When God wins, we all win. What does that mean? Am I saying that everyone – even sinners – win?! Maybe?But what if I’m not saying that, instead I’m just revealing it.
Revelation 7:9-17
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. They cried out in a loud voice, saying,
“Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
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, singing,
“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom
and thanksgiving and honor
and power and might
be to our God forever and ever!
Amen.”
Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?” 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.
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.
They will hunger no more, and thirst no more;
the sun will not strike them,
nor any scorching heat;
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.”
Trying to write about a passage from Revelation always feels a bit daunting. In reading this passage, there are so many questions that I don’t have answers to. And even the ones that I think I have answers to, I am not sure how theologically sound anything I understand about the book of Revelation is. But I do know that when God wins, we all win.
That being said, there is some beautiful and inspiring imagery in the book that is enough to meditate on. Even if I don’t fully understand the symbolism and context. The foundational drive of the book that I can come back to is that good and evil exist in this world we live in. God defeats evil and participating in that fight is a choice I make. Don’t give up, it is worth the fight.
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.
This looks like it could be a scene from a trendy contemporary christian music video. Have an over obvious diverse crowd dressed in white robes singing with palm branches in their hands surrounding the stage while the cool good looking christian artist is at the mic with a wool jacket on gesturing cruciform poses while singing.(Sorry that was a thought I am supposed to just keep to myself)
A popularized take on the book of Revelation is that it is a guide to the end times with a code to crack if you want to survive the end of the world and get to heaven. That take on it sells but it is not valid. It is as valid the idea that a multi-millionaire televangelist is a good representation of Jesus. People buy it because that’s what they want to believe, but it’s not valid.
So how can I read this incredible piece of ancient sacred text in a way that moves me toward transformation and a clearer understanding of God’s presence in our world? One way is to read it through the lens of metaphoric understanding. Jesus spoke in parables(metaphors) because there was truth there that could apply to many situations and span across many generations in a world that is ever evolving. So I hold that Revelation can be read as such. Anchored by core concepts like: Stay faithful. God triumphs over evil. Love wins. Revelation offers a message of “Hope against all odds because there is always more to what is going on than we can see.”
So one of the ways that I hold on to Revelation is to remember that others have gone before me and fought a fight against evil in this world and suffered greatly. But they didn’t give up. I may be afraid to trust God with my plans but they were having to trust God while waiting to be spit out into a gladiator arena for the senseless entertainment of a Roman governor. Suddenly my trust issues seem like I’m just a whiner. How can I not draw inspiration from people like that.
When I am working with others and it is hard for me to be patient with them, imagine complaining about it to someone who is being tortured for professing their faith in Jesus. Or even something so banal as trying to overcome feelings of inadequacy at work as I create a presentation for a client I want to serve I can then direct my thoughts to how small that really is in the grand scheme of this world and the one to come. How little all of that matters in light of Jesus triumphing over evil and how eventually we will all transcend into a world where he is king and we are worshiping at his throne with angels and “living creatures” and joy is the sustaining element that we are fed. And little ol’ me is worshiping next to saints that were beheaded or fed to lions!
Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?” 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.
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.
They will hunger no more, and thirst no more;
the sun will not strike them,
nor any scorching heat;
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.”
What I love about this is that the promise is not that we come through our suffering and its over and we get on with our lives. But its the same as the promise we read about in Job. It’s why James tells us to consider it pure joy when we suffer trials of many kinds. The promise is this: On the other side of our suffering is something greater than we can imagine. On the other side of our suffering is a life better than what we were living. On the other side of our suffering is a life we couldn’t create for ourselves. And its waiting for us. We just have have to keep fighting and not give in or give up.
So whether I am suffering or doubting or feeling weak, Revelation stands as a reminder to keep fighting the good fight. We know the ending: God Wins! When God wins, everyone wins!