18/03/18 Revelation 7:9-17 “A brief picture of the future
heaven”
Revelation 7:9 – After
this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations,
and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the
throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their
hands;
great – polus
(many, great, more in terms of number rather than power or greatness)
(“great” in 7:14 is
megas as used in Revelation 6:4, 12, 17, and megistanes “the great men” – from a plural superlative
form of megas, in 6:15.)
These are from all nations
(ethnos – ethnic groups), kindreds (phule
– all people descended from a common ancestor, tribe), people (laos – community, society, all those of the same
stock and language) and tongues (glossa – tongues, languages). These are
the same terms used by the 4 living creatures and 24 elders in Revelation 5:9,
probably representing not only themselves, but the saints as per Revelation
5:8.
Revelation 5:9 – And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals
thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to
God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people,
and nation;
It is possible that
this great multitude includes the 144,000 yet it must also be noted that the
144,000 are still alive at this point, while this great multitude could be
those mentioned in the following verses, and therefore probably physically
dead.
Revelation 12:11 – And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and
by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
Revelation 20:4 – And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and
judgment was given unto them: and [I saw] the souls of them that were
beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not
worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received [his] mark
upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ
a thousand years.
The martyrs of the
5th seal, also wearing white robes, may represent the same group.
Revelation 6:11 – And white robes were given unto every one of them;
and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until
their fellowservants also and their brethren, that
should be killed as they [were], should be fulfilled.
The white robes
signify their cleanness from sin, their holiness, their acceptability to a holy
God. The lack of such a robe would render a person spiritually unclean, and
therefore unacceptable, as per the parable of the wedding feast in Matthew 22:11-13
Standing (or
established) before the throne indicates their position in Christ: they are
standing before the Lamb, their Advocate (their parakletos)
who has enabled their holy purity.
Zechariah 3:1-2 – 1 And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing
before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist
him. 2 And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O
Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: [is] not
this a brand plucked out of the fire?
palms in their
hands – The only other
place where this word for “palm” (phoinix)
exists in the New Testament is in John 12:13.
John 12:12-13 – 12 On the next day much people that were come to the
feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 Took
branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna:
Blessed [is] the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.
It has the idea in
both cases of their Messiah coming to take up His reign as King. In Revelation
7:9, we are now in that final 7-year period, following which Christ will return
as Messiah to take up His millennial reign. While some may say that the use of
palm branches in today’s passage was merely a part of the imagery that John
understood, it is still a very Jewish custom that clearly indicates the
Jewishness of this crowd before the Lamb in heaven.
Revelation 1:7 (Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they [also]
which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him) is clearly a Jewish thing too, having been foretold
in Zechariah’s prophecy concerning the future of the nation of Israel (Zechariah 12:10 – And I will pour upon the house
of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of
supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they
shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for [his] only
[son], and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness
for [his] firstborn.)
While the 144,000
in Revelation 7:4 is a clearly defined number, this great multitude is recorded
as being impossible for any man to be able to count.
Revelation 7:10 – And cried
with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth
upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
cried – krazo (to
croak like a raven; cry aloud; cry out for vengeance; speak loudly)
with a loud
voice – megas
phone (Cf megaphone)
“The salvation” belongs
to or is ascribed to our God, as per
Psalm 3:8a – Salvation [belongeth] unto
the Lord:
Psalm 118:14 – The Lord [is] my strength and song, and is become my salvation.
That is, there is only one source of salvation and that is through our
God. And, not only through our God, but He is also the one who sits upon the
throne, as if to strongly imply that not all gods may actually be sitting upon
the throne. Only one who is God of gods, and sits upon the throne (that is,
sovereign) may have salvation.
Deuteronomy 10:17 – For the Lord your God [is] God
of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:
and unto the Lamb – The Lamb of God is the central character
in Revelation. It foretells His opening of the books of judgment by the breaking
of the seals, preparing the way for His triumphant second coming to take up His
millennial reign.
Revelation 7:11 – And all
the angels stood round about the throne, and [about] the elders and the
four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,
“all” means every
one of the angels, but does it apply to just all those present before the
throne at that time; were there any not present at this time, anyway?
The picture is of
God on His throne, with the four living creatures and the 24 elders who were
around the throne (Revelation 4:4, 6) with all the angels standing in a circle
around them. The angels of God fall before the throne on their faces in worship
of God. It does appear as if this is a great angel worship chorus from that
great angel choir, rather than it including the 4 living creatures and the 24
elders, who have given their worship in Revelation
4:9-11 – 9 And when those beasts give
glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, 10 The four and
twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that
liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns
before the throne, saying, 11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to
receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for
thy pleasure they are and were created.
Revelation 7:12 – Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and
honour, and power, and might, [be] unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.
This is a
seven-fold doxology of praise, starting and finishing with “Amen!”
Amen – amen (faithful; verily; truly; of
a truth) It is transliterated directly from the Hebrew word ןמא
‘aman (believe; confirm; be faithful) and thus
may be translated as “sure”, “surely” or “truly”.
for ever and
ever – eis tous aiōnas
tōn aiōnōn (to the ages of
the ages) That is, aeons of aeons.
Revelation 7:13 – And one
of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these
which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
elders – presbyteros
Who are these that
are clothed (dressed) in white (leukos) robes
(stole – a loose outer garment for men extending to the feet, worn by
kings, priests, and persons of rank)? Where did they come from? (or perhaps
also From what circumstances did they come?) It would
have been a bit like seeing a large crowd and asking, “Who are they? What are
they doing here? Where did they come from?” But it can be assumed that the elder
actually does know who they are and where they came from, so in spite of this,
the elder is still seeing if John has any idea about it.
Revelation 7:14 – And I
said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have
washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
John may have been
able to make a reasonable guess at who they were, but if so, then he wasn’t
about to risk making a mistake here. He doesn’t exactly say that he doesn’t
know who they are; instead he tells the elder (respectfully!) that he (the
elder) knows and therefore John doesn’t have to be put into an awkward
situation. “Sir” here is the word kurios
(master; lord; sir; a title of honour expressive of respect and reverence, with
which servants greet their masters). Here John was saying, “My lord, it is not
for me to say who they are, but you who has greater knowledge, to tell me.”
In similar fashion,
Ezekiel submits to God’s greater knowledge.
Ezekiel 37:3 – And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones
live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest.
And the elder said
to John, “These are those who have come out of the great tribulation
(“the” is clearly in the original). This time of the great tribulation is going
to be characterised by its extreme and unparalleled violence and persecution.
Matthew 24:21 – For then shall be great tribulation, such as was
not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Daniel 12:1 – And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great
prince which standeth for the children of thy people:
and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a
nation [even] to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be
delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
Michael is that
great prince (or patron angel) of his people. He is also called one of the
chief princes or patron angels in Daniel 10:13 where chief can mean first in
order of authority or rule; thus he could be also
termed an archangel. Michael may be seen as holding a higher rank than the
prince (or patron angel) of the kingdom of Persia.
Daniel 10:13 – But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood
me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to
help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.
They have washed
their robes, making them “white in the blood of the Lamb.”
Isaiah 1:18 – Come now, and let us reason together, saith the
Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though
they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
Hebrews 9:14 – How much more shall the blood of Christ, who
through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your
conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Revelation 7:15 – Therefore
are they before (or in the presence of) the throne of God, and serve (or worship) him day
and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the
throne shall dwell among them.
For this reason (as
per Vs 14 above) they are before the throne of God; they have been made
acceptable by the blood of the Lamb. They are clean, holy, and obedient.
Revelation 22:14 – Blessed [are] they that do his commandments,
that they may have right to the tree of life, and may
enter in through the gates into the city.
They shall serve
(or worship) God in His temple day and night, that is, service (worship)
uninterrupted by earthly needs such as sleep, etc.
Revelation 22:3 – 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:
shall dwell among them – shall fix His tabernacle
(pitch His tent) among (or over) them. See John 1:14a – And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among
us
The noun form of
“fixing His tabernacle” is used for “the tabernacle” in Revelation 21:3 – And I heard a great voice out
of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God [is] with men,
and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself
shall be with them, [and be] their God.
And God shall be
their God and they shall be His people (denoted by God dwelling among them).
Thus, they dwell with God, and God dwells with them.
Revelation 21:22 – And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God
Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
Vs 15-17 are a
digression from the tribulation, looking forward to the time when it is ended,
and the millennial reign is to begin.
Revelation 16:17b – and there came a great voice out of the temple of
heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
We’ll be looking at
this perfect future of God’s people in more detail when we reach the final
chapters of Revelation.
Revelation 7:16 – They
shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more;
neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.
Isaiah 49:8-10 – 8 Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time have I
heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve
thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to
cause to inherit the desolate heritages; 9 That thou mayest
say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that [are] in darkness, Shew
yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures [shall be] in
all high places. 10 They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither
shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead
them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them.
God’s people will be immortal; they cannot die, nor suffer anything
that might ever put that immortality in doubt. That is, no weaknesses, no
shortcomings at all.
Revelation 21:3 – And the city had no need of
the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten
it, and the Lamb [is] the light thereof.
The burning of the
sun may represent God’s judgment upon our earthly possessions.
James 1:11 – For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat,
but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich
man fade away in his ways.
The heat of the day
withers the plant; likewise, our earthly riches are going to suffer as if in
the heat of the day. This could be a picture of the burning up of all those
worldly and unnecessary possessions in our lives. Christians will enter heaven
with all these “extras” burned off, as per 1 Corinthians 3:11-15.
Revelation 7:17 – For the
Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and
shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all
tears from their eyes.
Revelation 5:6a – And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne
and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had
been slain
shall feed them – as a farmer feeds his animals. God will
be the perfect husbandman who will feed His flock with all their bodily and
spiritual needs. (Cf Isaiah 49:10)
He will lead them
beside still waters (Psalm 23:2). Jesus is the well of living water – John 4:14 – But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never
thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water
springing up into everlasting life.
Revelation 22:1:1-3 – 1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life,
clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2
In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, [was
there] the tree of life, which bare twelve [manner of] fruits, [and]
yielded her fruit every month: and 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:
Living fountains of
waters (or fountains of the waters of life) has a similar meaning to the tree
of life in the garden of Eden (Genesis 2:9). Thus, after Adam sinned, God had
to prevent man from eating from that tree lest he live forever (in sin!).
Genesis 3:22 – And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as
one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take
also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
Wiping away of all
tears signifies three things: (a) that there were things that caused the tears,
(b) God will comfort those in tears, and (c) God will, by logical assumption,
remove the reasons for those tears in the first place.
Isaiah 25:8 – He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord
God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall
he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken [it].
Revelation 21:4 – And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and
there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there
be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
This all makes me think of that claim by
MacArthur that there is no saving power in the blood of Jesus, that we are not
saved by the blood of Jesus!
Now having said that, you have
to stop short of saying that we are saved by the blood of Jesus in the sense
that there’s some efficacy in the fluid that poured out of His body. And I have
tried to make that distinction that when the New Testament refers to salvation
by His blood, it is not talking about salvation by His fluid. It uses blood as
a metaphor or a synonym for death because it conveys the violence of it. And we
don’t want to get caught into this bizarre notion that somehow in the actual
fluid that came out of the body of Jesus, there is saving power or saving
efficacy. …..
But He didn’t bleed to death and
there’s nothing in the fluid in His body that in any way in itself could save
us. He could only save us by dying. (GTY116
17/11/08)
But what about Vs 14 today which
says, “and have
washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Clearly MacArthur (and all other
calvinists who believe similarly) will not be wearing robes made white in the
blood of the Lamb. If MacArthur is a Christian, then he is in big trouble
according to Hebrews 10:29 – Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he
be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the
Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was
sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
But, because he has
no testimony of salvation at the cross, MacArthur is already in serious trouble,
facing an eternity in hell, because he is wearing robes that have never been
washed in the blood of the Lamb.
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