Deo Gloria
Sermon for May 8, 2022
Pastor Martin Bentz
Text: Revelation 7:9-17
Theme: Set Your Sights on Your Heavenly Home!
- Who will be there
- What it will be like
Hawaii–Bill had always wanted to go to Hawaii, but he never really had an opportunity to go, until this year. You see, one of the incentives Bill’s company is offering this year is a trip to Hawaii. All those who reach the $250,000 mark in sales will be rewarded with a free trip to Hawaii. Bill is excited. Bill is determined. He even taped a picture of Waikiki Beach on his refrigerator. Every time he goes to the frig and sees that picture, it reminds him of his goal and motivates him to work that much harder to reach it. Bill has his sights set on Hawaii.
This morning we see a picture—not a picture of Waikiki Beach, but a fantastic picture of our eternal home in heaven. That’s our goal in life: to be in heaven some day. And that’s why God has given us this picture: to motivate us and encourage us, to keep our eyes and our hearts focused on the goal. Set your sights on your heavenly home!
The book of Revelation is a different kind of book, completely different from any other book in the New Testament. It is not an account of Jesus’ life and ministry, like the Gospel of John, for instance. It is not a letter that Paul wrote to a group of Christians in Greece or Asia Minor. The book of Revelation is a vision, a vision seen by John and recorded by him while he was exiled on the island of Patmos. What John saw in this vision is a fantastic picture of future events. He saw in a general way what will take place throughout the history of the world. He saw the end of the world and Judgment Day. And yes, he even saw heaven itself. But all of these things are portrayed in a surreal sort of way–not in a literal way, but in a symbolical way, with all kinds of symbolism and imagery. It’s important to keep that in mind as we read this book so we don’t misunderstand its message.
In the first part of ch. 7 we see a picture of God’s people on earth—all 144,000 of them. Yes, you guessed it, this is where some people get the idea that there will only be 144,000 people in heaven; but they’re missing the point. The people that are pictured here are on earth not in heaven. And the number 144,000 is a symbolical number not a literal one. Without going into all the details, it simply represents all of God’s people. So first we see a picture of God’s people on earth.
Then in the second part of the chapter the focus switches to heaven. Here we find a picture of God’s people in heaven. And this is how John describes it:
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. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb”(vv. 9+10).
The first thing we want to note about our heavenly home is who will be there. As John saw, there will be many people there, lots of people, “a great multitude that no one could count from every nation, tribe, people and language.” There will German people there, of course, and Swedish people and Italian people. But they won’t be the only ones. There will be people there from Japan and China and Africa and India and Mexico and Chile and you name it. All of God’s people will be there—no matter where they lived or what country they were part of or what language they happened to speak–they all will be together in heaven. So what we see is exactly what Jesus said: “Many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven”(Mt 8:11).
Secondly, John tells us that this great multitude of people was wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. The white robes I’m going to touch on a little later. For now I just want you to take note of them. The palm branches were used in festive celebrations, to celebrate a victory or the coming of a king. Remember how the people of Jerusalem celebrated the coming of Jesus on Palm Sunday with palm branches? Heaven will be like that, one great, big celebration, like the victory celebration in downtown St. Paul after the Wild win the Stanley Cup. OK., I know I’m getting ahead of myself, but I can hope, right? In heaven I won’t have to hope. In heaven it will be an unending celebration of the victory Jesus won for his people.
And notice too what their victory cry will be: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” God’s people don’t stand around and congratulate one another. They don’t try to take the credit for their salvation: “Hey, we worked really hard to get here. We practiced our good works and we said our prayers every night and we went to church every Sunday. And we did it.” No, all the credit goes to God. “Salvation belongs to our God…and to the Lamb.”
Next, skip down to verses 13+14, where we learn a little more about the people who will be in heaven.
Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they and where did they come from?”
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.”
Unfortunately, the NIV translation is a little bit misleading here. The verb that John uses is a present tense verb, a verb that describes ongoing action in present time. In other words, a better translation would read, “These are they who are coming out of the great tribulation.” You see, the great tribulation is not some 7 year period at the end of time or before the beginning of the millennium, from which God’s people will be spared by being “raptured” out of the world. The “great tribulation” is the tribulation and suffering that every Christian endures. It’s what the Christians back in John’s day were experiencing—persecution and suffering on account of their faith, pain and suffering from living in a sinful world. It’s what Christians today experience as well—persecution and suffering on account of their faith, pain and suffering from living in a sinful world. When they die, they leave this world of pain and suffering behind. They come out of this “great tribulation” and they join the rest of God’s people in heaven.
Notice also what they are wearing: white robes. White, of course, is a symbol of purity and holiness. But here’s the question: How did they get to be that way? Is this the way they were on their own? Did these people live such holy and righteous lives here on earth that they were good enough to get into heaven on their own? Absolutely not! John tells us how their robes got to be so spotless and clean: “They washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Their robes were dirty, stained with sin, like everyone else’s, like yours and mine. Filthy thoughts, filthy words, dirty deeds done in secret and in public—their robes were covered with the dirt and filth of sin. And Jesus took them all away. He, of course, is the Lamb, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world by the blood he shed on the cross. More than that, he is the perfect Lamb of God, the one who gives his holiness and perfection to us. As Paul states in Galatians, ch. 3, “All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ”(v. 27). Amazing, isn’t it? God not only takes away our dirty, filthy, sin-stained clothes, but he also wraps us in the robe of Jesus’ righteousness. That’s how their robes came to be so white and spotless and clean, and that’s what makes them qualified to live with God in heaven. They are holy and righteous through the Lamb.
Do you see yourself in that picture? No, I know you’re not in heaven yet. Right now you’re still in the tribulation part. You’re still experiencing the suffering and pain and persecution that Christians have always experienced in a corrupt and sinful world. But by the grace of God one day you will be. One day you will be part of that great multitude from every nation and tribe and people and language. One day you too will be standing before the throne of God, worshipping God with the saints and angels, celebrating the victory your Savior has won for you, dressed in a white robe, a robe washed clean in the blood of the Lamb, a robe that is already yours through faith in Jesus Christ and that qualifies you to enter heaven. That’s the goal. That’s where we want to be someday. Set your sights on your heavenly home.
The other thing we want to note about our heavenly home is what it will be like. John paints the picture for us, beginning in v. 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. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center 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”(vv. 15-17)
Obviously, there are many different aspects concerning life in heaven that are mentioned in these verses, but I’d like to focus on just three of them.
One is that we will live in the presence of God. Being reunited with loved ones who have died will, of course, be a wonderful part of heaven. Meeting people like Moses and David and Noah and Daniel and getting to know them will be wonderful and exciting too. But can you imagine living with God in his palace, serving him day and night in his temple, living with him in his tent? Oh yes, in the Old Testament God lived among his people as they made their way from Egypt to the Promised Land. But he had his tent—the tabernacle—and they had theirs. In heaven we actually get to live with God in his tent. Wouldn’t it be cool if you and your family were invited to the White House and got to live with the President for a week, if you got to sit in the Oval Office, if you got to sleep in the Lincoln bedroom? You and I will get to live with the President of the universe not just for a week or two, but forever! That’s what we have to look forward to in heaven.
Another feature about life in heaven that I’d like to touch on is the “no more” feature, or the “never again” feature. Life in heaven will be so wonderful and so awesome and so much better than this life that sometimes the Biblical writers have trouble describing it for us. Often they describe it in terms of this life but then only as way of telling us what it won’t be like. “Never again will they hunger,” John says; “never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them nor any scorching heat.” We who live in Minnesota could add our own list of never-agains: Never again will it be 30 degrees and snowing ice pellets on Easter Sunday. Never again will it be 90 degrees one day and 50 degrees the next. Never again will we have to shovel the driveway. Never again will we have to swat a mosquito. Never again will we get sick or come down with the flu. Never again will we have to go the hospital and pay another doctor bill. Never again will we have to go to a funeral or a cemetery, which also ties into something John mentions in the last verse: “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” In heaven there will be no more grief and sadness, only joy. That is what we have to look forward to in heaven.
The other aspect of life in heaven is that we will enjoy the loving care of our Shepherd Jesus. The same one who shed his blood for us on Calvary’s cross to make us holy and righteous will watch over us and care for us in heaven. He himself will protect us. We will never be afraid. He himself will provide for us. We will never have to worry about food or clothes or having enough money to pay our bills. He will take care of everything. In the 23rd Psalm the Lord our Shepherd is pictured as leading his people, his sheep, beside quiet waters, waters that are safe for them to drink and bring rest and peace to their souls. Here the picture is slightly different. Instead of leading us to quiet waters, our Shepherd Jesus leads us to springs of living water, water that will do more than simply quench our thirst, water that will give us life and sustain our lives forever. That is what we have to look forward to in heaven.
A picture on your refrigerator can be a great motivational tool. It can help you remember your goals and where you want to be some day. In these verses from Revelation ch. 7 God gives us a picture, not one we can tape up on our refrigerator but one we can treasure in our hearts. He gives us a little glimpse of our glorious home in heaven to encourage us and remind us of our goal in life and where we want to be some day: with him in heaven. Set your sights on your heavenly home! Amen.