Revelation 7:16

. One of the elders shows who these are, and describes their most happy state, Rev 7:13-17. Verse 1 And after these things - Immediately after the preceding vision. I saw four angels - Instruments which God employs in the dispensation of his providence; we know not what. On the four corners of the earth - On the extreme parts of the land of Judea, called ἡ γη, the land, or earth, by way of eminence. Holding the four winds - Preventing evil from every quarter. Earth - sea, nor on any tree; keeping the whole of the land free from evil, till the Church of Christ should wax strong, and each of his followers have time to prepare for his flight from Jerusalem, previously to its total destruction by the Romans. Verse 2 The seal of the living God - This angel is represented as the chancellor of the supreme King, and as ascending from the east, απο ανατολης ἡλιου, from the rising of the sun. Some understand this of Christ, who is called ανατολη, the east, Luk 1:78. Four angels, to whom it was given to hurt - Particular agents employed by Divine providence in the management of the affairs of the earth; but whether spiritual or material we know not. Verse 3 Till we have sealed the servants of our God - There is manifestly an allusion to Eze 9:4 here. By sealing we are to understand consecrating the persons in a more especial manner to God, and showing, by this mark of God upon them, that they were under his more immediate protection, and that nothing should hurt them. It was a custom in the east, and indeed in the west too, to stamp with a hot iron the name of the owner upon the forehead or shoulder of his slave. It is worthy of remark that not one Christian perished in the siege of Jerusalem; all had left the city, and escaped to Pella. This I have often had occasion to notice. Verse 4 I heard the number of them which were sealed - In the number of 144,000 are included all the Jews converted to Christianity; 12,000 out of each of the twelve tribes: but this must be only a certain for an uncertain number; for it is not to be supposed that just 12,000 were converted out of each of the twelve tribes. Verse 5 Of the tribe of Juda, etc. - First, we are to observe that the tribe of Levi is here mentioned, though that tribe had no inheritance in Israel; but they now belonged to the spiritual priesthood. Secondly, That the tribe of Dan, which had an inheritance, is here omitted; as also the tribe of Ephraim. Thirdly, That the tribe of Joseph is here added in the place of Ephraim. Ephraim and Dan, being the principal promoters of idolatry, are left out in this enumeration. Verse 9 A great multitude - This appears to mean the Church of Christ among the Gentiles, for it was different from that collected from the twelve tribes; and it is here said to be of all nations, kindreds, people, and tongues. Clothed with white robes - As emblems of innocence and purity. With palms in their hands, in token of victory gained over the world, the devil, and the flesh. Verse 10 Salvation to our God - That is, God alone is the author of the salvation of man; and this salvation is procured for and given to them through the Lamb, as their propitiatory sacrifice. Verse 11 All the angels, etc. - As there is joy in the presence of God among these holy spirits when one sinner repents, no wonder that they take such an interest in the gathering together of such innumerable multitudes who are fully saved from their sins. Verse 12 Saying, Amen - Giving their most cordial and grateful assent to the praises attributed to God and the Lamb. Blessing, and glory, etc. - There are here seven different species of praise attributed to God, as in Rev 5:12 (note). Verse 13 One of the elders answered - A Hebraism for spoke. The question is here asked, that the proposer may have the opportunity of answering it. Verse 14 Sir, thou knowest - That is, I do not know, but thou canst inform me. Came out of great tribulation - Persecutions of every kind. And have washed their robes - Have obtained their pardon and purity, through the blood of the Lamb. Their white robes cannot mean the righteousness of Christ, for this cannot be washed and made white in his own blood. This white linen is said to be the righteousness of the saints, Rev 19:8, and this is the righteousness in which they stand before the throne; therefore it is not Christ's righteousness, but it is a righteousness wrought in them by the merit of his blood, and the power of his Spirit. Verse 15 Therefore - Because they are washed in the blood of the Lamb, are they before the throne - admitted to the immediate presence, of God. And serve him day and night - Without ceasing; being filled with the spirit of prayer, faith, love, and obedience. Shall dwell among them - He lives in his own Church, and in the heart of every true believer. Verse 16 They shall hunger no more - They shall no longer be deprived of their religious ordinances, and the blessings attendant on them, as they were when in a state of persecution. Neither shall the sun light on them - Their secular rulers, being converted to God, became nursing fathers to the Church. Nor any heat - Neither persecution nor affliction of any kind. These the Hebrews express by the term heat, scorching, etc. Verse 17 The Lamb - The Lord Jesus, enthroned with his Father in ineffable glory. Shall feed them - Shall communicate to them every thing calculated to secure, continue, and increase their happiness. Living fountains of water - A spring in the Hebrew phraseology is termed living water, because constantly boiling up and running on. By these perpetual fountains we are to understand endless sources of comfort and happiness, which Jesus Christ will open out of his own infinite plenitude to all glorified souls. These eternal living fountains will make an infinite variety in the enjoyments of the blessed. There will be no sameness, and consequently no cloying with the perpetual enjoyment of the same things; every moment will open a new source of pleasure, instruction, and improvement; they shall make an eternal progression into the fullness of God. And as God is infinite, so his attributes are infinite; and throughout infinity more and more of those attributes will be discovered; and the discovery of each will be a new fountain or source of pleasure and enjoyment. These sources must be opening through all eternity, and yet, through all eternity, there will still remain, in the absolute perfections of the Godhead, an infinity of them to be opened! This is one of the finest images in the Bible. God shall wipe away - In the most affectionate and fatherly manner, all tears from their eyes - all causes of distress and grief. They shall have pure, unmixed happiness. Reader, this is the happiness of those who are washed from their sins. Art thou washed? O, rest not till thou art prepared to appear before God and the Lamb. If these saints had not met with troubles and distresses, in all likelihood they had not excelled so much in righteousness and true holiness. When all avenues of worldly comfort are shut up, we are obliged to seek our all in God; and there is nothing sought from him that is not found in him. Introduction The opening of the seventh seal, Rev 8:1. The seven angels with the seven trumpets, Rev 8:2-6. The first sounds, and there is a shower of hail, fire, and blood, Rev 8:7. The second sounds, and the burning mountain is cast into the sea, Rev 8:8,

Honour and Happiness of the Saints. ( a. d. 95.) 13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? 14 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. 15 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. 16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. 17 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. Here we have a description of the honour and happiness of those who have faithfully served the Lord Jesus Christ, and suffered for him. Observe, I. A question asked by one of the elders, not for his own information, but for John's instruction: ministers may learn from the people, especially from aged and experienced Christians; the lowest saint in heaven knows more than the greatest apostle in the world. Now the question has two parts:—1. What are these that are arrayed in white robes? 2. Whence came they? It seems to be spoken by way of admiration, as Cant. iii. 6 , Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness! Faithful Christians deserve our notice and respect; we should mark the upright. II. The answer returned by the apostle, in which he tacitly acknowledges his own ignorance, and sues to this elder for information: Thou knowest. Those who would gain knowledge must not be ashamed to own their ignorance, nor to desire instruction from any that are able to give it. III. The account given to the apostle concerning that noble army of martyrs who stood before the throne of God in white robes, with palms of victory in their hands: and notice is taken here of, 1. The low and desolate state they had formerly been in; they had been in great tribulation, persecuted by men, tempted by Satan, sometimes troubled in their own spirits; they had suffered the spoiling of their goods, the imprisonment of their persons, yea, the loss of life itself. The way to heaven lies through many tribulations; but tribulation, how great soever, shall not separate us from the love of God. Tribulation, when gone through well, will make heaven more welcome and more glorious. 2. The means by which they had been prepared for the great honour and happiness they now enjoyed: they had washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, v. 14 . It is not the blood of the martyrs themselves, but the blood of the Lamb, that can wash away sin, and make the soul pure and clean in the sight of God. Other blood stains; this is the only blood that makes the robes of the saints white and clean. 3. The blessedness to which they are now advanced, being thus prepared for it. (1.) They are happy in their station, for they are before the throne of God night and day; and he dwells among them; they are in that presence where there is fulness of joy. (2.) They are happy in their employment, for they serve God continually, and that without weakness, drowsiness, or weariness. Heaven is a state of service, though not of suffering; it is a state of rest, but not of sloth; it is a praising delightful rest. (3.) They are happy in their freedom from all the inconveniences of this present life. [1.] From all want and sense of want: They hunger and thirst no more; all their wants are supplied, and all the uneasiness caused thereby is removed. [2.] From all sickness and pain: they shall never be scorched by the heat of the sun any more. (4.) They are happy in the love and guidance of the Lord Jesus: He shall feed them, he shall lead them to living fountains of waters, he shall put them into the possession of every thing that is pleasant and refreshing to their souls, and therefore they shall hunger and thirst no more. (5.) They are happy in being delivered from all sorrow or occasion of it: God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. They have formerly had their sorrows, and shed many tears, both upon the account of sin and affliction; but God himself, with his own gentle and gracious hand, will wipe those tears away, and they shall return no more for ever; and they would not have been without those tears, when God comes to wipe them away. In this he deals with them as a tender father who finds his beloved child in tears, he comforts him, he wipes his eyes, and turns his sorrow into rejoicing. This should moderate the Christian's sorrow in his present state, and support him under all the troubles of it; for those that sow in tears shall reap in joy; and those that now go forth weeping, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again rejoicing, bringing their sheaves with them.

Neither shall the sun light on them - For God is there their sun. Nor any painful heat, or inclemency of seasons.

will be there, were, when on the earth, subjected to the evils of famine; many who perished with hunger. In heaven, they will be subjected to that evil no more, for there will be no want that will not be supplied. The bodies which the redeemed will have --spiritual bodies ( 1Cor 15:44 )--will doubtless be such as will be nourished in some other way than by food, if they require any nourishment; and whatever that nourishment may be, it will be fully supplied. The passage here is taken from Isa 49:10: "They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them." Isa 49:10. Neither thirst any more. As multitudes of the redeemed have been subjected to the evils of hunger, so have multitudes also been subjected to the pains of thirst. In prison; in pathless deserts; in times of drought, when wells and fountains were dried up, they have suffered from this cause--a cause producing as intense suffering perhaps as any that man endures. Compare Ex 17:3, Ps 63:1, Lam 4:4, 2Cor 11:27. It is easy to conceive of persons suffering so intensely from thirst that the highest vision of felicity would be such a promise as that in the words before us--"neither thirst any more." Neither shall the sun light on them. It is hardly necessary, perhaps, to say that the word light here does not mean to enlighten, to give light to, to shine on. The Greek is πεση-- fall on --and the reference, probably, is to the intense and burning heat of the sun, commonly called a sun-stroke. Excessive heat of the sun, causing great pain or sudden death, is not a very uncommon thing among us, and must have been more common in the warm climates and burning sands of the countries in the vicinity of Palestine. The meaning here is, that in heaven they would be free from this calamity. Nor any heat. In Isa 49:10, from which place this is quoted, the expression is: sharab, properly denoting heat or burning, and particularly the mirage, the excessive heat of a sandy desert producing a vapour which has a striking resemblance to water, and which often misleads the unwary traveller by its deceptive appearance. Isa 35:7. The expression here is equivalent to intense heat; and the meaning is, that in heaven the redeemed will not be subjected to any such suffering as the traveller often experiences in the burning sands of the desert. The language would convey a most grateful idea to those who had been subjected to these sufferings, and is one form of saying that, in heaven, the redeemed will be delivered from the ills which they suffer in this life. Perhaps the whole image here is that of travellers who have been on a long journey, exposed to hunger and thirst, wandering in the burning sands of the desert, and exposed to the fiery rays of the sun, at length reaching their quiet and peaceful home, where they would find safety and abundance. The believer's journey from earth to heaven is such a pilgrimage. (a) "hunger" Isa 49:10 (b) "heat" Ps 121:6 (c) "feed" Ps 23:1,2,5, 36:8, Isa 40:11 (d) "wipe" Isa 25:8 Verse 17. For the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne.