The Great Multitude

Scripture: After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” Revelation 7:9-10

Observation: The great multitude is from every nation. Immediately after a remnant of 144,000 Jews are sealed for protection, a multitude so great that it cannot be possibly counted appears, and they are from every nation of the earth. This reinforcement that the salvation of God - the salvation that is the promise of faith in Jesus - is meant for all people. It is for Jews and Gentiles. It is for people from Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Africa. It is for believers everywhere all over the world.

Application: I have needed to be reminded of the great hope of our lives ... the hope for good and for eternal life through faith in Jesus and by the love of God for his created. This passage gives me that hope today. This ensures me that the promise is real, as it spreads over the entire world and is delivered to so many people that their number cannot even be imagined.

Prayer: Dear Lord, my God and my salvation, thank you for your love. Please forgive me for being inadequate to earn your love, but thank you for providing a way by which that doesn't matter - for providing the way to bestow your love even while I was still in my sin. I know Jesus is my Lord and Savior, and you are my Father and my God. May I worship at your throne. Amen.