Good evening and welcome to EBible Fellowship's Bible study in the Book of Revelation.  Tonight is study #13 of Revelation, chapter 7, and we are going to be reading Revelation 7:15-17:

Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

We have been discussing the great multitude which are said to be “before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple.”  This great multitude is also said to have “come out of great tribulation,” and we have seen that this can only be a reference to the time at the end of the world, right before the final judgment of mankind.  Judgment began at the house of God and that is when the Great Tribulation began.  By God’s grace, He opened up information to His people at the time of the end (information that had previously been sealed), and we were able to discover a very accurate Biblical calendar of history wherein we could work out the precise end of the church age, which occurred on May 21, 1988, and the precise end of the Great Tribulation, which also occurred on May 21, but in the year 2011.  That 23-year period was the duration of that Great Tribulation and God saved a great multitude during the last (about) 17 years of that time when He was pouring out the “latter rain.” 

These are the ones in view, here, that are “before the throne of God.”  As we noted in our last study, earth is likened to God’s “footstool” and heaven to His “throne.”  Therefore, as we dwell upon the earth, we are, in a sense, “before the throne of God.”

We also took note of the fact that they were serving Him “day and night” in His temple and “day and night” is a time reference that has application only as this world continues; that is, God created the timekeepers and “day and night” have continued from the very beginning and will continue until the end of the world.  Then God will destroy this creation: the universe, the sun, moon, stars, earth and everything in it.  “Day and night” (time) will cease at that point.  Therefore, when God says that the great multitude are before Him and serving Him “day and night” in His temple, this indicates that “time” must be taking place on earth.  Of course, this matches our present situation; we understand what God is saying here very well because “time” has continued after the Great Tribulation, as the Bible said it would in Mark 13:24:

But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,

This is letting us know that there is a period of time known as “those days” which occur after the Great Tribulation, and that is where we presently are in time.  This great multitude is living on the earth: we have “come out of great tribulation.”  The Great Tribulation period has ended and we are before the throne of God, serving Him day and night in His temple during this period of judgment on the world.  We can know this is the case, because it says in Revelation 21:23-25:

And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.

This is speaking of the new heaven and new earth and New Jerusalem (the body of believers) that will dwell in that glorious new creation and there will be no “night” there.  That means there cannot be “day and night” as we have in this world.  We have the sunrise and then the sunset and then the light of the moons and the stars shine at night.  That is not the case in heaven in eternity future – there is no night there.  That is because night is “darkness” and God is letting it be known that since “darkness” identifies with sin, there is no sin of any kind in that glorious future that awaits His people.  Therefore, there is no night.  He repeats this in Revelation 22:2:

In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:

Now, here, we have some of the same elements that were seen in Revelation 7: we have the throne of God and we have God’s servants serving Him, but let us keep reading in Revelation 22:4:

And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

Now we can see the difference.  Even though God, of course, is still on His throne and He will always be seated upon His throne and God’s people will always serve him, but the difference is that “there shall be no night there.”  There is no “day and night.”  There is no 24-hour time period in the eternal future to come.  Time is a creation of this present world.  There are no 24-hour periods in eternity; time will end when this world ends and, at that point, “day and night” will cease. 

This means that since the great multitude is serving God “day and night” it must be while there are still normal days unfolding on earth.  But, again, let us remember that they came “out of great tribulation,” and, therefore, there must be time after this period of Great Tribulation.  That means that any sort of eschatology – any attempt to develop a theology of the end of the world, Judgment Day and the coming of Christ – must include an answer for the verses that speak of “time” taking place after the Tribulation.  Again, Mark 13:24 tells us that there is a period of time known as “those days after that tribulation,” and Revelation 7 (as it speaks of the great multitude serving God “day and night”) is letting it be known that there is “time” on earth after this great multitude came “out of great tribulation.”

Now our present situation has an explanation.  We have an answer and we can harmonize these verses together by simply laying out what has happened: God saved the last of His elect; He found each one’s whose names were recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life prior to May 21, 2011; then Judgment Day came and He shut the door to heaven and, at that time, the Great Tribulation ended; then it can be said that this great multitude came “out of great tribulation,” as we entered into Judgment Day – a prolonged period of time which very well could continue for a total of 1,600 days; during this time, God’s people continue to serve Him before His throne, but we do so while on earth and we serve Him “day and night” in His temple; and He that sitteth upon the throne shall dwell among us.

Alright, we can understand much of this, but what about this statement that we “serve him day and night in his temple.”  How is that taking place?  How is that happening?  Well, let us look at a couple of verses, as we read in 1^st Corinthians 3:16-17:

Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

The “temple” of God is the body of believers.  All those whom God has saved comprise this spiritual temple.  We read in Ephesians 2:19-22:

Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

God is really giving us an interesting picture.  It is the picture of a construction project of His holy temple, just as Solomon had a temple made, or just as they built a temple in the days of Zerubbabel.  We know that much labor and work went into the construction of the temple, but there came a time when the temple was completed that God’s Spirit entered into the temple.  That is exactly what happened on May 21, 2011; God finished His house, as it says in Hebrews 3:4-6:

For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God. And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

Here, the Lord is indicated that we are this house of God.  We are this house that God Himself has been building and He put it together over the course of history, as He saved individuals out of each generation; every time He would save a soul, it was as though another “stone” was added onto this spiritual house.  This is the picture that God uses in 1^st Peter 2:4:

To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

Here, it says it plainly.  It is really amazing how plain God is in stating this; often, He is not this direct; He is not this straightforward.  But, here, He tells us the elect are “lively stones” (or living stones) that “are built up a spiritual house.”   We are the house of God.  We are the temple, made up of each of the people whose names were written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.  Of course, it is not an actual book, but it is in the infinite mind of God – that record of all whom He had determined to save before the foundation of the world; and the outworking of this, all throughout history, as He sent forth the Gospel and applied the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ to these people, saving them out of the generations of this world.  All through history, the “stones” were added and this wall is finished and now He turns His attention to the next wall; and God kept building and building until, finally, He sent forth the Gospel in a mighty way in a worldwide evangelistic program, declaring that Judgment Day would occur on May 21, 2011; with that outpouring of the Gospel to a world of seven billion people.  With an intense focus on impending judgment, the news was broadcast to all the inhabitants of the world that the door of salvation would shut; there would be no more periods of time in which you could come to God to (possibly) become saved.  The Lord used this to find the lost sheep of the house of Israel and to gather them together as one man, as the body of Christ, thereby completing the temple.  That is the picture of the “great multitude” appearing before the throne of God, serving Him “day and night” in His temple, in the completed body of Christ, in this house, “whose house are we.”  That is where we serve God. 

Of course, we are all individuals and God likens us to a single house, as part of a whole, yet, we are separate.  We are individuals and as we live our lives on this earth, we live as an individual and what happens is between God and us.  Yet, now, we are also part of the whole “temple,” the whole house of God, as it says in Revelation 7:15, God “that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.”  What happened is something that had not previously happened; God always indwelt a soul that He had saved (His Holy Spirit had always come into the life of anyone that experienced the redemptive work of Christ), but now in a special way – in a mysterious way – when once the last of the chosen ones to be saved were saved, God could now inhabit the “whole house.”  The whole temple was now complete – the spiritual house He had been working on throughout time.  Now it was as though the temple of Solomon’s day was complete and His spirit entered in and dwelt in that temple.  Now God dwells in the whole of the body of Christ, in the whole of this spiritual house: “and He will dwell among them.”

We see this kind of language, for instance, in the Book of Joel, chapter 3.  It first lets us know that the context is Judgment Day, beginning in Joel 3:12-15:

Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of JEHOVAH is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.

There are just so many tie-ins with Judgment Day in these verses, as it says, “there will I sit to judge all the heathen,”  and it also says, “Put ye in the sickle,” just like we see in Revelation 14 where Christ is putting in the sickle as He judges the world.  It is the day of “decision,” which is actually translated as “threshing” in one place.  It is also a time when “the sun and the moon shall be darkened.”  I know I have said this a lot lately, but it is necessary because of the time we are living in, but it says in Matthew 24:29: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened.”  So, Joel 3 is telling us that Judgment Day occurs immediately after the Tribulation because it is speaking of the sun and the moon being darkened, and this is another proof text – it is proof from the Bible that there is time after the Tribulation; that there is time on earth in the Day of Judgment, as this passage is describing Judgment Day and locking in the time as immediately after the Tribulation; and Mark 13:24 tells us there is a period known as “those days” (plural) after the Tribulation.

Then it also says in Joel 3:16:

JEHOVAH also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem…

Now we have to be careful as we read this, as we could get the idea that it is somehow referring to the Lord roaring out as though He is leaving, but when it says, “JEHOVAH also shall roar out of Zion,” it is the same thing as the second part of the verse: “and utter his voice from Jerusalem.”  Zion and Judah are synonyms and “roar” and “utter his voice” are also synonyms; this means that in the Day of Judgment, the body of believers (the temple of God, all of the elect) is in view and God is somehow speaking from them.   Again, we know from our present circumstances (as the Lord has opened up additional revelation from His Word and He has opened up our understanding regarding the Day of Judgment and the righteous judgment of God) that He is having His people declare His truths (as they are Zion and they are Jerusalem); and as He moves His people to accomplish His purpose, it as though He is “roaring out of Zion” and “uttering his voice from Jerusalem.” 

Then it goes on to say in Joel 3:16:

… and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but JEHOVAH will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

We should not overlook this statement either.  Why is God making this statement in the context of Judgment Day: that He will be “the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel”?  This is exactly what is keeping us going.  This is exactly what is allowing us to go through this, day by day, in this awful, grievous time period.  It is because God is with us and continues to be our hope.  He continues to be our strength.  It fits our present circumstances.

Then it says in Joel 3:17:

So shall ye know that I am JEHOVAH your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.

Here, again, we see God “dwelling in Zion.”  He has completed His temple.  He has completed New Jerusalem.  All of His elect have been saved and, therefore, Jerusalem is holy.  It is not the corporate church where there are unsaved individuals.  This is “heavenly Jerusalem.”  It is the Jerusalem that is only made up of those that God truly has saved and, therefore, “no strangers pass through her any more.”

Lord willing, in our next Bible study we will continue to look at this passage in Revelation, chapter 7 and we will see what God has in store for us as we go, verse by verse, through the Book of Revelation.