They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.
The verse promises that the redeemed will never again suffer hunger or thirst, nor be struck by scorching sun and heat, for all want, hardship, exposure and distress are ended forever. It belongs to those who have come out of great tribulation, washed their robes white in the blood of the Lamb, and now stand before the throne of God serving Him day and night while He dwells among them. There the Lamb in the midst of the throne shepherds them and leads them to living fountains of waters, and God wipes away all tears so there is no more death, sorrow, crying or pain. Its fulfillment is the future home of the faithful in the city of God and the earth made new, entered at the resurrection morning and the coming of Jesus in the kingdom of glory. It is given to comfort the afflicted and those warring the good warfare, calling them now to wash the robe of character in the Lamb's blood, keep God's commandments, and endure suffering for Christ in hope of that rest.
Promise and Its Setting
They shall hunger no more and thirst no more, and the sun shall never strike them with its light nor any scorching heat, for all deprivation, want, bodily hardship, exposure, and distress are forever ended for the redeemed. This is the portion of the great multitude from every nation and kindred and people and tongue who stand before the throne and before the Lamb clothed in white robes with palms in their hands crying salvation to God and to the Lamb, having washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. The Lamb who is in the midst of the throne feeds them and leads them to living fountains of waters, to springs of water, while God wipes away all tears from their eyes.
It belongs to those who have come out of great tribulation and now stand before God's throne, for whom the conflict and tribulation and strife are over. In the splendor and the sunless splendors of the eternal day their earthly suffering, misery, want, persecution, reproach, sorrow, and affliction inflicted by a rebellious world have ended, and they are no longer exposed to what they endured in the world. They are therefore before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple, with Him who sits on the throne dwelling among them in abiding presence and security. Led by Jesus Himself to the Father into the mansions above, the white-robed ones made white in the Lamb's blood stand before God in that nearness and service where freedom from hunger and thirst and from striking sun and burning heat is surely seen and realized.
The promise is given as a beautiful pastoral picture of the members of the Lord's family as sheep under the Shepherd's care, stated in human terms that can be taken in and rich in eloquence. In that state the redeemed are no longer a scattered, feeble company suffering the satanic passions of a rebellious world expressing the sentiments, doctrines, and counsels of demons, for the strong and terrible masters of iniquity in the world under Satan's control are overthrown. The loyal no longer need fear force or fraud as long as they are loyal and true, because the mighty Lord God who judges Babylon defends them, One mightier than the strong man armed set for their defense, and those who believed and stood in defense of the truth and firmly defended God's laws are given all power and greatness and excellence of character.
Hungering no more and thirsting no more also means Christ opening to them the treasures and riches of Bible truth that are little appreciated now and hidden from eyes. What they are doing before the throne is receiving those opened riches, and the more they look at the promises of the Word of God the brighter they grow, and the more they practice its principles the deeper their understanding becomes. This is life eternal, to know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He sent, as a priceless treasure hidden in a field to be bought and worked in every foot, calling God's people now to advance as light comes, leaving earthliness and commonness to grasp the eternal.
People Who Receive It
They are the great unnumbered multitude from every nation and kindred and people and tongue, standing before the throne and before the Lamb clothed in white robes and with palms in their hands, crying salvation to God and to the Lamb while angels worship around them. They have come up through great tribulation out of destitution and hunger and torture, out of deep self-denial and bitter disappointments, out of the fiery furnace of earthly affliction heated intensely hot, hated by all for Christ's sake, yet counting it a privilege in this life to suffer for Him and to cooperate with Him. In the resurrection morning when loved ones fallen in death are raised and the broken links of the family chain are reunited, they together meet Jesus as the center and foundation of all hope with a morning joy never before known. They stand around the throne serving God day and night while He dwells among them, and the Lamb in the midst of the throne feeds them and leads them to living fountains of waters while God wipes away all tears, so that hunger and thirst and striking sun and burning heat are ended forever.
They are those who came out of great tribulation and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Through repentance toward God their robes of character are washed, their names are registered in the Lamb's book of life, they stand in white raiment, and washing and enduring tribulation for Him are the marks shared by all admitted before the throne. They are the white-robed ones led by Jesus Himself to the Father to the mansions above, where they are before the throne of God serving Him day and night in His temple with God dwelling among them. Their freedom is pictured as members of the Lord's family as sheep under the Shepherd's care, and it belongs to the soon-coming time when the period of toil ends and God's people see Jesus and are made like Him. For the afflicted this is comfort by pointing them to Jesus and to that future where the Lamb feeds them and God wipes away every tear.
The promise follows the holding of the four winds of the earth by four angels until the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads, including the sealing of the 144,000, and it points to wonderful things about to transpire of intense interest to every living soul. After enduring the final time of trouble with its famine and thirst and the sun's scorching heat, the 144,000 will suffer these things no more. Then in God's presence the Lamb will feed them and lead them to living fountains of water, and God will wipe away every tear.
They are Christ's chosen few who keep all the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus, for whom the harm that would strike earth and sea is held back until they are sealed. They are the overcomers who sigh and cry for the abominations done among those who profess to be God's people, who receive the sign, the mark of God in their foreheads, and are registered in the books of heaven as overcomers. These marked ones are spared when the ministers of destruction go through the city to slay utterly, beginning at the sanctuary, and the solemn predictions concerning them will speedily be fulfilled and must be impressed upon every heart.
They receive the inheritance among the sanctified in the heavenly Canaan, where the eternally saved redeemed host arrayed in white robes around the throne each has an apportioned place and portion and is fully satisfied. Being pilgrims and strangers on earth makes that inheritance more enjoyable. Fitness for that state is washing the robe of character white in the blood of the Lamb and putting on the white robe of Christ's righteousness through earnest, firm, decided, self-possessed and persevering overcoming, which fits them for the society of heavenly angels and for the mansions prepared for those who love Him and for the rest that remains for the people of God where they shall see Jesus whom their souls love. The vision places this promise also in the restored earth, where the saints dwell in the city and enjoy its abundance after coming through great tribulation, forever freed from want of food and drink and from oppressive heat, fed by the Lamb in the midst of the throne and led to living fountains of waters with every tear wiped away.
Care in God's Presence
The Lamb in the midst of the throne feeds the redeemed, shepherds them, provides for them, and leads them to living fountains of waters, to springs of water, to the fountain of living waters and to the tree of life. Those so led are the great multitude from all nations and kindreds and peoples and tongues who have come out of great tribulation with robes washed white in the blood of the Lamb, who stand before the throne and before the Lamb clothed in white robes with palms in their hands crying salvation to God and to the Lamb, who serve Him day and night in His temple while He who sits on the throne dwells among them. When they reach the mansions above they are led by Jesus Himself to the Father, and freedom from hunger and thirst and from striking sun and burning heat is then surely seen and realized. It belongs to the soon-coming time when the period of toil ends and God's people see Jesus and are made like Him.
God wipes away all tears from their eyes, so there is no more death, sorrow, crying, or pain. Freedom from hunger, thirst, sun and heat is pardon, everlasting life, happiness, comfort, and complete relief and care for those who dwell with Christ forever. The Lamb cares for the multitude before God's throne and leads them to living fountains of water while God wipes away their tears.
Christ leads that company step by step heavenward, high or low, rich or poor, explaining His Word to them as He brings them to the living waters. Those who do self-sacrificing work and are proved and sanctified and numbered with that company will receive freedom from want and suffering, and all are urged to take part in advancing heavenward so as not to lose this reward. This heavenly life is a continuing approach to God through Christ, with glory and joy increasing as they know God more fully. The longer the redeemed are in the heaven of bliss, the more of glory is revealed to them, and the more they know God the more intense their happiness becomes. Heaven begins here as believers come to Jesus, learn of Him, approach God through Christ, and are filled with His love and satisfied with His presence up to all human nature can bear, but the verse shows the future fullness of that bliss is far greater.
They unite with angels, cast crowns at the Redeemer's feet, greet those who directed them to the Saviour, and fill heaven with songs of victory to the Lamb who died that they might have life that measures with the life of God, including the song of Moses and the Lamb. Their happiness and everlasting life are secured through Christ's humiliation, wounds, and stripes that brought pardon and healing, welcomed for cooperating with Christ and counting it privilege and honor to suffer for His sake. The Captain of salvation, the King of kings, opens before them the record of the great victories won on earth by the prayer of faith. Human beings are not now far enough advanced in spiritual attainments to comprehend the mysteries of God, but then those mysteries will be unfolded before them, matters on which God now keeps silence will be explained, the ways of Providence will be made clear, and the mysteries of grace through Christ will be unfolded. What seemed unexplainable will be seen in order, truth will be plain without obscurity, controversies will end, and every difficulty will be solved with joy, with sorrow and separation ended and peace, happiness and glory continuing through the ceaseless ages of eternity in the city of God around the throne in triumph and victory and praise to God and to the Lamb.
Clothed in white shining heavenly garments richer than any kingly robe, wearing jeweled crowns such as never decked any earthly monarch, and bearing palm branches of victory with loud hosannas, they are conquerors and more than conquerors, no longer poor, no longer in sorrow and affliction and want. They have trodden the fiery furnace of earthly affliction heated intensely hot, coming from destitution, hunger and torture, from deep self-denial and bitter disappointments, hated of all men for Christ's sake, from all classes, nations and kindreds and peoples and tongues. They are no longer a scattered, feeble company suffering the Satanic passions of a rebellious world expressing the sentiments, doctrines, and counsels of demons, for the strong and terrible masters of iniquity under Satan's control are overthrown because strong is the Lord God who judges Babylon. The just have no longer anything to fear from force or fraud as long as they are loyal and true, for One mightier than the strong man armed is set for their defense in the sunless splendors of eternal day. All power and greatness and excellence of character will be given to those who believed and stood in defense of the truth, standing up and firmly defending the laws of God. Gathered within the fold of the great Shepherd, living in the presence of Him who died to elevate, ennoble, and give the overcomer a royal diadem, they are made sharers of the Redeemer's throne in honor and glory as the Lamb seated in the midst of the throne greets them and leads them to the tree of life and to the fountain of living waters.
Time and Place Fulfilled
The promise looks to the future home waiting for the faithful, the mansions above and the immortal world where the redeemed dwell with Him who sits on the throne. It belongs to the overcomers' heavenly home in the city of God, where they stand in victory around the great white throne clothed in white robes and bearing palm branches, beyond the reach of persecution and the dragon's venom. It shows the life of the meek when they inherit the promised earth made new, the new heavens and a new earth wherein dwells righteousness, with no more curse and with the throne of God and of the Lamb in it. There Jesus Himself leads the white-robed ones made white in the blood of the Lamb to the Father, and they stand before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple with God dwelling among them, fed by the Lamb in the midst of the throne and led to living fountains of waters while God wipes away all tears. There Jesus is and peace is, with no disappointment, no sorrow, no sin, no sickness, no burial trains, no mourning, no death, no partings, and no broken hearts, and its attractions are to be contemplated and rejoiced in as motives for consecration and devotion.
It will be fulfilled in the resurrection morning when loved ones who have fallen in death are raised and the broken links of the family chain are reunited. Then separated believers will meet again and see the King in His beauty, and together meet Jesus as the center and foundation of all hope. Then the great multitude which no man can number from all nations and kindreds and peoples and tongues will stand before the throne and before the Lamb in white robes with palms, crying salvation to God and to the Lamb while angels worship. Then the redeemed saints will know a morning joy never before known, free forever from hunger and thirst and from the striking of sun and heat.
It promises the soon-coming time when the period of toil ends and God's people see Jesus and are made like Him. It promises eternal life in the kingdom of glory with its unfading crown, and its words will be verily fulfilled. It belongs to those who come out of great tribulation with robes washed white in the blood of the Lamb and who are before the throne serving day and night while He dwells among them, including the great unnumbered multitude from all nations, kindreds, peoples, and tongues in white robes with palms, following the holding of the four winds until the servants of God are sealed and the sealing of the 144,000. It points to wonderful things about to transpire in the future of intense interest to every soul living on the earth, and it is part of solemn predictions that will speedily be fulfilled and must be impressed upon every heart, describing the future of the overcomers who sigh and cry for abominations, receive God's mark in their foreheads, are registered in heaven, and are spared when destruction begins at the sanctuary.
The triumph and joys of the redeemed were shown to John as part of the scenes of Revelation. They belong to the vision of those who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Their glory and joy inspire longing to stand in God's presence, and heaven is portrayed as happiness and pure fellowship among holy beings, angels, and the redeemed.
Prophetic Context and Warning
The promise stands within the representation given in Revelation 7 for consideration and comfort and encouragement, belonging to Christ's chosen few who keep all the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus. The Angel of the covenant ascending from the east is the Dayspring from on high and Light of the world, the Restorer and Redeemer who purchased the world by giving Himself for its ransom. He commands the four angels commissioned to hurt the earth and the sea to hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads. He holds in check the four winds until He gives His summons, with the divine and the human united in that work.
Revelation 7:9 to the close, together with Revelation 6:12-17, brings to view two parties when God pronounces judgment upon the children of men for transgressing the law and breaking the everlasting covenant and receiving according to their works. One party permitted themselves to be deceived and took sides with those with whom the Lord has a controversy, misinterpreted the messages sent them, clothed themselves in robes of self-righteousness, did not see sin as sinful, taught falsehood as truth, and by them many souls were led astray. Revelation 6 and 7 are full of meaning and reveal terrible judgments of God in which His right hand dashes His enemies in pieces as He goes forth to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity.
Revelation 7:9 to the close of the chapter exposes the unprepared state of the people for the judgment and sets forth their condition. It draws the line between genuine sanctification and the common spurious sanctification, calling for genuine sanctification. The scenes hold a message to be given to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people on earth. They show that burying talents in worldly business and commercialism and becoming engrossed in the things of this world profits nothing, and that the work needed now is preparing for Christ's coming to be among the number who will be sealed with robes washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb.
Comfort and Holy Living
The promise brings comfort, assurance and encouragement to every soul warring the good warfare for eternal life, and especially to the afflicted and bereaved by pointing them to Jesus and to the future of the redeemed. It pictures the Lord's family as sheep under the Shepherd's care in a beautiful pastoral picture stated in human terms that can be taken in, rich in eloquence, belonging to those in white robes who came out of great tribulation with robes washed white in the blood of the Lamb, who stand before the throne serving day and night with God dwelling among them, fed by the Lamb and led to living fountains of waters with every tear wiped away. It is part of the representation to be considered for comfort, belonging to God's chosen people who keep all His commandments and have the faith of Jesus while the harm to earth and sea is held back until they are sealed. Its words will be verily fulfilled as eternal life in the kingdom of glory with a crown that fadeth not away, calling for praise with heart and soul and voice and for open hearts to understand the reward laid up for the faithful. The home it promises awaits those who hold fast the faith, where separated believers meet again and see the King in His beauty, and because it is almost fulfilled it calls for present courage, refusing to faint or be discouraged by looking away from self to Jesus and up to the Source of strength and trusting His sympathy with human weakness.
Fitness for that state is now washing the robe of character white in the blood of the Lamb and putting on the white robe of Christ's righteousness. That washing is through repentance toward God, with names registered in the Lamb's book of life so as to stand in white raiment before the throne, and it is done by earnest, firm, decided, persevering and self-possessed overcoming. It means putting away strife and sin, letting Christ rule in the heart, keeping God's commandments, and being fitted in this life to join the heavenly family and choir and the society of angels. So fitted, families and believers are made ready for the mansions prepared for those who love Him and for the rest that remains for the people of God where they shall see Jesus whom their souls love. The eternally saved host around the throne receive in that state their inheritance among the sanctified in the heavenly Canaan, where each has an apportioned place and portion and is fully satisfied, enjoyed all the more for having been pilgrims and strangers on earth.
The reward is held out to call believers to cherish faith, hope and love in practical life. Those graces planted in the garden of the soul and cultivated develop Christlike character and growth in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, making the believer a bright, shining light to the world. Facing the light and talking faith gives faith, while talking darkness gives darkness in abundance, for by beholding the glory set before the redeemed they become changed into the same image. God's people now should advance as light comes to them, leaving earthliness and commonness to grasp the eternal, since the redeemed before the throne receive from Christ the opened treasures and riches of Bible truth little appreciated now. The more they look at the promises the brighter they grow, and the more they practice its principles the deeper their understanding becomes, which is life eternal, knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He sent.
Its attractions in the future immortal world, dwelling with Him who sits on the throne without hunger or thirst or striking sun and heat, are to be contemplated and rejoiced in as motives for consecration and devotion to God. This vision of eternal life after great tribulation is to be kept in mind so that eternity is valued rightly against time and people are influenced toward the higher life. That future relief stands in contrast with the satisfaction and presence of Jesus that can be experienced even now.
Heaven begins here as believers come to Jesus, learn of Him, approach God through Christ, and are filled with His love and satisfied with His presence up to all human nature can bear. Yet the verse shows the future fullness of that bliss before the throne, with complete freedom from want and scorching affliction, is far greater. The longer the redeemed are in the heaven of bliss the more glory is revealed to them, and the more they know God the more intense their happiness becomes.
The verse is applied as a reason not to seek escape from trials in this life but to keep the eyes fixed on Jesus. The home beyond the reach of persecution and the dragon's venom, where the victors stand around the great white throne in white robes with palm branches, makes earthly hardship and deprivation worth enduring to attain. After the conflict is over and all tribulation and strife have ended, those who in this life cooperated with Christ and counted it privilege and honor to suffer for His sake stand serving day and night while He dwells among them, uniting with angels, casting crowns at the Redeemer's feet, greeting those who directed them to the Saviour, and filling heaven with songs of victory to the Lamb. Their freedom from hunger, thirst, sun and heat means pardon, everlasting life, happiness, comfort and healing secured through Christ's humiliation, wounds and stripes, with the Lamb feeding them and leading them to living fountains of waters and God wiping away all tears, so there is no more death, sorrow, crying or pain. This happiness of the ransomed sustained the Son of God in His betrayal and trial when He saw of the travail of His soul and heard the redeemed singing the song of Moses and the Lamb.
Heaven is especially precious to those faithful in saving others when with joy they behold the redeemed saved through their self-denying, persevering and patient labor. The Lamb seated in the midst of the throne greets both the faithful worker and the souls won and leads them together to the tree of life and to the fountain of living waters, where hunger and thirst end. There within the fold of the great Shepherd they live in the presence of Him who died to elevate, ennoble and give the overcomer a royal diadem, made sharers of the Redeemer's throne in honor and glory while gratefully remembering those instrumental in their salvation. That glory stands in contrast to losing immortality and suffering the pains of the second death.
The verse promises that the redeemed will never again suffer hunger or thirst, nor be struck by scorching sun and heat, for all want, hardship, exposure and distress are ended forever. It belongs to those who have come out of great tribulation, washed their robes white in the blood of the Lamb, and now stand before the throne of God serving Him day and night while He dwells among them. There the Lamb in the midst of the throne shepherds them and leads them to living fountains of waters, and God wipes away all tears so there is no more death, sorrow, crying or pain. Its fulfillment is the future home of the faithful in the city of God and the earth made new, entered at the resurrection morning and the coming of Jesus in the kingdom of glory. It is given to comfort the afflicted and those warring the good warfare, calling them now to wash the robe of character in the Lamb's blood, keep God's commandments, and endure suffering for Christ in hope of that rest.
Promise and Its Setting
They shall hunger no more and thirst no more, and the sun shall never strike them with its light nor any scorching heat, for all deprivation, want, bodily hardship, exposure, and distress are forever ended for the redeemed. This is the portion of the great multitude from every nation and kindred and people and tongue who stand before the throne and before the Lamb clothed in white robes with palms in their hands crying salvation to God and to the Lamb, having washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. The Lamb who is in the midst of the throne feeds them and leads them to living fountains of waters, to springs of water, while God wipes away all tears from their eyes.
It belongs to those who have come out of great tribulation and now stand before God's throne, for whom the conflict and tribulation and strife are over. In the splendor and the sunless splendors of the eternal day their earthly suffering, misery, want, persecution, reproach, sorrow, and affliction inflicted by a rebellious world have ended, and they are no longer exposed to what they endured in the world. They are therefore before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple, with Him who sits on the throne dwelling among them in abiding presence and security. Led by Jesus Himself to the Father into the mansions above, the white-robed ones made white in the Lamb's blood stand before God in that nearness and service where freedom from hunger and thirst and from striking sun and burning heat is surely seen and realized.
The promise is given as a beautiful pastoral picture of the members of the Lord's family as sheep under the Shepherd's care, stated in human terms that can be taken in and rich in eloquence. In that state the redeemed are no longer a scattered, feeble company suffering the satanic passions of a rebellious world expressing the sentiments, doctrines, and counsels of demons, for the strong and terrible masters of iniquity in the world under Satan's control are overthrown. The loyal no longer need fear force or fraud as long as they are loyal and true, because the mighty Lord God who judges Babylon defends them, One mightier than the strong man armed set for their defense, and those who believed and stood in defense of the truth and firmly defended God's laws are given all power and greatness and excellence of character.
Hungering no more and thirsting no more also means Christ opening to them the treasures and riches of Bible truth that are little appreciated now and hidden from eyes. What they are doing before the throne is receiving those opened riches, and the more they look at the promises of the Word of God the brighter they grow, and the more they practice its principles the deeper their understanding becomes. This is life eternal, to know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He sent, as a priceless treasure hidden in a field to be bought and worked in every foot, calling God's people now to advance as light comes, leaving earthliness and commonness to grasp the eternal.
People Who Receive It
They are the great unnumbered multitude from every nation and kindred and people and tongue, standing before the throne and before the Lamb clothed in white robes and with palms in their hands, crying salvation to God and to the Lamb while angels worship around them. They have come up through great tribulation out of destitution and hunger and torture, out of deep self-denial and bitter disappointments, out of the fiery furnace of earthly affliction heated intensely hot, hated by all for Christ's sake, yet counting it a privilege in this life to suffer for Him and to cooperate with Him. In the resurrection morning when loved ones fallen in death are raised and the broken links of the family chain are reunited, they together meet Jesus as the center and foundation of all hope with a morning joy never before known. They stand around the throne serving God day and night while He dwells among them, and the Lamb in the midst of the throne feeds them and leads them to living fountains of waters while God wipes away all tears, so that hunger and thirst and striking sun and burning heat are ended forever.
They are those who came out of great tribulation and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Through repentance toward God their robes of character are washed, their names are registered in the Lamb's book of life, they stand in white raiment, and washing and enduring tribulation for Him are the marks shared by all admitted before the throne. They are the white-robed ones led by Jesus Himself to the Father to the mansions above, where they are before the throne of God serving Him day and night in His temple with God dwelling among them. Their freedom is pictured as members of the Lord's family as sheep under the Shepherd's care, and it belongs to the soon-coming time when the period of toil ends and God's people see Jesus and are made like Him. For the afflicted this is comfort by pointing them to Jesus and to that future where the Lamb feeds them and God wipes away every tear.
The promise follows the holding of the four winds of the earth by four angels until the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads, including the sealing of the 144,000, and it points to wonderful things about to transpire of intense interest to every living soul. After enduring the final time of trouble with its famine and thirst and the sun's scorching heat, the 144,000 will suffer these things no more. Then in God's presence the Lamb will feed them and lead them to living fountains of water, and God will wipe away every tear.
They are Christ's chosen few who keep all the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus, for whom the harm that would strike earth and sea is held back until they are sealed. They are the overcomers who sigh and cry for the abominations done among those who profess to be God's people, who receive the sign, the mark of God in their foreheads, and are registered in the books of heaven as overcomers. These marked ones are spared when the ministers of destruction go through the city to slay utterly, beginning at the sanctuary, and the solemn predictions concerning them will speedily be fulfilled and must be impressed upon every heart.
They receive the inheritance among the sanctified in the heavenly Canaan, where the eternally saved redeemed host arrayed in white robes around the throne each has an apportioned place and portion and is fully satisfied. Being pilgrims and strangers on earth makes that inheritance more enjoyable. Fitness for that state is washing the robe of character white in the blood of the Lamb and putting on the white robe of Christ's righteousness through earnest, firm, decided, self-possessed and persevering overcoming, which fits them for the society of heavenly angels and for the mansions prepared for those who love Him and for the rest that remains for the people of God where they shall see Jesus whom their souls love. The vision places this promise also in the restored earth, where the saints dwell in the city and enjoy its abundance after coming through great tribulation, forever freed from want of food and drink and from oppressive heat, fed by the Lamb in the midst of the throne and led to living fountains of waters with every tear wiped away.
Care in God's Presence
The Lamb in the midst of the throne feeds the redeemed, shepherds them, provides for them, and leads them to living fountains of waters, to springs of water, to the fountain of living waters and to the tree of life. Those so led are the great multitude from all nations and kindreds and peoples and tongues who have come out of great tribulation with robes washed white in the blood of the Lamb, who stand before the throne and before the Lamb clothed in white robes with palms in their hands crying salvation to God and to the Lamb, who serve Him day and night in His temple while He who sits on the throne dwells among them. When they reach the mansions above they are led by Jesus Himself to the Father, and freedom from hunger and thirst and from striking sun and burning heat is then surely seen and realized. It belongs to the soon-coming time when the period of toil ends and God's people see Jesus and are made like Him.
God wipes away all tears from their eyes, so there is no more death, sorrow, crying, or pain. Freedom from hunger, thirst, sun and heat is pardon, everlasting life, happiness, comfort, and complete relief and care for those who dwell with Christ forever. The Lamb cares for the multitude before God's throne and leads them to living fountains of water while God wipes away their tears.
Christ leads that company step by step heavenward, high or low, rich or poor, explaining His Word to them as He brings them to the living waters. Those who do self-sacrificing work and are proved and sanctified and numbered with that company will receive freedom from want and suffering, and all are urged to take part in advancing heavenward so as not to lose this reward. This heavenly life is a continuing approach to God through Christ, with glory and joy increasing as they know God more fully. The longer the redeemed are in the heaven of bliss, the more of glory is revealed to them, and the more they know God the more intense their happiness becomes. Heaven begins here as believers come to Jesus, learn of Him, approach God through Christ, and are filled with His love and satisfied with His presence up to all human nature can bear, but the verse shows the future fullness of that bliss is far greater.
They unite with angels, cast crowns at the Redeemer's feet, greet those who directed them to the Saviour, and fill heaven with songs of victory to the Lamb who died that they might have life that measures with the life of God, including the song of Moses and the Lamb. Their happiness and everlasting life are secured through Christ's humiliation, wounds, and stripes that brought pardon and healing, welcomed for cooperating with Christ and counting it privilege and honor to suffer for His sake. The Captain of salvation, the King of kings, opens before them the record of the great victories won on earth by the prayer of faith. Human beings are not now far enough advanced in spiritual attainments to comprehend the mysteries of God, but then those mysteries will be unfolded before them, matters on which God now keeps silence will be explained, the ways of Providence will be made clear, and the mysteries of grace through Christ will be unfolded. What seemed unexplainable will be seen in order, truth will be plain without obscurity, controversies will end, and every difficulty will be solved with joy, with sorrow and separation ended and peace, happiness and glory continuing through the ceaseless ages of eternity in the city of God around the throne in triumph and victory and praise to God and to the Lamb.
Clothed in white shining heavenly garments richer than any kingly robe, wearing jeweled crowns such as never decked any earthly monarch, and bearing palm branches of victory with loud hosannas, they are conquerors and more than conquerors, no longer poor, no longer in sorrow and affliction and want. They have trodden the fiery furnace of earthly affliction heated intensely hot, coming from destitution, hunger and torture, from deep self-denial and bitter disappointments, hated of all men for Christ's sake, from all classes, nations and kindreds and peoples and tongues. They are no longer a scattered, feeble company suffering the Satanic passions of a rebellious world expressing the sentiments, doctrines, and counsels of demons, for the strong and terrible masters of iniquity under Satan's control are overthrown because strong is the Lord God who judges Babylon. The just have no longer anything to fear from force or fraud as long as they are loyal and true, for One mightier than the strong man armed is set for their defense in the sunless splendors of eternal day. All power and greatness and excellence of character will be given to those who believed and stood in defense of the truth, standing up and firmly defending the laws of God. Gathered within the fold of the great Shepherd, living in the presence of Him who died to elevate, ennoble, and give the overcomer a royal diadem, they are made sharers of the Redeemer's throne in honor and glory as the Lamb seated in the midst of the throne greets them and leads them to the tree of life and to the fountain of living waters.
Time and Place Fulfilled
The promise looks to the future home waiting for the faithful, the mansions above and the immortal world where the redeemed dwell with Him who sits on the throne. It belongs to the overcomers' heavenly home in the city of God, where they stand in victory around the great white throne clothed in white robes and bearing palm branches, beyond the reach of persecution and the dragon's venom. It shows the life of the meek when they inherit the promised earth made new, the new heavens and a new earth wherein dwells righteousness, with no more curse and with the throne of God and of the Lamb in it. There Jesus Himself leads the white-robed ones made white in the blood of the Lamb to the Father, and they stand before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple with God dwelling among them, fed by the Lamb in the midst of the throne and led to living fountains of waters while God wipes away all tears. There Jesus is and peace is, with no disappointment, no sorrow, no sin, no sickness, no burial trains, no mourning, no death, no partings, and no broken hearts, and its attractions are to be contemplated and rejoiced in as motives for consecration and devotion.
It will be fulfilled in the resurrection morning when loved ones who have fallen in death are raised and the broken links of the family chain are reunited. Then separated believers will meet again and see the King in His beauty, and together meet Jesus as the center and foundation of all hope. Then the great multitude which no man can number from all nations and kindreds and peoples and tongues will stand before the throne and before the Lamb in white robes with palms, crying salvation to God and to the Lamb while angels worship. Then the redeemed saints will know a morning joy never before known, free forever from hunger and thirst and from the striking of sun and heat.
It promises the soon-coming time when the period of toil ends and God's people see Jesus and are made like Him. It promises eternal life in the kingdom of glory with its unfading crown, and its words will be verily fulfilled. It belongs to those who come out of great tribulation with robes washed white in the blood of the Lamb and who are before the throne serving day and night while He dwells among them, including the great unnumbered multitude from all nations, kindreds, peoples, and tongues in white robes with palms, following the holding of the four winds until the servants of God are sealed and the sealing of the 144,000. It points to wonderful things about to transpire in the future of intense interest to every soul living on the earth, and it is part of solemn predictions that will speedily be fulfilled and must be impressed upon every heart, describing the future of the overcomers who sigh and cry for abominations, receive God's mark in their foreheads, are registered in heaven, and are spared when destruction begins at the sanctuary.
The triumph and joys of the redeemed were shown to John as part of the scenes of Revelation. They belong to the vision of those who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Their glory and joy inspire longing to stand in God's presence, and heaven is portrayed as happiness and pure fellowship among holy beings, angels, and the redeemed.
Prophetic Context and Warning
The promise stands within the representation given in Revelation 7 for consideration and comfort and encouragement, belonging to Christ's chosen few who keep all the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus. The Angel of the covenant ascending from the east is the Dayspring from on high and Light of the world, the Restorer and Redeemer who purchased the world by giving Himself for its ransom. He commands the four angels commissioned to hurt the earth and the sea to hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads. He holds in check the four winds until He gives His summons, with the divine and the human united in that work.
Revelation 7:9 to the close, together with Revelation 6:12-17, brings to view two parties when God pronounces judgment upon the children of men for transgressing the law and breaking the everlasting covenant and receiving according to their works. One party permitted themselves to be deceived and took sides with those with whom the Lord has a controversy, misinterpreted the messages sent them, clothed themselves in robes of self-righteousness, did not see sin as sinful, taught falsehood as truth, and by them many souls were led astray. Revelation 6 and 7 are full of meaning and reveal terrible judgments of God in which His right hand dashes His enemies in pieces as He goes forth to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity.
Revelation 7:9 to the close of the chapter exposes the unprepared state of the people for the judgment and sets forth their condition. It draws the line between genuine sanctification and the common spurious sanctification, calling for genuine sanctification. The scenes hold a message to be given to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people on earth. They show that burying talents in worldly business and commercialism and becoming engrossed in the things of this world profits nothing, and that the work needed now is preparing for Christ's coming to be among the number who will be sealed with robes washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb.
Comfort and Holy Living
The promise brings comfort, assurance and encouragement to every soul warring the good warfare for eternal life, and especially to the afflicted and bereaved by pointing them to Jesus and to the future of the redeemed. It pictures the Lord's family as sheep under the Shepherd's care in a beautiful pastoral picture stated in human terms that can be taken in, rich in eloquence, belonging to those in white robes who came out of great tribulation with robes washed white in the blood of the Lamb, who stand before the throne serving day and night with God dwelling among them, fed by the Lamb and led to living fountains of waters with every tear wiped away. It is part of the representation to be considered for comfort, belonging to God's chosen people who keep all His commandments and have the faith of Jesus while the harm to earth and sea is held back until they are sealed. Its words will be verily fulfilled as eternal life in the kingdom of glory with a crown that fadeth not away, calling for praise with heart and soul and voice and for open hearts to understand the reward laid up for the faithful. The home it promises awaits those who hold fast the faith, where separated believers meet again and see the King in His beauty, and because it is almost fulfilled it calls for present courage, refusing to faint or be discouraged by looking away from self to Jesus and up to the Source of strength and trusting His sympathy with human weakness.
Fitness for that state is now washing the robe of character white in the blood of the Lamb and putting on the white robe of Christ's righteousness. That washing is through repentance toward God, with names registered in the Lamb's book of life so as to stand in white raiment before the throne, and it is done by earnest, firm, decided, persevering and self-possessed overcoming. It means putting away strife and sin, letting Christ rule in the heart, keeping God's commandments, and being fitted in this life to join the heavenly family and choir and the society of angels. So fitted, families and believers are made ready for the mansions prepared for those who love Him and for the rest that remains for the people of God where they shall see Jesus whom their souls love. The eternally saved host around the throne receive in that state their inheritance among the sanctified in the heavenly Canaan, where each has an apportioned place and portion and is fully satisfied, enjoyed all the more for having been pilgrims and strangers on earth.
The reward is held out to call believers to cherish faith, hope and love in practical life. Those graces planted in the garden of the soul and cultivated develop Christlike character and growth in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, making the believer a bright, shining light to the world. Facing the light and talking faith gives faith, while talking darkness gives darkness in abundance, for by beholding the glory set before the redeemed they become changed into the same image. God's people now should advance as light comes to them, leaving earthliness and commonness to grasp the eternal, since the redeemed before the throne receive from Christ the opened treasures and riches of Bible truth little appreciated now. The more they look at the promises the brighter they grow, and the more they practice its principles the deeper their understanding becomes, which is life eternal, knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He sent.
Its attractions in the future immortal world, dwelling with Him who sits on the throne without hunger or thirst or striking sun and heat, are to be contemplated and rejoiced in as motives for consecration and devotion to God. This vision of eternal life after great tribulation is to be kept in mind so that eternity is valued rightly against time and people are influenced toward the higher life. That future relief stands in contrast with the satisfaction and presence of Jesus that can be experienced even now.
Heaven begins here as believers come to Jesus, learn of Him, approach God through Christ, and are filled with His love and satisfied with His presence up to all human nature can bear. Yet the verse shows the future fullness of that bliss before the throne, with complete freedom from want and scorching affliction, is far greater. The longer the redeemed are in the heaven of bliss the more glory is revealed to them, and the more they know God the more intense their happiness becomes.
The verse is applied as a reason not to seek escape from trials in this life but to keep the eyes fixed on Jesus. The home beyond the reach of persecution and the dragon's venom, where the victors stand around the great white throne in white robes with palm branches, makes earthly hardship and deprivation worth enduring to attain. After the conflict is over and all tribulation and strife have ended, those who in this life cooperated with Christ and counted it privilege and honor to suffer for His sake stand serving day and night while He dwells among them, uniting with angels, casting crowns at the Redeemer's feet, greeting those who directed them to the Saviour, and filling heaven with songs of victory to the Lamb. Their freedom from hunger, thirst, sun and heat means pardon, everlasting life, happiness, comfort and healing secured through Christ's humiliation, wounds and stripes, with the Lamb feeding them and leading them to living fountains of waters and God wiping away all tears, so there is no more death, sorrow, crying or pain. This happiness of the ransomed sustained the Son of God in His betrayal and trial when He saw of the travail of His soul and heard the redeemed singing the song of Moses and the Lamb.
Heaven is especially precious to those faithful in saving others when with joy they behold the redeemed saved through their self-denying, persevering and patient labor. The Lamb seated in the midst of the throne greets both the faithful worker and the souls won and leads them together to the tree of life and to the fountain of living waters, where hunger and thirst end. There within the fold of the great Shepherd they live in the presence of Him who died to elevate, ennoble and give the overcomer a royal diadem, made sharers of the Redeemer's throne in honor and glory while gratefully remembering those instrumental in their salvation. That glory stands in contrast to losing immortality and suffering the pains of the second death.