Revelation 7:9–17

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Good shepherd Sunday: the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd.

⁹After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." ¹¹All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹²saying: "Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!" ¹³Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes— who are they, and where did they come from?" ¹⁴I answered, "Sir, you know." And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵Therefore, "they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. ¹⁶Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. ¹⁷For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

“All the world is a stage and all the men and women merely players,” said Shakespeare. If that is the case, then John in his vision of heaven had the opportunity to go back stage and see the author of the play. He watched the producers, the stage hands, the costume people and the make up people who were putting on the drama of life. In his vision, John saw not only the drama unfolding on earth and in our lives, but he saw how and why it was taking place. He saw the cause, the meaning and the purpose of the events taking place in our world and our life.

So what did John see? The reading appointed in the church calendar for today gives us only one scene in the play. But in order to understand this scene, we must first know what took place in the scene just before it.

Allow me then to take you back to the first scene. Here we read that John saw four angels standing at the four corners of the stage, that is, the earth. These angels were poised to unleash God’s wrath on the earth for its sin and corruption. But before they were allowed to unleash the wrath of God, another angel came and called out to the four angels and said: “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”

Here we notice several things: First we notice that we are looking at what is taking place on earth, but we see it from the point of view of heaven; from back stage, if you will. We see that it was all planned out; the script already written, and the choreography all worked out. Our life is not just a random sequence of circumstances that is running out of control, without meaning or purpose. It is all in God’s hands and is takes place according to his plan and will accomplish his purposes.

Second: we see God’s wrath and anger and judgment on sin. Why were these angels taking their place on the stage waiting to unleash harm? Because of sin and evil that reigns in our hearts and lives. Because of our sinful rebellion against God and the evil acts, thoughts and words that our evil heart produces. The destruction and harm that these angels are appointed to pour out are the judgment of God upon the sin and rebellion of mankind. The natural and political disasters and plagues which take place in our world are evidence of the wrath of God on account of sin.

But third we see God’s grace and mercy. Before the four angels are allowed to enter the stage and unleash their havoc, another angel calls to them: “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” They are not allowed to do any harm until the servants of God are sealed with his protection. St. Paul says that “having believed we were marked in Christ with a seal; the promised Holy Spirit.” In our baptism we are marked with a seal. This is to “guarantee our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession.”

We are sealed by the Holy Spirit. Our inheritance is secure. Our Salvation is guaranteed. This seal assures us that in spite of the suffering, the judgment and the wrath of God poured out on the world, he will keep us safe in his hands and we shall not lose our inheritance of eternal life. On account of this seal we shall not be lost or separated from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Then John saw those who were sealed; 144,000. A relatively small number. a finite number. A number that can be counted. The saints on earth are few in number.

These 144,000 were arranged in order. 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel. This signifies the church of Christ living on earth. It is the entire church of Christ on earth, all lined up in rows. Organized, as it were, like an army in formation, ready to go into battle. Standing in platoons, companies, and battalions. Rows and rows of soldiers.

This is what we know as the church militant; the mighty army of God living on earth and waging war against Satan his kingdom. The enemy is strong, the battle fierce. We are under constant attack from Satan and temptation. We are tempted by Satan, the world and our own sinful flesh. Our enemies are sin, death and the devil. They are too strong for us mortal men.

We are constantly under attack. We suffer, we are wounded and sometimes we even die in this battle. Our life in this world is one of suffering, sorrow and tears. We suffer hunger and thirst. We are exposed to the heat of the sun and burned. Some fall wounded. Others fall dead. But all are secure in God’s love and salvation. Not one single believer will be lost from God. All will be saved because we are sealed by the Holy Spirit. Whether we suffer and die in this world, we will be raised to eternal life.

Though the enemy is powerful, we have a mighty champion who fought for us and won the victory. He gives us powerful weapons. Our champion and savior is Jesus Christ himself, the Lamb who was slain. He laid down his life like a Lamb being slaughtered, to save us from the enemy. And he took it up again to proclaim his victory. He gives us the powerful weapons of Word and Sacrament. By the power of his Gospel we wage war against Satan and his kingdom of sin. By the administration of the Sacraments the dominion of Satan crumbles. The battle is fierce but our weapons are sure and mighty so that in the end the church militant will prevail because the Lamb who died has risen and sits on the right hand of God the Father on the throne. That is the first scene.

In the second scene, the one from our text today, we see a multitude of people that cannot be counted. They are clothed in white and standing around the throne and in front of the Lamb holding palm branches in their hands. They were worshipping God and the Lamb saying, “Salvation belongs to our God.” This is the church in heaven, the church triumphant. This is the eternal worship of God and the Lamb that is continuous; it goes on day and night and will never come to an end. The reason for this worship is the Salvation of mankind. Our Salvation is the greatest act of God; the pivotal point of all history. Our Salvation by the death of the Lamb is the central event in all heaven and earth. It is the basis of all worship and the reason for our being. It was in order to save us that God created us. The blood of the Lamb poured out on the cross is the meaning of human existence and life; both our life here in the church militant, and our life in heaven in the church triumphant.

The church triumphant was no mere 144,000; it was a multitude which could not be counted. It was all the people which the Lamb had purchased for God with his blood. It was people from every nations. It was people who spoke every language. It was made up of all races and nationalities. It was the church of God; all of God’s chosen and elect people from all the world and all time. They are standing around the throne singing the great chorus: “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”

These are the saints who have gone before us and are now in the church triumphant. Their robes have been washed in the blood of the Lamb so they are white. Their sins are forgiven. The Lamb has presented them to his Father as a bride, holy, spotless, without wrinkle or blemish, because the blood of the Lamb has atoned for their sin and made them whole.

They stand before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple. He who sits on the throne spreads his tent over them. His tent protects them. Their warfare is ended. They were triumphant over sin and death because of the Lamb and the power of the Gospel given to them. Their suffering has ceased. They will never again hunger. They will never again thirst. The sun shall not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat.

The Lamb at the center of the throne is their shepherd. Just as he is our shepherd. The shepherd who leads the sheep to green pastures and cool waters. He has led them to the green pastures where they shall never again hunger. He has led them to the still, cool waters, so they shall never again thirst. He has led them from the church militant to the church triumphant. Just as he is leading us to the church triumphant today.

The Lamb is our shepherd. All our wants shall be met. He is leading us to the green pastures and still waters of heaven. He is with us in the shadow of the valley of death. His rod protects us and his staff leads us. He will anoint us with the oil of gladness and prepare a banquet before us. Yes, he leads us to the church triumphant and there we shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

There in the church triumphant he will wipe away all our tears. Our sorrows and sufferings will cease forever. Instead of being in rank and file like the church militant, we will be one big mob of people, dressed in white and singing the worship of our God.

Even today, here in the church militant, we are strengthened and given courage by this vision of the church triumphant where we are soon to be. In the liturgy of the divine service we join with the church triumphant in the eternal worship going on in heaven. As we sing the praises of our God for his Salvation we are joining with them in worship. As we receive the forgiveness of sins in absolution we join their worship of the Lamb whose blood takes away the sin of the world. As we hear his word read and proclaimed we join with them in worship. As we receive the sacrament of baptism we are united to their worship and as we partake of the Holy Communion we join with the church triumphant in their continual worship. As we serve our neighbor in love through vocation we worship the Lamb and as we fight the good fight against Satan and his kingdom we are sustained by the worship of the Lamb through word and sacrament.

This vision which the Lord gave John of the church triumphant is meant for us. It was meant to encourage and strengthen us in our warfare for in it we see where we are going. We see the church triumphant of which we will some day be part. We see the glory that will be ours once our sufferings are ended. This give us hope; this gives us courage; this gives us strength. For the Lamb that was slain is our shepherd who leads this little flock from the church militant to the church triumphant.

Amen.