As
I come to John’s description of the great multitude of Revelation 7, the
primary description of these people is that, “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.”[1] While some would pin “the
great tribulation” down to a one-time event that happens just prior to Jesus’
second coming, I am inclined to take “the
great tribulation” as a label for what the church has experienced non-stop
since it began spreading out from Jerusalem in the first century.[2]
When
we take “the great tribulation” as a
category of Christian experience, not as a singular event, the numbers
associated with this category are descriptive of their relationship to God and
his people,[3] not specific times or seasons that only God can know.[4] Other categories of Christian experience would include the
Spirit-filled church, the fellowship of believers, the perseverance of the
saints throughout the ages, our love for one another, and many others. Add to
this the category of the great tribulation, and we can see how every age of the
church experiences all these categories of church life and experience.
Who,
then, is this great multitude that fills the heavenly throne room with expressions
of praise to the God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, thanking them for
the great salvation that brought them into this heavenly paradise? The answer
to this cannot be confined to the book of Revelation alone, for this book is
written to those who are already the servants of God.[5]
In
other words, the book of Revelation is written for the servants of God who are
living through great tribulations, so the pictures must be for their comfort
and encouragement. The way things look to the earth-bound church during seasons
of great tribulation, is far different from what things will look like for the
church when it completes its last persevering step in whatever trials and
tribulations any generation was called to endure. Right now, great tribulation
looks one way. Later, after the fact, it looks totally different. At the moment,
“the sufferings of this present time are
not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”[6]In the future, whatever great tribulations we go through in this
time will be eclipsed by the experiences revealed through the imagery of the
great multitude of Revelation 7.
Since
I take it that the great multitude is descriptive of the servants of God who
received this letter, all of whom are now in the preliminary experience of that
blessing, what else can we say about who these people are? For a couple of days
now the answer to that question has taken a distinctive turn. There are many
references to certain characteristics of God’s people that are extremely
comforting in themselves, but all the more so when connecting the
characteristics of God’s people on earth with the characteristics of God’s
people in heaven.
The
characteristics in question are another way of describing the poor in spirit,
those who mourn, the meek, and those who hunger and thirst after righteousness.[7] They show that the way things will look in heaven is far different from
what we will see on earth. The victory of the conquering church[8] may not be apparent in this lifetime, but the pictures of the Revelation
assure us that our faith overcomes the world,[9] and our victory celebration will look something like what is revealed in
the scene of the great multitude that surround the throne.
Part
of the message given to the church through this revelation is that heaven will
be filled with a great multitude of people who, on earth, were brokenhearted
and crushed in spirit.[10] The great multitude of people in heaven were those who had the
earthly experience of a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart.[11] The great multitude in heaven, those who celebrate the salvation
that is found only in the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world,[12] are those who experience the fulfillment of God’s promise to heal
the brokenhearted and bind up their wounds.[13]
I
find great comfort in God’s declaration,
For thus says the One who is high and lifted
up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy
place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the
spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.”[14]
What
has become a beautiful thought to me is that, chapters 4-7 of Revelation have
been showing us pictures of “the One who
is high and lifted up,” and assuring us that the God we believe in here on
earth, “inhabits eternity.” No matter
how his name is profaned on earth, his “name
is Holy” nonetheless, and his holiness towards sin will one day be fully
expressed to the nations.
However,
while God does “dwell in the high and
holy place,” and we will one day go there to be with him forever, there is
a message for the church of the present age, during our seasons of great
tribulation, and that is that God is presently “with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit.” It may not always
feel that way, but the book of Revelation reveals the God we can trust to be
that way towards us no matter what we are going through.
At
the same time, he is with us “to revive
the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.” This is,
in fact, what he does with the book of Revelation. While seasons of great
tribulation wear us down, God gives us the book of Revelation to revive our
spirits.[15] With these pictures from the Revelation, God, “comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort
those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are
comforted by God.”[16]
The
bottom line is that, “the sufferings of
this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed
to us.”[17] The connection between God’s intimate love relationship to the
broken and contrite in heart while on earth, and the beautiful picture of the
great multitude rejoicing in heaven, helps to remind us of what is real in
contrast to what is passing.
Paul
spoke of similar things when he wrote,
For this light momentary affliction is
preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look
not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the
things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.[18]
The
brokenhearted do not keep their eyes on what has caused them to feel crushed in
spirit, but they look to the unseen things. The wounds of this life are
passing; the pleasures of heaven are eternal. The great tribulations that God’s
people see are transient, no matter how long they last, while the rejoicing of
the great multitude in heaven is eternal.
God
gives us grace to see that he is with the broken and contrite of heart now,
while preparing a home for us in heaven, where the eternal weight of glory is
beyond comparison. Let us not give up on our reward just because something presently
looks like a great tribulation. The people who have come out of “the great tribulation” unanimously
declare, “Salvation belongs to our God
who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”[19] All God’s angels, along with the twenty-four elders, and the four
living creatures, affirm this to be true.
With
such comfort and encouragement, even the most brokenhearted and crushed in spirit can hear what
the Spirit is saying to the churches. And, we can rest in God’s ministry of
reviving our spirits while we wait for our turn in that great multitude.
© 2014 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517,
Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted,
Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good
News Publishers.)
[1]
Revelation 7:14
[2]
There will obviously be one last period of tribulation that is
ended by the return of Christ, but it may not stand out as any different from
all the other periods of great tribulation that have occurred between Jesus’
two comings until after the fact. I suspect that much of prophecy will suddenly
become joyously clear to us as we are in the process of being gathered by the
angels to rise up and be with the Lord forever.
[3]
I have not fully processed the place of the numbers in relation to the periods
of tribulation. However, it seems to me that, if a 7 in one place identifies
the completeness of an event or experience from God’s divine viewpoint, that
this may be what the 7’s and associated numbers indicate in reference to the
category of the great tribulation.
[4]
Acts 1:7 must be a constant reminder that we are never given anything in
prophecy that contradicts this reality that only the Father knows the times and
seasons he has set by his own authority. If it is not ours to know, we can
never interpret Scripture as if it is ours to know!
[5]
Revelation 1:1
[6]
Romans 8:18
[7]
As expressed in the Beatitudes of Matthew 5:1-12
[8]
Romans 8:37; Revelation 6:1-2
[9]
I John 5:4
[10]
Psalm 34:18
[11]
Psalm 51:17
[12]
John 1:29
[13]
Psalm 147:3
[14]
Isaiah 57:15
[15]
This is true of all Scripture, of course, but I want to encourage us to see it
specifically in reference to the wonderful pictures of the book of Revelation
as well.
[16]
II Corinthians 1:4
[17]
Romans 8:18
[18]
II Corinthians 4:17-18
[19]
Revelation 7:10
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