Revelation 7:9-17 New King James Version
A Multitude from the Great Tribulation
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, [a]“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 [b]living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Every Nation, People, and Language
What are we to believe about the promises contained in the Book of Revelation?
How and When and Where will it all be revealed?
How and When and where will it all be completed?
Will I be there to witness it as John was?
Will I be one among the Great Multitudes?
Will there really be a Great Multitude – how many of us must just be skeptical?
In our text today, God gave the apostle John a magnificent vision of a far distant diverse multitude—people from every diverse, every nation, every part of the human family—visualized as coming together forming a great multitude, a great chorus worshiping the Lord and proclaiming his victory over evil.
This vision portrays what believers in Christ have been laboring and praying for through the centuries.
The goal of God’s mission in Christ is that people from all over the earth will receive his salvation and worship him. But this great chorus is not yet complete.
Not all of God’s people are gathered in; many are missing. There are still many language groups and people groups that have no followers of Jesus.
The original Greek word used for “nation” in the New Testament is ethnos, from which our word “ethnic” comes.
Sometimes ethnos refers to major countries in Bible times, like Egypt, Syria, and Persia. Sometimes it is translated as “Gentiles,” referring to non-Jewish groups of people. And sometimes ethnos refers to smaller cultural, linguistic groups.
One country can include many such groups.
So even though there are Christians in every country on earth today, there are still many people and language groups that have no Christians.
https://oll.libertyfund.org/publications/reading-room/2023-10-05-urban-banning-and-censoring-bible
As Jesus’ followers, we need to bring, to take, sometimes by hand, backpacks, the gospel (the good news of Jesus) to them.
What role does God want His Body to play in this great multitudinous task?
Philippians 1:6-11 New King James Version
6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; 7 just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace. 8 For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.
9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, 10 that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, 11 being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
True or False?
Fact versus Fiction?
Convinced or Unconvinced?
Wishful thinking?
When God begins a work, He always completes it.
In Acts 16, we meet Lydia, a successful woman with her own business and a nice house in Philippi.
She had an interest in religion—and then she was changed (Acts 16:14-15).
What happened?
God began a work.
Later in the same chapter, we see a Philippian jailer come off his night shift also radically changed (v 30-34).
What happened?
Again, God began a work.
We can imagine, then, that when Lydia or the jailer were tempted to give up, the word of God through Paul’s letter to Philippi was there to remind them:
“He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
In other words,
You didn’t start the work within you, and you aren’t going to finish it. If you feel you can’t keep going, you’re right. You can’t. But God did, and He can, and He will.
God has a long-term plan for His people: that each of us will see and share in the glory of His Son.
That is the end to which He is working (Romans 8:28-30).
So we, like Lydia and the jailer, like the original apostles, Like Saul to Paul, Luke each have both the need and ability to stay in the race of faith for the long haul.
While it always remains true that God gives all of us many gifts, our finite lives nonetheless can seem to be filled with disappointments.
We continue to give in to sin.
We struggle with doubts, and life’s circumstances make it hard to keep going in faith. But we can and will continue on the journey, because Scripture promises us over and over that our God “began a good work” and that He will finish it.
As we stumble along the way and face difficulties, we’re tempted to go back down to the bottom of the mountain, trade our hiking boots for slippers, and head back home.
But there’s a view at the top that’s worth every ache and pain along the way!
And so the word of God comes to us again and again, saying,
Revelation 1:8 New King James Version
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, [a]the Beginning and the End,” says the [b]Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Revelation 22:13-14 New King James Version
13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the [a]Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”
14 Blessed are those who [b]do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.
Come on, just a little farther. Don’t be concerned about all of your tomorrows. God Himself is helping you. Keep walking the way today.
From Genesis 1:1 through Revelation 22:21, God 100% finishes what He starts. And if you are trusting Christ, then He has started something eternal in you.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 19 New King James Version
The Perfect Revelation of the Lord
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
19 The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament[a] shows [b]His handiwork.
2 Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language
Where their voice is not heard.
4 Their [c]line has gone out through all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.
In them He has set a [d]tabernacle for the sun,
5 Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
And rejoices like a strong man to run its race.
6 Its rising is from one end of heaven,
And its circuit to the other end;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.
7 The law of the Lord is perfect, [e]converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
8 The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the [f]honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward.
12 Who can understand his errors?
Cleanse me from secret faults.
13 Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins;
Let them not have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
And I shall be innocent of [g]great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my [h]strength and my Redeemer.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 