JESUS FEEDS AND LEADS THE SERVANTS OF GOD

Rev 7:11-17 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes, and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 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.

The servants of God, noted in the previous ten verses, were identified as innumerable Jews and Gentiles that had heard, and obeyed, God's call to salvation through Christ Jesus. They were now devout Christians endeavoring to live a life devoted to serving God and spreading the New Testament gospel of Jesus to all mankind throughout the world. They were symbolically sealed by God in their foreheads. That is, they were identified as "belonging to God," and His arm of love surrounded and protected them from all harm that could possibly come from the anti-Christian followers of Satan.

In chapters 4 and 5, we find reference to the twenty-four elders, the four living beasts (creatures), and many angels. Looking at the lesson text, we find them again named. They were all in a prostrate position, bowing before the throne of God and worshipping Him and saying Amen, to the protection of the saints given to them by God. They consented to His saving power by saying "so be it," which is the meaning of the word "Amen." Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. The highest most honorable praise is here ascribed to God. In Him, and through Him and His Son, Christ Jesus, all obedient men and women of the world find the source of all physical and spiritual blessings.

With this due praise and worship of God being established, one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes, and whence came they? The question posed to John by one of the angels was, "This multitude of beings wearing robes of white, who are they, and where did they come from?" The question seems to have been asked, not for a clarification, or for the benefit of the angel, but to declare to John the correct spiritual interpretation of their symbolic presence in heaven. Assuredly John didn't know the answer but realized the angel did when he replied, Sir, thou knowest. The angel then answered his own question for John's benefit: These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. The angel's answer assured John, which he recorded for our learning, that the great multitude, noted in prior verses, symbolically represented the faithful members of the church of Christ that had withstood the repressive affliction and persecution brought upon them, by the emperors of the Roman Empire, prior to the reign of Constantine. Having placed their complete trust in the sin cleansing power of their Savior, Christ Jesus, they obeyed the will of God and were baptized for the remission of their sins. By this act of obedience their garments, which represented their souls, were made white in the blood of the Lamb.

Being thus cleansed, and having survived the extreme persecution of the evil Roman monarchs, these zealous Christians, both Jew and Gentile, are determined to serve God, and the cause of Christ, with unrelenting diligence. God healed all their sorrows, wiped away every tear, and blessed them abundantly. And being unimpeded by evil Roman monarchs, Jesus fed this symbolic multitude with the Holy Spirit-inspired word of God, and, with divine guidance, led them in paths of righteousness as they preach God's message of eternal salvation in Christ Jesus, the promised Savior, throughout the known world.