Who Are These? • Revelation 7:9-17 • All Saints' Sunday, November 2, 2025

The Joy That Awaits: A Vision of Glory Beyond the Great Tribulation

Have you ever experienced a moment of pure, spontaneous celebration? Picture this: Your favorite team just hit a game-winning home run in the bottom of the ninth. What do you do? You leap to your feet. You high-five strangers. You shout at the top of your lungs without a second thought. That reaction isn't calculated or rehearsed—it erupts from somewhere deep within, powered by pure joy.

Now imagine that same spontaneous energy, multiplied by infinity, echoing through the courts of heaven.

A Multitude No One Could Number

The book of Revelation gives us a breathtaking glimpse into eternity—a moment when every believer who has ever lived stands together in the presence of the glorified Christ. This isn't just another worship service. This is the first time that countless saints from every nation, tribe, people, and language see Jesus in His full glory.

The scene is overwhelming: "After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands."

What happens next? They don't politely whisper. They don't offer a subdued "yep" of acknowledgment. No—they cry out with a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb!"

This is spontaneous worship at its purest. This is joy unleashed. This is what happens when finite beings encounter infinite glory.

When Heaven Responds

But the celebration doesn't stop with humanity. The angels, the elders, and the four living creatures join in. Picture it: all of heaven erupting in unified praise, declaring, "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen!"

This is the reality that awaits every believer. Yet how often do we live as though we've forgotten this promise? How often does our faith feel more like obligation than celebration? How often do we respond to the resurrection with a casual "yep" instead of explosive joy?

The Question That Changes Everything

In this heavenly scene, one of the elders asks a penetrating question: "Who are these clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?"

The elder already knows the answer. But like a parent teaching a child by asking questions rather than simply lecturing, the elder draws out the truth to help us understand it more deeply.

The answer comes: "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."

The Great Tribulation

What is this "great tribulation"? It's not some distant future event alone—it's the entire span of human history from the fall of Adam and Eve until Christ returns. It encompasses every moment of suffering, every tear shed, every persecution endured, every believer who has faced opposition for their faith.

Right now, in places like Nigeria, thousands of Christians are being slaughtered for their faith. In Afghanistan, Iran, and North Korea, believers face daily persecution. Throughout history, from Old Testament prophets to modern martyrs, God's people have suffered.

The great tribulation is the crucible through which every believer passes—some through violent persecution, others through illness, loss, or the daily struggle against sin and a broken world.

Washed White in the Blood

The imagery is striking: white robes made clean by blood. It defies logic. Blood stains; it doesn't purify. But this is the blood of Christ—the blood shed through scourging, crucifixion, and the spear thrust into His side. This blood doesn't stain; it cleanses. It removes the worst stain of all: sin.

We don't have a bottle of Christ's blood sitting by our washing machines, but spiritually, it's the only thing that can truly make us clean. The righteousness we wear isn't our own—it's His, covering our shame and making us presentable before a holy God.

The Blessings of Glory

What awaits those who emerge from the great tribulation? The promises might seem simple at first glance, but they're profound:

"They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore. The sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat."

Think about the millions who go hungry daily. Think about those denied food because of their faith. Think about the basic human suffering that marks our fallen world. All of it—gone.

"For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water."

The crucified Lamb becomes the eternal Shepherd, leading His people to perpetual refreshment and life.

The Final Promise

And then comes perhaps the most tender promise of all: "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

Every tear shed over a loved one's suffering. Every tear from personal pain. Every tear from witnessing injustice. Every tear from our own failures and sins. God Himself will wipe them all away.

No more pain. No more suffering. No more death. No more separation. Only joy, only peace, only life in the presence of the One who gave everything to make it possible.

Living in Light of Glory

This vision of glory isn't meant to be a distant dream we barely remember. It's meant to transform how we live today. The joy that awaits us should fill us with joy right now. The hope of glory should give us strength in tribulation. The promise of eternal service before God's throne should inspire willing, joyful service in His kingdom today.

Too often we serve out of obligation, offering excuses when volunteers are needed. But in glory, the response isn't "I have to serve"—it's "I get to serve!" I get to serve the Savior who gave His life for me. I get to serve the One who loved me so much that He endured the cross to give me life.

Can we capture even a glimpse of that attitude now? Can we let the reality of resurrection joy transform our daily walk?

Christ Is Risen

The tomb is empty. Death is defeated. The Lamb who was slain is alive forevermore. And because He lives, we will live also. The great tribulation has an end. The suffering is temporary. The glory is eternal.

This isn't just historical fact or future hope—it's present reality. The same Jesus who died and rose again is with us now, preparing us for that moment when we join the great multitude in spontaneous, joyful worship.

So let the joy begin today. Let the celebration start now. Because Christ is risen—He is risen indeed!

(Content generated by PulpitAI from sermon transcript)