Revelation 7:9-17

A Multitude from the Great Tribulation

9 After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were robed in white with palm branches in their hands.
10 And they cried out in a loud voice: Salvation belongs to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!
11 All the angels stood around the throne, the elders, and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,
12 saying: Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.
13 Then one of the elders asked me, "Who are these people robed in white, and where did they come from?"
14 I said to him, "Sir,[a] you know." Then he told me: These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 For this reason they are before the throne of God, and they serve Him day and night in His sanctuary. The One seated on the throne will shelter[b] them:
16 no longer will they hunger; no longer will they thirst; no longer will the sun strike them, or any heat.[c]
17 Because the Lamb who is at the center of the throne will shepherd them;[d] He will guide them to springs of living waters,[e] and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.[f]

Images for Revelation 7:9-17

Revelation 7:9-17 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION 7

This chapter contains a vision seen at the end of the sixth, and at the opening of the seventh seal, which expresses the security of the saints in all ages following, the praises of angels and men on that account, and the happiness of all the people of God in the millennium state. First, a vision of four angels is seen restraining the winds from blowing on the earth, sea, and trees, Re 7:1; then of another angel, described by the place from whence he came, the east; by what he had, the seal of the living God, and by his cry to the four angels not to hurt the earth, sea, and trees, until the servants of God were sealed, Re 7:2,3, and then follows the number of the sealed ones in general, Re 7:4, and the particular number of them out of each tribe of Israel, Re 7:5-8. After which is another vision of all the elect of God together, described by the numberless multitude of them; by their descent from all nations; by their position and situation before the throne, and the Lamb; by their habit and attire, and by their loud cry, ascribing salvation to God, and to the Lamb, Re 7:9,10, who are joined by all the angels around them, worshipping God, and ascribing glory to him, Re 7:11,12. And next is described the happiness of this numerous company, in the thousand years' reign, introduced by some discourse which passed between John, and one of the elders, Re 7:13,14, who are said to be before the throne, to serve God continually, and to have his presence, Re 7:15, to be free from everything troublesome and distressing, Re 7:16, and to be fed by the Lamb, and to be led by him to fountains of living water, and to have all their tears wiped away from them, Re 7:17.

Footnotes 6

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