Revelation 7:9-12 - Victory in the Midst of Suffering

“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, and crying out with a loud voice..." As we study through the Book of Revelation, we need to remember that for the most part, it is about the Seven Year Tribulation that will take place on earth after the rapture of the church. It is divided into two parts of three and half years each (42 months – Rev. 11:2; 13:5). In Revelation 4 and 5, the church is heaven, represented by the 24 elders seated around the throne, worshiping God as their creator and the Lamb as their redeemer. In Revelation 6, we get a picture of the next sequence of events that will take place as the four horsemen are revealed and when the first six seals are opened in the first half of the Tribulation. Revelation 7 begins with “After these things”, meaning the previous chapters of the worship in heaven and the beginning of the Tribulation. This chapter is a parenthesis between the sixth and seventh seal that will be opened in the first verse of chapter 8. It describes the two groups of people that will get saved during the Tribulation. The 144,000 Jews, 12,000 from the named tribes, that are sealed and protected, and the multitudes of Gentiles without number that are martyred for their faith. The four angels holding the four winds of the earth are told to wait by the one angel before they release them. The four winds are the judgements and wrath of God that will poured out when the seventh seal is opened in chapter 8 and it reveals the seven angels sounding the seven trumpets. So as these angels wait with these catastrophic judgements, we see in chapter 7 that even in wrath God has mercy on those who are willing to repent and believe. (Habakkuk 3:2) Just a couple days ago as we celebrated Passover weekend and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the New York Times printed an article entitled, “In This Time of War, I Propose We Give Up God.” The writer of the article said he was raised Jewish, and he was proposing that we should “passover” the God of the Bible. He said the God of the Bible should be tried for hatred and murder. He basically said that God should be killed. It is almost as if the book of Revelation is already beginning to be fulfilled as we see the public, professed hatred that the world has for the God that we love and worship. This is of course, preparation for the end time events. Christians and their faith are being ridiculed, mocked, derided and cursed. Yes, today good is being called evil and evil is being called good (Isaiah 5:20). I never thought I would see the day in America that the truth would be censored, but for sure it is happening! So, even as the Tribulation period begins, in the chapter 7 we see God’s mercy and grace extended to those who will turn to Him and trust Him! Today, for sure the spirit of Antichrist is already as work in this world, but as we see these multitudes of saints that are clothed in white and holding palm branches, we are assured that we can be victorious in whatever conditions we might face or live in on earth. Last night I watched the Franklin Graham special Easter service in Ukraine on the Fox News channel. I had tears in my eyes as I watch the Ukrainians singing songs of praise and worship in the midst of their terrible suffering and pain! What a picture of God’s wonderful love and grace that is available to all who will focus on His holiness and remember that He is sovereign, and in control, and He will one day pour out His wrath on those who hate and deny Him! Today, we know that God loves us because He gave His one and only Son to die for us, in our place for all our sins! Please trust Him now! God bless