White robes
by Tatiana Overduin
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These in white robes – who are they, and where did they come from (Revelation 7:13)?
Read Revelation 7:9–17
What a magnificent sight! A great multitude, so many that no-one could count, standing before heaven’s throne: before God and the Lamb. ‘Where did they come from?’ This text informs us that ‘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’ (verse 14).
These people are God’s servants, those who have served God, continuously, as we are informed through the text, in the day and throughout the night, and God shelters his people with his presence. How do we receive God’s presence? We read the Bible, we call on him in prayer, we worship him, we give him thanks, and we know and believe and trust in his promises. Through trial and temptation, through hardship and through the tears that we shed, all are wiped away by his gentle, compassionate hand.
Never again will there be hunger or thirst. Never again will we experience the scorching heat of the sun. ‘For the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their Shepherd’ (verse 17).
Multitudes of those who have passed through the Great Tribulation will be satiated through ‘springs of living water’ (verse 17).
In Psalm 56 (NLT), verse 8 shares a poignant message of comfort, ‘You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book’.
We, who seek the Lord, can take great consolation in the truth that whatever our deep concerns, we can take them to Jesus, our Shepherd. Whatever our conflicts and troubles and whether we suffer persecution, we are calmed with the knowledge that the Lord is our Shepherd. ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes’ (Revelation 21:4).
O Holy God, we pray that our hearts and minds are assured daily having faith in you, and we look forward to the great day we stand before your throne, with the great multitude. Wash us, Lord, with your blood, feed us with Jesus: who is the Bread of Life. Help us to turn to you for all things as we journey through great tribulations, daily seeking your perfect way. Lord, give us faith. In your holy name, we pray. Amen.
Tatiana is married to Jim, and they live in Largs North, a seaside location in Adelaide. They have two adult children and six grandchildren, who are a wonderful blessing to them both. Tatiana teaches full-time as an English, History and Religion teacher; she gained a Bachelor of Arts in Theology from Australian Lutheran College in 1996, and in her spare time, she enjoys knitting, gardening, singing for church, writing and swimming. Her home congregation is Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Adelaide.
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