The Mission Fulfilled Series

The Mission Fulfilled

Revelation 7:9-10

Rev. Brian Bill

October 25-26, 2025

It’s so powerful to hear God’s Word read in multiple languages, isn’t it? The Book of Revelation was written by the Apostle John while he was exiled on the island of Patmos during a time of extreme persecution. The primary purpose of this book is to call believers to persevere by reminding them of God’s sovereignty and the ultimate triumph of Christ.

Here’s a brief outline.

• Chapters 1-3: John is given an exalted vision of the glorified Christ. Jesus writes letters to seven churches.

• Chapters 4-5: John is taken up to Heaven where he is stunned by the throne of God and by the Lamb who is worthy to open the scroll.

• Chapters 6-19: God’s judgment is unleashed through the seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls, culminating in the final defeat of the beast, the false prophet, and the nations that oppose God.

• Chapter 20: Christ returns to reign for a thousand years; Satan is bound, final judgment takes place at the Great White Throne, and the wicked are cast into the lake of fire.

• Chapters 21–22: John sees the new heaven and new earth, the New Jerusalem descending from Heaven, and eternal fellowship with God restored, where there is no more death, sorrow, or pain.

Revelation 7 functions as an interlude between the sixth and seventh seals, offering assurance that the redeemed will be secure when God’s judgments fall. This chapter brings us comfort knowing the Great Commission cannot be stopped and will be completed when the redeemed remnant “from every nation, from all tribes, and peoples and languages” will be represented around the throne. This chapter helps us see what missions looks like when it’s finished.

We’ve already heard Revelation 7:9-10 read in multiple languages; let’s stand and read it together now: “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!’”

Here’s the sermon in a nutshell: While the mission will one day be fulfilled, we must live on mission today because God’s global purpose remains unfinished.

Let’s continue in worship as we walk through this powerful passage.

1. The people God will save. Let’s consider the first half of verse 9: “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages…” The phrase “after this” references the 144,000 Jewish evangelists in verses 1-8. In apocalyptic literature, the verb “looked” often introduces something unexpected. The word “behold” can be translated as “lo and behold!” and is used to get our attention.

I was gripped by reading Charles Spurgeon’s sermon introduction when he preached on this verse: “It seems as though a flash of wonder shot through his soul, and a flame of admiration burst from his tongue, when John exclaims, ‘After this I beheld, and, lo!’”

The phrase “great multitude” emphasizes an “enormous crowd, an immense throng of people,” so many that “no one could number” them. Revelation 5:11 says, “Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands.” This is the final fulfillment of the promise given to Abraham and passed along to Isaac in Genesis 26:4: “I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.”

Warren Wiersbe writes: “You cannot read the Book of Revelation without developing a global outlook.” John uses four different terms to describe this enormous crowd of worshipers. Before listing them, notice how he uses the word “from,” which means, “out of every nation, out of all tribes, out of all peoples, out of all languages.” This refers to representatives from every group, not necessarily every individual in that group.

• Nation. This is the Greek word ethnos, from which we get ethnic groups. This word is used by Jesus in Matthew 28:19: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” Mark 16:15 says the gospel is to be peached to “the whole creation.”

• Tribes. This word is used of family lineages or clans and is often translated as “kindreds.” Psalm 22:27 says, “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you.”

• Peoples. This refers to groups united by a common cultural or social identity. Psalm 67:3: “Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.”