Revelation 7 (NRSV)
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Chapter 7After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth so that no wind could blow on earth or sea or against any tree. Verse 2I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to damage earth and sea, Verse 3saying, "Do not damage the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have marked the servants of our God with a seal on their foreheads." Verse 4And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the people of Israel: Verse 5From the tribe of Judah twelve thousand sealed, from the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, from the tribe of Gad twelve thousand, Verse 6from the tribe of Asher twelve thousand, from the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand, from the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand, Verse 7from the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand, from the tribe of Levi twelve thousand, from the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand, Verse 8from the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand, from the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand, from the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand sealed. Verse 9After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. Verse 10They cried out in a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!" Verse 11And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, Verse 12singing, "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen."
Verse 13Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?" Verse 14I said to him, "Sir, you are the one that knows." Then he said to me, "These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Verse 15For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. Verse 16They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; Verse 17for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
Devotion
We can relate to most of the Bible through human experience. Grace and forgiveness, guilt and regret, fear and love, sorrow and joy. As both saints and sinners, we are given ample opportunity in life to deepen these understandings.
But some things go beyond anything we can know this side of eternity. John’s strange images of multitudes in white robes washed by the Lamb’s blood point to a vision beyond human experience, or even imagination. It is so fantastic and unworldly that our small victories pale in comparison to this victory celebration. Could anything so magnificent be secured apart from God’s hand? Can we even conceive of it—life beyond all measure?
Prayer
God of the universe, time and eternity, we see now “as like a dim image in a mirror; then we will see face-to-face.” We humbly bow before you, grateful of our hope that in Christ all things will be made new. Amen.