Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction:

I want to start with a quote from Tony Campolo’s book, Wake Up America!

Some homeless teenagers who grew up on Philadelphia’s streets beat to death a Korean honors graduate from Eastern College doing graduate studies in medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

The victim had been mailing a letter to his family at home in Korea.

The parents sat silently through his murderers’ entire trial, asking merely for an opportunity to speak at the end.

After the guilty verdict they knelt before the judge, and “before a stunned audience these parents begged … the judge to release their son’s murderers to them so that they could give the boys the home and care they had never had.

These Korean parents were Christians, they explained to the judge, and they wanted to show something of the grace they had received from God to those who had done them such grievous evil.

The judge, who newspaper reporters claimed had a reputation for being hard and unemotional, had tears in his eyes as he explained to the parents, ‘That is not the way our system of justice works!’ ” By their forgiveness, the parents testified of a kingdom utterly different from the kingdoms of this world, a kingdom for which all long who dare to believe its existence.

This morning we will take a look at another testimony to that Kingdom these same parents belong in Revelation chapter 7.

Transition:

You may recall from last week that this Revelation 7 started an interlude and is a vision showing the situation of the people of God, but from two different perspectives.

First, in vv.1–8, we see God’s people sealed or protected and prepared for spiritual battle.

Second, then this morning we will see starting in 9, God’s people celebrating in heaven following their victorious endurance through the great tribulation.

Scripture Reading:

Revelation 7:9–17

Along with the preceding chapter six in the sixth seal, our passage here retells the idea that all these new believers during this time should expect to suffer as a normal part of following Jesus (e.g., “these are they who have come out of the great tribulation,” v. 14).

No saint escapes the tribulation unharmed.

But this passage emphasizes the victory more than the suffering.

Throughout the whole narrative of the Bible, YHWH sustains His people with His protective presence.

YHWH has always desired to live among His people (e.g., the tabernacle, the temple, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the church as the temple of the Spirit, and the new heaven and new earth).

This amazing celebration here in Chapter 7:9–17 proves to us that our present sufferings are not worthy to be compared to life in God’s glorious presence in the future (see Rom. 8:18; 2 Cor.

4:17–5:1; Jude 24–25; Rev. 21:1–4).

Eugene Boring sums it up this way:

“As 7:1–8 presents the church militant on earth, sealed and drawn up in battle formation before the coming struggle, 7:9–17 presents the church after the battle, triumphant in heaven.”

As chapter 7 comes to a close, we anticipate a climactic scene with the opening of the seventh seal.

The drama intensifies all right, but in an unexpected way.

Transition:

This morning, I want to look at the “who,” “what,” and “why” so that we may celebrate as well.

First this passage reveals “the what”:

I.

The Great What: Worship (vv.9-12)

the first thing we see with this whole crowd is worship, and they have brought something interesting in their hands:

Similar to Revelation 5:5–6, where John hears about a lion and turns to see a lamb, so now he hears about the 144,000 from Israel (7:4) and turns to see a great multitude.

In this second part of the chapter 7 vision, John now sees the church triumphant in heaven from an eternal perspective.

This innumerable multitude is drawn from every people group, fulfilling God’s promised blessings to Abraham in the Abrahamic covenant that he would have descendants too numerous to count.

And this multicultural company stands before the throne of God and before the Lamb, once again demonstrating Jesus’s unity with God.

They are wearing white robes, symbolizing purity and victory, and holding palm branches, another image signifying victory & symbolizing the joy of this occasion, as they stood before God and the Lamb

The great multitude cries out in worship of God and the Lamb for providing “salvation,” (sōtēria) a term that in this context emphasizes victory or deliverance from evil, including the power of sin and the resulting judgment.

God has been faithful to provide salvation through the sacrifice of the Lamb and to protect his people through tribulation.

For this, the triune Godhead is worthy of exuberant praise.

Dr. Stephen S. Smalley is quoted saying that “the air is thick with angels in Revelation” as they encircle the throne and, along with the great multitude, comprise the heavenly chorus.

Most people see this as a hymn

Hymns in Revelation

Scott Duvall, says in his commentary that “By some counts, there are over twenty hymns in Revelation, with most occurring in Chapters: 1; 4; 5; here in 7; 11; 12; 14; 15; 16; and then in chapter 19.

In every case, these expressions of worship are directed toward either YHWH or Jesus, the Christ (or both).

They are sung by John, the four living creatures, the twenty-four elders, other angels, the people of God, heavenly voices, or all created beings.

They are spoken, sung, or shouted, and are often accompanied by falling down, crying out, and playing instruments.

They take various forms: doxology, acclamation, amen, victory hymn, thanksgiving, and praise.

Most importantly, the hymns bring attention to attributes (e.g., holiness, glory, power, strength, wisdom) and actions (creating, being slain, bringing salvation, judging, rewarding, defeating evil, the arrival of the wedding of the Lamb) of God and the Lamb.

Since music played a vital role in the emperor cult, it is no surprise that Revelation uses music to honor God and the Lamb, while simultaneously shaping and strengthening the allegiance of the worshipers.”

Their sevenfold doxology fully and completely praises YHWH for rescuing an innumerable people and bringing them into his presence.

The Doctrine of Salvation involves not only rescuing people from their past sins, but also bringing them into God’s eternal presence.

God’s purposes in creation have now been fulfilled.

Their praise is twice affirmed with an “Amen!”— “TRUE” it is true.

Illustration:

I want you to picture for a moment: what if the worship here at Grace Baptist Church looked something like what we’re reading here in Revelation?

Could we possibly do something more to make our worship look more like heaven’s worship?

Transition:

So that answers “The Great what.”

Now let’s take a moment to look specifically at:

II.

The Great Who: Martyrs (vv.13-14)

Who is this great multitude?

One of the “elders” asks a rhetorical question aimed at clarifying the identity of the great multitude for John and his readers.

Who in the world, or should I say “in the heaven” is this elder?

You might remember in chapter 4, when John was describing what the throne room of heaven looks like, he mentioned 24 elders there.

In chapter 4, we discussed that these elders were indeed humans and concluded with the sure identity that they are 24 elders who serve in the presence of God as gatekeepers and who are responsible for overseeing and guarding the worship around the throne—perhaps they are part of the raptured church.

Okay then, who exactly are the people that make up the great multitude?

Their “white robes” seem to connect them with the martyrs in 6:11.

The elder/angel explains that they “have come out of the great tribulation.”

The verb translated “coming out” is a present participle meaning that the grammar suggests an event that is still in progress—that is, these people have just come through this tribulation period and arrived victoriously in heaven.

In other words, these saints are coming out of, or from, the Great Tribulation one by one by one by one as they’re experiencing death through martyrdom.

The robes of the “vast multitude” (v.

9) being washed white in the blood of the Lamb could speak of martyrdom but more likely refers to the redemptive blood of Christ (1:5; 5:9).

This is the main support verse for mid-tribulation rapture because the “vast multitude” being removed in relation to the great tribulation (referred to in Dn 12:1 and Mt 24:21) could refer to the rapture of the church, just before the great tribulation, if that period does not begin until the events in the scroll are released by the lifting of the seventh seal.

Either way, Revelation portrays “tribulation” as intense suffering that includes persecution, imprisonment, poverty, and possibly death.

Paradoxically, these victor saints have washed their robes in red blood to make them white.

Their faith in the blood (or sacrificial death) of Christ has resulted in their redemption and purification.

Transition:

As soon as the great multitude arrives in heaven, they begin to worship with all the other heavenly creatures.

But why, why worship in a time like this?

III.

The Great Why: Care (vv.15-17)

The multitude’s priestly service to the heavenly sanctuary is a partial fulfillment of the promises of Rev 1:6 and Rev 5:10.

This passage looks ahead to the equating of the “vast multitude” with the heaven dwellers in Rev 12:12 and Rev 13:6.

Because these believers have persevered through tribulation by virtue of their faith in the atoning work of Christ, they now experience the blessings of the eternal presence of God and the Lamb.

They are related to God in three specific ways.

First, they are before his throne, indicating they are now standing in God’s very presence.

Second, they “serve” (latreuō) him continuously in his temple, meaning they serve primarily through worship (cf.

Rom.

12:1; Phil.

3:3).

We see at the end of Revelation that the heavenly temple should be associated with the presence of God (Rev.

21:3–4, 22; 22:3; cf.

Ezek.

37:26–28).

Third, God’s presence will “shelter” or “tabernacle over” his people (skēnoō).

This could even recall to John’s readers YHWH’s protection and guidance of His people during their wilderness journey by covering them with the presence of His Shekinah Glory (e.g., Exod.

13:21–22; 33:7–11; 40:34–38).

This verse is really the promises originally made to the exiles returning to Jerusalem from Babylon and now provide a fitting description of how God plans to remove all pain and suffering: [[Isaiah 49:10]].

It is very likely that this Isaiah passage has double fulfillment—First to the Jews, then to the Gentiles in our passage.

These promises are especially meaningful to people living in a hot, dry climate where water and shelter are scarce.

This protection and care now comes from the Lamb at the center of the throne (again, unity with God) who now shepherds his people.