Who are these people that John saw standing in God’s presence, wearing white robes and waving palm branches (v. 9)? It’s important to notice that, when one of the elders asked John this question, John didn’t know either (v. 14). Since John himself had to have the meaning of his visions explained to him, we dare not be dogmatic about the Revelation, trying to construct out of it a definite history of the future, or to tease clues out of it that reveal the exact day and time of Christ’s return.

Instead, we can take great comfort from its big ideas, and no passage in the entire book is more encouraging than these verses. For here we see the fulfillment of so many of the promises of God. God promised Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the heavens and as the sand on the seashore (Genesis 22:17). God promised Abraham that in his Seed, in Christ, all the families of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:3). And John saw what God had promised to Abraham: a crowd that was impossible for anyone to number, a Church gathered from every corner of the world, out of every nation, tribe, people, and tongue (v. 9).

Now, it is true that all those who share the faith of Abraham have experienced great suffering throughout the ages. After all, John was told that the great multitude had indeed come out of the great tribulation (v. 14). But throughout the years, God has promised to keep His people safe through all their trials: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. 3 For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior” (Isaiah 43:1-3).

And John saw this promise kept as well, as God’s people give Him all the credit for their salvation (v. 10), finding purity not in elaborate rituals or rigorous ethics but only in the blood of Christ (v. 14). And because God lives among all who trust in Jesus, John saw that one day we will experience no more hunger or thirst. Instead, Christ our Shepherd will lead us to fountains of water (Psalm 23:2). And God will wipe away every tear from our eyes (v. 17).

So, no matter what trials we may face today, let’s remember how everything will turn out – for those who belong to Jesus.

Revelation 7:9-17 (ESV)

9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,
12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?”
14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.
17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”