Theological Commentary: Click Here
Revelation 7
is a great chapter, but it has a deep and very subtle point. What makes it so great? First, we hear about a specific amount of
Hebrew people who are to be saved. The
number is exceptionally specific, being the square of 12 times ten cubed. In other words, a big number.
Why is this
important? There are a great number of
Hebrew people who are numbered for God.
But there is an ability to count them.
In other words, the number comes to an end. While I may not believe that the number is
meant to be literally accurate, I do believe that the fact that the number is
finite tells us something. The number can
be counted, meaning it comes to an end. I
believe this recounts the transition from Abraham to Christ. Abraham, the people of the covenant, was a
finite time. With the coming of Christ
comes the end to the old covenant.
The group of
followers that comes next are innumerable!
They come from every tribe tongue, and nationality. They come from all over! They aren’t defined by biology of
lineage. They are defined by a salvation
that comes through the Lamb.
It is
important to understand the point of this passage. These people are those who come through the
tribulation. Tribulation is a fancy word
for time of trial or time of temptation.
They are washed in the blood of the Lamb.
In other
words, these are people who in the midst of the temptation of the world find
their identity in Christ. They are
people who follow God instead of following the sinful passions within their own
heart. These are the people that believe
when all hope is lost. There are the
people who follow when everyone else turns away. That’s sounds great, right?
Don’t
forget, the multitude is unable to be counted.
It is innumerable. Ever have a pity
day when it feels like no more faithful people exist? The multitude is innumerable. Ever have a day
where you swear the world has all gone astray?
The number is innumerable.
I am
reminded of a story when the prophet Elijah swore every other prophet had
abandoned God. God replied and told him
that there were literally thousands of prophets left. We tend to be doomsday tellers. Humans can focus on the negative, not the
positive. We tend to assume we are
alone. The reality though, is that there
is a great cloud of witnesses around us and they are innumerable.
<><
No comments:
Post a Comment