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Revelation 7:9-17: Heaven is a wonderful place.

⁹ After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰ And they cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne,and to the Lamb.’¹¹ All the angels were standing round the throne and round the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshipped God, ¹² saying:‘Amen!Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honour and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever.Amen!’¹³ Then one of the elders asked me, ‘These in white robes – who are they, and where did they come from?’¹⁴ I answered, ‘Sir, you know.’ And he said, ‘These are they who have come 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 “Never again will they hunger never again will they thirst.The sun will not beat down on them,”nor any scorching heat.¹⁷ For the Lamb at the centre of the throne  will be their shepherd;“he will lead them to springs of living water.”  “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”NIV 

In this book we are transported, with John, to that other realm where God’s people have come out of all trouble. They are ‘’with Christ, which is better by far’’ (Philippians 1:23); they are in the place of ‘’gain’’ (Philippians 1:21). Whether it is technically correct to refer to this other reality as ‘heaven’ may be up for debate, but there is no doubt that it is a most wonderful place. Over the next few days we are going to look for clues in the passage that give an idea what it is like.

But before we look at some of the specific blessings of heaven, let me make two further observations:

1. There are obvious similarities between this section and chapter 5 (see, e.g. 5:12 and v.12 here);
2. There is no other way to be in heaven than by the blood of Jesus (14; see Hebrews 10:19; 1 John 1:7/9). The blood of Jesus is the most powerful ‘cleansing agent’ in the world. The white robes speak of purity. You can’t be in heaven without them; and you can’t wear these white robes without the application of Jesus’ blood to your life, by faith. This is how a person washes their robes and makes them white. It doesn’t mean that we save ourselves, but we have a part to play, by God’s grace. It is to have ‘’faith in his blood’’ (Romans 3:25).

PRAYER: I thank you Lord, so much, that salvation is by grace, through faith, and that you gave me the gift of faith to trust in Jesus’ blood.

Revelation 7:14: All my trials, soon be over.

¹⁴ I answered, ‘Sir, you know.’ And he said, ‘These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.NIV

This morning, as I read a part of this chapter out loud, at a prayer meeting, I realised that the last book in the Bible is given to us to wash in, to bathe in, to soak in. We are to breathe in its atmosphere; move to its music and enter into its exuberant worship – join in with that numberless multitude, even now.

We may not be able to understand all its details; and some things we fail to grasp now may become clearer as history moves forward towards the return of Christ. But even without full understanding, ‘Revelation’ can sink into our pores and change us.

Since the turn of the year, I have been spending regular time in this book, and I realise that the other world (just through ‘Narnia’s door, as I keep saying) has become more real to me than ever. This is the effect it is having on me. It has not come about, however, because I understand everything, but just by allowing ‘Revelation’ to wash over me. I’m not saying we shouldn’t seek to understand, but the Apocalypse is likely to affect you in ways beyond understanding. Seek to live in its realities. There is a blessing for those who read it, hear it and take it to heart (1:3)

The other side of the wardrobe door will see an end to all our troubles:

‘’These are they who have come out of the great tribulation…’’ (14a).

Jesus could not have been clearer in stating that in this world His disciples will have trouble. Whether we face the last great tribulation in human history, or smaller days of tribulation on route, we can be sure we will come out the other side. Jesus has overcome the world.

Someone said that John was writing to prepare the churches to go through a nightmare time. But the assurance is that one day they will wake up in the very presence of God. God’s people on earth, though sealed by Him, are not necessarily safe from suffering; but they will come safely through, and find themselves in a wonderful place – a prepared place (John 14) we’ll consider in more detail over the next few days.

Revelation 7:9: Prevailing church

^“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.”

We have seen that in both sections of Revelation 7 we are probably looking at the church. Verses 1-8 deal with the church on earth, but from verse 9 it’s the church in ‘heaven’ we are seeing – in that other realm, just beyond the doorway of death.

Jesus declared to Peter that He would build His church, and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. The context for this book of Revelation is that the gates of hell are battling hard against the church and trying to win. But they cannot.

This ninth verse encourages us in our missionary endeavour. In spite of all the opposition that comes our way; even if the enemy does his very worst, there will be people in heaven ‘’from every nation, tribe, people and language’’.

PRAYER: Lord, help us to trust your Word and not, at times, our own defeatist feelings.

Revelation 7:1-8: Sealed.

This is a helpful quote from ‘Search the Scriptures’:

‘Before the revelation of further judgments, two visions are interposed for the comfort of believers. In all that has been shown so far, nothing has been said of the church, except with regard to those who have been martyred. The passage shows the church first in this life, on earth, and so always limited in number (verses 1-8), and then, numberless, in heaven, having life for evermore.’

So it seems like we are looking at the church in both halves of this chapter. The sealing (2,3) it would seem, is with the Names of God and the Lamb (14:1). The seal is the mark of ownership. The church belongs to God, and will be protected from the power of Satan. Paul writes in a number of places about believers being sealed with the Holy Spirit. We have the seal of the whole Trinity upon us.

Tom Hale explains: ‘This sealing will not save them from suffering and death, but it will give them the right to enter heaven.’ ‘The Applied New Testament Commentary’, p.974.

It is not helpful to take the 144,000 literally. In the Bible this number speaks of completeness, as does the number 7. Here it stands for the whole church, the ‘’Israel of God’’ (see Matthew 19:28; Romans 2:28, 29; Galatians 3:29; 6:16; Philippians 3:3; 1 Peter 2:9).

Remember, God is in control of nature ( v.1; see 14:18; 16:5; Hebrews 1:7). No harm can come to God’s people unless (or until) He permits it. God knows His own and can protect them (Ezekiel 9:3-6; John 6:27; 10:27-29; Revelation 9:4).

‘God’s people are not always saved from trial, but they are kept safe in it.’ F.B. Meyer: ‘Devotional Commentary’, p.639.

Let this thought encourage you!

Revelation 6:12-17: No hiding place.

¹² I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, ¹³ and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig-tree when shaken by a strong wind. ¹⁴ The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.¹⁵ Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. ¹⁶ They called to the mountains and the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! ¹⁷ For the great day of their^[b] wrath has come, and who can withstand it?’ NIV

‘’But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears?’’ (Malachi 3:2; see also Nahum 1:6).

There is something almost incongruous about the expression ‘’the wrath of the Lamb’’. I have felt wary when walking through a field of cows, and I certainly can say I’ve encountered an angry cow! But I’ve never been fearful of walking through a field of sheep, and definitely not lambs.

The imagery in vv.12-14 is like that frequently used in the Old Testament to symbolise great upheavals among the nations. It will pay you to have a look at Isaiah 13:9-11, 13; Ezekiel 32:7-9 and Nahum 1:5. These refer to tumultuous, cataclysmic events, lying between one era and another. (Examples of such might be 9/11, or the day the Berlin Wall came down). There may be many such days in history, but a final day of wrath is coming.

There is something to be feared more than death itself (vv.15-17; see Isaiah 2:19-21). It is the final judgment, and you can see how comprehensive it will be, affecting high and low. You will notice that those who have to face it, beg the mountains to fall on them and kill them, so they will not have to endure God’s terrible anger (see Hosea 10:8). On that day, unrepentant sinners will rather die than be in the presence of God.The only way to be saved from ‘’the wrath of the Lamb’’ (Jesus), is to trust in the blood of the Lamb who was slain (John 1:29, 36)

Tom Wright explains this seemingly contradictory expression in this way: ‘’But the lamb’s anger is the utter rejection, by Love incarnate, of all that is unloving. The only people who should be afraid of it are those who are determined to resist the call of love.’ Tom Wright: ‘Revelation for everyone’, p.68.

At the beginning, when man first sinned in Eden, there was no hiding place. Ever since, humanity in sin has been seeking to hide from God. But it’s not possible, and the fullest realisation of this will come at the end of history.

There is a fate worse than death. These are sobering words in Revelation 6, and should be read with utmost seriousness:

‘Therefore, let us not delay, but let us repent at once and put our faith in Christ.’ Tom Hale: ‘The Applied New Testament’, p.974

Revelation 6:9-11:A cry for justice.

⁹ When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. ¹⁰ They called out in a loud voice, ‘How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?’ ¹¹ Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.”NIV

It’s important to note that the souls of the martyrs, under the altar, are not calling out for vengeance, but for justice. It’s not that they want to get even. They appeal to God’s character: ‘’Sovereign Lord, holy and true…’’ (10). If God is who He is, He must punish those who have taken their lives. They have been treated unjustly, as if they were criminals. It’s not fair. So it’s a question of when. ‘’How long…?’’ (See Psalm 94:3; Hab.1:2).

Ultimately, this is a longing for the honour of God’s Name. It’s zeal for His reputation. Unless we see this we will fail to understand the prayer. If God is holy and just, He must punish unrepentant sinners.

Revelation 6:9-11: Heavenly-minded.

“When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. ¹⁰ They called out in a loud voice, ‘How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?’ ¹¹ Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.” NIV

We are already almost one sixth of the way through the new year, and getting close to one third of the way through ‘Revelation’. Although I approached this last book of the Bible with a good amount of self-confessed trepidation (and I hope I will never lose that sense of standing on holy ground), the more I read, the more aware I am of the reality of that other world. It is, after all, just the other side of the wardrobe door (to use C.S.Lewis’s image from his Narnia books).

It was C.S. Lewis, I believe, who said something along these lines, that it is, by and large, the case that as Christians have come to think less and less about the world to come, they have had a reduced impact on this world.

It is true, I’m sure, that you can be so heavenly-minded you are of no earthly use. But is not equally possible to be so earthly-minded that you are of no heavenly use?

There is surely a balance to be struck.

Don’t forget that these words are in the Bible:

‘’Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things…’’ (Colossians 3:1,2).

Revelation 6:9-11: The seed of the church.

 ^“When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. ¹⁰ They called out in a loud voice, ‘How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?’ ¹¹ Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters,were killed just as they had been.” NIV

‘Love makes the whole difference between an execution and a martyrdom.’ Evelyn Underhill. Speaking God’s Word is dangerous. It comes at a price, and many have paid the ultimate price. Many still do. Notice the clear indication in verse 11 that such suffering for believers will continue to the end of time. Remaining silent about your faith in Christ may keep you physically safe, but it is spiritually dangerous. There is a way to save your life which means losing it, and a losing of your life that means you keep it. This is how it is in God’s ‘Upside-down Kingdom’. One of the early church leaders famously commented that, ‘The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.’

In verse 9 John uses the word ‘’slain’’ regarding these Christian martyrs. He has previously used it of Jesus (see 5:6,12). This is surely an aspect of what the apostle Paul calls ‘’the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death ‘’ (Philippians 3:10)?  The souls of these Christian dead are ‘’under the altar’’ (9). This speaks to me of safety. They are safely home; sheltered in God’s presence. Warren Wiersbe also makes the point that this was where the blood was placed in the tabernacle (Leviticus 4:7;17:11).  They are conscious, and are communicating with God. They are able to speak.  They are wearing white robes. These are emblematic of purity and victory. In spite of all appearances to the contrary, these dear believers are not life’s losers.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, most worthy and slain Lamb of God, I pray for my brothers and sisters who face danger and death all day long because of their testimony to you.

Revelation 6:1-8: It’s only to be expected!

“I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, ‘Come!’ ² I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.³ When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, ‘Come!’ ⁴ Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.⁵ When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, ‘Come!’ I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. ⁶ Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, ‘A kilogram of wheat for a day’s wages, and three kilograms of barley for a day’s wages,^[b] and do not damage the oil and the wine!’⁷ When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, ‘Come!’ ⁸ I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a quarter of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.” NIV

A recent edition of ‘Time’ magazine had a special feature on optimism, and the place of art and artists in feeding optimism. The irony is, of course, that it is written at a time when many people feel deeply pessimistic about the state of the world. We need hope. The Bible offers it in spadefuls for believing people. But it’s a realistic hope it holds out. It’s a hope which says that, on the way to all being well, a lot of bad stuff must first happen in this world. If we understand the words of Jesus, we know it’s only to be expected.

Jesus now does what we have come to see He is ‘’worthy’’ to do (5:5,9). He opens the seals of the scroll; and creation can only receive what is to come to it after the Lord unfastens each seal. Jesus is in charge of history. Forget that and, at times, you may plummet towards despair.

There is a link between this passage in Revelation and Jesus’ words in Matthew 24: 4-14 (a section of the Bible sometimes referred to as ‘the little apocalypse’). It will pay you to take your Bible and compare verse 4 with Matt.24:6,7, verse 6 with Matt.24:7, and verse 9 with Matt.24:9. Both passages teach that the present course of history is in Jesus’ Hands. He knows it in advance, and He is in control of its unfolding.

A note in ‘Search the Scriptures’ will help us:

‘Verse 2. Two principal interpretations have been given of the white horse and his rider. Many take it to be a picture of Christ going forth in the conquests of the gospel. Cf Matt.24:14, Ps.45:3-5. Others regard it as a picture of invasion and lust of conquest, leading to the miseries of war, famine, pestilence and death. The latter seems more likely. The four horses, as in Zechariah 6, form a series whose mission is to execute judgment.’

Note the word ‘’given’’ in verse 4. When we face the horrible realities of war, let’s remember God is Sovereign. He is in control even when it looks like the world is out of control.

Verse 6 describes a common feature of famine. The poor people have to work hard to buy a tiny amount of food, but the luxury items are still there for the rich to enjoy.

Remember Jesus said, ‘’All these are the beginning of birth pains’’ (Matthew 24:8). We can expect an intensification of these labour pains as we move towards the end. We should not be surprised to see them happening. It’s only to be expected.

I am reminded of David Pawson’s words. He said we can sum up the book of Revelation like this: ‘Things are going to get a lot worse before they get a lot better; things are going to get a lot better after they get a lot worse.

PRAYER: Lord, I hate to see the pain and suffering in the world, but I thank you that these are but the birth pains of a new, perfect creation from which all evil and misery will be banished. Thank you for the God-given understanding that nothing takes you by surprise; that you are working your purpose out ‘as year succeeds to year.’