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4/8/12 - Behold, the Lamb of God! (Rev 7:9-17)

Behold, the Lamb of God!
April 8, 2012
Revelation 7:9-17
 
“Behold, the Lamb of God who takesaway the sin of the world!” ~ John 1:29
 
An incredible portrait of Jesus Christ emerges from Revelation. In chapter five, for example, we see at least fifteen obvious or implied attributes and activities of Christ, the worthy Lamb: king (5:5); victorious (5:5); able (5:5); sacrifice (5:6); resurrected (5:6); all power (5:6); all wisdom (5:6); ever present (5:6); all authority (5:7); all glorious (5:8); redeemer (5:9); priest (5:10); creator (5:13); God (5:13); and Lord (5:14). 
 
In chapter six, we see Jesus as the Lamb who is sovereign over all creation and over all circumstances.  In chapter seven, we see Jesus as the Lamb who redeems—calling and protecting and providing and guiding and comforting and restoring—all people who, through trust and repentance, fully surrender to Him!
 
Jesus is the Lamb we praise.
Afterthesethings I looked, and behold, a greatmultitudewhichnoonecouldcount, from everynation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standingbefore the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in whiterobes, and palmbranches 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." (Revelation 7:9-12)
 
And they sang a newsong, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from everytribe and tongue and people and nation.” (Revelation 5:9)
 
“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receivepower and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.” (Revelation 5:12)
 
What will you do this week to demonstrate your growing conviction that Jesus should receive your greatest and loudest praise?
 
Jesus is the Lamb we trust.
Thenone of the eldersanswered, saying to me, "These who are clothed in the whiterobes, 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. (Revelation 7:13-14)
 
In Him we haveredemptionthrough His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. (Ephesians 1:7-8)
 
See also Exodus 29:10-12, 16, 20-21; Acts 15:8-9; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Ephesians 2:13; Hebrews 9:11-15, 22; Hebrews 10:19; 1 Peter 1:1-2, 14-19; 2 Peter 1:2-9; 1 John 1:5-10
 
Have you fully trusted Christ for your life now and forever?
 
If we take this vision seriously, it may invite some dissonance for those of us who are too comfortable with this world.  Just how much does the honor of our Lord Jesus Christ matter to us? ~ Craig S. Keener
 
Jesus is the Lamb we follow.
For thisreason, 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 tabernacleover them. They will hunger no longer, 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."  (Revelation 7:15-17)
 
It is impossible that any ill should happen to the man who is beloved of the Lord.  Ill to him is no ill, but only good in mysterious form.  Losses enrich him, sickness is his medicine, reproach is his honour, death is his gain. ~ Charles Spurgeon
 
The problem with Christianity is not that it has been tried and found wanting, but that it has been found difficult and left untried. ~ G.K. Chesterton
 
Will you follow Jesus wholeheartedly?  What does that look like?
 
See Matthew 5:1-7:27; 16:24-28; 22;34-40; 28:16-20; Mark 1:14-15; 10:32-45; Luke 9:18-27, 57-62;
John 8:31-32; 9:1-41; 14:1-6; 15:1-13; 17:1-26; 18:28-38; Acts 2:37-47;
 
Old Testament References from Revelation Chapter Seven
The following are either direct quotes from or possible allusions to passages in the Old Testament.
 
Verse 9
I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that ifanyonecannumber the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered. ~ Genesis 13:16
 
And He took him outside and said, "Nowlook toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be." ~ Genesis 15:5
 
As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you will be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I will make you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you. ~ Genesis 17:4-6
 
I keptlooking untilthrones were set up, and the Ancient of Daystook His seat; His vesture was like whitesnow and the hair of His head like purewool. His throne was ablaze with flames, its wheels were a burningfire. ~ Daniel 7:9
 
So they proclaimed and circulated a proclamation in all their cities and in Jerusalem, saying, "Go out to the hills, and bringolivebranches and wildolivebranches, myrtlebranches, palmbranches and branches of other leafytrees, to makebooths, as it is written." ~ Nehemiah 8:15
 
Verse 10
Salvation belongs to the LORD; Your blessing be upon Your people! Selah. ~ Psalm 3:8
 
But I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving. That which I have vowed I will pay. Salvation is from the LORD. ~ Jonah 2:9
 
Verse 14
He said to me, “Son of man, can theseboneslive?” And I answered, “O LordGOD, You know.”
 ~ Ezekiel 37:3
 
Now at that timeMichael, the greatprince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distresssuch as neveroccurredsince there was a nationuntil that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is foundwritten in the book, will be rescued. ~ Daniel 12:1
 
He ties his foal to the vine, and his donkey'scolt to the choicevine; he washes his garments in wine, and his robes in the blood of grapes. ~ Genesis 49:11
 
The LORD also said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments.” ~ Exodus 19:10
 
And you shall wash your clothes on the seventhday and be clean, and afterward you may enter the camp. ~ Numbers 31:24
 
“Comenow, and let us reason together,” says the LORD, “Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool.” ~ Isaiah 1:18
 
Verse 15
But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditatesday and night. ~ Psalm 1:2
 
O LORD, the God of my salvation, I have cried out by day and in the nightbefore You. ~ Psalm 88:1
 
Verse 16
They will not hunger or thirst, nor will the scorchingheat or sunstrike them down. ~ Isaiah 49:10
 
Verse 17
For He who hascompassion on them will lead them and will guide them to springs of water. ~ Isaiah 49:10
 
The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
~ Psalm 23:1-3
 
Oh, giveear, Shepherd of Israel, You who leadJoseph like a flock; You who are enthroned above the cherubim, shineforth! ~ Psalm 80:1
 
Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, in His arm He will gather the lambs and carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes. ~ Isaiah 40:11
 
He will swallow up death for alltime, and the LordGOD will wipetearsaway from allfaces, and He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; for the LORD has spoken. ~ Isaiah 25:8
 
Commentary on Revelation Chapter Seven
 
The redeemed are dressed in white robes. The Greek noun stolas signifies long robes, and is much more appropriate to glorious garments than workaday clothing.  The white robes probably point to justification.  The saved stand before God perfect in the righteousness which Christ supplies.  White is also the perfect colour of victory and palms, too, were often emblems of triumph.  This stress on triumph leads some to hold that the white-clad throng are the martyrs.  Against this, there is no indication in the narrative such as we get elsewhere, e.g. the reference to those who ‘were slain for the word of God’ (vi. 9), or to those who ‘were beheaded for the witness of Jesus’ (xx. 4).  Moreover it was not their death but Christ’s that won the triumph.  Victory comes through His saving work and it is He who provides the white robe of justification.  For men confronted with tyrants who put their trust in sword and bow, it is good to be reminded that final triumph comes through quiet trust in Christ.
~ Leon Morris, Revelation: Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, p. 116.
 
 
 
Why do these stand before God’s throne?  What qualifies them to be there?  The twin facts that they have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb, and do emerge from suffering.  He who is numbered among that multitude is a man who has been cleansed from his old life of sin (a past event) and been given an irrepressible new life which no tribulation can quench (a present experience).
~ Michael Wilcock, The Message of Revelation, p. 82.
 
 
 
If triumph as martyrdom sounds like an oxymoron, so does washing one’s robes white in blood (7:14).  But such vivid contrasts with human expectations prepare the hearer for the graphic picture of blessedness for those who have suffered this world’s hostility.  These people refused to deify the enthroned emperor; now they are before God’s throne (7:15).  They resisted the temples of Caesar and other false gods; now they serve continually in God’s temple (7:15).  They suffered economic deprivation for refusing to serve the world system (13:17); now they are freed from suffering and sorrow; and all their needs are provided (7:16-17).
 
Most of us today, at least those in comfortable lifestyles with families, do not think of martyrdom as privilege.  Yet if we must die in some manner if the Lord tarries, should we not wish our deaths, as well as our lives, to bring God as much glory as possible?  Here the martyrs, like suffering apostles before them (Acts 5:41), joyfully praise their eternal commander for leading them to this victory through their refusal to compromise his honor (7:10).  If we take this vision seriously, it may invite some dissonance for those of us who are too comfortable with this world.  Just how much does the honor of our Lord Jesus Christ matter to us?
~ Craig S. Keener, Revelation: The NIV Application Commentary, p. 245, 249
 
 
 
‘Whitened in the blood’ is a striking paradox and we should not let our familiarity with hymns which have borrowed it dull its splendor (for the thought, cf. Ex. xix. 10, 14, Is. i. 18, 1 Cor. vi. 11, Heb. ix. 14).  The complete efficacy of Christ’s atoning death is being strongly asserted.  It is on the grounds of His death for men that they are able to stand before the throne properly clothed.  This is a further indication that the throng comprises all the saved and not simply the martyrs or some other group.  For all are saved in this way and no other.
~ Leon Morris, Revelation: Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, p. 117-118.
 
 
 
 
 
Jesus, Name Above All Names
 
In chapter one, we see Jesus smack dab in the middle of the seven churches.  His appearance is like a son of man, with His head and His hair white like wool, like snow. His eyes look like a flame of fire and His feet are like burnished bronze.  His voice is like the sound of many waters.  He tells an extremely frightened John not to be afraid.  Jesus put His right hand on John, saying, “I am the first and the last, and the Living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.” (1:17-18)
 
In chapters two and three we hear about Jesus in His own words.  He’s the One who holds the seven messengers of the churches in His right hand and who walks among the seven churches (2:1).  Jesus is the first and the last, the One who was dead, and has come to life (2:8). Jesus, the Son of God (2:18), holds the sharp two-edged sword (2:12). He has the sevenfold Spirit (3:1), and He is holy and true (3:7).  Whatever He opens no one can shut and whatever He shuts no one can open (3:7).  Jesus, the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God (3:14) knows the deeds of every church and encourages them to listen carefully to everything the Spirit says.
 
In chapter five, we see at least fifteen obvious or implied attributes and activities of Christ.  Jesus, the Lamb, is king (5:5); victorious (5:5); able (5:5); sacrifice (5:6); resurrected (5:6); all power (5:6); all wisdom (5:6); ever present (5:6); all authority (5:7); all glorious (5:8); redeemer (5:9); priest (5:10); creator (5:13); God (5:13); and Lord (5:14). Jesus is worthy!
 
In chapter six, we see Jesus as sovereign over all creation and over all circumstances.  In chapter seven, we see Jesus as the Lamb of God who redeems—calling and protecting and providing and guiding and comforting and restoring—all people who, through trust and repentance, fully surrender to Him!
 
Greek Word Study
swthriva—salvation (Rev. 7:10)
1.     deliverance, preservation, safety, salvation
a.     deliverance from the molestation of enemies
b.     in an ethical sense, that which concludes to the souls safety or salvation
1.     of Messianic salvation
2.     salvation as the present possession of all true Christians
3.     future salvation, the sum of benefits and blessings which the Christians, redeemed from all earthly ills, will enjoy after the visible return of Christ from heaven in the consummated and eternal kingdom of God.
Fourfold salvation: saved from the penalty, power, presence and most importantly the pleasure of sin. ~ A.W. Pink
 
 
proskuneo—worship (Rev. 7:11)
1.     to kiss the hand to (towards) one, in token of reverence
2.     among the Orientals, esp. the Persians, to fall upon the knees and touch the ground with the forehead as an expression of profound reverence
3.     in the NT by kneeling or prostration to do homage (to one) or make obeisance, whether in order to express respect or to make supplication
a.     used of homage shown to men and beings of superior rank
1.     to the Jewish high priests
2.     to God
3.     to Christ
4.     to heavenly beings
5.     to demons
 
qliyiß—tribulation (Rev. 7:14)
1.     a pressing, pressing together, pressure
2.     metaph. oppression, affliction, tribulation, distress, straits
 
mesoß—center (Rev. 7:17)
1.     middle
2.     the midst
3.     in the midst of, amongst
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