Lesson 20: A Great Multitude Saved

Revelation 7:9- 17
9 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,
10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,
12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?”
14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “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.
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 shelter them with His presence.
16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.
17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and He will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”


As we read in the last lesson, the great multitude of people who accept Jesus as their Savior during the Tribulation, but are killed for their faith in Him, are celebrating before the throne of God. Palm branches have always been connected with great celebration in the Bible; the times after the Israelites were freed from Egypt (Leviticus 23:40), until their return from Babylon to rebuilding Jerusalem (Nehemiah 8:15-17), until Jesus’ time when He entered Jerusalem on the back of a donkey (John 12:13) just a week before He would be killed.

We see four distinct groups around the throne, all worshiping God together: angels, elders, four living creatures, and the multitude with the palm branches. One of the elders’ question to John reveals that the great multitude are these saints from the Tribulation period. Therefore, the elders must be the church. Just as there are two groups of human believers, there are also two groups of angels – the regular angels and the four living creatures. Regular angels are messengers God uses to do specific jobs, like announcing Jesus’ birth to the shepherds (Luke 2:8-14). The four living creatures are cherubim – the specific guardians of God’s throne (images on the Ark of the Covenant in Exodus 25:18-20, and seen in Ezekiel 1:4-8).

*What does the promise that God personally protects these people who had been killed for their faith in Him (verses 15-17) tell you about His love for you?