A Great Multitude

Good morning again, welcome to worship this morning.

For those of you who I haven't had a chance to meet,

! My name's Jeff, I'm one of the pastors here,

and I would love to meet you after the service,

out on the steps and hear your story

and get to know you a little bit better.

As a kid growing up in the late 90s and early 2000s,

one of my favorite TV shows was on the Disney Channel.

It was called The Jersey, The Jersey Show of Hands.

Has anyone seen this show?

A couple, probably 90s kids, 2000s kids.

Probably not many of you have seen this.

It's about a group of kids who love to play sports.

And one day, this group of teenagers

who love to play sports discover an old football jersey

up in the attic of one of their houses.

It was a football jersey that belonged

to one of the grandfathers of these kids,

and they discover that this old football jersey

has magical powers.

And in every episode,

these kids would be encountering some problem

of teenage life related to school or friendship

or dating or sports.

And then somewhere along the way,

they would put on the jersey,

or sometimes even the jersey would find them,

and it would transport them

into the bodies of professional athletes.

They would suddenly become the 49ers quarterback Steve Young

playing in the NFL.

Or they would become Dominique Dawes competing in gymnastics

in the Olympics.

Any number of professional athletes.

And somewhere in these experiences of being transported

to being a professional sports player,

they would learn a truth about life.

They would learn about the value of teamwork

or having integrity or how to face their fears.

And then finally, that moment would be over,

and the jersey would transport them back

to their real lives again.

And the rest of the episode,

they would be reflecting how their experience

as Steve Young or as Dominique Dawes

had taught them something about how to persevere.

about how to persevere through the problem

and the challenges that they were facing.

And I know that it's an imperfect illustration,

but something like this is happening

in the book of Revelation.

The book of Revelation was written by the apostle John

to a group of churches in first century Asia Minor,

many of whom were experiencing very real hardship

and persecution and suffering.

And in this book, we see over and over again

that John is transported.

He's transported across space and time

through a series of visions across the entirety of the book.

And the purpose of these visions

is something like what the jersey did.

It's meant to tell the truth.

It's meant to tell the truth about reality

in a way that encourages perseverance for the church,

to encourage these embattled churches

in Asia Minor in the first century,

to persevere in their own generation

and faithful living and gospel witness.

And it's meant to do the same for us.

And over the course of the Easter season,

we've been journeying through Revelation in the lectionary.

A few weeks ago, we saw that in Revelation chapter one,

we saw this vision of Jesus holding the seven lampstands

and the seven stars of the churches.

Last week in Revelation five, we saw this vision of Jesus

who is at once the lamb who was slain

and the lion of the tribe of Judah.

And in our text this morning, in Revelation chapter seven,

John receives another vision.

And it's this vision of this great multitude.

And so that's what we're gonna look at this morning,

who this great multitude is

and how this multitude encourages us

to persevere in our own generation

is what we're gonna look at this morning.

We're gonna see from Revelation seven,

we're gonna see a multi-ethnic multitude,

a triumphant multitude, and a secure multitude.

A multi-ethnic multitude, a triumphant multitude,

and a secure multitude.

So first of all, a multi-ethnic multitude.

One of the questions that faces anybody

who reads this section of Revelation chapter seven

is what John's seeing,

is what he is seeing one group or is it two groups?

In verses four through eight, John hears a number.

And the number that he hears is 144,000

from the tribe of Israel,

from the various tribes of Israel.

But then in verse nine, he sees,

he sees a great multitude that no one could count

from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.

And so we have to ask ourselves, which is it?

Is this one group of people

or is this two groups of people?

And as you can imagine,

scholars have proposed various theories

across the centuries.

Those within Christendom

and those outside of Christendom.

So Jehovah's Witnesses, for example,

you may know that Jehovah's Witnesses

actually believe that these 144,000

are a select group of people

that will reign with Christ in heaven one day

while all other believers

have somewhat of a second-class existence on earth.

It's kind of a varsity, junior varsity split going on here.

If you're a really great Christian,

you'll be numbered among the 144,000.

Within Christendom,

some Christians have even argued

that the 144,000

represent a select group of Jewish evangelists

who will witness to Jesus as the Messiah

during the period of the Great Tribulation,

which is still yet to come.

But I think that neither of these views

actually reads Revelation well.

Neither of these views best accounts

for what's happening

and how the symbolic imagery of Revelation

is supposed to work

on its original audience and on us.

To read this well,

all we have to do is remember back to chapter five.

When John hears and he sees.

In Revelation chapter five,

John hears the name of the lion of the tribe of Judah,

but then a verse later,

he sees who?

He sees the lamb who was slain,

seated on the throne.

And what we realize in Revelation five

is what John hears and what he sees

are one and the same.

Jesus is both the lion of the tribe of Judah

and the lamb seated on the throne who was slain.

And these two images are two lenses

through which we see the same Jesus.

And the same thing is happening here.

John hears the number of 144,000

and then he sees the great multitude

that can't be counted.

But they are one and the same,

simply viewed through two different lenses.

The 144,000 symbolically represent

God's people Israel under the old covenant.

The number 12, if you read the Old Testament,

or even if you think about Jesus' 12 disciples,

number 12 is symbolic of fullness

or completeness in the Bible.

And so 144,000 comes from the 12 tribes of Israel

times 12,000.

And I checked on my calculator this week

and it does lead to 144,000.

So you're welcome to check my math.

But this is not a statistic.

It's not a statistic.

It's a symbolic image of the completeness of God's people.

The people of Israel under the old covenant

are one in the same.

They are one in the same with the great multitude

from every tribe and tongue and people and nation

under the new covenant.

And although God is revealing this to John

in a new vision, this is nothing new.

If you've read the Old Testament,

you know that this has been God's plan all along.

God told Abraham in Genesis 12 that his family,

his descendants will be a blessing

to all the families of the earth.

And all over the Old Testament,

we read how Israel's mission was meant

to be a light to the nations,

to all of the peoples of the earth.

And so the church is this multi-ethnic fulfillment

of these promises.

They are the new Israel in Christ.

And so what John sees is a future vision

of the full number of God's people

from at the end of history,

from every era of time

and from every nation on earth

that will stand before God

and who will reign with him forever and ever.

And this future vision

is meant to encourage us

to persevere in our present mission.

This future reality doesn't yet match

what is currently the present reality.

The Joshua Project estimates

that there are 7,200 ethnic groups in the world

representing over 3 billion people

with little to no access to the gospel.

Many of them who live in what's called

as the 1040 window.

This is the part of the globe

stretching from North Africa

across the Middle East to parts of Asia.

This is the place where

most people in the world

have not only not heard of Christ

but have little to no access to the gospel.

And in our digital and connected world,

many of the people who remain unreached

are unreached for a reason.

They live in places

that are geographically hard to get to.

They live in places

that are spiritually challenging

and they live in places

where the political authorities

are opposed to the gospel,

sometimes even violently.

And so to share Christ

with people in these places

often takes great risk.

And it often involves great difficulty

and even opposition.

Just as the churches

in the first century in Asian minor

experienced,

in the Roman Empire,

experienced risk

and opposition

and even persecution

to share Christ,

the same is true of many today

who answer the call of God

to share Christ with those

in unreached and difficult places.

Why should the church,

why should the people of God

persevere in spreading the gospel

in places that are geographically

hard to get to,

in places that are spiritually challenging,

and in places where the political authorities

are opposed to the gospel?

Because of the great multitude.

Because of the great multitude,

God is on a mission

to make the good news

of the victory of the Lamb

known to every tribe

and tongue

and nation

on earth.

And this vision

of the multitude

in Revelation 7

assures us

that this

multi-ethnic mission

will

not

fail.

It will not fail.

The success rate

is 100%.

And God

has given us

the incredible stewardship

and privilege

and opportunity

to join him

in his mission

to every tribe

and tongue

and people

on earth.

This is why

as a church

we support missionaries

all over the world

taking the gospel

to people

in unreached

and hard to reach places.

This is why

we support missionaries

working in

places like

Thailand.

In places

like Kazakhstan.

It's why

we support

missionaries

who work with

Middle Eastern refugees

in places

like Greece.

This is why

we give generously

to the calls

of global missions.

It's why

we pray

faithfully

for the calls

of global missions

and it's why

we go

courageously

to hard places

for the calls

of global missions.

We do this

because the

north star

for the mission

of the church

is the multi-ethnic

multitude

in Revelation 7

from every tribe

and tongue

and people

and nation.

So that's the first thing

that we see

in Revelation 7

that this multitude

that John sees

is a multi-ethnic

multitude.

The second thing

that we see

as we continue

in the passage

is that it is

a triumphant

multitude.

It's a triumphant

multitude.

We saw

in chapter 5

last week

we saw

this vision

of the scroll

how there's

a scroll

that reveals

God's plan

his sovereign

plan for all

of history

that there is

only one

and there is

only one

who is able

to break

the seals

and to open

the scroll

and it is

the one

who is both

the lion

of the tribe

of Judah

and the lamb

who was slain.

And then

as we move

forward in chapter 6

what we begin

to see

is that

the lamb

who is the lion

begins opening

the seals

of the book

of history.

And as he opens

the seals

what we begin

to see

is the reality

of a suffering

world

where the powers

of evil

are wreaking

havoc

where there is

violence

and destruction

and famine

and death

on humanity

in general

and where the

people of God

in particular

are persecuted

and even killed.

and we see

this in Revelation 6

Revelation 6:9

verses 9 and 10

when the fifth

of seven seals

is opened

we read this

when he opened

the fifth seal

I saw under

the altar

the souls

of those

who had been slain

because of the word

of God

and the testimony

that they had maintained

and they called out

in a loud voice

how long

sovereign Lord

holy and true

until you judge

the inhabitants

of the earth

and avenge

our blood

and these

are the martyrs

of the church

they are those

who have been killed

for their faith

in Christ

and for their witness

to the gospel

not only those

in the first century

in the seven churches

in Asia Minor

who were killed

and martyred

under the great persecutions

of the Roman Empire

but those who continue

to be martyred

even today

Open Doors International

is a ministry

that supports

and creates awareness

of the persecuted church

around the world

and they report

that in

last year

in 2024

that approximately

4,500 Christians

across the globe

were killed

and martyred

for their faith

and that this number

is likely higher

since many of these

instances

go unreported

the reality

of martyrdom

is not an ancient

phenomenon

it is a present reality

for many Christians

around the world

those who have died

for the sake of Christ

across history

are in the presence

of the Lord

and they're crying out

to God saying

how long

how long

until you bring justice

to our death

and defeat the powers

of evil

once and for all

how long

is the cry

of the martyrs

of the church

it's also the cry

of every Christian

who suffers

in a fallen world

it's the cry

of every human being

who feels

as if justice

will never come

it's the cry

of every person

in this room

who is suffering

how long

God

why are you waiting

why are you delaying

bringing justice

to the world

and we begin

to get an answer

in chapter 6

verse 11

it says

then each of them

was given a white robe

and they were told

to wait a little longer

until the full number

of their fellow servants

their brothers and sisters

were killed

just as they had been

and this

seems

a bit surprising

perhaps even troubling

at first

when we read this

that God

is delaying

his justice

until the

full number

of martyrs

have been killed

until

we remember

the lamb

and we remember

that this is

exactly how

the lamb

conquers

the powers

of evil

and sin

and death

just

as

the lamb

was triumphant

through weakness

and sacrifice

and death

so too

are those

who follow

the lamb

what the powers

of evil do

to try

to oppose

the lamb

the lamb

uses

to conquer

the powers

of evil

the third century

church father

Tertullian

is famous

for saying

that the blood

of the martyrs

is the seed

of the church

the blood

of the martyrs

is the seed

of the church

throughout history

whenever followers

of Christ

have given

their lives

for the gospel

what happens

the gospel

spreads

and the church

grows

and the lamb

is victorious

and this

is what we see

in Revelation

Revelation 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7

we see

in Revelation

Revelation 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6

the cry

of the martyrs

and in Revelation

7 we see

that this

army

of martyrs

is triumphant

and verse 9

they are wearing

white robes

and they are

holding palm branches

white robes

and palm branches

in the ancient world

were symbols

of a military victory

and as this multitude

bears

the symbols

of victory

they sing

a song

of victory

to their triumphant

king

verse 10

they cry out

with a loud voice

salvation

belongs to

our God

who sits

on the throne

into the lamb

and all the angels

were standing

around the throne

and around the elders

and the four living creatures

and they fell

on their faces

before the throne

and worshiped God

saying

amen

blessing

and glory

and wisdom

and thanksgiving

and honor

and power

and might

be to our God

forever

and ever

amen

this is

a triumphant

multitude

and in a

suffering world

where there is

real suffering

and real injustice

where there is

violence

and destruction

and war

and famine

and chaos

and death

where followers

of Christ

are imprisoned

and tortured

and even killed

for the gospel

around the world

in a world

and in our own lives

where sometimes

it can feel

like the powers

of evil

are winning

and sometimes

it can feel

hopeless

this is why

the church

can persevere

this is why

the church

can persevere

amidst

opposition

and persecution

and even martyrdom

because the ultimate

triumph

of the Lamb

over the powers

of evil

is never in doubt

in fact

he uses

what the powers

of evil

try to do

to oppose him

to conquer

the powers

of evil

and the power

and glory

of all earthly

empires

will eventually

fade

and will eventually

give way

to the glory

and power

of the Lamb

and his kingdom

the original audience

would have heard

in their culture

and in their time

Caesar and Rome

bring you salvation

Caesar and Rome

bring you blessing

Caesar and Rome

bring you glory

Caesar and Rome

bring you wisdom

and honor

they were false

promises then

they're false

promises now

salvation

doesn't belong

to Rome

it doesn't belong

to Caesar

it doesn't belong

to any earthly empire

including our own

including our own

salvation

belongs

to our God

and to the Lamb

who is seated

on the throne

blessing

and glory

and wisdom

and thanksgiving

and honor

and power

and might

be to our God

forever

and ever

Amen

so the first

thing we see

about this

multitude

is that it is

a multi-ethnic

multitude

the second thing

we see

is that it is

a triumphant

multitude

and finally

the third thing

and final thing

we see

in Revelation 7

is that it is

a secure

multitude

the hard truth

of Revelation

of all of Revelation

but Revelation

Revelation 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6

the hard truth

is that

the wrath

of the Lamb

is coming

we see

at the end

of chapter 6

as the sixth

seal of the scroll

is opened

we see a vision

of the day of judgment

at the end of time

Revelation chapter 6

Revelation 6:15–17

verses 15

through 17

then the kings

of the earth

and the great ones

and the generals

and the rich

and the powerful

and everyone

slave and free

hid themselves

in the caves

and among the rocks

of the mountains

calling to the mountains

and the rocks

fall on us

and hide us

from the face

of him

who is seated

on the throne

and from the wrath

of the Lamb

for the great day

of their wrath

has come

and who

can stand

for some of us

perhaps many of us

the wrath of God

is something

that is

uncomfortable

or perhaps

even troubling

to think about

perhaps this is

why some of us

cannot possibly

believe in the God

of the Bible

we've dismissed

the God

of the Bible

because we can

never believe

in a God

of wrath

it seems

irrational

it seems unfair

it seems opposed

to a God

of love

but think

for a second

about

the people

in your life

who

you love

the most

who love

you the most

friends

family

loved ones

what if

the people

in your life

that you love

the most

were threatened

were harmed

even abused

what would

you feel

would you

not feel

anger

would you

not feel

wrath

would you

not long

for someone

to do

something about

it

and to

bring

justice

in the same

way

God's wrath

and judgment

is simply

the flip side

of his love

God's purposes

for humanity

and for his

creation

are loving

and redemptive

they are to heal

and restore

his creation

but as many

who have

experienced

injustice

know

healing

cannot happen

without justice

the judge

of all the earth

must punish

and remove

all evil

and cleanse

his world

from sin

to restore it

and the question

that revelation

confronts us

with

is who

can stand

who can stand

before a God

like that

who can stand

before the wrath

of the Lamb

when all of us

rightly deserve

his judgment

because of the sin

and evil

in our hearts

that's the hard

news of revelation

but the good news

of revelation

is though the

wrath of the Lamb

is coming

the salvation

of the Lamb

has already

come

the salvation

of the Lamb

has already

come

this is what

it's meant

by chapter 7

verse 14

when it talks

about this multitude

it says that

they have washed

their robes

and made them

white in the blood

of the Lamb

that's strange

that's confusing

how can

blood

wash something

and make it

white

but the strangeness

of this image

helps us to see

the powerfully

good news

of the gospel

that in revelation

5

Jesus is the Lamb

who was slain

for you

to purchase you

with his death

with his blood

and his blood

shed for us

on the cross

is what brings us

salvation

and healing

and forgiveness

and restoration

and it is what

makes us clean

from the stain

of sin

and if you

have trusted

in him

if you have

trusted in

the blood

of the Lamb

to wash you

and make you

clean

then just

like the great

multitude

in the day

of the Lamb's

wrath

you can

stand

you can

stand

you can

stand

clothed

in a white

robe

washed

in the blood

of the Lamb

because you

are safe

and secure

in his

love

and what's

said

in verses

15-17

if you look

at chapter 7

verses 15-17

what is said

about the great

multitude

is your

sure hope

and consolation

as well

and I'm

as I read

this verses

as I read

these verses

I want to

acknowledge

that there are

people all

across this

room

who are

experiencing

a range

of

degrees

of

suffering

that come

from living

in a fallen

world

and if that's

you and you're

here this

morning

I want

you to

receive

these

verses

from

Jesus

himself

as

consolation

for your

soul

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

shelter

them

with

his

presence

they

shall

hunger

no more

neither

thirst

anymore

the sun

shall not

strike them

nor any

scorching

heat

for the

lamb

in the

midst

of the

throne

will be

their

shepherd

and he

will guide

them to

springs

of living

water

and God

will wipe

away

every tear

from their

eyes

can you

imagine

it

does this

seem too

good to be

true

sheltered

forever

by the

presence

of God

the lamb

who was

slain

himself as

your

shepherd

drinking

from

springs

of living

water

all of

your

tears

wiped

away

never

having

to

suffer

again

this

is the

ultimate

consolation

and comfort

and hope

to all

who trust

in the

lamb

whose

robes

are washed

white

in his

blood

and to

all

who have

suffered

and died

for the

sake

of

Christ

the

lamb

who

was

slain

is

also

our

shepherd

who

brings

us

shelter

and

safety

and

security

and

consolation

forever

as a

kid

growing up

in the

90s

part of

me

longed

to have

that

magic

jersey

I

want

to be

transported

to be

a professional

athlete

play in

the NFL

play in

the NBA

I

later

found out

I

can't

wear that

magic

jersey

friends we

don't have

a magic

jersey

we have

something

better

we have

the word

of God

we have

the book

of

revelation

we have

revelation

Revelation 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7

this vision

in revelation

7

transported

john

in the

first

century

church

to see

the great

multitude

in ways

that brought

them encouragement

and hope

and assurance

so that they

could persevere

in their

generation

faithful

living

and in

gospel

witness

and it

does the

same for

us today

seeing

this

multi

ethnic

multitude

encourages

us to

persevere

in the

global

mission

of the

lamb

despite

opposition

and

difficulty

it

encourages

us

to

go

to

places

that

are

geographically

hard

to

get

to

that

are

spiritually

difficult

and that

are

politically

opposed

to the

spread

of the

gospel

seeing

this

triumphant

multitude

assures

us

that the

victory

of the

lamb

over

the

powers

of

evil

is

never

in

doubt

no

matter

what

no

matter

the

amount

of

suffering

and

persecution

we

face

no

matter

even

if

we

give

our

lives

for

the

gospel

and

seeing

this

secure

multitude

reminds

us

of

our

ultimate

consolation

that

in

the

day

of

the

lamb's

wrath

we

can

stand

because

the

lamb

who

was

slain

for

us

is

our

shepherd

and

so

as we

come to

the

end

of

revelation

7

we

join

our

voices

with

the

heavenly

chorus

and

with

the

saints

across

the

ages

singing

together

with

them

salvation

belongs

to

God

and

to

the

one

to

the

lamb

who

sits

on

the

throne

blessing

and

glory

and

wisdom

and

thanksgiving

and

honor

and

power

and

might

be

to

our

God

forever

and

ever

amen

pray

with

me

oh

Lord

God

of

heaven

thank

you

so

much

for

this

vision

that

you

gave

the

apostle

John

that

encouraged

the

first

century

church

would

you

encourage

us

today

would

you

assure

us

of

these

promises

would

you

help

us

to

persevere

in

the

power

of

your

spirit

and

knowing

that

the

ultimate

victory

belongs

to

you

in

the

name

of

the

Father

and

the

Son

and

the

Holy

Spirit

Amen