God and the Nations

“The Great Multitude from out of the Nations”

Revelation 7.9-17

Most people don’t really want to study the book of Revelation. All they want to know is who the Antichrist will be and when the world is going to end. But the book of Revelation defies all such questions. There is probably no book that is more misunderstood and certainly no other book is more misused. But there is no other book in the Bible that gives more encouragement and hope than the book of Revelation.

You can read the book and not be encouraged. Many people are confused, fearful, or just curious. The people who are really encouraged are those who are engaged in the good fight of faith and those who know the Scripture, especially the prophetic books of the Old Testament. Much of the imagery and language comes from books of the Bible that most Church people avoid, until some self-appointed prophecy expert comes to town to show how the late-night news coincides with the Bible. And then all their worst fears, along with every political conspiracy theory, is confirmed and brought to light. We knew it had to be the Russians all along! Funny how all of America’s enemies turn out to be God’s enemies too. Everyone who reads the book of Revelation wants to isolate its meaning to the period of history they are living in, and make a kind of easy, one-to-one comparison. We always tend to think that our period of history is the most important era. But the book of Revelation is not working on that low of a level. There is a much bigger vision here, something that spans all of time and history.

The Bible teaches us that there are two realms: heaven and earth. The book of Revelation starts out on earth. John is a prisoner on the isle of Patmos. He is being persecuted by the world for following Jesus. Jesus appears to John there on Patmos and gives him a message for seven churches. But then John is caught up into the heavenly realm and sees a series of visions, which comprise the rest of the book of Revelation. John sees the Throne of God in heaven, which is the control center for the earth.

Other prophets saw visions of the Throne of God, like Isaiah and Daniel, usually the vision coming at a time of great tribulation for the people of God on the earth. When things are going badly down here, God’s people need to be reminded that heaven rules the earth and that God is still on the throne. Nothing is ever out of control.

But then John sees something new. There is someone else there is heaven, sharing the very Throne of God. At first, He looks like a lion, but then a lamb that has just been slain. This lion who is also a sacrificed lamb is ruling and reigning with God in heaven. He comes and takes from God a scroll sealed with seven seals. No one else has been able to open this seal scroll, but the lamb begins to break the seals, unlocking the mysterious purpose of God.

The seven seals are the first of three cycles of visions in Revelation, all consisting of sevens: seven seals, seven trumpets, and then seven bowls. Each cycle seems to build and to get more intense. We are presented with a series of visions that grow in depth and complexity. It is like a Divine artist is painting a series of pictures and then showing us these portraits in rapid succession, almost like a film strip. John keeps writing, “and then I saw…” until it leaves us breathless and in awe.

This first cycle is the seven seals. John is taken up into the Divine throne room. It is there that John sees the Lamb take the scroll and begin to break the seals. With each broken seal comes a fresh vision. And when we get to the sixth seal, we clearly are seeing a vision about the End. On that final day of wrath, as the earth itself is reeling and shaking, there will be people crying out in terror and trying to hide from the presence of the Lamb. But then there is another vision and John sees another group of people. They are from all the ancient tribes of Israel. Before the earth passes away under the wrath of the Lamb, these people from the tribes of Israel are given a mark that sets them apart as the servants of God. But there is yet another group of people. This group of people has come out from every nation. And they are clearly set apart as well, wearing white robes. Instead of trying to hide, they are praising God and the Lamb.

At this point, one of the heavenly personalities asks John a surprising question: “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come” (Revelation 7:13)? It seems that John and his readers should be able to guess the identity of the first group of people, the group trying to hide from the Lamb. And we all ought to be able to understand who the second group of people is, the ones who come from all the tribes of the ancient people of Israel. But it is the third group of people who seem to need more of an explanation.

Who are these people?

Who is this group of people from out of the nations? Where did they come from? John does not know the answer to the heavenly elder’s question. And that provides an opportunity for a further revelation. Clearly, there is something important about this group and we need to be able to properly identify them. This extended revelation underscores the fact that there is something surprising and unexpected about the presence of this group of people in the vision. It is almost as if they do not belong here in this vision, yet here they are! How did this happen? Do they really belong here? Ought they to be here? Has there been a mistake? Has something gone wrong?

I recently read an article about a group of men who showed up at a Wal-Mart store somewhere. They went back to the kid’s toy section and bought every single children’s bicycle that the store had in stock. You see, they were there to buy those bikes and give them to poor kids who didn’t have bikes. Now that’s surprising, but even more so when you consider the fact that the men who walked into that Wal-Mart that day and bought those bikes for all those poor kids were a part of the infamous biker’s group called the Hell’s Angels! Imagine that you are there at Wal-Mart, you turn around, and you see a group of Hell’s Angels in the toy department! That would be a strange sight. How did they get there? You would probably be asking that question. How did these people get there before the Throne of God? Everyone else on earth is hiding from God, yet, there they are standing before the Throne of God with confidence. What a strange sight! Most people spend their entire lives running away and hiding from God. These people are praising God. Who are they?

To answer the question, we need to go back to chapter 5. John sees the lion who is also a lamb. This double vision of Christ is crucial to our understanding of the Gospel and the book of Revelation. As a lion, He has triumphed. He is sharing the throne of God. Here is where the book of Revelation continues the story of the Gospels. At the end of the Gospels, the resurrected Jesus ascends in to heaven. But that is not the end of the story, it is just the beginning. The book of Revelation shows us the result of a glorified Christ who has ascended into heaven and is reigning, sharing the throne of God. This great multitude from out of the nations are there before the throne of God because the Lion of the tribe of Judah has triumphed and has ascended into heaven. The heavenly reign of Christ will result in the salvation of people from out of every nation on earth.

This truth is the only thing that makes evangelism or missions effective. That’s why conversion so often defies any human explanation. Did you know that one of the biggest revivals in Europe right now is among the gypsy people? How can you explain the fact that the annual convention of gypsy Christians is one of the largest gatherings of Christians in Europe? Think about the fact that there will be gypsies in heaven! Why should we go and tell anyone about Jesus? How is it possible that people can be turned from darkness to light? It is not because of us. Jesus said to His disciples, “all power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” He then commanded them to go and make disciples from all the nations. The Gospel has power because it is true and there is a living, reigning Lord Jesus in heaven. He is bringing many sons to glory, which is why He has been exalted. This great multitude is before the Throne of God because Jesus is sharing the throne of God. He has brought them to God.

And He has brought them to the throne in pure, spotless garments. The lion who has triumphed is also a sacrificial lamb. He is the cosmic Passover Lamb. Just as God brought His people out of Egypt in the original Passover, Jesus is bringing a great multitude out of the nations in a great, cosmic exodus. They are wearing white like a bride dressed for her husband. At the end of the book of Revelation there are two cities: Babylon, which is a whore, and the New Jerusalem, which is the Bride, the wife of the Lamb. This great multitude has been made ready for the marriage supper of the Lamb.

The surprising thing about this multitude is that these are gentiles. Gentiles have been invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb! The Jews were always referring to these Gentiles as unclean, defiled, unworthy of the God of Israel. But here is a multitude of Gentiles who have been washed and who are worthy.

It was the lion who is also a lamb that made this vision possible. Jesus was always talking about the Kingdom of God as a feast. Some of the people the King invited would not come. So, invitations were sent out into the highways and byways of the world. And the King’s house was filled with guests. Remember the man without a wedding garment? He was thrown out into the outer darkness. But every one of these in this great multitude have their wedding garments on, and they will never be cast out.

Here the book of Revelation is showing us the ultimate destiny of every human being. We will either be welcomed into the presence of God, or cast out forever. Each person is choosing, each day, one of those two possible destinations.

Where did they come from?

But then the heavenly elder also asks John, “where did they come from?” There is a two-fold answer given. First, they came from out of the nations. These are the very nations that had gone astray and had rejected the knowledge of the Creator God, opting instead to worship the creation and idols made up out of their own imaginations. These are the nations that God scattered at Babel because of their rebellious plans. From out of these same nations come this great multitude before the Throne of God. What John is seeing here is the conclusion of God’s great plan of salvation. It was right after the account of the Tower of Babel that God called Abram out of Ur and gave him a promise that through his seed would come a blessing for all the nations. John in Revelation is seeing the culmination of that blessing and the ultimate, glorious fulfillment of that promise, which is the theme and story of the entire Bible. This vision is here to show us that God’s purpose cannot fail, no matter what it might look like down here in the world. The extended vision of the seven seals show us that the lion who is also a lamb is in complete control and is bringing His people through the world to Glory. There is nothing on earth that can stop the purpose of God from being completed.

There are two Messianic, prophetic Psalms that come to mind when reading this section of Revelation. There is the second Psalm which prophesies that God will install His King, His Christ, on Zion, that is, in heaven:

“As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill. I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession’” (Psalm 2:6-8).

The nations have been given to Christ and out of the nations has come this great multitude.

The second Messianic Psalm that helps us understand this section of Revelation is Psalm 110, which is often quoted by the Apostles in the New Testament:

“The LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’ The LORD sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies! Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours” (Psalm 110:1-3).

He is ruling, even in the midst of His enemies, and so we have this great multitude from out of the nations, all of whom have offered themselves freely to Him and are dressed in holy garments.

The World did not vote in favor of Jesus being installed as king. The World killed Him, but God resurrected and exalted Him. He is reigning now, in spite of the raging and rebellion of the world, and He is bringing His people through a hostile world all the way to the Throne of God. There is no power on earth that can stop this multitude from ending up there before the Throne. But the world will continue to rage against God and His Christ.

That is why the heavenly elder says that this great multitude has come from out of the great tribulation. There are some who teach that this only describes a great number of “end-times” saints who will come out of a specific period of history that they call the Great Tribulation. This has become a popular doctrine in our time. I do not doubt that before the End there will be a time of great tribulation on the earth. But I choose to believe that this great multitude does not describe just one generation of saints, but all the saints who come from out of the nations during the entire period of Christ’s heavenly reign. We must all go through tribulation to enter the kingdom of God. All of God’s people come through a hostile, evil world on their way to glory. He brings us all through great tribulation. And even this tribulation is used by the Lord to perfect the holiness of His people. The tribulation itself is not even comparable to the weight of glory that will be ours when this great multitude is finally assembled. The book of Revelation is written to saints who are in the midst of tribulation. We need this vision so that we will stay in the Race. Following Jesus will be worth it!

“It will be worth it all, when we see Jesus. Life’s trials will seem so small, when we see Christ. One glimpse of His dear face, all sorrows will erase. So bravely run the race, till we see Christ!”

We must come through tribulation because this glorifies God and Christ. This multitude come through great tribulation shows the superiority of faith over the world order. This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith! There is no other human explanation for this great multitude. The only reason these have come through great tribulation is because the reigning Christ brought them through it all the way to the Throne. Salvation really does belong to God and to the Lamb, and this fact must be demonstrated, beyond any doubt, by bringing the saints through tribulation. When we all stand there before the Throne, there will be no doubts in our minds that Christ brought us through and that we can take no personal credit for our salvation. We are not trusting in our own ability to get us through this great tribulation. We are trusting in an exalted Christ to bring us to God.

At the end of all things we will see the superiority of salvation over any work of the Evil One. There is no vision in Revelation of a great multitude in Hell. Of course, there are going to be those cast into the Lake of Fire. The Bible does not teach that everyone will be saved. But the Bible does teach that grace is greater than sin and I do not personally accept a doctrine that says there will be more people in Hell than in Heaven.

This vision is meant to show us that the end will be glorious, even though the appearances of things in the world, at any given point in time, it might seem like the work of God has stalled. We must see things from the perspective of the end result. We must not give in to doubt and despair. God’s people must always be hopeful. We must not limit the Kingdom of God to our own group and the size of our congregation, as if we are the only ones. We might meet in a small group, as men count small, but we are part of a big thing and a congregation that cannot be numbered! As the writer of Hebrews said,

“you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel” (Hebrews 12:22-24).

Where are they going?

The elder asked John, “who are these?” and “where did they come from?” I think we can also ask, “where are they going?” We have to keep reading the book of Revelation to get the full vision. This great multitude is coming out of the world so that they can enter the new creation. At the end of the book, John sees a new heaven and a new earth. That is the destination of this great multitude from out of the nations.

This present, evil world is going to pass away. But this multitude has been brought out, just like the children of Israel were brought out of Egypt after all the plagues had decimated the land. The people of Israel came out of Egypt so they could enter the Promised Land. The whole point of salvation is to get God’s people into the New Creation. Our salvation is really not complete, but is only in a first-fruit stage. We are literally going to be saved from this world, which is going to melt with fervent heat. And we are going to stand before the Throne of God before He brings us into His New Creation. We are actually made for that New Creation. We have been made new here so that we might fit into that New World. This great multitude has been created to occupy the New Creation that is coming.

We are talking about a real world, not some kind of bodiless, spiritual thing. The saints are going to have new bodies and we will walk in a new world, one that is purged from all sin, evil, suffering, and death. Death will be swallowed up in victory!

The book of Revelation does not record the end, but a new beginning. In one sense, the human race never really did get started because of sin and death that entered the world. Here we see the new humanity, all recreated in the image of Christ, that will occupy a new creation. The whole purpose of this creation is to introduce us to that creation. This world is the front porch of God’s house, the point is to get inside and live there forever. Jesus said, “In my Father house are many rooms. I go to prepare a place for you.” The whole point of salvation is to be there, in the Father’s house, forever. That is the glorious destiny of this great multitude from out of the nations.

In C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia, at the end of the old Narnia, the faithful Narnians are ushered into a new world. And they do not fully understand where they are. And then they slowly realize that they are really in Narnia, the real Narnia, of which the old Narnia was just a shadow:

“It was the unicorn who summed up what everyone was feeling. He stamped his right fore-hoof on the ground and neighed and then cried: ‘I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now.”

And then Lewis goes on to write:

“But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.”

Modern man has a dream to create a new world in which there is no war, poverty, suffering, and pain. There are still those who promise that, by the inevitable progress of the Human Race, we will one day experience this utopian dream. The desire for a perfect world and the ability to enjoy it forever is a central desire of the human heart. Somehow everyone knows that this world can never satisfy the desires of our hearts. But no human progress can bring this new world. Only God can create a new world. The good news is that He has done so and we are invited to become a part of it, even now. We can join this great multitude that is on its way to the New Creation.

Some people wonder if heaven is going to be boring, like one eternal Church service. Or, will it just be a time of eternal leisure, just floating on clouds plucking our harps? These people are small-minded. The thing that will make it heaven for the saints is being with Jesus. Our faith will be sight. And that will be enough to satisfy us forever.

Those who followed the Lamb through this world will follow Him in the next world. Those who served God here will continue to serve Him there, without any of the handicaps we have in this world.

The reward of faith will perfectly fit the desire of the saints. At the end of the book of Revelation John does not see a Temple in the New Jerusalem. That is because the Lamb Himself and the Throne of God will be there. In this world, we are sort of in a state of dress-rehearsal. We are learning to serve and worship Him here, so that we might serve and worship Him more fully there. We are learning to follow Christ here so that we might be able to follow Him perfectly there.