Too Many to Count
“After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.” Revelation 7:9-10
Five of the seals of the scroll that Jesus held revealed events that were to take place on earth: wars, famines, pestilences, and destructive weather occurrences. The fifth seal took John’s focus back to heaven as the souls of those that were slain were crying out from under heaven’s altar. After the scene of the sixth seal is revealed, the next scene that John sees fast forwards past the opening of the seventh seal and all the other horrendous events of the tribulation and, like the fifth seal’s display, it occurs in heaven. However, it is quite different from what John had just witnessed. It was similar, though, to what he had seen described when he first looked into the vision of heaven: the throne room as God sat on the throne, Jesus as the Lamb taking the scroll, the four living creatures, the 24 elders, multitudes of angels, and all creatures in heaven, on earth, under the earth, and in the sea gathered together to worship God and Christ.
John’s attention is first drawn to the great multitude of people standing before the throne. He described them as being from all nations, ethnic groups, races, and languages indicating that people from every part of the world had come to faith in Christ. They stood before God’s throne and before Jesus Christ in their white robes of purity and with palm branches, symbols of joy and triumph in their hands. In John 12:13, the people of Jerusalem had honored Jesus with palm branches as He entered the city on the back of a donkey, but they quickly turned against Him, demanding His execution. However, this time all people will honor Him forever and ever. There were so many people that they couldn’t be counted by men. This verse goes against the idea that there will be a small number in heaven, but I suppose compared to all the billions that have walked upon earth for millenniums, the number of the saved will pale in comparison to the number of the lost as we witness the increasing amount of indifference and/or rejection of the gospel.
The sound of worship was loud and joyful. The multitudes of the redeemed shouted, “Salvation to our God” meaning salvation belongs to our God and to His Son, Jesus Christ. God is the One who planned for the saving of mankind in the beginning. It was His plan all along to come to earth in the form of a Man in order to pay the penalty for sinful man. No human other than Christ can take credit for such a difficult, but marvelous task. Life on earth for man is not an easy “row to hoe”. Hardships, sorrows, and disappointments come to all, some more than others, but for those who trust in Christ, one day every pain, every sorrow, and every burden will vanish all because of God’s love in providing salvation for “whosoever believes in Christ will not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). And that is enough to shout praises to the Father and the Son forever.
“And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshiped God, Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.” (11-12)
The 24 elders, the four living creatures, and the host of angels, the same as in Chapters 4 and 5, fell down before God’s throne worshiping Him. Again, they called for God to receive all the blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might that He deserves, beginning their praises with “Amen”, or “so be it”, and also ending with “Amen”. We can try and picture this scene in our mind’s eye, but our limited vision and knowledge can’t do it justice. Remember, John was still clothed in mortal flesh as he witnessed such a grand and spectacular scene. John must have been overwhelmed by all that he saw, and what he saw will happen just as he has described it. All of us who are believers will also be privileged to see such a glorious sight and to worship the Lord along with millions of other believers.
One other note: The term “amen” is used to affirm and confirm something that is said or requested for in a prayer to the Lord. I suppose one could say that it is a word which tells the Lord that the one praying is putting his or her trust in the Lord’s power to answer the prayer as he or she would hope. We don’t always get the answer that we desire, but we always get the one that is appropriate and beneficial for us.