With the opening of the first six seals, the message on the scroll became more visible. It is the history of the church, a history of trouble and struggle. If we study church history, we find that the church and her members never had much peace. The believers in the time of Revelation experienced this every day, but we, as members of the modern era, can also tell about the battle of the church against what is wrong in the world.

 

In our verse for today and the following chapter, John had a new vision, namely, that of the victorious church in heaven. It is necessary for us to see the victorious church, we who are still part of the struggle of the church in the world. This vision is meant to encourage the church through the ages.

 

The vision starts with a gathering of an infinite number of people around the throne of God and the Lamb. In Revelation 7:13-14, we see that one of the elders that was present asked John if he knew who all the people were. On John’s negative answer, the elder said: “These are the people who have come safely through the terrible persecution.” John’s readers would have understood that some in this crowd were those that were killed by the Romans, but it also points to all believers who triumphed through the ages.

 

Where do they all come from? It is very clear that descent does not matter at all. This heavenly crowd is from every race, tribe, nation and language. The only qualification to become a member of this enormous crowd is that one needs to be washed in the blood of Christ, as symbolised by the white robes they are wearing. The palm branches that they carried were reminiscent of the day when Jesus entered Jerusalem and was hailed as King. This huge crowd do homage to Jesus as King.

 

Prayer: Thank you God that I can already be part of the huge crowd around your throne. Amen