The Totality of Thanksgiving Rev. 7: 9 - 12
One’s view of The Book of Revelation – re velatio – to reveal that which has been hidden
Three schools of thought when reading Revelation: historictic, futuristic, or puristic
I subscribe to the school of through that the Books intent is puristic.
Meaning that it was written to provide hope to those who are in exile, to those who need a release, to those who wonder about tomorrow. Its intent is to give you hope. Its intent is to encourage you to hold on to God’s unchanging hand.
John on the Isle of Patmos is taken up to the 7th heaven, and God said, ”Come up hither, and I will show thee things, which must be hereafter” provides a view of the already/but not yet. (chocolate cake) [eschatological. ]]
This text helps us to understand the totality of Thanksgiving.
Problem:
Partiality of Thanksgiving – only when times are good, things going our way.
Sparsity of Thanksgiving – unwillingness to give thanks because you have a negative view of life – only bad things happen to you.
Neutrality of Thanksgiving – looking for the next blessing – hits church folk – blessed us to be in his service, and we are looking across the street, or up the street, or on the other side of town and think that why are we not mega, why doesn’t our ministry blow up, why isn’t our territory being enlarged? We neutralize the blessing that God has given up looking for the next thing. Everybody can’t be mega, but everybody can serve!
Challenge:
How do you think of Thanksgiving?: Is it in a sense of partiality, sparsity, or neutrality?
If you understand the beauty and the message of this text, you will feel the power of the totality of Thanksgiving.
1. Great multitude – These are they - God’s blessings are for everyone –– white robes, which signify that they have been washed in the blood of the lamb – (though your sins be as scarlet they shall be white has snow)
[story of a man who died and went to heaven but returned because it was not his time, everyone in the town knew his situation and wanted to talk with him about what heaven was like: streets paved with gold, streams of living water, twelve gates to the city, Baptist, Methodist, Catholics, who was there: only the righteous shall see God]
Enter into his gates with Thanksgiving and into this courts with praise!
2. Great worship – perpetually in a state of worship
(4 and 20 elders and the four living creatures: face/lion, face/calf, face/man, face/flying eagle) first to worship where the living creatures, next the elders took off their crowns and fell down before the throne and cried out,
“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure, they are and were created.”
“It is he that has made us and not we ourselves, we are his people and the sheep of his pasture”
3. Great God – blessing and glory, wisdom and Thanksgiving, honor, power and might. “O Lord, my God, how excellent is your name in all the earth”
Is there anyone here who has not experienced the greatness of God?
There should not be any partiality, nor any sparsity, nor any neutrality.
Our Thanksgiving should be in totality because we are a part of a great multitude that is in great worship of a great God.
