Revelation 7:9-17 (NRSV)
Read Revelation 7:9-17 on biblegateway.com
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
Today is All Saints' Day, in which we join ourselves to God's people of generations past. This text is a picture of such a congregation. Verses 4-8 describe the gathering of the tribes of Israel. Then comes the "great multitude that no one could count from every nation (the Gentiles) ... standing before the throne of the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches." Thus gathered, we will worship the Lord with perfect praise: "Salvation belongs to our God" (v. 10).
This is the vision of faith that the seer of Revelation held before the eyes of the persecuted church of western Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). Under the reign of the cruel Emperor Domitian (81-96 A.D.), Christianity was declared illegal because it did not honor the pagan gods. Christians were maligned as enemies of Rome. In a communion that transcends time and circumstance, we are joined with these and all the saints who have been faithful unto death.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, give us courage for the living of this hour. Amen.