The Triumphant Redeemed
THE TRIUMPHANT REDEEMED
REVELATION 7:9-17
Our triumph on earth calls out the highest praise of God in heaven.
In the earlier part of this chapter we saw the people of God at a given moment, and their number seemed very small. But when they are seen as a whole, they are “a great multitude which no one could number” (7:9). There is no suggestion here that God’s sealing is a guarantee of physical protection. Because the church is the body of Christ here on earth, it has the privilege of sharing in his sufferings (see Colossians 1:24; 2 Timothy 3:12). Whatever the details of Christ’s second coming and the relation of the rapture to it (1 Thessalonians 4:17), it is a sad fact that for many the emphasis has been laid on the “fact” that believers are not to pass through the great tribulation. For some, at any rate, this emphasis has led to a shrinking from suffering and the regarding of persecution, when it has come, as strange. The sad fruits of this attitude can easily be seen.
The redeemed are apparently pictured as standing even nearer the throne than the elders and the living creatures. The “white robes” (7:9) are the victor’s dress, but it is due to Christ’s death that they are white. The “palm branch” takes the place of the olive or laurel crown of the winner in the Greek games, the change being almost certainly to link them with John 12:13, to show that their victory was through Jesus and by the same path as his. Their position is as it should be, for where Christ is, there should his people also be. The worship of 7:12 throws light on Ephesians 3:10, for “principalities and powers” need be understood in a bad sense only where the context demands it. The wisdom, power and love of God are specially displayed by the triumph of the church by his grace in the midst of tribulation.
The “elder” (7:13) can teach us a lesson in communication; he knew that John did not know, but he did not force the information on him. By his question he gave John the possibility of asking—“Sir, you know” (7:14) is a polite question—and ensured his participation. With 7:15, see also 22:3f. We have the redeemed here as God’s kingdom, under his protection, and his priests (see also 1:6). There is an obvious reference to Psalm 23 here in 7:16-17. All that humanity experiences of God’s grace on earth is only a foretaste of heaven.