Salvation Belongs to God and the Lamb - Lectionary Reflection for Easter 4C (Revelation 7)

Martyrs of Uganda

Revelation 7:9-17 New Revised Standard Version

⁹ 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. ¹⁰ They cried out in a loud voice, saying,

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

¹¹ 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, ¹² singing,

“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, robed in white, and where have they come from?” ¹⁴ I said to him, “Sir, you are the one that knows.” Then he said to me, “These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

¹⁵ For this reason they are before the throne of God,

    and worship him day and night within his temple,

    and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them.

¹⁶ They will hunger no more, and thirst no more;

    the sun will not strike them,

    nor any scorching heat;

¹⁷ for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd,

    and he will guide them to springs of the water of life,

and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

******************

                We continue the journey through the Book of Revelation. Once again, we watch what is going on around God’s throne where a great throng of people has gathered. This crowd is drawn from across the known world. It is diverse in ethnicity and background. What marks them are the white robes they’re wearing while they wave palm branches. The mention here of the palm branches reminds me of Jesus’ triumphal entry. But the image may go back even further as the symbolic usage of palm branches can be found in the mid-second century, during the oppressive reign of the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes. The waving palm branches accompanied the reclaiming of the Temple from Antiochus in 165 BCE (1 Maccabees13:51; 2 Macc. 10:7). This act served as a symbol of Jewish independence. Thus, we see here a celebration of liberation from oppression. The question before us concerns who these figures are who are drawn “from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages”? The answer, according to John, is that these are the ones who have gone through the “Great Ordeal” or tribulation.

                As we ponder the identity of the multitude, we need to step back into chapter 6 where John describes the Seven Seals, the fifth of which takes note of the souls of those who have been slaughtered because of their testimony and now shelter under the altar. They cry out to God asking when will God avenge their deaths? We’re told that these martyred saints are clothed with white robes and told to rest until their full number is complete. That is the full number of martyrs (Rev. 6:9-11). John’s story continues with the sixth seal, in which we see a cosmic disturbance take place, and the kings, magnates, and generals all hide from the wrath of the one on the throne and from the Lamb. Yes, there is a day of wrath (Rev. 6:12-17). This scene in chapter six is disturbing. It doesn’t fit well with our sensibilities, but is it not understandable that people who experience oppression and death want to see their oppressors punished? But, understandably, the lectionary creators allow us to skip over these difficult verses, but they need to be understood if we’re to understand what happens in our reading from chapter 7. I believe that Greg Stevenson has put his finger on the key to understanding all of this when he notes that “the sixth seal offers a symbolic assurance that the day of wrath will come as a manifestation of God’s presence. The symbolism of Revelation captures the meaning of events, not their literal description” [A Slaughtered Lamb, p. 150]. Yes, if we are to read Revelation responsibly, we need to understand that this is not a literal description of what is to come, but an attempt to understand the meaning of events. The message here is justice will be served. 

                Our task is to address what we find in chapter seven, which begins after the sixth seal is opened, and the cosmic disruption takes place, marking the end of the old age. The chapter begins with the sealing of the 144,000 from the tribes of Israel. Again, let us remember that John is using symbolic wording to convey a word of assurance to the saints of God who are suffering. So, by speaking of the 144,000 we should not read a literal number, but a sign of wholeness (Rev.7:1-8). This is where our passage begins, after the sealing of tribes of Israel, John brings in to view this great multitude too great to count. That multitude includes the 144,000 plus all the rest of this mass of humanity who have given their allegiance, despite the cost, to the one on the throne and to the Lamb. In other words, this crowd is composed of both Jew and Gentile. It is this gather of saints clothed in white robes washed in the blood of the Lamb. That is, they have shared in Jesus’ own martyrdom through their faithful witness. Remember that Jesus, the Lamb of God, is the “faithful witness, the first-born of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth” (Rev. 1:5).

                The question that brings chapter 6 to a close concerns who will stand in the end? Who is going to remain faithful during the great ordeal? The answer is this: The multitude includes the 144,000 along with the rest of the great multitude who have been vindicated and now gather around the throne of God and declare “Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne and to the Lamb!” (Rev. 7:9-10). As we watch this scene we’re invited to join in the service of worship. As we ponder our own faithfulness, we can offer praise to God from whom we receive our salvation. As we do so, we’re reminded that worship is foundational to living in the midst of suffering and oppression. As I ponder this scene my thoughts go to the believers in Ukraine who celebrated Easter (Pascha) even as their nation is being invaded, strangely in the name of the same God they profess to worship.  

                It is important to remember that John writes about two groups. One group is composed of those who endure persecution or suffer due to their faith in Jesus (the Lamb). The other group is composed of those who have chosen to save themselves by accommodating themselves to the Roman imperial system. One group gives allegiance to God and the Lamb, and in doing so they become martyrs. To borrow from H. Richard Niebuhr, this is the “Christ against Culture” group. The other group saves themselves by exchanging allegiance to God and the Lamb with allegiance to Caesar. You might call this the “Christ of Culture” group (if Christ is even present). The point for them and us is simply this:  If Jesus is Lord, then Caesar cannot be Lord. We have to choose. So, which is it?

                This gathering of saints makes their declaration that salvation comes from God who sits upon the heavenly throne and the Lamb. Not only do they envision liberation or deliverance, but ultimately what they envision is the dismantling of the old age and the inbreaking of the new. Salvation is from God, not Caesar or Satan (are they not the same?). As Ron Allen writes: “In the broader perspective of the book of Revelation, Satan attempts to deceive people into thinking that Caesar’s rule is salvation when, in fact, that rule leads to exploitation, fractiousness, and violence” [I Will Tell You the Mystery, p. 81]. Might we be seeing just this happening to the Christian community in the United States and elsewhere in the populism that seems to have captivated a certain portion of the Christian community? That a significant portion of the Evangelical community not only voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020 but holds him up as a savior figure should tell us something about the possibilities of trading the realm of God for a lesser kingdom.  

                Getting back to our text, we watch as the multitude is joined by the angels, the elders, and the four living creatures, all of whom fall on their faces before God’s throne and sing a song of thanksgiving. Yes, “Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen!” (Rev. 7:11-12). This heavenly hymn leads to a question on the part of one of the elders. The elder asks about the identity of the multitude. The elder is told that these are the ones who washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb. That is, they have shared with Jesus the faithful testimony that ended, as it did for Jesus, in their martyrdom. In other words, this isn’t a word about atonement theology. It’s a word about faithfulness in the face of great oppression. Will you stand? They answered with their lives.

                This leads to a chorus that tells us that the multitude gathers around the throne of God to worship day and night because the one seated on the throne will shelter them. Yes, here is the promise of God. The multitude of those who remain faithful will not suffer hunger or thirst. The sun will no longer beat down upon them with its scorching heat. That is because “the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd.” Cue the 23^rd Psalm! The Lamb who is now the shepherd “will guide them to springs of the water of life.” Then “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Rev. 7:15-17). The path forward may be difficult. Being a faithful witness may lead to oppression, but God is faithful. Now, just a warning to modern Christians. This promise of God’s vindication and comfort does not give us cause to be a nuisance. Let it be a faithful witness that causes difficulty, not our own abhorrent behavior. This doesn’t excuse us from living in a way that turns off those who might welcome the message of Jesus if it weren’t for Christians failing to live according to the way of Jesus, the way of the new creation!  

Image attribution: Martyrs of Uganda, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56886 [retrieved April 28, 2022]. Original source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jimforest/5710252358 - CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.