After these things I saw, and lo, a great crowd, which no one could number, out of every nation and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palm branches in their hands.
God has just sealed a fixed number out of the twelve tribes of Israel. Now John sees a second crowd, far larger, drawn from every nation on earth. Who are they? Where did they come from? And why does their praise sound so different from the songs earlier in the book?
A company of its own
Commentators keep this crowd separate from the other groups the book has already shown.
This is not a picture of the redeemed of all times. Scripture says plainly that it is a countless crowd of Gentiles, set in contrast with Israel, and seen in relation to God ruling as judge. So it is not universal. These Gentiles stand in clear contrast with the sealed ones out of Israel. One of the elders spoke about them and explained them to the prophet, who would have been at a loss without it. ... They are a crowd of Gentiles whom God will preserve by gracious power in these last days. They are not said to be glorified, and there is no reason to doubt that they are still in their natural bodies.
From a counted number to a countless crowd
The chapter counts Israel exactly, then gives no number at all.
Do not confuse the twenty-four elders with the sealed one hundred and forty-four thousand of Israel. Do not confuse them with the great multitude of chapter 7 either. Each company is distinct. As to the one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed, what is that? Measured grace. God's faithful grace to Israel is absolute and perfect. He keeps every promise He made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and He blesses their descendants. But after all, it is what I may call measured grace. But "a great multitude that no one could number" tells of unmeasured and immeasurable grace. Its very largeness is refreshing.
Two ways God works
The sealed of Israel were marked before the judgments fell. This crowd comes out the other side of the trouble.
Another thing also marks the two companies apart. God seals the elect of Israel, marking them out for preservation, before His more direct judgments begin. The Gentile multitude wears the white robe of righteousness and holds the palms of victory, having come out of the great tribulation. The one case, then, shows that God knows how to secure those already in relationship with Him before the judgment begins. The other shows how God can overrule tribulation, even of the fiercest kind, to reach people who had no relationship with Him before. He brings them into relationship with Himself and carries them through the tribulation in victory.
What the robes and palms mean
Their robes and their palms are symbols. Each answers something in the scene of judgment around them.
The wicked will fall before the judgments of God's throne and of the Lamb who acts in judgment. But there will be those who stand in safety before the throne and the Lamb. When God judges the nations for their wickedness, there will be those whom He accepts as righteous, as the "white robes" show. The devil, the beast and the Antichrist will lead the world into rebellion against God. Even then there will be those who are victorious over all the power of the enemy, as the "palms in their hands" symbolise.
Standing before the throne — heaven or earth?
Does this crowd stand in heaven? One writer gives two reasons for reading the scene as earthly:
Notice again who asks the question: one of the twenty-four elders, one of the heavenly saints. He asks, "Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?" John said, "Sir, you know." The elders understand who the earthly companies are. Clearly they are not the church, which the elders stand for. This must also be an earthly scene, because the temple is there (v. 15). In Revelation 21, where the church is seen in glory, there is "no temple."
Why their praise says nothing of the blood
Why does redemption not fill their praise here? One writer points to where they stand.
It comes from their circumstances. The throne they stand before is not a throne of mercy but of righteousness. Here the Lamb appears not as slain for sin but as carrying out judgment... For them, Christ's coming means rescue from tribulation on earth and a settled place of blessing on earth. They are not thinking here about God's grace in giving His Son, or about Christ's love in redeeming them by His blood. Their minds are on the delivering power that has stepped in with judgment on their behalf.
Summary
- Measured. God counts Israel's sealed number exactly. That is grace keeping His promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
- Unmeasured. This crowd is beyond counting, and its very largeness is the point: grace with no ceiling on it.
- Reaching. God secures those already His before judgment falls. He also uses the fiercest tribulation to reach those who were not His.
- Marked. White robes: God accepts them as righteous. Palms: they came through the enemy's power as victors.
- Distinct. They are neither Israel nor the church. Their praise fits their rescue: a throne of righteousness has acted for them.