Last week, we worked our way through the first vision of Revelation 7, which describes the sealing of the 144,000, from the 12 tribes of Israel. I argued that this was a vision of the church. Israel, is the church. The church, is Israel. I gave a few arguments in support of this, but I left out the most obvious, and straightforward one.
In the Book of Revelation, what we see repeatedly is an interplay between what John hears, and what he sees. And this interplay helps us understand what we are reading. We've seen this interplay once already in Revelation, in chapter 5. So let's turn there, and remind ourselves how this works (NRSV Updated, no reason) :
5 Then I saw in the right hand of the one seated on the throne a scroll written on the inside and on the back, sealed[a] with seven seals, 2 and I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it. 4 And I began to weep bitterly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. 5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”
So in verse 5, John hears the angel telling him to look, and see the Lion.
Then, in verse 6, we read this:
6 Then I saw between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders a Lamb standing as if it had been slaughtered, with seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
When John looks, though, he sees a Lamb, slaughtered, with all the fullness of the Spirit.
We maybe wonder, how can a lion, look like a lamb? But the question we are supposed to ask ourselves is this: How can a lamb, be a lion? And as we think about this, what we realize is that Jesus became a conquering lion, by being a sacrificial lamb. Seeing Jesus as the Lamb, helps us understand what it means, that Jesus is a Lion.
So what John sees, helps us understand what he hears. And we find the same type of thing in Revelation 7. Let's reread verses 1-8:
(1) After this, I saw four angels,
standing at the four corners of the earth,
holding/controlling the four winds of the earth,
in order that wind couldn't blow upon the earth, nor upon the sea, nor upon any tree,
(2) and I saw another angel,
ascending from the rising of the sun (the East),
having the seal of the living God,
and he cried out with a great voice to the four angels-- to the ones whom it was given to them to harm the earth and the sea--, saying,
"Don't harm the earth nor the sea nor the trees, until we seal the slaves of our God upon their foreheads,"
(4) and I heard the number of the ones being sealed-- 144,000--
being sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
(5) from the tribe of Judah: 12,000 being sealed,
from the tribe of Reuben: 12,000,
from the tribe of Gad: 12,000,
from the tribe of Asher: 12,000,
from the tribe of Naphtali: 12,000,
from the tribe of Manasseh: 12,000,
from the tribe of Simeon: 12,000,
from the tribe of Levi: 12,000,
from the tribe of Issachar: 12,000,
from the tribe of Zebulun: 12,000,
from the tribe of Joseph: 12,000,
from the tribe of Benjaim: 12,000 being sealed.
In verse 4, John hears the number of the sealed-- 144,000. And we wondered, who exactly are these 144,000?
Then, we read this, in verse 9-10:
(9) After these things, I saw,
and LOOK! A great crowd!,
which no one was able to number,
from every nation and tribe and people and tongue,
standing before the throne and before the Lamb,
being dressed in white robes,
and [with] palm branches in their hands,
(10) and they are crying out with a great voice, saying,
"Salvation/deliverance [belongs] to our God-- to The One Seated Upon the Throne and to The Lamb--
So what John heard in the first vision, is that there are 144,000 sons of Israel, 12,000 from each tribe. And then what he sees, is a vast crowd, far beyond number, from every nation and tribe and people and tongue, who worship the One Seated Upon the Throne and the Lamb.
So what he hears, is Israel in all its fullness, and completeness, and perfection. And what he sees, is the church. But he's not seeing the church on earth. He's seeing the church triumphant, in God's heavenly throne room. They are dressed in the promised white robes. They have palm trees, to celebrate victory. And what are they doing? We are told, first of all, that they are standing. "Standing before the throne and before the Lamb."
So in Revelation 6:17, we'd heard the question asked: Who can stand on the day of the wrath of God and of the Lamb? And here we see, the church triumphant will stand. We will stand. And the reason we will stand, is because salvation belongs to our God.
In verses 11-12, John's perspective widens out, like you'd widen out a camera lens. And this is what else he sees:
(11) and all the angels stood around the throne-- both/even (?) the elders, and the four living creatures-
and they fell before the throne upon their faces,
and they worshipped/bowed down toward God, saying,
"Amen/Truly, the praise and the glory and the wisdom and the thanksgiving and the honor and the power and
the strength [be] to our God, for ever and ever, Amen/Truly,"
What we see here, is that God has won the victory. He has brought his people safely home. And the angels celebrate this. They understand that this is a demonstration of God's wisdom, and power. This is one of God's wonders.
In verse 13, John finds himself being asked a question:
(13) and one of the elders responded, saying to me,
"These ones being dressed in white robes-- Who are they?,
and From where did they come?,
That's kind of the key question, right? We've seen the angels before. The four living creatures aren't new to us.
But who are the ones dressed in white?
Verse 14:
(14) and I said to him,
"My lord, you know,"
and he said to me,
"These are the ones coming (present participle) from the Great Tribulation,
and they washed their robes,
and they whitened them in the blood of the Lamb.
Verse 14 is a really interesting verse. And it's a little complicated. What, exactly, is the Great Tribulation? And when, exactly, is the Great Tribulation?
The expectation that the seven seals have given us, is that things are about to get worse. We live in the time of the four riders. We live with conquest, and people slaughtering one another, and famine, and inflation, and death. And we understand, when the sixth seal opens, that the judgments will become more cosmic. Bigger. Even if we aren't sure, literally, what exactly that looks like, we expect something worse. That time period, I think, is the Great Tribulation. It's something in the future, and not our current experience.
Now, there's a wrinkle to this, and I'm still wrestling with how to handle it. Let's turn back to Revelation 3:8-12:
8 “I know your works. Look, I have set before you an open door that no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9 I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not but are lying—I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you. 10 Because you have kept my word of endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth. 11 I am coming soon; hold fast to what you have, so that no one takes away your crown. 12 If you conquer, I will make you a pillar in the temple of my God; you will never go out of it. I will write on you the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem that comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.
Jesus tells the first century church of Philadelphia that he will keep/protect them from/through the coming hour of trial. Things are about to get worse, and Jesus will guard them as they go through this. [The Greek word has more the sense of "through" here. It's not that Jesus will keep them from experiencing this, by rapturing them. It's that Jesus will guide them through it, like a shepherd (anticipating verse 17.].
One could argue (and this would be a preterist approach, which is attractive here), that from the perspective of the first century church of Philadelphia, the Great Tribulation was going to come later in the first century. It's a warning that things are going to get worse for them. Not for us, living 2,000 years later. But for them.
And then let's turn to Revelation 2:10:
"Don't fear the things you are about to suffer. LOOK! The devil is about to throw some of you into prison, in order that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation/affliction ten days. Be faithful up to death, and I will give to you the crown of life."
Here again, we see that there is a coming tribulation-- it's the same exact word-- that the first century church of Smyrna will experience.
I'm really wrestling with this. But let's read again from Revelation 7:14:
(14) and I said to him,
"My lord, you know,"
and he said to me,
"These are the ones coming (present participle) from the Great Tribulation,
and they washed their robes,
and they whitened them in the blood of the Lamb.
The angel here says the ones dressed in white, are the ones "coming" from/through the Great Tribulation. This verb, "coming," is a present participle. And basically, that means that this is a present reality. As the angel speaks, people are streaming into the throne room.
I'm a little nervous making this much of the tense of a single verb. But I think this is the clue that explains
everything. Throughout church history, God's people will always be persecuted. There will always be tribulations.
And those who are faithful, and conquer, will come through that experience okay. They will find themselves standing in God's throne room, praising God. And if we copy their example, we will join them.
So for 2,000 years, God's people have been streaming through the heavenly gates, coming through tribulations, to join in the worship of God.
Right now, in the present, life is often hard. We suffer. And we suffer, understanding that things might get worse. Tomorrow might be even more difficult than today. But we remain steadfast, and strong, knowing that someday we will stand before the throne.
Now, before we move on, we need to ask ourselves two questions:
(1) How do we wash our robes?
(2) How do we whiten them in the blood of the Lamb?
The idea here is that everyone wears a robe. No one is naked in these verses. But only some people have washed, and whitened them. And only those people, stand before the throne.
It's tempting, to say that you whiten your robes when you first become saved. When you put your faith in Jesus, your robes are whitened.
That's not wrong. But it's only half of what Revelation teaches. Let's turn to Revelation 3:1-6 (NRSV updated no reason):
3 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars:
“I know your works; you have a name of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up and strengthen what remains and is on the point of death, for I have not found your works perfect in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, then, what you received and heard; obey it and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. 4 Yet you have still a few persons in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes; they will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. 5 If you conquer, you will be clothed like them in white robes, and I will not erase your name from the book of life; I will confess your name before my Father and before his angels. 6 Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.
I think the idea is that when we are first saved, our clothes are whitened, and washed, in the blood of the Lamb. Revelation doesn't exactly say this, just so I'm clear. I'm reading between the lines, I think. But I'm pretty sure that's the idea.
Now, once you become part of God's people, you can choose to live faithfully, or unfaithfully. And if you practice idolatry, or sexual immorality, or if you are a coward and refuse to testify about Jesus, you soil your clothes. The path to conquering, comes through repentance, and through faithfulness. So this vast number of people clothed in white, are those who stayed faithful (Revelation 3:4), and those who renewed their faithfulness (Revelation 3:3), to God.
At this point, let's cheat, and turn to 1 John 1:5-9 (NRSV Updated no reason):
5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; 7 but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
What does 1 John teach us about the blood of Jesus, and forgiveness? It's not that every sin has already been cleansed, and forgiven. At other churches, you'll sometimes hear that all of our sins-- past, present, and future-- are already forgiven. That we stand, at every moment, even in the act of sin, clean and forgiven.
The way forgiveness actually works, starts in verse 7. If we, as a way of life, walk in the light, the blood of Jesus cleanses us from sin. So this is not a promise for people who walk in the darkness, as a way of life. It's not for people who never truly repent.
John expects us to be a people committed to doing the right thing-- to loving God and people. This is who we are. And if this is who we are, and we slip from that, the blood of Jesus cleanses us from sin.
Now, how does the blood of Jesus cleanse us? Is it automatic? Again, some would say "yes."
But John would say no. If we confess our sins, God forgives us, and cleanses us. There is something we have to do. Confess.
So the blood of Jesus cleansed us from our sins, when we first became Jesus' disciples. That's one of the pictures we have, for what salvation means. And that blood is still available to us for forgiveness, when we soil our clothing now. But we have to come back to the light, if we've left it. And we have to confess.
At this point, let's reread verse 14:
(14) and I said to him,
"My lord, you know,"
and he said to me,
"These are the ones coming (present participle) through/from the Great Tribulation,
and they washed their robes,
and they whitened them in the blood of the Lamb.
John sees people who are dressed in white. And what he hears (the interplay between seeing and hearing again), is that these people have washed their robes, and whitened them. They were active participants in this. They washed. They whitened. And I think, again, you do this by confessing, and repenting. People who do this, are the ones who successfully come through the great tribulation.
Verse 15:
(15) It is for this reason that they are before the throne of God,
and they are serving him day and night in his temple,
and The One Seated Upon the Throne will live/take up residence over (BDAG) them.
(16) They will be hungry no longer,
nor will they be thirsty any longer,
nor will the sun fall down upon them,
nor any heat,
(17) because the Lamb-- the one in the midst of the throne-- will shepherd them,
and He will lead them to living springs of waters [Psalm 23],
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
The ones who conquer, and live faithfully toward God, and the Lamb, until the end, will one day get to serve God forever. On that day, we won't hunger, or thirst, or face oppressive heat. Life will no longer be hard.
Jesus, as the Good Shepherd, will lead us to that place. But we have to understand, that the path to God's throne room runs through tribulation. There is nothing in Revelation to suggest that Jesus will rescue us "from" tribulation. Jesus will guide us "through" tribulation.
The picture here, is of Psalm 23. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, will lead us on the right path, that leads to waters of rest. But that path runs through the valley of the shadow of death. Sometimes, that valley is death. But on the other side, is the place of final salvation, and eternal praise, and service to our God.
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What we've seen, over the past two chapters in Revelation, is that life can be really hard for God's people. There's no guarantee that we will prosper on earth. There's no guarantee that we will look blessed, on earth (Matthew 5).
We could know this from experience, when we look at churches around the world. Or, we could know this from the book of Revelation, where some of the churches prospered, and thought they were rich, while others were poor and needy.
We are living in the time of the four riders of the apocalypse. God's people have seen conquest, and war, and people slaughtering one another, and famine, and inflation, and death.
These things hit some churches harder than others. By comparison, in ND, we are relatively insulated.
But however bad things are for us now, Revelation warns us that things will get worse. The tribulations of today (Revelation 2:10; 3:10-- 3:10 has the same preposition "through/from"; Jesus will keep/protect them "through" the tribulation), will at some point turn into the great tribulation. And so tomorrow might be far more difficult than today. There are no guarantees.
How should we respond to this?
If we keep an earthly perspective on tribulations, and act like what we see, is all there is to reality, we might respond in several ways. We could be frightened. We could compromise, and hide our allegiance to Jesus. We could become discouraged. Sometimes the psalms that promise prosperity-- Psalm 23, Psalm 112-- don't seem to work out. Christians who go to churches where it's taught that every single believer should prosper financially, are going to become disillusioned if they find themselves hungering, and thirsting, and being oppressed.
What Revelation teaches, is that there will be no rapture. There is no early escape from what's coming. What we
have, instead, is God's seal on our foreheads. This seal protects you from God's wrath, poured out in the sixth seal. But it doesn't protect you on earth from people. What we will see, in the coming weeks, is that the ones dwelling on earth are going to make life really hard. They will make things a great tribulation. And the other thing that the seal doesn't protect you from, as far as I can tell, is the four riders. We will have to endure conquest, and slaughter, and famine, and death.
That's the reality. Life is often hard now. It will be worse later.
Part of what the Book of Revelation is designed to do, is strengthen you, and encourage you. When you read chapter 7, you should find your backbone stiffening. You should feel yourself manning up, ready for the worst. You should be embracing the call to follow your Shepherd, the Lamb, regardless of how dark the valley.
How does Revelation do this?
Mostly, by shifting your perspective from earth to heaven (h/t M. Eugene Boring). From an earthly perspective, we will see the churches hungry, and thirsty, and persecuted. We will see Christians falling, and dying. We will see small, struggling house churches, at risk of disappearing. We may see entire churches fall away, and Jesus take away the lamp stand (Revelation 2:5). From an earthly perspective, there are times when everything looks like it falls apart.
But if we let Revelation carry us into God's throne room, we see something much different. We see God's people, right now, coming safely through tribulations. They made it. Suffering, and death, wasn't their true end because they followed their Shepherd, the Lamb, and He brought them home.
If you want to end up in the place where you get to serve God forever, dressed in white, in the company of the saints, you follow the Lamb now. You wash your garments in his blood, confessing your sins (1 John 1:8-9). And you commit to acknowledging Jesus to those around you. Everyone knows you follow the Lamb. And you will follow him regardless of the cost, knowing what's waiting on the other side.
Translation:
(9) After these things, I saw,
and LOOK! A great crowd!,
which no one was able to number,
from every nation and tribe and people and tongue,
standing before the throne and before the Lamb,
being dressed in white robes,
and [with] palm branches in their hands,
(10) and they are crying out with a great voice, saying,
"Salvation/deliverance [belongs] to our God-- to The One Seated Upon the Throne and to The Lamb--
(11) and all the angels stood around the throne-- both/even (?) the elders, and the four living creatures-
and they fell before the throne upon their faces,
and they worshipped/bowed down toward God, saying,
"Amen/Truly, the praise and the glory and the wisdom and the thanksgiving and the honor and the power and the strength [be] to our God, for ever and ever, Amen/Truly,"
(13) and one of the elders responded, saying to me,
"These ones being dressed in white robes-- Who are they?,
and From where did they come?,
(14) and I said to him,
"My lord, you know,"
and he said to me,
"These are the ones coming (present participle) through/from the Great Tribulation,
and they washed their robes,
and they whitened them in the blood of the Lamb.
(15) It is for this reason that they are before the throne of God,
and they are serving him day and night in his temple,
and The One Seated Upon the Throne will live/take up residence (BDAG) over them.
(16) They will be hungry no longer,
nor will they be thirsty any longer,
nor will the sun fall down upon them,
nor any heat,
(17) because the Lamb-- the one in the midst of the throne-- will shepherd them,
and He will lead them to living springs of waters,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
