December 7, 2022

Make Heaven Crowded

Revelation 7

Christian T. Le
Wednesday's Devo

December 7, 2022

Wednesday's Devo

December 7, 2022

Central Truth

God's victory culminates with a large crowd that no one could number from every nation, tribe, people, and language. We're His plan for making this happen. He's calling us to follow Him as He makes this a reality.

Key Verse | Revelation 7:9-10

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, and crying out with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"

Revelation 7

The 144,000 of Israel Sealed

After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed,
12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,
12,000 from the tribe of Gad,
12,000 from the tribe of Asher,
12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,
12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,
12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,
12,000 from the tribe of Levi,
12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,
12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,
12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,
12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.

A Great Multitude from Every Nation

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.”

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Dive Deeper | Revelation 7

People wonder, "What is heaven like?" Here, God shows us: imagine a college football game in a stadium with thousands of cheering fans, but instead there are billions—a countlessly large crowd. A stadium reaching into the stratosphere. Instead of a game, every shout and cry and song is worship to God.

In the center, God is elevated and worshiped in the glory He deserves. Instead of two groups in maroon and green, there are groups from every nation, all tribes, all people, and all languages. Each group filled with people who chose Jesus as King and now see Him face to face.

Two things stick out to me. One, being a Christian doesn't mean I delete my identity. I'll still be Vietnamese-American in heaven, but there is a sanctified and perfected version for each people group. Following Jesus doesn't mean I erase all of who I am or where I come from. Two, God's victory is people from every nation, every tribe, every people, and every language: united by worship of Him.

As Jesus leaves, His last command is to "make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19). This is the same word for "nations" (ethnē for our Greek speakers) that we see in a singular form in Rev 7:9!

In other words, our call on earth is to obey God and join Him as He makes this future crowd of every nation, tribe, people, and language happen.

But there's a problem, about half the world (3.27 billion) are unreached; people who will likely be born, live, and die without hearing the gospel. Imagine that stadium again . . . at this moment there are many empty sections and rows. God's plan to change this is for some of us to reach other nations, tribes, people, and languages.

The prophet Jonah was sent to his Assyrian enemies. Galilean Phillip brought Christ to Ethiopia. Doubting Thomas went to the shores of India. Pharisee Paul went to Romans and Greeks. Christ left perfect heaven for us sinful humans.

Each of us owes our salvation to Jesus, who as a Jew crossed cultures to other nations, tribes, peoples, and languages.

Discussion Questions

1. Do you feel the way that God feels about every nation, tribe, people, and language? (Or, like Jonah, are you focused on your nation, people like you, and your own language?) If not, why?

2. What would it look like for you to start making disciples of another nation, tribe, people, or language? Is there an opportunity right where you are?

3. How could you start praying for that future crowd that God promises in Revelation 7:9-10?