April 27, 2021 (Tuesday)
Revelation is full of images. Some are head scratchers,
while others are straight forward. Sometimes the scene is in heaven, other
times the images come from earth. Indulge me for a while and help explore one
image from today’s reading.
It starts with Revelation 7:10, “After this I looked, and there was a great
crowd that no one could number. They were from every nation, tribe, people, and
language. They were standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They wore
white robes and held palm branches in their hands.” [CEB] This is the crowd around surrounding the throne
of God.
Notice the details. The crowd is without number. For those
of us who rejoice when a “sinner” is “saved,” this is an awesome image. Some of
us have a theology of exclusion, my impression is God is looking for a way to
include people. Unfortunately we like to label and table people.
On top of this image of “a great crowd” there is a
description of this crowd. “Every nation, tribe, people, and language.” Notice
this is pretty much every description and possible label we tag people.
Revelation tells us the every (fill in the blank) will be represented. There is
no excuse for us to think anyone is disqualified on these labels.
There is a further description in verse 14b, “These are the ones
coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them
white in the blood of the Lamb.” [ESV]
There is a question if these are people who come out of “THE Great Tribulation,”
or if this is a description of the general hardship many Christians go through.
Notice, the means of their arrival is “the blood of the
Lamb.” I think the Bible is clear, the only means or method of salvation is
through the blood of Jesus. No ritual saves. No amount of righteous actions
saves. Nothing else saves. Leaning on anything or anybody other than Jesus is a
recipe for heartache and ultimate failure.
Did you know there will be tears in heaven? Check it out, “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.” [Revelation
7:17 ESV] Get it, God will “wipe away every tear.” Many of us will arrive in
Heaven in tears.
The promise is God will take care of them. My suspicion is
when God wipes away the tears, the will be gone forever. Believe it or not, God
pays attention to our sorrows and values our tears. Psalm 56:8 shows us insight
into their value, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your
bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.” [NLT]
You may be the victim of racial, national, or linguistic
hate. Your days may be hard. Let this comfort you. God knows your sorrows. God
collets your tears. God records them, never to be forgotten. But some day, God
will set all wrongs right. Those tears will vanish in the loving embrace of
God.
Still, it stinks to go through these things. But consider
them an investment into something greater than you could possibly enjoy now.
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