Revelation 7: 9-17 (ESV)

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,  ¹⁰and crying out with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"  ¹¹And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹²saying, "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen."  ¹³Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?"  ¹⁴I said to him, "Sir, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have 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 shelter them with his presence.  ¹⁶They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.  ¹⁷For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

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The news of the wickedness of people is depressing, but even more disheartening is that Christians seem to continually be on the losing side. If you find the daily news depressing, read Saint John’s letters to the seven churches in the book of Revelation. Our reading is a glimpse into heaven, a scene of the multitude standing before the throne.  They are not losers. They went through the tribulation and joined the eternal victory celebration because of Christ’s work.

So, how did the multitude make it to heaven?   It was not because they were strong, heroic, or had superhuman qualities.  The elder tells John they are standing before the throne of God because they are cleansed by the blood of the Lamb.  Their garments are white, they are holy, not because of what they have done but because of the blood of Christ.  Their holiness, Christian holiness, is received from Christ alone through faith alone.  In Christ, you belong to God.  In your baptism, God made you His own.  Through His Word with the water, you received the white garment washed in the blood of the Lamb. “Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness My beauty are, my glorious dress” it says in the hymn (cf. LSB 563:1).

Yes, we may have trouble and sorrow now, but it cannot be compared “with the glory that is to be revealed to us” and in us (cf. Romans 8:18).  The Lord gave Saint John the vision of Jesus Christ leading His Church on earth from sorrow, pain, tears, and death to glory as His Church Triumphant.  So, rejoice brothers and sisters in Christ, God has signed and sealed us in His grace.  By Calvary’s cross, we share the one true faith with all the saints, past, present, and future.  Through His blood, we are bound to be eternally with the One on whom our faith rests, Jesus Christ, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29). “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20).  

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Cheyenne Wells, CO, 80810-0728

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