the Week of Christ the King / Proper 29 / Ordinary 34
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J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Revelation 7:9
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Then I looked, and there was a large crowd of people. There were so many people that no one could count them all. They were from every nation, tribe, race of people, and language of the earth. They were standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They all wore white robes and had palm branches in their hands.
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
After this I behelde and lo a gret multitude (which noma coulde nombre) of all nacios and people and tonges stode before the seate and before the lambe clothed with longe whyte garmentes and palmes in there hondes
After these things I saw, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could number, out of every nation and of all tribes, peoples, and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.
After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all the tribes, peoples, and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands;
After the vision of these things I looked, and there was a great number of people, so many that no one could count them. They were from every nation, tribe, people, and language of the earth. They were all standing before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.
After these things I looked, and saw a great multitude, which no man could number, out of every nation and of [all] tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes, and palms in their hands;
After this I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and languages, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
After these things I saw, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could number, out of every nation and of all tribes, peoples, and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.
After this I saw, and behold a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and tribes, and people, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes and palms in their hands.
After this I looked, and a vast host appeared which it was impossible for anyone to count, gathered out of every nation and from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in long white robes, and carrying palm-branches in their hands.
Aftir these thingis Y sai a greet puple, whom no man myyte noumbre, of alle folkis, and lynagis, and puplis, and langagis, stondinge bifore the trone, in the siyt of the lomb; and thei weren clothid with white stoolis, and palmes weren in the hondis of hem.
After these things I saw, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could number, out of every nation and of all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes, and palms in their hands;
After this I looked and saw a multitude too large to count, from every nation and tribe and people and tongue, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.
After this, I saw a large crowd with more people than could be counted. They were from every race, tribe, nation, and language, and they stood before the throne and before the Lamb. They wore white robes and held palm branches in their hands,
After these things I looked, and this is what I saw: a vast multitude which no one could count, [gathered] from every nation and from all the tribes and peoples and languages [of the earth], standing before the throne and before the Lamb (Christ), dressed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands;
After these things I saw, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could number, out of every nation and of all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes, and palms in their hands;
After these things I saw a great army of people more than might be numbered, out of every nation and of all tribes and peoples and languages, taking their places before the high seat and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, and with branches in their hands,
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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.
After these things I looked, and there was a large crowd that no one was able to count! They were from every nation, tribe, people, and language. They were standing in front of the throne and the lamb and were wearing white robes, with palm branches in their hands.Romans 11:25; Revelation 3:5,18; 4:4; 5:9;">[xr]
After these I saw, and, behold, a great assembly, which to number no man was able, from all people and nations and tribes and tongues, were standing before the throne and before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes, and with palms in their hands;
And after these things, I looked, and lo, a great multitude, which no one could number, from all kindreds, and nations, and tribes, and tongues; who stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palms in their hands;
After this I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could nuber, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, & tongues, stood before the throne, & before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palmes in their hands:
After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands.
After this I saw many people. No one could tell how many there were. They were from every nation and from every family and from every kind of people and from every language. They were standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white clothes and they held branches in their hands.
After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands.
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
After these thinges I behelde, and loe a great multitude, which no man coulde number, of all nations and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stoode before the throne, and before the Lambe, clothed with long white robes, and palmes in their hands.
After these things, I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of every nation and people, and kindred and tongue, stood before the throne, and in the presence of the Lamb, clothed with white robes and with palms in their hands;
After this, I saw a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and in sight of the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands.
After this I behelde, and loe a great multitude which no man could number of all nations, and kinredes, and people, and tongues, stoode before the throne, and before the lambe, clothed with long whyte garmentes, and palmes in their handes,
After this I looked, and there was an enormous crowd—no one could count all the people! They were from every race, tribe, nation, and language, and they stood in front of the throne and of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.
After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands.
After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
After these things I looked, and behold, a great crowd that no one was able to number, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes and with palm branches in their hands.
After these things I saw, and behold, a great crowd which no one was able to number them, out of every nation, even tribes and peoples and tongues, standing in front of the throne, and before the Lamb, having been clothed with white robes, and in their hands palm branches.
After these things I saw, and lo, a great multitude, which to number no one was able, out of all nations, and tribes, and peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne, and before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes, and palms in their hands,
After this I behelde, and lo, a gret multitude (which no man coulde nombre) of all nacions and people, and tonges, stode before the seate, and before the lambe, clothed wt longe whyte garmetes, and palmes in their hondes,
After this I beheld, and there was a great multitude, which no man could number, of every nation, tribe, people, and language, who stood before the throne, and before the lamb cloathed in white robes, having palms in their hands.
I looked again. I saw a huge crowd, too huge to count. Everyone was there—all nations and tribes, all races and languages. And they were standing, dressed in white robes and waving palm branches, standing before the Throne and the Lamb and heartily singing: Salvation to our God on his Throne! Salvation to the Lamb! All who were standing around the Throne—Angels, Elders, Animals—fell on their faces before the Throne and worshiped God, singing: Oh, Yes! The blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving, The honor and power and strength, To our God forever and ever and ever! Oh, Yes!
After these things I looked, and here was an enormous crowd that no one could count, made up of persons from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb dressed in long white robes, and with palm branches in their hands.
After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
Then an enormous crowd appeared. There were more people than a cattle buyer could count. They were from every nation, every breed, and every color. They stood in front of the Lamb with white shirts and holding an olive branches in their hands.
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;
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
a great: Genesis 49:10, Psalms 2:8, Psalms 22:27, Psalms 72:7-11, Psalms 76:4, Psalms 77:2, Psalms 98:3, Psalms 110:2, Psalms 110:3, Psalms 117:1, Psalms 117:2, Isaiah 2:2, Isaiah 2:3, Isaiah 49:6-8, Isaiah 60:1-14, Jeremiah 3:17, Jeremiah 16:19, Zechariah 2:11, Zechariah 8:20-23, Romans 15:9-12
no man: Revelation 5:11, Revelation 11:15, Genesis 13:16, Hosea 1:10, Luke 12:1, Romans 11:25, Hebrews 11:12, Hebrews 12:22
of all: Revelation 5:9, Daniel 4:1, Daniel 6:25
stood: Luke 21:36, Ephesians 6:13
clothed: Revelation 7:13, Revelation 7:14, Revelation 3:4, Revelation 3:5, Revelation 3:18, Revelation 4:4, Revelation 6:11
palms: Leviticus 23:40, John 12:13
Reciprocal: Genesis 12:3 - in thee Genesis 28:14 - thy seed Exodus 12:3 - take to Numbers 29:35 - eighth day 2 Samuel 22:1 - in 1 Kings 6:29 - palm trees 1 Chronicles 29:11 - is the greatness Nehemiah 8:15 - palm Psalms 72:16 - There Psalms 115:14 - Lord Psalms 145:10 - and thy saints Psalms 146:2 - While I live Ecclesiastes 9:8 - thy garments Song of Solomon 2:14 - for sweet Song of Solomon 6:8 - General Isaiah 4:2 - them that are escaped Isaiah 35:10 - and sorrow Isaiah 42:12 - General Isaiah 49:12 - these shall Isaiah 49:13 - O heavens Isaiah 51:11 - the redeemed Isaiah 53:11 - see Isaiah 54:1 - break Isaiah 60:6 - they shall show Isaiah 60:8 - fly Isaiah 60:22 - little Isaiah 61:3 - the garment Isaiah 61:10 - for Jeremiah 33:22 - the host Ezekiel 16:10 - I girded Ezekiel 40:16 - palm trees Ezekiel 40:22 - palm trees Ezekiel 41:18 - palm trees Ezekiel 47:5 - waters to swim in Ezekiel 47:22 - and to the strangers Daniel 11:32 - shall be Zechariah 8:23 - out Matthew 3:14 - I have Matthew 22:10 - and the Matthew 26:28 - shed Mark 9:3 - exceeding Mark 14:24 - which Luke 13:29 - General Luke 15:22 - the best Luke 20:36 - they are John 1:17 - grace John 1:29 - Behold John 11:52 - not John 12:24 - if John 14:6 - no Acts 3:25 - all Acts 4:12 - is there Romans 5:15 - hath Romans 5:19 - so by Romans 8:37 - Nay Galatians 1:4 - from Galatians 2:16 - we have Ephesians 5:27 - glorious 1 Timothy 3:16 - believed Hebrews 2:10 - many Hebrews 13:15 - the sacrifice James 1:9 - in Revelation 4:2 - and one Revelation 5:6 - a Lamb Revelation 5:13 - every Revelation 13:6 - and them Revelation 14:1 - a Lamb Revelation 19:14 - clothed Revelation 22:19 - and from
Cross-References
Now Yahweh God had formed from the ground every living thing of the field and every bird of the heavens, which he brought in unto the man, that he might see what he should call it, - and, whatsoever the man should call it - any living soul, that, should be the name thereof.
Now, Noah, was six hundred years old, - when, the flood, came, even waters on the earth.
two and two, went they in unto Noah, into the ark male and female,, - as God commanded Noah.
In the six hundredth year, the year of the life of Noah. in the second month on the seventeenth day of the month on this day, were burst open all the fountains of the great roaring deep, and the windows of the heavens, were set open.
(And it came to pass that the heavy rain was on the earth, - forty days and forty nights.)
And, they that entered, male and female of all flesh, entered, as God commanded him, - and Yahweh shut him in round about.
The wolf and the lamb, shall feed, in unity, And, the lion, as an ox, shall eat straw; But as for the serpent, dust, shall be his food: They shall not harm - Nor shall they destroy, In all my holy mountain, saith Yahweh.
Even the stork in the heavens knoweth her appointed times, And the turtle and the swallow and the crane, observe the season for coming; But my people know not the just sentence of Yahweh.
There cannot be Jew or Greek, there cannot be bond or free, there cannot be male and female, for, all ye, are one, in Christ Jesus:
Wherein there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, foreigner, Scythian, bond, free, - but, all things and in all, Christ:
Gill's Notes on the Bible
After this I beheld,.... What follows is a distinct vision from the preceding one, and is not a continuation of that, as if the sealing of the Jewish believers was designed by the former, and the sealing of the Gentiles in this latter; whereas in this vision there is no mention made of sealing, nor was there, or will there be any need of it in the time it refers unto; and which is not the time of the Reformation; nor when the vials began to be poured out upon the seat of the beast; for though there were great numbers converted in many nations, kindreds, people, and tongues, yet not in all; nor do the characters of this great multitude, and the happiness they shall enjoy, seem to suit with persons in a state of mortality and imperfection, Revelation 7:14; wherefore many interpreters understand this vision of the saints in heaven: but it rather respects the millennium state, or thousand years' reign of Christ with his saints on earth, with which all that is here said agrees; compare Revelation 7:14 with Revelation 20:4; and Revelation 7:15 with Revelation 22:3; and Revelation 7:16 with Revelation 21:4. And the design of this vision is to show to John, and every diligent observer, that after the seventh seal is opened, the trumpets are blown, and the vials poured out; during which time there will be a number sealed that will profess Christ; and at the close and winding up of all things, in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, Christ will descend, and all the saints with him; their bodies will be raised, and the living saints changed, and make one general assembly, who are shown to John here, as in Revelation 21:9; to relieve his mind, and support his spirits, in a view of the calamities ushered in by the opening of the seventh seal.
And lo, a great multitude, which no man could number; which design all the elect of God in the new Jerusalem church state, the bride, the Lamb's wife, or the new Jerusalem descending from God out of heaven; these will appear to be a great multitude, not in comparison of the inhabitants that shall have dwelt upon earth, nor of the professors of religion in one shape or another; for, with respect to each of these, they are but a few, a seed, a remnant, a little flock; but as considered in themselves, and so they are many who are ordained to eternal life, whose sins Christ has bore, for whom his blood has been shed, and whom he justifies, and who are called by his grace, and are brought to glory; and who make up such a number as no man can number: God indeed can number them, but not man; for they are a set of particular persons chosen by God, and redeemed by Christ, and who are perfectly and distinctly known by them; their number and names are with them; their names are written in the Lamb's book of life; and God and Christ can, and do call them by their name; and when they were given to Christ, they passed under the rod of him that telleth them; and he will give an exact account of them, of every individual person, another day. But then they are not to be numbered by men; and they will be
of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, and therefore must consist both of Jews and Gentiles; these were not all nations, c. but "of" all nations, some of all nations and such God has chosen, Christ has redeemed, and the Spirit calls; God has not chosen all the Jews, but a remnant, according to the election of grace, nor all the Gentiles, but has taken out of them a people for his name; and so Christ has redeemed, by his blood, some out of every kindred, tongue, people, and nation, of Jew and Gentile: and hence the Gospel has been sent into all the world, and to all nations, for the gathering of these persons out of them; and when they are all gathered in, they will all meet together in the new Jerusalem church state, and make up the body here presented to view.
Stood before the throne and before the Lamb; the throne of God, and of the Lamb, will be in the midst of the new Jerusalem church; the tabernacle of God will be with men, and he will dwell, among them; and before the presence of his glory will all the saints be presented; and the Lamb will then present to himself his whole church, without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; and they will behold his glory, and see him as he is: and as they are described before by their number, and their descent, so here by their position and situation, and, as follows, by their habit and attire,
clothed with white robes; agreeably to their princely and priestly characters: it was usual for princes and noblemen to be arrayed in vestures of linen, as Joseph was in Pharaoh's court; and the Jewish priests wore garments of linen, in their daily ministry and service; and in the thousand years' reign the saints will appear to be kings and priests, Revelation 5:10; and accordingly will be clothed as such: and this may also be expressive of their entire freedom from sin by the blood of Christ, Revelation 7:14; and their complete justification by his righteousness, which is sometimes compared to white raiment, and is called fine linen, clean, and white; and likewise their spotless purity and holiness, sanctification in them being now perfect, which was before imperfect: and these robes may also design their shining robes of glory and immortality; for they will now be clothed upon with their house from heaven, and will have put off mortality and corruption, and have put on immortality and incorruption, and appear with Christ in glory; for such will be the then state of things:
and palms in their hands; or branches of palm trees, as in
John 12:13 as an emblem of their uprightness and faithfulness, which they had shown in the cause of Christ, even unto death, the palm tree being a very upright tree, Jeremiah 10:5; or of their bearing up under a variety of pressures and afflictions, by which they were not cast down and destroyed, but bravely stood up under them, and were now come out of them; the palm tree being of such a nature, as is reported, that the more weight is hung upon it, the higher it rises, and the straighter it grows; see Psalms 92:12; and chiefly as an emblem of victory and triumph over their enemies, as sin, Satan, the world and death, which they had been struggling with, in a state of imperfection, but were now more than conquerors over them; the palm tree is well known to be a token of victory. So Philo the Jew f says, the palm tree is συμβολον νικης, "a symbol of victory". Conquerors used to carry palm tree branches in their hands g: those who conquered in the combats and plays among the Greeks, used not only to have crowns of palm trees given them, but carried branches of it in their hands h; as did also the Romans in their triumphs; yea, they sometimes wore "toga palmata", a garment with the figures of palm trees on it, which were interwoven in it i: and hence here palms are mentioned along with white garments; and some have been tempted to render the words thus, "clothed with white robes", and "palms on their sides"; that is, on the sides of their robes k. The medal which was struck by Titus Vespasian, at the taking of Jerusalem, had on it a palm tree, and a captive woman sitting under it, with this inscription on it, "Judaea capta", Judea is taken. And when our Lord rode in triumph to Jerusalem, the people met him with branches of palm trees in their hands, and cried, Hosanna to him. So the Jews, at the feast of tabernacles, which they kept in commemoration of their having dwelt in tents in the wilderness, carried "Lulabs", or palm tree branches, in their hands, in token of joy, Leviticus 23:40; and in like manner, these being come out of the wilderness of the world, and the tabernacle of God being among them, express their joy in this way; Leviticus 23:40- :.
f Allegor. l. 2. p. 74. g A. Gell. Noctes Attic. l. 3. c. 6. Sueton. in Caio, c. 32. h Pausan. Arcadica, l. 8. p. 532. Alex. ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 5. c. 8. & l. 6. c. 19. i Isidor. Hispalens. Origen. l. 19. c. 24. p. 168. k Vid. Lydium de re Militare, l. 6. c. 3. p. 225.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
After this - Greek,” After these things” - Μετὰ ταῦτα Meta tauta: that is, after I saw these things thus represented I had another vision. This would undoubtedly imply, not only that he saw these things after he had seen the sealing of the hundred and forty-four thousand, but that they would occur subsequently to that. But he does not state whether they would immediately occur, or whether other things might not intervene. As a matter of fact, the vision seems to be transferred from earth to heaven - for the multitudes which he saw appeared “before the throne” Revelation 7:9; that is, before the throne of God in heaven. The design seems to be to carry the mind forward quite beyond the storms and tempests of earth - the scenes of woe and sorrow - the clays of error, darkness, declension, and persecution - to that period when the church should be triumphant in heaven. Instead, therefore, of leaving the impression that the hundred and forty-four thousand would be all that would be saved, the eye is directed to an innumerable host, gathered from all ages, all climes, and all people, triumphant in glory. The multitude that John thus saw was not, therefore, I apprehend, the same as the hundred and forty-four thousand, but a far greater number the whole assembled host of the redeemed in heaven, gathered there as vistors, with palmbranches, the symbols of triumph, in their hands. The object of the vision is to cheer those who are desponding in times of religious declension and in seasons of persecution, and when the number of true Christians seems to be small, with the assurance that an immense host shall be redeemed from our world, and be gathered triumphant before the throne.
I beheld - That is, he saw them before the throne. The vision is transferred from earth to heaven; from the contemplation of the scene when desolation seemed to impend over the world, and when comparatively few in number were “sealed” as the servants of God, to the time when the redeemed would be triumphant, and when a host which no man can number would stand before God.
And, lo - Indicating surprise. A vast host burst upon the view. Instead of the comparatively few who were sealed, an innumerable company were presented to his vision, and surprise was the natural effect.
A great multitude - Instead of the comparatively small number on which the attention had been fixed.
Which no man could number - The number was so great that no one could count them, and John, therefore, did not attempt to do it. This is such a statement as one would make who should have a view of all the redeemed in heaven. It would appear to be a number beyond all power of computation. This representation is in strong contrast with a very common opinion that only a few will be saved. The representation in the Bible is, that immense hosts of the human race will be saved; and though vast numbers will be lost, and though at any particular period of the world hitherto it may seem that few have been in the path to life, yet we have every reason to believe that, taking the race at large, and estimating it as a whole, a vast majority of the whole will be brought to heaven. For the true religion is yet to spread all over the world, and perhaps for many, many thousands of years, piety is to be as prevalent as sin has been; and in that long and happy time of the world’s history we may hope that the numbers of the saved may surpass all who have been lost in past periods, beyond any power of computation. See the notes on Revelation 20:3-6.
Of all nations - Not only of Jews; not only of the nations which, in the time of the sealing vision, had embraced the gospel, but of all the nations of the earth. This implies two things:
(a)That the gospel would be preached among all nations; and,
(b)That even when it was thus preached to them they would keep up their national characteristics.
There can be no hope of blending all the nations of the earth under one visible sovereignty. They may all be subjected to the spiritual reign of the Redeemer, but still there is no reason to suppose that they will not have their distinct organizations and laws.
And kindreds - φυλῶν phulōn. This word properly refers to those who are descended from a common ancestry, and hence denotes a race, lineage, kindred. It was applied to the tribes of Israel, as derived from the same ancestor, and for the same reason might be applied to a clan, and thence to any division in a nation, or to a nation itself - properly retaining the notion that it was descended from a common ancestor. Here it would seem to refer to a smaller class than a nation - the different clans of which a nation might be composed.
And people - λαῶν laōn. This word refers properly to a people or community as a mass, without reference to its origin or any of its divisions. The former word would be used by one who should look upon a nation as made up of portions of distinct languages, clans, or families; this word would be used by one who should look on such an assembled people as a mere mass of human beings, with no reference to their difference of clanship, origin, or language.
And tongues - Languages. This word would refer also to the inhabitants of the earth, considered with respect to the fact that they speak different languages. The use of particular languages does not designate the precise boundaries of nations - for often many people speaking different languages are united as one nation, and often those who speak the same language constitute distinct nations. The view, therefore, with which one would look upon the dwellers on the earth, in the use of the word “tongues” or “languages,” would be, not as divided into nations; not with reference to their lineage or clanship; and not as a mere mass without reference to any distinction, but as divided by speech. The meaning of the whole is, that persons from all parts of the earth, as contemplated in these points of view, would be among the redeemed. Compare the notes on Daniel 3:4; Daniel 4:1.
Stood before the throne - The throne of God. See the notes on Revelation 4:2. The throne is there represented as set up in heaven, and the vision here is a vision of what will occur in heaven. It is designed to carry the thoughts beyond all the scenes of conflict, strife, and persecution on earth, to the time when the church shall be triumphant in glory - when all storms shall have passed by; when all persecutions shall have ceased; when all revolutions shall have occurred; when all the elect - not only the hundred and forty-four thousand of the sealed, but of all nations and times - shall have been gathered in. There was a beautiful propriety in this vision. John saw the tempests stayed, as by the might of angels. He saw a new influence and power that would seal the true servants of God. But those tempests were stayed only for a time, and there were more awful visions in reserve than any which had been exhibited - visions of woe and sorrow, of persecution and of death. It was appropriate, therefore, just at this moment of calm suspense - of delayed judgments - to suffer the mind to rest on the triumphant close of the whole in heaven, when a countless host would be gathered there with palms in their hands, uniting with angels in the worship of God. The mind, by the contemplation of this beautiful vision, would be refreshed and strengthened for the disclosure of the awful scenes which were to occur on the sounding of the trumpets under the seventh seal. The simple idea is, that, amidst the storms and tempests of life - scenes of existing or impending trouble and wrath - it is well to let the eye rest on the scene of the final triumph, when innumerable hosts of the redeemed shall stand before God, and when sorrow shall be known no more.
And before the Lamb - In the midst of the throne - in heaven. See the notes on Revelation 5:6.
Clothed with white robes - The emblems of innocence or righteousness, uniformly represented as the raiment of the inhabitants of heaven. See the notes on Revelation 3:4; Revelation 6:11.
And palms in their hands - Emblems of victory. Branches of the palm-tree were carried by the victors in the athletic contests of Greece and Rome, and in triumphal processions. See the notes on Matthew 21:8. The palm-tree - straight, elevated, majestic - was an appropriate emblem of triumph. The portion of it which was borne in victory was the long leaf which shoots out from the top of the tree. Compare the notes on Isaiah 3:26. See Eschenberg, Manual of Class. Literally, p. 243, and Leviticus 23:40; “And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm-trees,” etc. So in the Saviour’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem John 12:12-13 - “On the next day much people took branches of palm-trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna.”
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Revelation 7:9. 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.
