go from here to live each day with God at the center in our lives:
• to be aware of his presence during each conversation;
• to be aware of his help and power during each time of struggle;
• to thank him for each joy and blessing.
In verses 13-14, one of the heavenly beings asks John the meaning of the vision. John appropriately turns the question back to the elder, who as the heavenly being is the one to interpret. The NRSV, unfortunately, mistranslates his response.
13 Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?”
14 I answered, “Sir, you know.”
And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
A more literal translated is “These are they who are coming out of the great tribulation.” It’s present tense. The tribulation is not just future. It’s present and constant. But God is constantly giving each generation Easter victory!
The martyrs, in one of John’s reversal of images, “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Even I — someone who has had my share of clothes washing disasters— even I know that washing something in blood (or red in general) does not turn something white. But here the blood of the Lamb purifies the martyrs and takes away their sin and so their robes are white.
Verses 15-17 are very beautiful.
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 spread his tent over them.
16 ‘Never again will they hunger;
never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat down on them,’
nor any scorching heat.
17 For the Lamb at the center before the throne
will be their shepherd;
‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’
‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”
Believers stand before God’s throne and worship God. God, in turn, will shelter them. This is a place of safety. These words are a preview of what we read later in the Revelation.
Revelation 21:3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
Revelation 22:3 No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. 4 And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. 5 And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever.
So who is able to stand? Those whom the Lamb has washed. With that word of encouragement, this persecuted minority—the first-century church—is able to move ahead, because they know where God is taking them. And today’s believers know the same.
Constantly in the background, hidden from view, there is an ongoing victory celebration! There has been a cross. There has been a resurrection. God in Christ has met the powers of darkness at their worst and he has triumphed. Once and for all, atonement for all sin has been achieved and death destroyed, and the doors of the kingdom of God have been flung open wide. Once and for all God has rescued this world from chaos and damnation. Therefore, be not dismayed! You are fighting a defeated enemy. These are facts that cannot be shaken.
In worship, we declare the victory of God. In genuine worship:
● We gather as God’s people. We worship in unity.
● We seek to bring glory to God. All praise, glory and honor belong to God alone!
● We declare God’s victory. We prepare to go back into our lives reminded that God does indeed reign!
Pastor Greg Smith
We are continuing the season of Easter. The fact that Jesus has been raised from the dead is such an important truth that it takes a season to let it sink in. We want not only want to celebrate Easter, we want to live Easter— to live Easter lives.
At the heart of Easter message is the powerful declaration that the worst onslaught of evil and suffering is no match for power and goodness of God. God’s power and love triumphs in the end! Like 1 Corinthians 15 says,
“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus won the victory when he triumphed over death at Easter. God wants us to live in that victory!
This passage in Revelation 7 is a celebration of Jesus’ victory. To grasp the passage’s fuller meaning we need to go to chapter 6, where the first six seals on the scroll are opened. After the sixth seal is opened (verse 12), the physical foundations of creation are rattled. God’s wrath is poured out on a defiant creation. Destruction reaches such a pitch that all people hide. Key is their question in 6:17.
For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?
When John the Seer reaches that point in his visions, he stops. The suffering and destruction of the first six seals are overwhelming, and so he introduces a break, a timeout that he uses to lift the vision of God’s people from the difficulties of the present to the glories of the future. In 7:1-8, the angels of God seal the 144,000— 12 tribes of Israel, 12,000 from each tribe. A symbolic number that shows that all of God’s people are sealed for protection.
That seal is probably the same seal of the Holy Spirit we read about in Ephesians 1.
When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
The designation of twelve tribes times twelve thousand people per tribe envisions the church in this world as part of God’s army in battle with the powers of evil. All are accounted for. No one is lost.
An important turning point in the story is the difference between verse 4 and verse 7. In verse 4 John “heard the number.” In verse 9 he “looked.” What he sees is a vast international, multi-racial, multi-lingual throng of people so great that no one could count it. It’s like in Revelation 4 when John hears that the Lion of Judah is able to open the scrolls. But what he sees is “a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain.” The Lion is the Lamb. In the same way, the 144,000 sealed and protected is the “great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb.”
John gives us a glimpse behind the scenes. He pulls back the curtain to the reality that is unseen yet always present. We get a glimpse of the very presence of God where God’s victory is always celebrated. John is saying, “Are you suffering? Do you feel the grip of grief? Are you in death’s strong pull? Do you see suffering and injustice? Remember: the victory is already won. It is just a matter of time when this will all be revealed.”
9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”
The people he sees wear white robes and carry palm branches. The robe is an important piece of clothing in the Bible. It signals not only outward clothing, but reveals who the person is, what her or his status is. And so the prodigal son is given a new robe, not just so that he would have something clean to wear but as an indication of his restored place in the family (Luke 15:22). Believers, then, wear the white robe of purity, and they carry palm branches as signs of victory and joy following war.
The “crying out” of the multitude in 7:10 connects us with 6:10. There the impatient martyrs resting under the throne of God also cry out—in that case for justice. Here in 7:10 the answer is given in praises to God.
“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”
Another way to translate the word “salvation” is victory. The battle has been won. The victory celebration is ongoing!
In verses 11-12 heavenly beings join in the singing.
11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying:
“Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!”
As we might expect in Revelation, they use seven terms to praise God. The center one is often the most significant, and it is the word thanksgiving.
There are more scenes of worship in the book of Revelation than in all the other books of the New Testament combined. Notice how united they are as they worship! They are of one heart and mind. Notice how they cry out in a united voice. Yes, worship can be an individual experience— we all need more time spent in individual worship. But God’s ultimate purpose has never been just to save individuals. His goal is to create a people who will worship him in unity.
In worship, we seek to bring glory to God. Look at verse 12 again.
“Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!”
Worship by its very nature puts God at the center of a dialogue. In a sense, worship is only truly worship when it is directed towards the Lord. Of course, part of worship is fellowship. We support of each other and we learn from each other. But worship isn’t only fellowship. Worship points beyond ourselves.
Kierkegaard: we the worshippers are on the stage, God is the audience.
• Our songs are only worship when directed toward Him.
• The choir’s anthem becomes genuine worship when it is directed towards the Lord and his glory.
• Our prayers are only prayers when they are spoken to the Lord and not just as a clever way to get our message across to others.
Worship then puts God at the center and calls us to live our lives before his watching eyes— to live for his glory. One way to live the Easter victory flows out of worship
• First, we rehearse the fact that God is the center in our worship service,
• Then we go from here to live each day with God at the center in our lives:
• to be aware of his presence during each conversation;
• to be aware of his help and power during each time of struggle;
• to thank him for each joy and blessing.
In verses 13-14, one of the heavenly beings asks John the meaning of the vision. John appropriately turns the question back to the elder, who as the heavenly being is the one to interpret. The NRSV, unfortunately, mistranslates his response.
13 Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?”
14 I answered, “Sir, you know.”
And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
A more literal translated is “These are they who are coming out of the great tribulation.” It’s present tense. The tribulation is not just future. It’s present and constant. But God is constantly giving each generation Easter victory!
The martyrs, in one of John’s reversal of images, “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Even I — someone who has had my share of clothes washing disasters— even I know that washing something in blood (or red in general) does not turn something white. But here the blood of the Lamb purifies the martyrs and takes away their sin and so their robes are white.
Verses 15-17 are very beautiful.
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 spread his tent over them.
16 ‘Never again will they hunger;
never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat down on them,’
nor any scorching heat.
17 For the Lamb at the center before the throne
will be their shepherd;
‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’
‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”
Believers stand before God’s throne and worship God. God, in turn, will shelter them. This is a place of safety. These words are a preview of what we read later in the Revelation.
Revelation 21:3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
Revelation 22:3 No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. 4 And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. 5 And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever.
So who is able to stand? Those whom the Lamb has washed. With that word of encouragement, this persecuted minority—the first-century church—is able to move ahead, because they know where God is taking them. And today’s believers know the same.
Constantly in the background, hidden from view, there is an ongoing victory celebration! There has been a cross. There has been a resurrection. God in Christ has met the powers of darkness at their worst and he has triumphed. Once and for all, atonement for all sin has been achieved and death destroyed, and the doors of the kingdom of God have been flung open wide. Once and for all God has rescued this world from chaos and damnation. Therefore, be not dismayed! You are fighting a defeated enemy. These are facts that cannot be shaken.
In worship, we declare the victory of God. In genuine worship:
● We gather as God’s people. We worship in unity.
● We seek to bring glory to God. All praise, glory and honor belong to God alone!
● We declare God’s victory. We prepare to go back into our lives reminded that God does indeed reign!