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, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 And 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, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I 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.
16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
the sun shall not strike them,
nor any scorching heat.
17 For 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.”
Comment: I list a few phrases that make me realize that a few words can have a lot of hidden meaning behind them even if they don’t make sense. a) “They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Would you ever soak clothing in red dye to make your clothes white? Stupid thought!!! But what a powerful, life changing, absolutely ‘over the top’ Eternal Truth! We sinners, clothed in own filthy sin spoiled clothes’, go to Jesus, who wrought through His going to the Cross and being the Ultimate Sacrifice, shredding His Holy Blood, come away cleansed! b) “Clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.” Who can read that phrase without reacting to the Triumph of the King of Glory riding in humbly on a donkey to achieve all that was necessary to make reconciliation with God possible! The phrase contains much more than the individual words convey! c) “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.” Firstly, it is easy to see that these have been to Jesus for ‘the soul cleansing Blood of the Lamb’! Their ‘robes’ are white! Secondly, what ‘tribulation’ is this referring to? Unless the book isn’t in time sequence Jesus doesn’t ride out in Majesty until chapter 19. He rides out to save people from persecution! We are in ch 7. Jesus warned that all believers are to expect to be opposed. Certainly we know that there have people martyred for their obedience to God and His Christ since early in the Old Testament times. Could we legitimately start at the story of Cain and Abel? Most certainly there are thousands being killed in this century, every year, for their trust in Jesus! d) “For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water.” Most people will not be able to not think of Ps 23, and ‘The good Shepherd’ and such phrases as ‘we all like sheep have gone astray’ as soon as the words Jesus and shepherd are put in the same sentence! These words convey very many wonderful thoughts as with the people of heaven we cry out with the Angels, Living Creatures and all before the throne of God. “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
Psalm 145: 1-3 – I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.
Prayer: I fall to my knees in thankfulness and worship, my God!