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After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could number, out of every nation and of all tribes, peoples, and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands. They cried with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation be to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" (Revelation 7:9-10)
No man could number
Numbering in Israel was associated with defensiveness by reliance on violence through superiority of forces. Those who choose to live in God's system rely on and rest in Him rather than dependence on violence. Note that those cast into the lake of fire are itemized, while those seen here celebrating on the sea of glass are generic except for the symbolic figure of 144,000 - the perfect square of 12 multiplied by the number of divinity, 1,000.
This could be a warning to us that no one should be trying to determine who is saved or lost, leaving that up to God. No human other than Christ can know the heart of another person. This should alert us to stop trying to judge who might be saved according to our criteria promoted by religion.
standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands
But seek first God's Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:33)
This standing before the throne is symbolic, not literal, meaning their attention is focused on God rather than on the false reality operating on earth. Their undivided loyalty is to God alone. Their focus is on His kingdom and are thus portrayed as standing in allegiance before His throne. Around the throne also alerts us to a direct connection with the previous declaration that salvation belongs to God. When we imagine that salvation is all about us, about rescuing us from suffering and sin and darkness, we often are unwilling to look past ourselves to God's situation and seek to get God to do everything for us, as if the universe is supposed to revolve around saving us and we are the center of attention.
What is designed right into the creation model is the truth that God must be at the center for everything to function and flourish as designed. We are not at the center of salvation, for it is God's reputation that must be salvaged before order, harmony, joy and peace can reign forever and ever. Salvation means putting God back at the center. Only then can life be restored to the true normal. This means making God's salvation more important than our own as illustrated by Moses when he argued against replacing rebellious Israelites with himself, warning God to look out for His reputation.
While we have examined the symbol of white robes previously, it is important to keep it in mind as it relates to our lives very much today. These white robes are symbolic, not just of righteous acts of the saints as spelled out in chapter 19, but these acts are symptomatic of a reflective spirit seen in the hearts of all who genuinely follow the Lamb. It is the spirit and disposition of the Lamb that will be witnessed in the lives of those who follow Him. This is the true meaning of white robes, for they are not composed of literal material but of character that has been transformed by the renewing, rewiring of the mind to think, respond and reflect the way God thinks, responds and relates to others.
Palm branches in their hands symbolizes both victory and peace. These were traditionally used to welcome a new king with honor and as an affirmation of allegiance to him. This is in sharp contrast to many references throughout Scripture of hands carrying weapons used for violence.
Note how these stand before the throne and the Lamb – with joy. This is in sharp contrast with others who, when they find themselves also in the presence of the Lamb, experience it as torture. The location is the same, but the significant difference is their internal beliefs about God rather than God's disposition toward them.
They cried with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation be to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!
I have come to believe that this is one place where it is made most clear what the core issue of the war is all about. Salvation is primarily for God, not just about us.
After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, "Hallelujah! Salvation, power, and glory belong to our God: (Revelation 19:1)
I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now is come the salvation, the power, and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ; for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night." (Revelation 12:10)
Our perceptions about who needs vindicating, who needs saving, who needs all the attention has become so distorted by the accusations of the prime enemy of God that many are surprised when it is even suggested that God needs saving more than anyone. Because we don't appreciate the true definitions of these words we find it incongruent to imagine that God might need saving in any way. We picture Him as so far distant from our situation and so immune to any threat that we might accuse someone of blasphemy for even suggesting that God might be vulnerable in some way and in need of salvation. Yet here in Revelation we find a fuller disclosure of the real truth and the nature of the war that has crippled God's government and brought so much damage to His reputation, limiting His authority to govern according to the principles embedded within the design of creation. This may sound scandalous, but if we are willing to step away from our prejudices and religious bigotry far enough to listen to Jesus' version of what is going on, we may be very surprised.
These people see the core issue of the war – God's reputation has been attacked and requires saving and vindication. Jesus, the Lamb of God, came to reveal the real truth about God's character and love. This multitude has allowed God to reflect His character through them and transform them to be reshaped into same likeness as Christ, so the witness of their life and words affirm the truth about God's innocence and goodness. They join their testimony with the Lamb's to bring salvation to God's reputation. They affirm that the Lamb is correct in how He reveals the true humility, kindness and sterling integrity of God's character. The salvation of the redeemed is linked to God's salvation, for only as they view God as fully righteous with no darkness at all in Him can they be saved from the lies about God that is at the root of all sin.
We must come to see clearly the method that alone will restore God's universe to harmony, peace and love again, and accomplish this in a way to make it impossible for rebellion and sin to ever reoccur. We find this over and over throughout this book, and this is the theme that needs to become the theme song of our heart increasingly if we are to benefit from this exposure to the truth that sets us free from fear and sin and death. It is the composition of the New Song, and this song, this mindset, this chosen perspective is the only thing that has the power to defeat all evil, to overcome all other threats or powers or authority. This is heartfelt, genuine praise that honors the real truth about God.
Every time we see this reference to God's salvation it is seen being presented in a very loud way. Yet I don't believe that cranking up the volume on our sound systems will accomplish increasing praise for God. That is part of our problem, for we have been conditioned to think in external terms while the real battle is over our heart allegiance. This loudness I believe, has rather to do with the compelling nature of authenticity, the power of a life that is completely congruent in every aspect, both internally and externally. The life that reflects the heart of God is the true power that presents an irrefutable argument that adds its powerful weight to the restoration of God's reputation, which is what this war is all about. The vindication of God and the full restoration of His authority and government will only be achieved as all who come to appreciate and embrace the truth of His consistent goodness and love, allow His Spirit to authenticate them and add to the chorus of praise until at last this praise that exposes the real truth defeats all the lies and darkness and fear that holds the enemy's kingdom together.
This requires a massive sea-change of perspective on our part, a clear shift away from behavior-oriented salvation to living a life of joyful submission as our will is transformed to synchronize with the will of God's love. What we are witnessing today all around us is Satan's massive assault of fear, designed to keep us distracted with foreboding or greedy for finding some advantage over others around us in a desperate rush for survival and self-protection. This is very intentional and will increase exponentially very quickly. But if we are willing to accept the Lamb's perspective on what is truly important and what needs to saturate our imagination all the time, we will learn to join into the chorus of increasing praise for God and the Lamb that alone has the power to liberate us from all our fears, whether or not life improves or falls apart completely.
This is the message of Revelation that must not be missed or skimmed over, at the risk of our own salvation. The New Song is central to the core message of Revelation and the war at large. Choosing to practice, learn and participate in this song of continuous praise for God and making this the primary occupation of our thoughts, our attention, our scenario-thinking is our only hope. This is what it means to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
It is my growing awareness of this that increasingly convinces me that our current study of this book is not coincidental but is God's offer to me personally to receive right training to enter into His military service. To serve and follow the Lamb requires relying on praise as the primary weapon of choice, and eliminating from our life all intimidation, resistance and fear. Perfect love exterminates all fear. But the choice is still left up to me and to each one of us, whether we will be willing to move past simply talking about this with curious fascination to actually allowing these truths to take over our lives and to become the absorbing content of our attention.
our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb
Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. (Psalms 22:3 NRSV)
It is becoming abundantly clear now from the evidence pouring out from Revelation, that those who overcome will do so by choosing to remain fixated on praising and trusting in the Lamb and the One who sits on the throne. God is exalted by those who praise the truth about Him, not by pretending to worship Him while attempting to change His mind about them through good works or sacrifices or religious ritual performances.
Praise is how we embrace the truth that God is good all the time and is not the source of any evil in our lives.
Praise is how love is allowed to get into the deep places inside our heart and mind to achieve healing and restoration to wholeness (holiness).
Praise, gratitude and magnifying the truth of God's unconditional love and forgiveness is how we keep ourselves in the love of God (Jude 21) and allow it to permeate the atmosphere that emanates from us to others. Fixating on the revelation of God's heart by the Lamb and following the Lamb wherever He goes is the only way we will find joy, peace and victory. And in doing this we enthrone and lift up the God of Israel, which literally means overcomer.
