Title: Those in White (Rev 7:9-17)
Contents
(20070729 Sunday) Rev 7:9~17
The first half of Revelation 7, which we read today, speaks of 144,000 people from each tribe who will be saved, which means God's people who will not be left out and will be remembered and called. He protected and sealed all those who would be saved. From our point of view, it is a great crowd that no one can count.
We remember the multi-star covenant that God gave to Abraham. One day, when Abraham, who had no son, was about to be satisfied with his son Eliezer of Damascus, a servant, God appeared in the night and said, “Look up to heaven and count the stars, if you can... so shall your descendants be” (Genesis 15:5). ) and promises. The same covenant was given to Jacob through the sand. “…I will certainly be gracious to you, and I will make your offspring as numerous as the sand of the sea that cannot be counted…” (Genesis 32:12)
John sees in a vision that God's covenant with the patriarchs thousands of years ago will be faithfully fulfilled at the end of history. It was the appearance of “a great crowd that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and tongue.”
A vision of a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and tongue. May this vision burn more and more as a missionary wish in our hearts today.
I saw this slogan reflected on the door of an office in Bundang Saemmul Church that sent volunteers to Afghanistan. “Go or send.” Mission really means the existence of the church. This is what God is most pleased with and wants.
I believe they are people who know the heart of God. Because it is a country where we cannot preach the gospel or do missionary work, we put God's love in our hearts and went to show love to the people of Afghanistan. It is not something that can only be said with a heart. He went to practice faith, even investing his time and money.
I pray. I pray that our Gumi Full Gospel Church will become a church that can send missionaries whether they go or not.
That's right. Go, if you can't, you should be able to send someone. North Korea and China, Mongolia and Central Asia are covered by a dark power. Below that, we need dedicated believers from Afghanistan and other Middle Eastern countries, tribes, peoples, and tongues. Someone has to decide to leave. We must also participate in the mission of sending away. That is why John is showing the vision of the day when our mission to spread the gospel will be completed.
The vision the Lord gave to John also tells of the voice of praise: “..a great crowd, clothed in white, with palm branches in their hands, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, crying out with a loud voice.”
The white robes they wore and the palm branches they held in their hands tell us that they are partakers of the joy of victory. They are the victorious church. It was not an easy victory. Although they have gone through great tribulation and terrible calamities, they are finally cheering as a victor. They stand before the throne of God. Stand before the Lamb and cry out in a loud voice. It is praise.
When a great crowd, uncountable by no one, cries out like a mighty thunder, “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb,” all the angels worship and chant in response. “Amen, praise and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength to our God for ever and ever. Amen” There are seven hymns between the two Amens. ‘Amen, that’s right. God you are our eternal praise and glory. You are the source of wisdom. Give thanks and honor. The Lord has the power and power to destroy the devil and deliver us from eternal hell.’
They respond with poetry, hymns, and spiritual songs. We are now seeing a very beautiful place of worship in heaven through the Bible. It is said that God will wash away all tears from our eyes, but I think the eyes of the crowd singing the hymns will be filled with tears of gratitude, emotion, and glory. Even if I sing a hymn on the spot, I have no choice but to offer a hymn of tears.
For those of us who are having such a comfortable time, today's message does not seem to make sense. However, the believers who received the book of Revelation for the first time are experiencing the great tribulation. It seems that we can guess from today's words the circumstances of their lives of persecution, hardship, and tears.
But now “they will never hunger again, nor thirst again, nor will the sun or any heat be bruised” (verse 16).
The Saints were starving. Sometimes, like the Lord, I am chained to the cross and my thirst grows stronger. The whole body burns under the scorching sun. He was even burned at the stake to burn his body. But the Lord knows all about these saints' afflictions and will pay them back.
The Lord knows me and all your circumstances. And you are with me in that hardship. And He is the One who gives us strength to overcome all hardships.
Are any of us in trouble? Please be patient to the end. The Lord will give you victory. Why? What is the reason for protecting and helping us, who are insignificant?
This is because “their clothes were washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb” (verse 14). They are those who have received the grace to make scarlet sins like snow and scarlet red sins like wool through the blood of sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins.
The blood of His Son Jesus cleansed us from all sins (1 John 1:7). Justified by his blood (Romans 5:9). The apostle Peter said, “with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” Hebrews 9:14 says, “How much more can the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
We can always participate in worship. We can sing, we can pray, we can give offerings. But it does not purify our conscience. Only when we believe in the blood of His Son Jesus, who offered Himself in the Holy Spirit, can we enjoy the grace of remission of sins in our conscience.
Every time I read these words, I am moved with a new emotion. It is said that if you wash your clothes in red blood, they should be dyed red, but they made your clothes white. That's right. Only the red blood flowing from the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ washes away our sins as black as haze and red as blood, as white as wool and white as snow. Today's text is about those in white robes.
The Bible continues to foretell the glory they will enjoy. “Therefore they were before the throne of God, and they served God day and night in his temple; and he who sat on the throne will pitch his tent over them” (verse 15).
Their position is before the throne of God. Almighty God. It means going up to the Father and participating in the glorious presence of God. They will enjoy the privilege of the elect to serve God day and night in the temple. Because this is the purpose of the creation of man, the satisfaction and joy will be a joy that we cannot even imagine now. He also said that He would pitch a tent over those in white robes. It is an honor to live with God.
The Apostle John said, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). And that glory is mentioned again at the end of the Bible. “..behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and God will be with them, and they shall be God’s people, and God Himself will be with them” (Revelation 21:3).
Only then will the blessings long ago dreamed of by the prophets come true.
“They will never hunger again, nor thirst again, neither will the sun or any heat scorch them, for the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd and lead them to springs of water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (verses 16-17)
These words will not come to believers who have not suffered or shed tears to keep their faith. However, the Lord gives greater grace and comfort to those who have tears in this world.
In this world, everything is unfinished. Not enough. God's chosen people will not enjoy much in this world. Rather, there may be more tribulation and suffering. But there is the greater comfort of God. I hope that the comfort you will receive from God while you live in this world increases. So, I pray that you will receive the grace of comfort that only God can fill.