Week 50: Bringing Eternity into the Present

This week's reading unfolds like this:

* Sunday (Epistles): 2 John
* Monday (The Law): Deuteronomy 26-28
* Tuesday (History): Ezra 6-10
* Wednesday (Psalms): Psalms 143-145
* Thursday (Poetry): Song of Solomon 3-4
* Friday (Prophecy): Revelation 7-11
* Saturday (Gospels): Acts 23-24


Scripture: Revelation 7:9-11
"After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. And they were shouting with a mighty shout,
“'Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne
and from the Lamb!'

"And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living beings. And they fell before the throne with their faces to the ground and worshiped God. They sang,

“'Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom
and thanksgiving and honor
and power and strength belong to our God
forever and ever! Amen.'”

Observation:
Revelation is a hard book to understand...and it seems that the less clear a passage is, the more adamantly people assert their interpretations. The Book of Revelation, perhaps more than any other book in the Bible, has been the subject of endless controversies and misinterpretations.

The message of Revelation is really very simple. In a word it is, WE WIN!

And this passage presents a beautiful picture of our victory.

Just before these verses, John mentions 144,000 who were sealed from all the tribes of Israel. Problem is, the tribe of Dan is missing. The same group of people is mentioned again in chapter 14, but there, if we take the passage literally, we see that the group consists only of men (those who have not defiled themselves with women).

Here's my best guess at what all this means...

John uses numbers in the Book of Revelation to represent certain things. The number 12 (and its multiples) signify God's people (like the 12 tribes of Israel and the people of the 12 Apostles). The number 10 and its multiples represent wholeness or completeness. When John adds or multiplies the number 12, he is alluding to God's people in both the old and new covenants (the 24 elders that cast their crowns before the throne, for example, are representatives of the 12 tribes of Israel and the people of the 12 Apostles). Here (and in chapter 14), John uses the following equation: 12 x 12 x 1,000 = 144,000.

Bottom line: the 144,000, and the innumerable crowd mentioned in these verses, is one and the same. The totality of God's chosen, saved people...which includes you and me!

And look at what they are singing. Do you recognize the words? We sing this song at Woodhaven.

Application:
Every time we sing this song, we are leaning into our future as God's chosen and saved people. Next time we sing this, let's remember that!

Prayer:
O Lord, thank you for giving us a glimpse of heaven in this passage. Help to stay focused on the fact that we are your people...and that every time we sing praises to you, we help to bring eternity into the present. Praise and glory be to you! In Jesus' name. Amen!

Have a blessed week!

Faithfully,
Chuck