SERMON ON REVELATION 7:9-17, November 11, 2007

Dr. Marshall C. St. John, Pastor
Wayside Presbyterian Church
Signal Mountain, TN 37377

Rest From the Holy War

Introduction: Today is Veterans Day. It used to be called Armistice Day.

Armistice Day is the anniversary of the official end of World War I, November 11, 1918. It commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning -- the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month." While this official date to mark the end of the war reflects the ceasefire on the Western Front, hostilities continued in other regions, especially across the former Russian Empire and in parts of the old Ottoman Empire.

The date was a national holiday in many of the former allied nations to allow people to commemorate those members of the armed forces who were killed during war. After World War II, it was changed to Veterans Day in the United States and to Remembrance Day in the British Commonwealth of Nations. Armistice Day is an official holiday in France. It is also an official holiday in Belgium, known also as the day of peace in the Flanders Fields.

In many parts of the world, people take two minutes of silence at 11:00 in the morning as a sign of respect for the roughly eight million who died in the war, as suggested by Edward George Honey in a letter to a British newspaper though Wellesley Tudor Pole established two ceremonial periods of remembrance based on events in 1917. Beginning in 1939, the two-minute silence was moved to the Sunday nearest the 11th, in order not to interfere with wartime production should the 11th fall on a weekday. This was stopped at some point and many people observe silences on the actual 11th.

Veterans Day in the USA is largely intended to thank veterans for their service, to acknowledge that their contributions to United States national security are appreciated, and to underscore the fact that all those who served - not only those who died - have sacrificed and done their duty.

Veterans Day reminds me of the Book of Revelation, because it is a book about Jesus' Veterans, you and me, and all who have gone before, and all who are still to come, who are enlisted in God's great war with Satan. We ARE in a spiritual war. Satan IS walking about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. There ARE many of our brothers and sisters who have given their lives as Christ's martyrs, and there will be more to come. So Veterans day reminds me of the situation we find ourselves in today, and the situation described in the Book of Revelation.

But someday the war will be over. Revelation 7:9-17 is a pause in the Book of Revelation, in which Christ reveals to us a foretaste of our happiness in Heaven.

This passage may be thought of as a Rest Area on the highway of the Christian life. It may be thought of as "R and R" for the Christian soldier....A rest along the way.

Revelation 7:9-17

• 9 After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no-one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.
• 10 And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb."
• 11 All the angels were standing round the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshipped God,
• 12 saying: "Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honour and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!"
• 13 Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes- who are they, and where did they come from?"
• 14 I answered, "Sir, you know." And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
• 15 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 spread his tent over them.
• 16 Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat.
• 17 For the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

A Hint of the Extent of the Victory of Christ in Four Aspects

I. Christ shall save a Great Multitude. Eternal Life is God's Gift to a Great Multitude, not just a few.

Rev. 7:9 SEEMS to contradict Matthew 7:13-14 but it doesn't, really.

• 13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
• 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

The parallel passage in Luke 13:24-29 explains in more detail that Jesus means that fewer Jewish than Gentile will be in Heaven.

• 24 "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.
• 25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ "But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’
• 26 "Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’
• 27 "But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’
• 28 "There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out.
• 29 People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.

• 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
• 12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God

Romans 5:17-19 speaks of the great multitude of the saved:

• 17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
• 18 Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.
• 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

I believe that the number of the saved in Heaven will vastly exceed the number of the lost who go to Hell. Shall the fall of Adam overshadow the victory of Christ? Shall the majority of the human race be lost or saved? Would it not dishonor Christ to say that His death on the cross purchased redemption for just a small minority? Is God willing that mankind should be saved, or is God willing that mankind should be lost? What does the Bible say?

2 Peter 3:9 says: "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."

2 Cor 5:19 says: "God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them."

I John 2:1-2: "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defence-Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world."

And in Colossians chapter two we read of His great victory over Satan:

• 13 ¶ When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,
• 14 having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.
• 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Was Christ defeated at the cross, or was Christ victorious at the cross? Was He beaten, or was He triumphant? Did He just hurt Satan a little bit, or did Christ give Satan a smashing defeat? What sort of victory could Christ claim, if the majority of the human race went to Hell? Will Satan be more successful than Christ? Will Satan victoriously claim most of the human race? I don't think so. Surely, there are SOME who are lost forever. But I am convinced that the power of Christ and His victory tell us that most of humanity must be redeemed.

• 9 After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no-one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.
• 10 And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb."

II. Christ shall save people from all over the globe. Eternal life is for every race and nationality. The great multitude of the saved in Heaven come from every nation, tribe, people and language.

There should be no place for racial discrimination in the heart of any Christian. God loves no race more than He loves any other. Jesus died for men, women and children of all races. Whatever race you may be, you are my brother or sister in Christ. Let us treat all men fairly with the love of Christ. How foolish to send missionaries to India, but not make friends HERE with Indians. How foolish to send missionaries to China, or Japan or Sudan, and not make friends with the Chinese, the Japanese and the Sudanese HERE.

III. Christ shall wash away all our sins. All of the Saved wear white robes and carry palm branches. The white robes symbolize that our sins have been washed away by the blood of the lamb (God's sacrificial lamb). The palm branches indicate that they recognize Christ as the conquering hero, riding in victory into the gates of the city of God.

IV. Christ shall shower upon us the blessings of Heaven. What will Heaven be like?

• 1. We shall enjoy the company of the angels, and worship God together with them.
• 2. We shall be near the throne of God, near to God Himself.
• 3. We shall serve Him.
• 4. We shall be protected, preserved and welcomed by Him.
• 5. The lamb will be our Shepherd, and lead us to springs of living water.
• 6. There will be relief from every sorrow, and no more tears.

These promises are repeated in Revelation 21:1-4

• 1 ¶ Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.
• 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
• 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.
• 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

And in Revelation 22:1-5

• 1 ¶ Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb
• 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
• 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.
• 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
• 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

Summarize: This passage is a rest stop in the Book of Revelation. Here, Christ gives us a hint of the glory of eternal life.

• 1. Christ shall save a vast multitude of humanity.
• 2. Christ shall save many from every race and nation.
• 3. Christ shall wash away ALL our sins.
• 4. Christ shall open to us all the joys of Heaven.