When John saw the elect multitude gathered around the throne, clothed in white robes, with palms of victory in their hands, the Lord wanted John and us to get the comfort and encouragement of the vision. So he sent one of the elders to John, saying, "What are these which are arrayed in white robes? And whence came they?" Certainly, the elder was not seeking instruction from John. He knew the answers to those questions. His intention was to give John, the tried, troubled afflicted exile, a word of instructive comfort and assurance. In essence, he was saying, "John, all these men and women you see were once just like you. They were sinners saved by grace, through faith in the blood of Christ. They were tempted, tried, and troubled upon the earth. But trusting Christ, they obtained the victory they now enjoy. And you too shall be victorious. Though now you suffer by reason of many sorrows and sins, you shall never perish. You shall at last find your place among this multitude around the throne."
Are you tempted and tried? Is your life a constant warfare with sin, Satan, and the world? Do you now find yourself in the midst of great tribulation? If so, if you are a suffering, sorrowful believer, this picture is intended to instruct and comfort.
Proposition:Your trials will not destroy you – Trusting Christ, you will win the victory at last.
Divisions:As we look at these verses together, I want to show you Three Characteristics Of The Saints In Heaven. I pray that God the Holy Spirit will graciously use these simple words to both instruct and comfort you, as you make your pilgrimage through this world. Here are three things which are true of all who are now with Christ in heaven.
I. Here is the first thing I want you to see with regard to these saints around the throne – They All Once Suffered With Christ.
The elder says, "These are they which came out of great tribulation." It is wrong to suggest that this phrase refers to some single, specific time of great tribulation, either past or present. It includes all that has been or shall be endured by God's elect in this world. God's saints in this world have always had to endure great tribulation. They have "had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bands and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sown asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wondered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, and tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy!) They wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in caves of the earth" (Heb. 11:36-38). All who ever entered heaven "came out of great tribulation."
My friend, God has no children whom he does not chasten. There is not a branch in the Father's vineyard that does not feel the pruning knife. There is not an ounce of gold that is not refined in the fire. None will ever have a path of luxury and ease to the kingdom of God. If we would reign with Christ, we must first suffer with him – (II Tim. 2:12). "We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God." (Acts 14:22).
A. Read Over The Histories Of These Men And Women Who Have Gone Before You, And You Will See That They All Came Out Of Great Tribulation Into The Heavenly Kingdom.
All the heroes of faith were men of sorrow upon the earth. There is not a single man or women of whom we have assurance is in heaven today who did not suffer greatly upon the earth.
1. Abel was murdered by his own brother, for worshipping God.
2. Abraham, the friend of God, walked through a constant sea of sorrow – (His Father – Lot – Sodom – Ishmael – Isaac).
3. Moses, the man chosen of God to deliver Israel, was constantly pressed down with the weight of sorrow.
4. David, the Man after God's own heart, singularly suffered by the hand of God as few men, if any, ever have.
5. Joseph, the great type of Christ, suffered constantly at the hands of both his brothers and the Egyptians.
6. Lazarus, suffered at the rich man's gate.
7. Mary and Martha wept at the tomb of their brother.
8. Paul was constantly in heaviness.
9. Mary, the mother of Jesus, had her heart pierced with many sorrows because of him.
10. Jeremiah, the prophet of God, was the weeping prophet.
11. Isaac was persecuted by Ishmael.
12. Jacob limped into heaven on the thigh that God had broken.
13. Hannah, the handmaiden of the Lord, wept before God.
14. Job, the patriarch of Uz, was squeezed in sorrow until he cursed the day of his birth.
The list could go on and on. But I will stop with these fourteen names. These fourteen men and women were among the saints John saw in heaven. They all had come out of great tribulation.
B. What Are The Lessons For Us? What Are We To Learn From The Picture Of God's Saints In Heaven Coming Out Of Great Tribulation?
Let me just give you four or five words of practical instruction.
1. If you would enter heaven, you must first suffer great tribulation.
You cannot go to heaven, but by following the steps of Christ. And the steps of Christ are all marked with pain and sorrow. I do not suggest that there is merit in suffering. But I do mean for you to understand that the path of faith is a rough path, always contrary to the flesh.
a. You will have to endure all the trials that other people have to endure in this world.
b. You will have the added trials of slander, reproach, and persecution for Christ's sake.
c. You will also have to endure the trials of faith, by which God proves his own.
d. You will have the terrible trials of warfare in your own soul with sin.
The word translated "tribulation," actually refers to the old threshing instrument, by which farmers used to beat out the corn, separating the grain from the chaff. Tribulation is the means by which God separates the precious from the vile. We need our trials –
3. The Lord will graciously sustain, strengthen, and preserve you in the midst of your temptations, trials, and tribulation.
a. In every trial, Christ is with you.
b. In every temptation, Christ makes a way of escape.
c. In every need, Christ gives grace sufficient to meet the need.
d. Every time you fall, Christ will pick you up.
4. No matter what your sorrow is, no matter how great your tribulation may be, it will be prove to be best for your soul, best for the cause of Christ, and best for the glory of God.
5. You will come out of great tribulation into the glorious kingdom of God – (Rom. 8:17).
All the saints in heaven once suffered with Christ, just like you do. As he was faithful to them, he will be faithful to you. As he preserved them, he will preserve you.
II. Secondly, I want you to notice that They Are All Sanctified In Christ.
They "have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."
A. All The Saints In Heaven Were Once Sinners Just Like You And Me.
That is a cheering thought. That should inspire hope in the heart of the guilty. These men and women were all hewn from the same rock and dug out of the same pit that all of us are in by nature.
B. All The Saints In Heaven Are There By Virtue Of Christ's Blood Atonement.
Not one of that vast multitude stands before the throne on the grounds of his merit, his works, or his goodness. They all are blood washed sinners!
C. All The Saints In Heaven Received The Atonement The Same Way.
Their atonement was accomplished by Christ at Calvary. He washed away their sins when he died (Rev. 1:5). But here we are told that they washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. What does that mean? They, by faith, received the atonement, which Christ obtained for them.
D. The Atonement Had The Same Effect Upon And Was Equal To Them All.
Everyone of the blood washed multitude are –All the saints in heaven are perfectly sanctified before God, holy, righteous, and pure by faith in the blood of Christ.
III. And, thirdly, They Are All Satisfied By Christ – (v. 15).
In heaven the saints of God have all that they need or desire.
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