Revelation 7:9-12
After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying,
“Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying,
“Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”
Reading through Revelation 6-11 can be some tough reading. It is not for the faint of heart. By "faint of heart" we don't mean someone who simply has a hard time understanding prophecy. But "faint of heart" we mean grasping the destruction through war and death. We have, in our society, been desensitized to death of masses. We see it in movies and television shows repeatedly. We see scores of people killed, but we seldom have to see the affects of their deaths in funerals and family loss. We see someone killed on the screen or in the news every day. We "get" death and destruction. Yet, nothing can prepare you for chapter six of Revelation. God sends forth permission for man's sin to finally be completely out of control. When God removes His grace from the earth human and non-human creation, full of sin, is allowed to go free to destroy. In the midst of that destruction, however, God still has those He calls His own and He rescues them and clothes them in white robes. In the midst of the battle on the earth and the civil war and the loss of food and sustenance for mankind, in heaven their is a worship service going on to praise God. God rescues those who are faithful to Him from destruction and they, in-turn, worship and praise Him. Notice the seven aspects mentioned to praise God: Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might!!! On the earth below the power and might of God is being demonstrated simply by the removal of His grace. In the heavens, those who believed in God on the earth, are praising and worshipping their God and King. Peace is removed from the earth and being celebrated in heaven. Famine and sword are running free on the earth and bounty and thanksgiving are being worshiped in heaven. Man has two paths of destiny facing him today: He can take the path to worship God by believing in Christ, which results in a celebration worship in heaven. Or, he can take the path of resisting God's grace and then live on an earth, one day, completely exempt of God's grace, where man is free to war and plunder and profane. In chapters six and seven of this great book of prophecy we have these two scenes. Sorrow and pain on earth; celebration and worship in heaven. That sums up the plan of God. He offers, freely, the worship in heaven, but reminds all that the payment for rejecting Him is equally true. "If you don't want grace in your life," He says, "I'll simply remove grace from the earth and let you devour one another." To the others He calls us to praise Him.
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