Where We Look in Times of Trouble

Devotional Reading: Psalm 23; John 4:23-24

Background Scripture: Revelation 7:9-17
Print: Revelation 7:9-17

Key Verse
Revelation And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the
7:10 throne, and unto the Lamb.

Objectives
Upon completion of this lesson, the students should know that:
1. We learn what heaven will be like from the book of Revelation.
2. We can begin getting used to heaven before we get there by giving God His
praises now.

Introduction
Today’s lesson is about thankful worship.
II Corinthians 9:15 Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.

It is also an answer to the question asked by those who hid themselves in the dens and in
the rocks of the mountains in Revelation 6:15-17:
Revelation 6:17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Revelation 7:9-17
Revelation After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all
7:9 nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before
the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, :
Here is the irony that I’ve observed in false teaching; In the first part of chapter
seven, we are given a precise number of people from twelve tribes of Israel.
Exactly 12,000 from 12 tribes to equal exactly 144,000. Even though we are
given an exact number, there are false teachers that say that 144,000 is not
an exact number, but just symbolic and not to be taken literally.

Then there are false teachers who look at the measurements of the new earth
in Revelation 21 and come to the conclusion that the new earth is only the size
of Texas, then after doing a calculation of how many people they can fit in
Texas have came up with the number that no man can number.

Three simple rules in math are any thing times zero is zero, any thing times
one is itself, and any thing times or plus a number that no man can number
equals a number that no man can number.

I personally believe that there will be enough room in heaven for every
human that has ever lived. Jesus died for the sins of the whole world.
Unfortunately it is hell that has enlarged herself.
Isaiah Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without
5:14 measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that
rejoiceth, shall descend into it.

Hell was created for the devil and his angels. But false teachers, agents of
Satan, and those who refuse to exercise faith, have turned hell into an over
stretched orpheus in the center of the earth.

False teachers are consistent also when it comes to dates. When Daniel gave
the exact time of the arrival of the Messiah in Daniel 9:25, the woman at the
well, the disciples following Jesus, and the children who waved the palms knew
the time of the coming of the Messiah, but the so called religious leaders did
not take the prophecy seriously, and did not recognize their Messiah. The
leadership in Jerusalem was punished for not knowing the time of the
visitation of the Messiah.
Luke For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench
19:43 about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,
Luke And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and
19:44 they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest
not the time of thy visitation.

But now that Jesus has told us no one knows the date of the return of Jesus
except for God, Christian date setters have been coming up with false
prophecies for years.
Matthew But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of
24:36 heaven, but my Father only.

The bottom line is that the only people before the throne of God are the
people who actually BELIEVE the word of God. Without faith it is
impossible to please God.
Proverbs Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their
30:5 trust in him.
Proverbs Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found
30:6 a liar.

A saving faith is one where you trust God. Those who tamper with the
scriptures in order to make it fit their own understanding will not be among
those who have made their robes white in the blood of the Lamb.
Proverbs Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own
3:5 understanding.

of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues,:

Notice that when it comes to gentiles in the bible who are part of God’s
kingdom, we are never given a number. When it comes to Israel we are always
given precise numbers like in Numbers chapter one, Ezra chapter two,
Nehemiah chapter seven, and Revelation chapters seven and fourteen just to
name a few. The only time a number is given in association with the church is
in Acts 2:41 and that is because that is how many Jews were added that came
for Pentecost. Other than that, no number is ever given association with
gentiles who are part of God’s kingdom.

God told Abraham:

Genesis That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy
22:17 seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea
shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
Genesis And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because
22:18 thou hast obeyed my voice.

Jacobs prayer:
Genesis And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the
32:12 sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.

Psalm All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and
22:27 all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.

stood before the throne, and before the Lamb,:

clothed with white robes,:

No one will be in hell for their sins. They will only be in hell for rejecting the
provision that God has made for their sins.
Revelation And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the
6:9 souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the
testimony which they held:
Revelation And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and
6:10 true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on
the earth?
Revelation And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was
6:11 said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their
fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they
were, should be fulfilled.

Revelation Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage
19:7 of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Revelation And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen,
19:8 clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

and palms in their hands;

The palms remind us of palm Sunday and Jesus’ triumphal entry into
Jerusalem. This was the day prophesized about in Daniel 9:25 as they sing
Psalm 118.

It’s interesting that after the people were reminded that Jesus has the power to
raise from the dead in John chapter 12, they took branches of palm trees, and
 went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that
cometh in the name of the Lord.
John Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came
12:9 not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had
raised from the dead.
John But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death;
12:10
John Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed
12:11 on Jesus.
John On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard
12:12 that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
John Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried,
12:13 Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the
Lord.
John And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written,
12:14
John Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's
12:15 colt.
John These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was
12:16 glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and
that they had done these things unto him.
Revelation And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the
7:10 throne, and unto the Lamb.
Salvation is attributed to both God and the Lamb.
Revelation And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four
7:11 beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,
The angels shouted for joy when the earth was created:
Job 38:6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner
stone thereof;
Job 38:7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for
joy?
The angels praised God when Jesus was born:
Luke And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in
2:12 swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
Luke And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host
2:13 praising God, and saying,
Luke Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
2:14
All the angels are to worship Jesus forever:
Hebrews And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he
1:6 saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.
Revelation Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and
7:12 power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.
Amen: 281
ἀμήν Amen (am-ane');
Word Origin: Hebrew,  , Strong #: 281
 1. firm
a. metaph. faithful
2. verily, amen
a. at the beginning of a discourse - surely, truly, of a truth
b. at the end - so it is, so be it, may it be fulfilled. It was a custom,
which passed over from the synagogues to the Christian
assemblies, that when he who had read or discoursed, had offered
up solemn prayer to God, the others responded Amen, and thus
made the substance of what was uttered their own.
The word "amen" is a most remarkable word. It was transliterated directly from the
Hebrew into the Greek of the New Testament, then into Latin and into English and
many other languages, so that it is practically a universal word. It has been called
the best known word in human speech. The word is directly related -- in fact,
almost identical -- to the Hebrew word for "believe" (amam), or faithful. Thus, it
came to mean "sure" or "truly", an expression of absolute trust and confidence. --
HMM
KJV Word Usage and Count
verily 101
amen 51

Seven things were said between the Amens:

1. Blessing
2. and glory
3. and wisdom
4. and thanksgiving
5. and honour
6. and power
7. and might

If you’re a Christian and your prayer life is less than it should be, then you are
in disobedience.
Philippians Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication
4:6 with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Philippians And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep
4:7 your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Revelation And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed
7:13 in white robes? and whence came they?
In this scene we have:

- The Lamb = Jesus

- A great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds,
and people, and tongues clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands =
they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and
made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

- All the angels

 - The elders = The twenty four elders from chapter four that represent the
church.

- The four beasts = The seraphim that we are introduced to from the throne of
God in Revelation chapter four and Isaiah chapter six.

- The throne of God.

Revelation And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which
7:14 came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in
the blood of the Lamb.
And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest.

Sir: 2962
κύριος Kurios (koo'-ree-os);  Noun Masculine, Strong #: 2962

The word that is translated for “sir” is the same word that is translated as
“lord” but translating it as “sir” implies that John was merely showing respect.

John put aside any speculations he might have had and deferred to the elder’s
superior insight.

These are they which came out of great tribulation,

These were killed during the hour of testing spoken of in Revelation 3:10 and
slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held. The saints do
not gain access to heaven because of their good deeds or martyrdom. They do
so because they have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood
of the Lamb.

and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb:
The imagery of garment being cleansed as sin removed comes from the Old
Testament:
Psalm 51:7; Isaiah 1:18; Zechariah 3:3-4

The Lamb who has cleansed them is Jesus Christ:

Revelation 1:5; 5:6; 5:9; cf. Romans 3:24-25

For those that believe, Jesus is our High Priest for the day of atonement.
Leviticus 16; Hebrews 9

The cleansing occurs ONLY in response to faith:

Acts And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the
15:8 Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
Acts And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
15:9

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
I John If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie,
 1:6 and do not the truth:
I John But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one
1:7 with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all
sin.
I John If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in
1:8 us.
I John If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to
1:9 cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

I John My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any
2:1 man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous:
I John And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for
2:2 the sins of the whole world.
I John And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
2:3
I John He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar,
2:4 and the truth is not in him.
I John But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected:
2:5 hereby know we that we are in him.
I John He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he
2:6 walked.
Revelation Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his
7:15 temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
The word “Therefore” which precedes the statement indicates that only
because they have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of
the Lamb can they be before the throne of God.

Worship and service are impossible apart from prior reception of God’s grace
in Christ.

and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.

dwell: 4637
σκηνόω Skenoo (skay-no'-o);
Word Origin: Greek,  Verb, Strong #: 4637

1. to fix one's tabernacle, have one's tabernacle, abide (or live) in a tabernacle
(or tent), tabernacle
2. to dwell

The word dwell means to tabernacle. The first time this word “dwell” is used in
the New Testament:
John And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his
1:14 glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and
truth.
Revelation They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on
7:16 them, nor any heat.

Isaiah Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him
49:7 whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of
rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the
LORD that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose
thee.
Isaiah Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day
49:8 of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for
a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the
desolate heritages;
Isaiah That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in
49:9 darkness, Show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures
shall be in all high places.
Isaiah They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them:
49:10 for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of
water shall he guide them.
Revelation For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead
7:17 them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their
eyes.
For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them,

feed: 4165
ποιμαίνω Poimaino (poy-mah'-ee-no);
Word Origin: Greek,  Verb, Strong #: 4165

1. to feed, to tend a flock, keep sheep

a. to rule, govern
1. of rulers
2. to furnish pasture for food
3. to nourish
4. to cherish one's body, to serve the body
5. to supply the requisites for the soul's need

John Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread
6:31 from heaven to eat.
John Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you
6:32 not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from
heaven.
John For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life
6:33 unto the world.
John Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
6:34
John And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall
6:35 never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
John But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.
6:36
John All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I
6:37 will in no wise cast out.
John For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him
6:38 that sent me.
John And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath
6:39 given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
John And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son,
6:40 and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at
the last day.
John The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which
6:41 came down from heaven.
John And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother
6:42 we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?
John Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among
6:43 yourselves.
John No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him:
6:44 and I will raise him up at the last day.
John It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man
6:45 therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
John Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath
6:46 seen the Father.
John Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
6:47
John I am that bread of life.
6:48
John Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
6:49
John This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat
6:50 thereof, and not die.
John I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this
6:51 bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh,
which I will give for the life of the world.
John The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man
6:52 give us his flesh to eat?
John Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the
6:53 flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
John Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will
6:54 raise him up at the last day.
John For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
6:55
John He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in
6:56 him.
John As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth
6:57 me, even he shall live by me.
John This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did
6:58 eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters:

Psalm A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
23:1
Psalm He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the
23:2 still waters.

and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
Psalm He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his
23:3 name's sake.
Psalm Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear
23:4 no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Psalm Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou
23:5 anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Psalm Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I
23:6 will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.