This week three of us were praying. One woman prayed in
her native tongue, a language of the Middle East. She understood our English
but could not speak it well. We told her to pray as she wished and only grasped
a few words she said, but we understood her heart and her passion for Jesus.
Later, we read part of this section from Revelation
rejoicing that in heaven all nations and languages would be represented.
However, I didn’t realize until this morning that we took those verses out of
context, at least in one respect. It was not referring to Christians in our
time . . .
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, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 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, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 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. 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. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. 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.” (Revelation 7:9–17)
This vast multitude is not made up of believers from this
era but a numberless crowd that will be saved during the time I described yesterday;
a time called the “great tribulation” when one quarter of the world’s
population will die. During this awful period when the wrath of God is released
on the earth, not everyone will run and hide. Some of them will turn to Christ
and He will save them.
In these verses, salvation is through faith in Christ. As
the world winds down, He will shelter them, feed and care for them, and give
them protection and comfort. They may die physically for their faith yet not
experience the destruction and separation from God that will happen to those
who refuse His grace.
I felt sad most of yesterday thinking about the fate of
the world. This passage is an encouragement. Not everyone will perish. It says
a “great multitude that no one could
number” will be saved for eternity. It calls Jesus the Lamb four times.
Again, the Lamb who was slain is doing what He alone can do — redeeming people
from the wrath that their sin deserves and taking care of them as a shepherd
does his sheep.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Lord Jesus, thank You for these words, this revelation of
You doing Your saving work even amid the same passages as Your wrath against
sin is described. Again, mercy triumphs over judgment.
Today’s thankful list . . .
- seeing God’s mercy even as He shows me His wrath against
sin.
- feeling relief that even during all that will happen, multitudes
will be saved.
- knowing that God’s grace is greater than human sin.
- Christmas baking includes old favorites like peanut
butter and chocolate chip cookies.
- a down-filled coat that is warm even on a frosty day
like today.
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