Ready for Rescue

After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying,

“Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

      And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, singing,

“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)

The past several weeks, on Sundays during our teen discipleship hour, I’ve taken on the ambitious task of walking the teens through the book of Revelation. In reality, many times we avoid the book of Revelation. We avoid the obtuse imagery and difficult narratives. But in the midst of the difficult images of apocalypse, last week we found ourselves in a part of the book I needed to hear.

In the world around us today we frequently experience loud voices yelling about something. People yelling to be heard over the noise of our culture. People loudly inviting us to hear whatever they are promoting or protesting. It is, for this reason, I don’t listen to much news anymore.

However, in this passage from Revelation, we learn of a moment where John witnesses the future reality. A day when there is a great multitude, more people than we can count, all tribes and languages, standing before the throne of God loudly declaring, “Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

When I hear this verse, I almost always think of a song based on this verse recorded by the group Acapella.  I’ll include a link below where you can listen to the song yourselves. When I hear this song, I envision it being something like the scene John describes here in Revelation. A great choir of humanity, all singing praise to God.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gphVX6dGdtI

The word salvation we find in verse 10 can also be translated as “rescue.” Often this rescue in the Old Testament seems to point to a reality where, because God is victorious, rescue has been won. Following this song of praise, John asks one of the elders, “who are these who are singing, where did they come from?” (verse 13). The elder answers, “these are those who have come out of the great ordeal.”

All this gives me hope, a future hope, that despite all the yelling we experience today, that one day, all of the redeemed, all who have been rescued will join together and loudly praise God in one voice.

Are you discouraged today? I hope this reminder of God’s “already but not yet” victory gives you hope. Hope that no matter what trials we might face today, our hope is rooted in “our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

Will you pray with me?

Oh Lord God, we look forward to the day described by John here in the book of Revelation. We thank you for the glimpses of this reality we can see breaking in all around us even today. Show us this reality in our world, remind us you have the victory, and through this victory, you are rescuing us from slavery to sin. For you are the one who was, and is and is to come. Amen.

-Pastor Shawn