17  Tribulation Saints  (Revelation 7:9–17)

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” 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, saying, “Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.” Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?” I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. They will hunger no more, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.” (7:9–17)

There have been many times of great response to the gospel throughout history, including the church’s birth on the Day of Pentecost, the Reformation in Europe in the sixteenth century, and the Great Awakening in America in the eighteenth century. During those powerful movements of God’s saving grace, thousands came to faith in Jesus Christ. It has ever been the prayer of God’s people that God would bring in such great harvests of souls, and often He has answered.

But there is coming in the future a worldwide response to the gospel that will far exceed any other in history and maybe all others combined. It will sweep the globe in just a few short years and produce a vast multitude of redeemed people from all the nations, making it the greatest movement of God’s saving power the world will ever see.

Anticipation of that great “revival” is consistent with the fact that God is a merciful, gracious God who is by nature a Savior and desires people to be saved. First Timothy 2:4 declares that He “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Second Peter 3:9 adds, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” The common biblical designation of God as Savior reflects His desire that people be saved (e. g., Ps. 106:21; Isa. 43:3, 11; 45:15, 21; 49:26; 60:16; 63:8; Hos. 13:4; Luke 1:47; 2:11; 1 Tim. 2:3; 2 Tim. 1:10; Titus 1:3; 2:10, 13; 3:4, 6; 2 Pet. 1:1).

In 1 Timothy 4:10 God is designated as the “Savior of all men, especially of believers.” He is the “Savior of all men” in a temporal, physical (common grace) sense; that is, He allows sinners deserving of instant death and hell to continue to live on earth. The fact that He does not destroy them in hell immediately when they sin indicates His saving disposition. He is the Savior of believers, however, in an eternal and spiritual sense. To those who receive the gospel He gives eternal heaven and existence in its glories forever.

In the future, God will put His spiritual and eternal salvation on display at a most unexpected time. In fact, He will do so during the worst time in all of human history. It will be the time of Satan’s fury, as he and his demon hosts ravage the world. It will be the time of unparalleled wickedness, as the Holy Spirit removes His restraining influence (2 Thess. 2:7). It will be the time when Antichrist’s worldwide reign of terror is occurring alongside the pouring out of God’s wrath and the Day of the Lord in a historically unequaled series of powerful, devastating judgments. It will be in the midst of that time of horrors and fear that God will save people to an extent previously unknown.

God’s saving work during that future time will be twofold. First, it will be the time of Israel’s national salvation, which Zechariah (Zech. 12:10ff.) in the Old Testament and Paul (Rom. 11:25–27) in the New Testament predicted. The firstfruits of Israel’s salvation will be the 144,000 Jewish evangelists (7:1–8), who will preach the gospel both to their countrymen and to the Gentiles.

It is the salvation of those Gentiles that is in view in 7:9–17–a salvation promised in Scripture. The Abrahamic Covenant, in which God promised to bless Israel, also promised salvation to the Gentiles:

God from the beginning chose Israel to be a channel through which His blessings of salvation would flow to the whole world. That truth is affirmed in many Old Testament passages. In Psalm 67 the psalmist prayed: “God be gracious to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us” (v. 1). But that blessing was not to stop with them; the psalmist implored God to bless Israel so “that Your way may be known on the earth, Your salvation among all nations…. God blesses us, that all the ends of the earth may fear Him” (vv. 2, 7). Psalm 98:3 declares, “He has remembered His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. “Chosen to be the instrument of God in the salvation of the nations, Israel tragically failed in that mission. The church has intervened and is that channel in this age.

In the future, God will graciously grant Israel a second opportunity to be His witness nation, and at that time they will not fail. Led by the 144,000 evangelists (cf. 7:1–8), Israel will be a light to the nations during the darkest hour of earth’s history. God’s promise to bless the nations of the world through Abraham’s descendants will be fulfilled on a massive scale.

Speaking of that future time of Gentile salvation Isaiah wrote, “In that day … the nations will resort to the root of Jesse, who will stand as a signal for the peoples; and His resting place will be glorious” (Isa. 11:10). In Isaiah 49:6 God promised the Servant (the Lord Jesus Christ) that people from the nations will be added to His flock: “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” In Isaiah 45:22 God commands, “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth.” Isaiah 52:10 adds, “The Lord has bared His holy arm in the sight of all the nations, that all the ends of the earth may see the salvation of our God.” In a familiar passage, quoted by Peter in his sermon on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:17–21), Joel also speaks of the future salvation of the nations:

Jesus taught that before His return at the end of the Tribulation “this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matt. 24:14). John 11:50–52 records one of the most unusual prophecies in Scripture (because it was revealed through a bitter enemy of Christ, the high priest Caiaphas):

“Is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also?” asked Paul. Then, answering his own rhetorical question, the apostle added, “Yes, of Gentiles also” (Rom. 3:29).

Revelation 7:9–17 describes that vast multitude of people from all the nations of the world who will be saved during the coming time of tribulation. This could include those of Israel who are saved during the preaching of the 144,000. There is nothing in the terminology of the passage that excludes Jews. Rather, the phrase “every nation” could include them.

Eight key words introduce this group: their description, location, action, association, origination, function, protection, and provision.

DESCRIPTION

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues … clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; (7:9a, c)

As it does throughout Revelation (cf. 4:1; 7:1; 15:5; 18:1; 19:1), the phrase after these things introduces a new vision, distinct from the one in 7:1–8. The exclamation behold reveals this vision to be a shocking, startling one to John. The aged apostle, the last survivor of the twelve, must have felt isolated and alone in his exile on the isle of Patmos. He had seen Gentiles come to Christ, through his own ministry in Asia Minor and the ministries of Paul, Timothy, Titus, and others. Gentile churches had been founded, yet they were for the most part small, beleaguered, and persecuted. Further, five of the seven churches in Asia Minor to which the Lord wrote earlier in this great book (2:1–3:22) had fallen into serious and threatening patterns of sin. To see in his vision a vast, triumphant multitude of the redeemed singing praises to God was a profoundly thrilling experience for John, who had seen the severe failures of the churches in Asia Minor and the threats of judgment from the Lord (chaps. 2–3). This vision must surely have renewed his joy and hope, as he realized that the church would survive and, in the end, people from the nations would be saved in great numbers.

That the group introduced in this passage is distinct from the 144,000 (7:1–8) is evident from several considerations. First, as noted above, the phrase after these things introduces a new vision. Second, this group is described as a great multitude which no one could count; no specific number is mentioned. Third, the 144,000 came from the twelve tribes of Israel (7:4–8); this group came from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues. That phrase describes people from every culture, descent, race, and language (cf. 5:9). It depicts the mass of humanity, crossing all barriers and dividing lines. Finally, the 144,000 are beyond the reach of persecutors because they are sealed for protection from persecution on earth (7:3); this group is beyond the reach of any persecutors because it is already in heaven. Verse 14 describes and identifies them: “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

The redeemed were clothed in white robes. Leukos (white) describes a dazzling, brilliant, shining white. In ancient times, such clothing was worn for festivals and celebrations. Robes is from stolē, which depicts a long, full-length robe. These long, radiant white robes are the same ones worn by the martyrs in 6:9–11. That fact suggests that the group in view in this passage is part of that earlier group of martyred believers. As the Tribulation wears on, the number of martyrs will increase, as will the number of believers who die naturally or violently, eventually accumulating into the vast, uncountable multitude depicted in heaven in this passage. The white robes are symbolic rather than literal, since the saints do not as yet have their resurrected bodies (6:9; 20:4). The robes picture especially their exaltation, victory, and rejoicing. Such white robes, also symbolic of holiness, are reserved for Christ (Matt. 17:2; Mark 9:3), angels (Matt. 28:3; Mark 16:5), and the glorified church (19:8, 14).

The saints also held palm branches … in their hands. Palm branches are associated in Scripture with celebration, deliverance, and joy. They were especially prominent during the Feast of Tabernacles, the Old Testament commemorative celebration of God’s provision for Israel during their wilderness wandering (Lev. 23:40), being employed in the construction of the booths the people lived in during that feast (Neh. 8:15–17). During Jesus’ triumphal entry the joyous crowd waved palm branches as they welcomed Him into Jerusalem, shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel” (John 12:13). The palm branches in the hands of these redeemed saints are a fitting celebrative symbol of the unequaled provision of salvation from the world, Satan, Antichrist, sin, death, and hell provided for them by the Lord Jesus Christ.

LOCATION

standing before the throne and before the Lamb (7:9b)

John saw this vast, uncountable crowd of victorious, joyous saints standing before the throne of God in heaven (cf. 4:2). They were also in the presence of the Lamb, whom John saw in his earlier vision standing near the throne (5:6). Many had suffered death at the hands of Antichrist (cf. 20:4, where “beheaded” speaks of violent death) for refusing to take his mark or worship him. They are no longer seen under the altar praying for divine vengeance (cf. 6:9–11), which has already begun, but standing triumphantly before the throne of God, “the spirits of the righteous made perfect” (Heb. 12:23).

ACTION

and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” (7:10)

As do all in heaven, the redeemed martyrs constantly cry out with a loud voice (cf. 5:12; 6:10; 11:12, 15; 12:10; 14:7; 16:1; 19:1; 21:3) in joyous, exuberant worship. The Lord desires loud praise (Pss. 66:1; 100:1). Their prayers of intercession have ceased and they are glorifying and praising God, the One responsible for their triumph. Salvation is the theme of their worship, as it is throughout Revelation. In his vision of God’s throne recorded in 5:8–10 John noted:

In 12:10 John “heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, ‘Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.’” In 19:1 John wrote, “After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, ‘Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God.’” As in the worship recorded in 5:13ff., the occupation of those in heaven is continual, eternal praise of the Almighty God (whose sovereignty is indicated by the comment that He sits on the throne) and the Lamb. They identify God as our God, claiming, as do all the redeemed, God as their own.

ASSOCIATION

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, saying, “Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.” (7:11–12)

The innumerable believers before God’s throne were not alone in their loud worship. The first group identified along with them in praise was all the angels who were standing around the throne. Their number, too, was uncountable to John. In his earlier vision of God’s throne, John could only describe the number of angels as “myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands” (5:11). Deuteronomy 33:2 reads, “The Lord came from Sinai, and dawned on them from Seir; He shone forth from Mount Paran, and He came from the midst of ten thousand holy ones.” In a vision of God on His heavenly throne Daniel saw “thousands upon thousands … attending Him, and myriads upon myriads … standing before Him” (Dan. 7:10). The writer of Hebrews also saw “myriads of angels” in heaven (Heb. 12:22). Jude 14 speaks of “many thousands of His holy ones.” That the angels joined the spirits of heavenly saints in praising God is not surprising, since they were created for the purpose of worshiping and serving Him (Ps. 103:20; Col. 1:16).

That wretched, unworthy sinners can freely mingle with the pristine, holy angels is a triumph of God’s grace that makes the angels glorify God all the more. These people had turned their backs on God, rejected the gospel (or in some cases never heard it), and not being part of the church, they had missed the Rapture. So in the midst of God’s wrath and judgment during the Tribulation, He will remember mercy and gather them to Himself. The wonder of God’s gracious salvation (a subject about which angels are curious, having never experienced it themselves; cf. 1 Pet. 1:12) displayed before the angels stimulates them to praise and worship Him (cf. Eph. 3:8–10). Though angels do not experience salvation, they rejoice at the salvation of humans (Luke 15:7, 10).

The angels ringing God’s glorious, magnificent throne (cf. 4:1–6; 5:1, 6) also surrounded the other two groups involved in worshiping God, the elders and the four living creatures. The twenty-four elders are best viewed as representatives of the raptured church (see the discussion in chapter 11 of this volume). In 5:8–10 they sang the song of redemption, while here they are seen praising the God of redemption. As noted in chapter 11’s discussion, the four living creatures are cherubim, an exalted order of angels. These two groups frequently appear together (cf. 5:6, 8, 11, 14; 14:3; 19:4).

Overwhelmed by God’s majesty, glory, and the splendor surrounding His throne, all present fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God. It is the appropriate reaction of all creatures, including those who are holy and perfect, to prostrate themselves in humble adoration before the unequaled glorious and majestic presence of the only true and holy God (cf. 4:10; 5:8, 14; 11:16; 19:4; Gen. 17:3; Lev. 9:24; Josh. 5:14; Judg. 13:20; 1 Kings 18:39; 2 Chron. 20:18; Ezek. 1:28; 3:23; Matt. 17:6; Phil. 2:9–10). Then, recognizing God’s sovereignty, supremacy, holiness, and majesty, the worshipers in John’s vision utter a benediction bracketed front and back with the solemn affirmation amen, which means, “so let it be.” Their prayer is that blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be attributed to our God forever and ever (cf. 4:11; 5:12).

Worship is the constant occupation of those in heaven. There was praise in chapters 4 and 5, before the seals were opened and judgment began. Now, as the final climactic judgments approach, there is praise again, praise not for judgment anticipated but for judgment realized. The mounting crescendo of praise began with the four living creatures, then grew as the twenty-four elders, the angels, and the ever-increasing number of tribulation martyrs joined in. Finally, all heaven rings with praise to God.

The phrase forever and ever indicates, as did the doxology of 5:13ff., that this praise is not temporary or momentary, but will continue eternally. What is described here is worship that will never cease through all of endless eternity.

ORIGINATION

Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?” I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” (7:13–14)

John became an active participant in the vision when one of the twenty-four elders asked him, “These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?” The elder was not asking for information because he did not know, but to underscore his point both for John and all readers of John’s record. Dr. Robert Thomas comments on the significance of the elder’s question: “This exemplifies the dialogue format used from time to time to convey an explanation of a vision (cf. Jer. 1:11, 13; Amos 7:8; 8:2; Zech. 4:2, 5). This tool shows that visions were not given for the purpose of spectacular dis-plays, but to convey revelation, the details of which were not to be missed” (Revelation 1–7: An Exegetical Commentary [Chicago: Moody, 1992], 493).

The elder’s question specifies and emphasizes the truth that people will be saved during the time of tribulation. Some may doubt that, given the intensity of God’s judgments during that terrible time. And there will come a point in the Tribulation when those who continue to reject the gospel will be confirmed in that rejection. Revelation 9:20–21 reads, “And the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.” Revelation 16:9 reiterates that truth: “Men were scorched with fierce heat; and they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory.” Paul wrote of those who will “perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness”(2 Thess. 2:10–12).

Some argue that the redeemed Tribulation martyrs and others seen in heaven will be people who never lived during the church age. That cannot be true, however, for the obvious reason that since the Tribulation lasts seven years (Dan. 9:27) and the Great Tribulation half of that (Rev. 11:2–3; 12:6; 13:5), they would all have to be younger than seven years of age. Others hold that these are people who never heard the gospel during their lifetimes and received the opportunity to repent after death. That interpretation is also impossible, “inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment” (Heb. 9:27; cf. John 8:21–24). People have the opportunity to repent and believe the gospel only during their lifetimes; these are people whose lifetimes will extend past the Rapture into the Tribulation.

John’s bewildered reply to the elder is emphatic: “My lord, you know,” and is both a confession of ignorance and a request for further revelation. John’s calling the elder lord did not ascribe deity to him; he was using the word kurios (lord) in the common manner as a title of great respect. This is the sort of respect John shows heavenly beings in 19:10 and 22:8–9. John had been taught by the Lord that few would be saved (Matt. 7:13–14; 22:14) and had seen the churches in decline, so that this great crowd of the redeemed may have been incomprehensible to him. The heavenly elder’s reply confirmed the identity of these believers as the ones who come out of the great tribulation (cf. Matt. 24:21). They lived into it, were redeemed during it, and have now come out of it through death by violence, natural causes, and martyrdom. The phrase the ones who come out translates the present durative participle of the verb erchomai. It depicts a prolonged process; this group will keep growing as people keep dying during the Tribulation (especially the last half, the great tribulation). Therefore the Rapture of the church is not in view in this verse, since it is a single, instantaneous, and sudden event (cf. 1 Cor. 15:51–52). The elder’s description of these believers as having come out of the great tribulation clearly distinguishes them from any other group of redeemed people in history. The term great tribulation refers to a specific time in the future that is unique in all of human history. It refers to the future eschatological day of divine judgment immediately before Jesus Christ returns to establish His earthly kingdom. All the judgments described during this time, from the sixth seal through the trumpet and bowl judgments, have no parallel in human history. Never has such worldwide devastation happened. The term great tribulation cannot describe the destruction of Jerusalem in A. D. 70 or any other historical event. This term must describe a future time of divine punishment on the whole fallen world; the “great day of [the] wrath” of God and the Lamb (6:17). Jesus Himself coined the phrase “great tribulation” (Matt. 24:21) and limited it to the second half of Daniel’s Seventieth Week (Matt. 24:13–22; Mark 13:14–20; cf. Dan. 9:27). Its limit will be forty-two months or 1,260 days (11:2–3). Of this period Thomas writes,

lf these believers were part of the church, why would the elder not have so identified them? There would appear to be little reason to distinguish this group from others in the church if the church is on earth both before and during the Tribulation. If that were the case, the elder could simply have referred to them as the church.

The elder further described the redeemed and heavenly Tribulation believers as to how they gained the privilege of being in the presence of God and the holy angels. It is because they are clothed in the white robes, which they have washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb. Their dazzling, brilliant white robes were first mentioned in verse 9, where they primarily symbolized celebration, victory, and exaltation; here they primarily emphasize righteousness, holiness, and purity. Soiled garments in Scripture symbolize the defilement of sin (cf. Isa. 64:6; Zech. 3:3), and salvation is often pictured as a washing (cf. 22:14; Ps. 51:7; Isa. 1:18; Titus 3:5). That anything could be cleansed by washing it in blood seems strange to consider, but not to those who are familiar with the Old Testament. To them such a washing was required for spiritual cleansing; there had to be a blood sacrifice to cleanse people from their sins. The blood of the Old Testament animal sacrifices did not provide that cleansing from sin (Heb. 10:4), but pictured the need for a sacrifice that could–the sacrifice that would once for all cleanse from sin; the blood of the Lamb. That is a frequent metaphor in Scripture for Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross which provided cleansing from sin for every believing sinner in every age (cf. 1:5; 5:9; 12:11; Matt. 26:28; Acts 20:28; Rom. 3:25; 5:9; Eph. 1:7; 2:13; Col. 1:20; Heb. 9:12–14; 10:19; 13:12; 1 Pet. 1:2, 19; 1 John 1:7). Christ’s substitutionary death atoned for the Tribulation believers’ sins, and by repentant faith they were justified and reconciled to God (Rom. 5:10; 2 Cor. 5:18–21).

FUNCTION

For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; (7:15a)

The reason these Tribulation believers were allowed to stand before the throne of God is that they were purified and cleansed from their sins by the sacrifice of the Lamb of God on their behalf. They were thus fitted for the presence of God that they might serve Him day and night. Serve is from latreuō, a word often used to describe priestly service (cf. Luke 2:37; Heb. 8:5; 13:10); they were rendering a “spiritual service of worship” (Rom. 12:1) to God. Day and night is an idiomatic way to indicate their continuous occupation; there is no actual night and day in God’s eternal heaven (22:3–5). The location of that service is in His temple (cf. 11:19; 14:15, 17; 15:5–8; 16:1, 17). There is currently a temple in heaven, and there will be one on earth during the millennial kingdom of Christ on earth (cf. Ezek. 40–48). In the eternal state, however, there will no longer be a need for a temple, “for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple” (Rev. 21:22). The heavenly temple currently is the holy domain where God’s presence dwells outside the fallen universe, but that will be unnecessary in the new heavens and new earth where sin has been forever done away with. There will no longer be a temple building, because God will occupy all places, and all believers everywhere throughout the eternal state will continue to worship and serve Him forever.

PROTECTION

and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. (7:15b)

In a wonderful, comforting picture, God, described as He who sits on the throne (cf. 4:1–3; 5:1, 13; 7:10), promises to spread the tabernacle, or tent (cf. 21:3), of His Shechinah presence over these persecuted believers. Tabernacle is a word John likes to use (cf. 13:6; 15:5; 21:3; the related verb translated dwelt appears in John 1:14) which reflects the sheltering presence of the Lord. It corresponds to the Old Testament promises of God’s protective presence (cf. Lev. 26:11–12; Ezek. 37:27; Zech. 2:10–11; 8:3, 8). These believers will have witnessed unspeakable suffering and indescribable horrors as God’s judgments were poured out on the world. They will have suffered terrible persecution at the hands of Antichrist and his followers. But when they enter God’s presence, they will come to a heavenly sanctuary, the most secure place. There they will receive shelter from the terrors of the fallen world that are to come as God continues to unleash His devastating and destructive judgments.

PROVISION

They will hunger no more, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes. (7:16–17)

This comforting promise of further provision is drawn from and almost identical to the words of Isaiah 49:10. As they experienced the horrors of the Tribulation, these sufferers of the Great Tribulation had endured hunger, thirst, and scorching heat as the sun beat down on them, a phenomenon which will occur in the Tribulation (16:9). But all the tormenting physical and spiritual elements of earthly life they will experience no longer, but rather will enjoy eternal satisfaction, for the Lamb in the center of the throne (cf. 5:6) will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes. The picture of God as the Shepherd of His people is one of the most beloved and common in the Old Testament (cf. Pss. 23; 80:1; Isa. 40:11; Ezek. 34:23), and Jesus is depicted as the Shepherd of His people in the New Testament (John 10:11ff.; Heb. 13:20; 1 Pet. 2:25; 5:4). Interestingly, the other three uses of poimainō (shepherd) in Revelation (2:27; 12:5; 19:15; “rule” or “shepherd” in all three cases) reveal Christ in a destroying mode, crushing sinners with a rod of iron, as in Psalm 2:9. The Great Shepherd will guide His flock to springs of the water of life (cf. 21:6; 22:1, 17). He will also wipe every tear from their eyes (cf. 21:4; Isa. 25:8), for in heaven there will be no pain, sorrow, or suffering to cause them.

In this age when Christianity is under siege on all sides, seeming- ly losing its grip on divine truth and apparently headed for defeat, it is comforting to be reassured of the ultimate triumph of God’s saving grace. In the midst of an even worse situation in the future before Christ’s return, God will redeem His people. That thought should bring present-day believers great comfort, and motivate all to praise God for the greatness of His redemptive plan. And ultimately, in the eternal state, all these promises will come true for all believers.