vs 9 John sees before him a great multitude that no one was able to count. This is the great multitude of the redeemed from every nation, tribe, people and language.
9 After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before he throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.
Here is a picture of the universal church in its fullest sense fulfilling Jesus’ word: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matt. 24:14).
This is a complete representation of Adam’s fallen race purchased by Christ to be His bride the Church, the Israel of God. This great multitude stands before the throne, and before the lamb.
The saints are dressed in white, which is a fulfillment of Jesus’ promise to the church in Sardis that the faithful ones will be dressed in white. This is a scene of heaven at the throne of God and the Lamb.
The saints are holding palm branches in their hands as a sign of victory. Of the four gospel writers only John notes that at Jesus’ triumphal entry on Palm Sunday the people took palm branches to welcome Him. The victory belongs to Jesus Christ, who through His death and resurrection conquered Satan, death, and the grave, procuring white robes of righteousness for all those the Father had given Him.
vs 10 With a loud voice the multitude ascribes salvation to God and the Lamb. It is the God who sits on the throne, the sovereign God who has mercy upon whom He has mercy and hardens whom He wills. The God who does whatsoever He pleases and all His purposes stand.
And they cried out in a loud voice: Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.
The saints in heaven sing a song with oneaccord, even though they came from many nations and spoke different languages. In heaven the confusion of Babel has ended and the speech of the saints is all the same.
Salvation comes from the sovereign act of God in Christ. The Father planned it, and sent His son to procure it. “All that the Fathers gives to Me shall come to Me…No one can come to Me except the Father grant it.” John 6:37& 65
The redeemed are standing before the throne and before the Lamb. God who is seated on the throne planned the work of saving his people and commissioned his Son to initiate, execute, and complete it. With their song they express praise and thanks to God and the Lamb, who died, rose from the grave, and ascended to heaven to take his place at the right hand of God. They sing a song of victory which resembles the “Hosanna” (Lord, grant help) the people sang when Jesus came to Jerusalem (Matthew 21:9). Whereas the people surrounding Jesus at His triumphal entry were asking for salvation, the saints in heaven praise Him for answering this request.
vss 11-12 At the sight of the redeemed around the throne the angels, the elders, and the four living creatures fall prostrate crying out: Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever. Amen!
The saints are completely overwhelmed and in awe of God’s saving grace. An innumerable multitude is singing praises of thanksgiving to God and the Lamb while the rest of the heavenly beings fall down worshiping God before his throne.
vss 13-14 One of the elders ask John if he knew who these redeemed were and where they came from? John answered, Sir, you know. And he said these are they who have come out of the great tribulation.
Then one of the elders asked me, these in white robes--who are they, and where did they come from? I answered, Sir, you know. And he said, these are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Earlier an elder addressed John and told him not to weep, because the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, had triumphed (5:5). Now for a second time one of them approaches John. The elder asks where the saints, dressed in white robes, come from. This question is for the sake not of gathering knowledge but of teaching a fact.
He wants John to acknowledge that the lion of Judah has indeed fulfilled the Old Testament promises of salvation.
The saints in white robes are indeed the people whom the Lamb with his blood purchased for God. The color white denotes holiness and purity, for the blood of the Lamb cleansed the saints.
The verb have come is linked to the phrase out of the great tribulation. This must refer to the end time when the church will experience severe persecution and martyrdom just before Christ returns.
By way of application it can refer to believers in all ages and all nations who have sacrificed for the cause of Christ with their lives.
The Scriptures teach that God’s people of all places and of all times have encountered, do encounter, and will encounter persecutions, dangers, hardships and death until the end of the age.
All these saints have gone through great tribulation. Prior to the return of Christ persecution and martyrdom will increase world-wide (even America) thus “the great tribulation.”
vss 15-17 The believers whole purpose in heaven will be to serve God day and night in His temple being engulfed by God’s glory. They will be completely satisfied in every way, spiritually, physically, and emotionally. There will not be want or need for anything outside the presence of God and what He provides.
Therefore, they are before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tent (tabernacle) over them. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, or any scorching heat. For 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.
God cares for the saints by having removed from them death, grief, sorrow, and pain. The clause “before the throne of God” implies that the saints have direct access to the one who occupies that throne. Their relation to God is the same as it was in the Garden of Eden when God walked and talked with Adam and Eve.
The Messiah will sustain God’s people with spiritual and material blessings in this life and in the life to come. Here is a description of sustenance and solace for all the saints who put their trust in God. Jesus says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6).
The Lamb of God who was slain to redeem his people stands at the center, near the midpoint, of God’s throne. He is between God, seated on the throne, and the four living beings. No one being is closer to God himself than the Lamb, who is now given the role of Shepherd. This role change, like so many in Revelation, should be understood symbolically.
Jesus the Good Shepherd protects his sheep from danger and from harm, leads them to green pastures, and finds streams of refreshing water for them.
The Lamb who is now the Shepherd leads the sheep to springs of living water. The imagery is a clear reminder of the Samaritan woman who asked Jesus for living water so that she would no longer be thirsty and have to keep coming back to Jacob’s well. Water symbolizes eternal life.
“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” If there is one text in Scripture that comforts the saints, it is this verse. Here we meet the infinite tenderness of our God, who is able to remove from our eyes every tear caused by suffering, death, and sorrow.
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