Sermon Text: Revelation 7:9-17
Date: November 5, 2023
Event: All Saints’ Day (Observed), Year A
Revelation 7:9–17 (EHV)
After these things I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing in front of the throne and of the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and with palm branches in their hands. 10They called out with a loud voice and said:
Salvation comes from our God, who sits on the throne, and from the Lamb.
11All the angels stood around the throne, the elders, and the four living creatures. They fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God, 12saying:
Amen. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and might belong to our God forever and ever. Amen.
13One of the elders spoke to me and said, “These people dressed in white robes, who are they and where did they come from?”
And I answered him, “Sir, you know.”
14And he said to me:
These are the ones who are coming out of the great tribulation.
They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15Because of this they are in front of the throne of God,
and they serve him day and night in his temple.
He who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.
16They will never be hungry or thirsty ever again.
The sun will never beat upon them, nor will any scorching heat,
17for the Lamb at the center 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.
These People Dressed in White… Who are They?
Perhaps you’ve heard this expression before, “This life is as close to heaven as the unbeliever will ever get; this life is as close to hell as the believer will ever get.” It’s a touch glib, but there is some truth to it. If hell stands waiting at the end of this life, things will never be better for someone than they are right now. But, if heaven stands waiting at the end of this life, things will never be worse than they are right now.
On a festival like All Saints’ Day (or its close parallel “Saints Triumphant” in our previous hymnal’s lectionary), we are very focused on the life beyond this life, not just for those who have gone ahead of us into eternity, but for all of us as well as we look through the fog of this sinful, corrupt world and long for relief, long for peace, long for God to dab every tear away from our eyes.
Yes, it’s a bit presumptuous to think that we would be in heaven when we look at our lives. How have you done? Have you lived your life well? Have you done the absolute best that you can every single moment of every single day? The answer to both of those questions is undoubtedly “No,” but then again, it doesn’t matter. Those are not the questions God has for us. God’s question is much more restrictive and, for us, impossible, “Have you been perfect?” Not just pretty good, not just tried your best, not just better than most other people, but perfect, flawless in your obedience to God’s commands.
We know that sin, any sin, even something we would call “small,” disqualifies us from eternal life. So, no matter how hard we try, no matter how good we end up being, there is no hope of us getting to heaven on our own. Sin separates us from God and brings his wrath down on us; your sinful life and mine rightly deserve hell as punishment for our sin against God.
That’s where we are by nature: nothing good and a hopeless eternal future. But, this morning, let’s take a bit of a journey with the apostle John and look at what God allowed him to see. The book of Revelation is almost entirely picture language, symbols and images portraying what God teaches elsewhere in his Word in dramatic fashion. In our first reading this morning, we have one of the most famous of those images or visions in the entire book. John does get a glimpse of heaven and those who are there. By nature, we ask ourselves, “Who could possibly have made the cut? I won’t make it, but I know no one else will either!” So, we do well to look and listen to what John sees and hears.
John introduces us to what he sees: After these things I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing in front of the throne and of the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and with palm branches in their hands. There’s a lot here. Let’s unpack it a bit.
First, John sees a great multitude of people from all over the world. This is not an intimate little group; this is a group beyond number. This is not a tiny club of some really “good” people; this is a vast throng from every place on earth. They’re all there in front of the Lamb—a picturesque description of Jesus, whom John the Baptist called “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). They’re wearing white robes and holding palm branches. We know that palm branches were a symbol of victory and conquering. The people waved palm branches as Jesus entered Jerusalem because they saw him as a conquering Christ, and they were right, even if some may have misunderstood what enemies he was coming to conquer.
So, this huge crowd of people wearing gleaming garments gather around Jesus with signs of victory in hand. This is not a scary scene; this is a joyous gathering. Perhaps we, as sinners, begin to find some vague sense of hope. But things continue to unfold:
John hears this great crowd praising God with these words: Salvation comes from our God, who sits on the throne, and from the Lamb. This resonates with what we already knew, doesn’t it? We can’t get rid of our sin, we can’t save ourselves, and here the crowd celebrates that salvation belongs to God alone. And while the sinner’s ears perk up at the sounds of words like forgiveness or salvation, it still doesn’t answer those fundamental questions: How could I benefit from that? Would God ever give me some of that salvation that belongs to him? Or does he hold it for himself and leave me to suffer the just punishment for my sins? The angels’ and elders’ doxology doesn’t help us too much either, as it heaps praise on God that would be true regardless of our eternal destination: Amen. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and might belong to our God forever and ever. Amen. God can be praised, thanked, honored, and have great strength, all while we suffer eternally for our sins.
But then one of the elders in this vision has a question for John. Does he understand what he’s seeing? Does he know what is going on here? He asks John, “These people dressed in white robes, who are they and where did they come from?” Did John know? Was he having trouble putting thoughts together? Would he not presume to try to hack at an explanation of what he was seeing? Or did he get it but just really, really wanted to hear it from someone else? Any of these are possible; regardless, John’s non-answer to the elder’s question is, “Sir, you know.” And the elder takes the opportunity to explain what John is seeing clearly: These are the ones who are coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
The great multitude is a group of people who are continuing to come out of great trouble. They got these white robes by washing them in… blood? Any child who has scraped his knees on the playground knows that blood on clothing sticks around. Unless someone gets the correct cleaning agents on it at just the right time, blood stains clothing permanently; blood certainly does not clean or remove stains. But these robes have been washed in blood—and came out dazzling white.
The blood of the Lamb of God shed for us is cleansing. By nature, our robes are stained with sin, disgusting, putrid, like we dragged them through an open sewer. But Jesus’ blood removes that sin, cleans those robes, and purifies the sinner from the gunk that we spread all over ourselves.
The fact that these people are coming out of this great tribulation means this is an ongoing process. People are being continually added to this great throng of people around the Lamb. The number of people whose robes are washed in his blood grows as time marches on. That great tribulation that they are coming out of? It is this life, marred and ruined by sin. It is this world where sickness and pain troubles know no end, where heartache and sadness are constant companions, and where sin ruins everything from personal relationships to even nature around us.
Who are these people dressed in white robes? They are the apostle John, and you, and me, and everyone who has gone before us clinging to Jesus as their Savior. Those who have gone before us have been added to this number of those gathered around their sacrificial Lamb, who was slain and then raised to life in victory. They wave palm branches because our enemies of sin, death, and hell have been defeated in the Lamb’s life and death for us.
This doesn’t make anything we said earlier untrue. By nature, we truly deserve hell. Our sin and rebellion against God are a stench in his nostrils. But God’s justice is only one side of his nature. He is also loving. He sought to rescue us from sin because he didn’t want us in hell. He sent Jesus to be our Savior so we would not face what we deserved.
Currently, we are in the great tribulation. You know what that means for you, personally. The pain and struggles that are unique to your walk in this life and yet are a shared experience for all of us. Fear grips us, trusted people fail us, and we even let ourselves down. It is miserable in every conceivable way because of sin—both our sin and the sin around us.
But that will come to an end. You and I will also be among those in this great multitude, not because of us but because of Jesus. Our robes were filthy with the sludge of sin, but they have been washed clean in Jesus’ blood, shed for us. He purifies us and makes us right with God. God promised this very thing in very similar language through the prophet Isaiah: “Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow. Though they are as red as crimson, they will be like wool” (Isaiah 1:18).
What does that mean for those who have gone before us? What will that mean when we leave this great tribulation? Recall that sin separated us from God and then listen to what the elder told John: Because of this they are in front of the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple. He who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. 16They will never be hungry or thirsty ever again. The sun will never beat upon them, nor will any scorching heat, 17for the Lamb at the center 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.
There could be no more complete opposite of hell, no more complete opposite of separation from God than this. This crowd from every nation, you and I among them, for Jesus’ sake, will be gathered around God’s throne, directly serving him, protected by his shelter, never suffering again because the Lamb of God will be our Shepherd. Jesus will tend to us and care for all of our needs. And not even a single tear of sadness will come to our eyes—God will wipe them all away.
God doubles down on these promises near the end of John’s Revelation. He says in chapter 21, “Look! God’s dwelling is with people. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them, and he will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain, because the former things have passed away” (21:3-4). That will be our reality in heaven. Though God cares for us now, we will experience his care and protection in full in eternity.
Truly, the great tribulation of this life will be the closest thing to hell you and I will ever experience, for Jesus’ sake. “These people dressed in white robes, who are they and where did they come from?” They are you; they are me; they are all people of all places and all times in whom God has worked faith in his forgiveness brought about by Jesus, the promised and triumphant Savior! In heaven, we will see God face-to-face forever, and he will free us from everything bad. We will rejoice forever in God’s love for us! Salvation comes from our God, who sits on the throne, and from the Lamb. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and might belong to our God forever and ever! Amen!
