Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple, and he that sits upon the throne shall spread his tabernacle over them.
This verse follows the description of a countless crowd who washed their robes white in the blood of the Lamb. The "therefore" that opens it ties three things to that blood: their place before God, their service, and their shelter.
The word that opens the verse points back to a reason. One writer is careful about what that reason is not.
"Therefore," or on this account, "are they before the throne," that is, because of the blood. The blood made these sinners saints; the tribulation made them sufferers.
Another writer adds that this footing is not unique to them.
Not their sufferings have washed their robes white, but the Lamb's blood: and here again, though the expression is unusual, they stand on common ground with saints at all times.
The verse puts them in front of the throne. One commentator reads this as nearness to God rather than a spot on a map, and links it to the service that follows.
Their place is "before the throne." We believe this phrase shows where they stand morally and spiritually: God brings them into close touch with Himself. They also have a priest's place, since they serve Him day and night in His temple.
Their service never stops. One writer finds a picture of it in a woman named Anna.
They are not only like Israel in the courts, or the nations in the world; they have a priest's place in the world's temple. The millennial multitudes are worshippers — these are priests. Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, was always in the temple itself. Like her, they serve day and night there, and they always have access to the throne.
Commentators differ on whether this temple service is literal. One notes that a countless crowd could not fit inside one building, and reads the words as pointing to a work in the heart.
Yet it cannot be literally in Israel's millennial temple, for a number beyond counting could never be there. It speaks instead of the vital work of the Spirit of God in their hearts. That work makes them God's servants in His temple at all times, in a spiritual way.
The temple settles where they are. One writer identifies this crowd as Gentiles — people from the nations outside Israel — and reads the missing temple in the heavenly city as proof they stand somewhere else.
They are saved Gentiles of that future day. They are never said to be "around the throne," still less to be enthroned themselves. They are not only before the throne of God; the verse also says they "serve him day and night in his temple." This separates them from the bride, the new Jerusalem, where there is no temple and no night. God will bring them very near to Himself in great favour, but on earth.
Another writer draws the same conclusion, then names what these saints gained from what they suffered.
The presence of the temple shows it is not the church. Yet these saints will have the advantage over those who are born in the millennium. They have had to go through the great tribulation, and there they have learned most blessed experiences of God.
Older translations ended the verse "shall dwell among them." Writers prefer "spread His tabernacle over them," which matches the ESV's "shelter them with his presence." The picture comes from Israel's journey through the desert.
God spread His tabernacle over the tent of meeting of old. That tent became the centre and rest of the thousands of Israel. It covered them in the desert. The huge canopy God spread over them sheltered two and a half million people from scorching sun and winter storms. They were a picture of the Lord's redeemed host. It was the nation's glory and defence… In the eternal state the tabernacle of God is with men. In millennial times God's tabernacle will be over them.
The difference between God living among people and God covering them is not a small one.
This sets forth the gracious shelter of God's care and goodness. This matters. God now dwells by the Holy Spirit in the church as His habitation. It will not be so when God calls these Gentiles into the enjoyment of His favour. He will grant what is more suited to their character and state — His protection.
- Blood, not bruises. The "therefore" rests their whole standing on the Lamb's blood. The tribulation made them sufferers; the blood made them saints.
- Blood brings nearness. Being before the throne describes real closeness to God, and it carries a priest's place with it.
- Nearness becomes service. Like Anna in the temple, they serve without a break. Writers differ on whether that temple is a literal building or a spiritual reality.
- Service locates them. The heavenly city has no temple and no night, so their place is on earth — and this crowd is not the church.
- Location shapes the gift. God does not indwell them as He indwells the church now; He spreads His covering over them, as His canopy covered Israel in the desert.
They shall not hunger any more, neither shall they thirst any more, nor shall the sun at all fall on them, nor any burning heat;
These words belong to the huge crowd John has just seen, and they are pure promise: every kind of want and exposure they knew is over for good. Who are they, and does the promise describe heaven or something else?
The promise is spoken to one particular group. One commentator argues that they are not everyone who is saved, and not a company in heaven either.
They are certainly not all the saints. We have already seen the hundred and forty-four thousand of Israel clearly marked out as a separate group... Who are they, and what are they? They are a crowd of Gentiles whom God's gracious power will keep safe in these last days. Nothing here says they were glorified, and there is no reason to doubt that they were still in their natural bodies. Saying that they are "before the throne" cannot overturn the many proofs that they are alive on the earth.
Hunger, thirst, sun and heat are not random examples. They name what this crowd lived through, and one writer draws a lesson from that for readers today.
When they went through the tribulation they were hungry, they were thirsty, and they were in the burning heat. So their blessing matches what they have suffered. I think there is practical teaching in that for us. How far we have found the Lord Jesus with us in our trials will be the basis of our blessing and worship, now and in the future. That is why our journey through this world matters so much.
The verse names two kinds of trouble: no food or drink, and burning pressure from outside. One writer ties the sun and heat to persecution, not only to the weather.
There is no doubt that this points to the days of Christ's thousand-year reign on earth (see Isa. 49:10). These strong negatives assure the saved Gentile crowd that the hardships of life — hunger and thirst, persecution and tribulation, sun and burning heat — will never again be their sad lot. Past evils will not come back.
The promise rests on a Shepherd who went through the same trouble Himself.
They also had blessings under the Lamb, to whom they too give the credit for their salvation. He is the good Shepherd who was cast out, and who had Himself passed through tribulation just as great. He would feed them. They would not hunger any more or thirst any more, as they had often done, and neither persecution nor tribulation would reach them.
Commentators differ on how far the promise reaches. Some see it as relief for a people still in the place where they suffered. They contrast it with the fuller words used of the final state.
These are blessed promises, but promises fitted for an earthly rather than a heavenly people. In the eternal state "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore" (Rev. 21:4). Then tears and sorrow, pain and death are gone for good. The blessings of this Gentile crowd are more a matter of being spared trouble and kept safe from evil. To an earthly people just rescued from suffering, but still in the place where they suffered, this promise is full of grace. Yet it hardly suits those living in the Father's house.
Others take the promise further. They hold that it does not stop at the coming kingdom.
The description is not limited to their blessing in the coming kingdom on earth. It goes on into eternity, since all who are born again will one day share what verses 16 and 17 promise: no hunger, no thirst, no scorching heat, and every tear wiped away from their eyes... All of this shows that God's purposes stand, however great the trial of the Tribulation may be.
Whatever its date, this promise is not locked in the future. One writer applies it in two ways at once.
Peace, plenty and security characterise the portion of the Lord's beloved flock... This beautiful passage shows how deeply the Lord delights in the sealed remnant of the Gentiles. It will come literally true during the thousand-year reign of Christ for all who are faithful to "the King of glory"... But it is also true now, in a spiritual sense, of every sheep and lamb in the highly favoured flock of Christ... Our rest and plenty are not natural and worldly, but spiritual and heavenly.
- Suffered — Hunger, thirst, sun and heat are the very things this crowd went through in the tribulation. The promise is cut to the shape of their pain.
- Sheltered — Hunger and thirst cover want; sun and heat cover persecution and exposure. Not one of these evils will come back.
- Shepherded — The Lamb who feeds them passed through tribulation Himself. He does not promise relief He has not tasted.
- Distinguished — This crowd is not everyone who is saved. Commentators set them apart from the sealed of Israel: Gentiles kept safe on earth by God's power.
- Scope — Commentators differ. Some see earthly blessings for a rescued people. Others see blessings that run on into eternity for all who are born again.
because the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall shepherd them, and shall lead them to fountains of waters of life, and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes.
The vision of the countless crowd in white robes ends not with their glory but with a promise about their care. The last words name the Lamb as their shepherd.
Who is this crowd? The promise itself gives a clue.
I confess to you that I think such a promise is much more exactly suited to a people about to be on the earth than to men in a glorified state above. What would be the point of promising glorified people that they will not hunger or thirst any more? If it is said to a people on earth, we can all understand the comfort of its assurance.
Older translations read "feed them," but the word covers the whole work of a shepherd. That care will also replace the care believers know now.
The Lamb "in the midst of the throne," exercising its power and expressing in Himself its majesty, will graciously provide for every need. This is not the angelic and providential care we know now (Hebrews 1:14). It is the shepherd grace of the Lamb at work — tending, caring, preserving, and guiding each and all of the redeemed Gentile multitude.
These people came out of great tribulation. Their Shepherd went through it first, and their portion differs from the Christian's:
They had blessings under the Lamb too, and they also ascribe their salvation to Him. He is the good Shepherd who was cast out. He had passed through tribulation Himself, tribulation just as great, and He would feed them... For us the promise is a well of water springing up into everlasting life and flowing out as a river. Theirs is not that. They would be fed, refreshed, and perfectly cared for by the grace of the Lamb whom they had followed... They would have the consolations of God, worth all the sorrows they had passed through. But their blessings are consolations, not proper heavenly joy.
Where He leads them matters as much as that He leads them. Older translations read "fountains of waters of life," and the weight falls on that word "fountains."
He "shall lead them to fountains of waters of life," not to channels or springs merely, but to the sources of life. The fullness and joy of earthly blessing shall be theirs. The Lamb Himself will be their guide to these fountains, these sources of unmixed delight.
Where do those fountains rise?
The deepest well of human happiness may soon run dry, but the "living fountains of waters" have their spring in the heart of God, which can never fail.
The final clause changes the actor, and that change carries weight.
No words match the closing ones for depth and tenderness together: "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." Notice that it is God, not the Lamb. He is the One against whom they and we have sinned, and He Himself will remove the causes and occasions of sorrow. If He wipes away every tear they shall never weep again.
How far does this blessing reach?
All this description is blessed, yet it seems to fall short of the full eternal blessing, and certainly short of what is heavenly. The impression given is that the earth's warfare is not yet over, and sin and evil are not completely banished. Yet they themselves are truly sheltered.
This picture also speaks to anyone who trusts Christ now.
He who laid down His life for the sheep, and washed them from their sins in His own blood, now feeds them and leads them with His own hand. What grace! What gentleness! The very hand that was pierced for our sins protects and feeds us on our journey through the wilderness. That should fill our hearts with perfect confidence in our Shepherd, despite the many trials and difficulties of the way.
- Sacrifice — the care begins with the Lamb. He was cast out and passed through tribulation Himself. Now He cares for those who came through it.
- Shepherding — "feed" means the whole work of a shepherd: tending, caring, preserving and guiding. It replaces the care believers know now.
- Sources — He leads not to channels or springs only, but to the fountains, the sources of life, which rise in the heart of God.
- Solace — God wipes the tears, not the Lamb. The One they sinned against removes the causes of sorrow, so they never weep again.
- Suited — a promise of no more hunger or thirst fits people on earth. That marks this crowd off from the glorified saints above.