Revelation 7:9-17

Revelation 7:9: “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.”

Jehovah’s Witnesses claim that the 144,000 people that are mentioned in Revelation 7:4 are the only people who will be saved. Somehow they stop reading just before verse 9, which talks about “a great multitude, which no man could number”. Their claim is nonsense: the number of people who will be saved is an exceedingly great number. Salvation is not limited to 144,000 people.

So who are these people? Despite what you may think, this group is not a massive rally of everyone who has ever been saved. The passage explains that they are actually a very specific group of people:

Revelation 7:13: “And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

Notice that the elders (which represents the Church!) calls this group of people “they” and not “us”. This group is not a part of the Church; they represent a different group. Remember, the Church is not composed of all believers who have ever lived; it only consists of those who came to believe during this Age. The Old Testament saints were saved, but they are not a part of the Church.

The elder goes on to say that “these are they which came out of great tribulation”. In other words, these are Tribulation saints who were saved after the Rapture. These people were saved thanks to the preaching of the 144,000 witnesses.

What this means is that the preaching of these witnesses (which I think will happen after the 6th seal but before the 7th) will be spectacularly successful. In a very short amount of time a tremendous number of people will be saved – “a great multitude, which no man could number”. These will be people from “all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues”. One could say that there will be a tremendous revival, of a type never before seen in history. It will be spectacular.

Now, it’s worth noting that verse 9 says that these people are standing before the Throne in Heaven. That means that they are not on Earth – and that means they were martyred. In other words, during the Tribulation there will be a tremendous revival, but those who are saved will be hunted down and killed. They will save their souls, but lose their lives.

God has a special promise for these people:

Revelation 7:15: “Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.
17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”

This group of people will not be a part of the Bride, the Church. However, they will be blessed: they will serve God “day and night in his temple”, and God will dwell among them. Their days of suffering will be over: “they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat”. God will feed them, and wipe away their tears, and give them joy. They will have rest from the intense persecution that they suffered.

So: after the sixth seal is opened and has taken effect, 144,000 Jews will preach the gospel to all nations. A great many people will be saved, and then martyred. These people will be given a special blessing – they will serve God in His temple, and God will take care of them, wipe away all their sorrows, give them joy and rest.