7:13,14
One of the elders then asks John who the people in white robes are. In Ezek 37:3 the Lord asked Ezekiel if the dry bones could ive. Like Ezekiel, John does not know and declares that “you know”. The elder then answers that they are the ones who “have come out of the great tribulation” (NIV). Actually the ESV is more accurate when it says “the ones coming out of the great tribulation”, i.e. it is present tense. This can refer to the final tribulation, and also to more general times of tribulation. Why were their robes white? It was not because they had earned it, but because they had washed them in the blood of the lamb. How do we survive persecution? We trust in Christ’s work on the cross.
7:15-17
Because they have come through the tribulation, and have washed themselves in the blood of the lamb, they will be before the throne of God, serving Him day and night. And God will dwell among them, sheltering them with His presence. They will hunger no more, thirst no more, nor will the sun beat down upon them anymore. Why will this happen? Because the Lamb will be their shepherd. The Lamb will lead them by springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear. It is a terrible tribulation they have to go through, but it will not last forever, and there is perfect and complete relief at the end of it.
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