Revelation 7: 13And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? 14And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. 16They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. 17For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
John had been transported through time and space and saw what is to come. He was overwhelmed by the multitude he saw. He saw Jesus. He recognized saints of all ages. A question was asked, and the one who asked it answered it. One of the elders in heaven asked him “what are these?” John was afraid to answer, but the elder knew. Those John saw were the ones who had won the battle.
There has been lots of water under the bridge since John saw this, but the truth still stands. This passage moves our heart. It’s not just a symbolic prophecy. It’s a realistic snapshot of what is ahead. All of the wonders in this passage would lose their meaning if we had no part in it. What makes it so dear is that the group he saw is made up of those who made it to heaven, the saved of the Lord. Because we accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and follow him, we are they.
“They” gets misused many times. “They” said. “They” did it. In this context it sure is great to be “a they.” The percentage in regards to the entire human race is small, but it is still a multitude no man can number. It is the desire of the believer to be there, and Jesus can get us there. This scripture is for us, to us, and about us. It’s encouraging to see the future for the child of God. It must have been an encouragement to John. Exiled on the island of Patmos, such a sight would have been a blessing. When we find ourselves in our own islands of Patmos, we too can be encouraged and blessed.
This group went through tribulation. This describes the life of every believer in every generation. After conversion until death, the world is at enmity with the Christian. The devil uses full force against us. Jesus said that in this world we would have tribulation, and we do. Our battles are sometimes physical; sometimes spiritual. Day-to-day living can be a chore to endure temptations or face persecution because there are many avenues by which a Christian can be troubled. This group came out of it. To come out of something, you must first go through it. This shows us we can! The Master knows every valley, every battle, and every trial we face. He came from heaven all the way to Calvary and back again to make the way for us to come out. The last words he spoke as he was leaving were “all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth….lo, I am with you always even unto the end of the world.” In the Greek that means he’s with us until the end of the age of grace is finished. The Lord saved us and will be here for us until our age ends or the trumpet sounds. He won’t leave us alone to face anything.
Jesus has brought us this far. We’re not perfect, but HE IS. He came through so we can. One day we won’t be coming through, we’ll be coming out. Mortal will put on immortality. Corruptible will put on incorruptible, and as Paul says “so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
This chapter ends with verse 17 stating “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” I’m looking forward to what a verse 18 or 19 will be like. I won’t be reading it. I’ll be experiencing it! Hang in there. Keep going through. One day, he’ll bring us out.
WE ARE THEY!!!
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 