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The Catholic Telegraph
May 4, 2001In chapters six through sixteen of Revelation John offers his readers a series of visions of cosmic conflict in which the powers of evil struggle against the goodness and power of God. Ultimately, of course, God will triumph. Just after this portion of the book begins in chapter six, there is a kind of interlude in chapter seven. Chapter seven (in verses 1 to 8) shows us God sealing His elect with His protective sign to preserve them from harm in the coming crisis. Then (in verses 9 to 17) we see these elect in their state of final triumph in heaven. Our reading is from this portion of the chapter.
The elect are not a small and exclusive group, but a "great multitude" beyond numbering from every possible grouping on earth. They are in their state of final fulfillment, standing before the risen Christ ("the Lamb") dressed in the white garments that signify joy and carrying palm branches that signify victory.
One of the elders explains the vision to John. These people are those who have survived tribulation. Their claim to be in the presence of the Lamb is the association of their struggles with His blood. (Note that these persons are not necessarily those who have given their lives as martyrs, but those whose struggles have put them in touch with the sacrifice of Christ. Jesus had foretold that His followers would have to take up His cross if they wanted to follow Him. Cf. Matthew 10.38.)
Their reward is to stand in unending worship in the presence of the Lamb. He will shelter and deliver them from every need, every want, every suffering. The Lamb will become their shepherd, leading them to the water that signifies their sharing in His life. God will take away all sorrow from their hearts. (Notice how, in these few verses the risen Christ is referred to as Lamb, as a tent offering protection, and as a shepherd. No one image can fully express the relationship between Christ and His elect.)
This vision describes the future of those who are faithful to God in spite of present suffering. It describes how Christ cares for them and protects them and comforts them in every conceivable way. It shows how things will be at the end for those who exercise faithfulness and perseverance now.
There are three important elements inherent in what John the visionary teaches us in this passage. First of all, there is the element of struggle. Being a follower of Christ is not some sort of effortless state in which we simply sit back and wait to be gifted by God. No, being faithful to Christ means being like Christ. It means offering ourselves up for the benefit of our brothers and sisters just as Jesus did. It means making ourselves vulnerable to those who reject Jesus and who reject what He stands for. Those who persecuted Him are likely to do the same to His followers. There are lots of reasons why being faithful involves struggle.
The second element that we need to be attentive to is fulfillment. All who are faithful, the "great multitude ... from every nation, race, people, and tongue" will be sheltered and comforted by the risen Christ, freed from every frustration, dryness, hunger, weariness. All sources of suffering will be removed from them. Christ will recompense them for their efforts with abundant and eternal salvation. "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
However (and this is the third important element in the vision), all fulfillment and all salvation comes from Christ. The faithful are qualified to join in the praises of the heavenly court not because they were moral virtuosos who exercised superhuman virtues that God is now obliged to reward but because they have washed their robes (steeped their lives) in the blood of the Lamb. It is their participation in the heavenly life of the Lamb, the risen Christ, that brings them fulfillment. It is Jesus’ death that brings salvation and Jesus’ risen life that brings happiness.
Heaven is not a pay-off for the wonderful things we may have done in our lifetime, but Christ’s final, definitive, irreversible gift of Himself. The heavenly celebration is the final outcome of His life, death, and resurrection. Our struggles have meaning only to the extent that they keep us in contact with Him. Our fulfillment consists in being made eternally like Him. He is the beginning and the end of it all, the substance in which it all consists.
There is one more thing that is not an explicit part of this vision, but which forms the kernel of the preceding vision and which needs to be mentioned here. The Lamb enthroned does not wait indifferently for us until our time of effort is ended. What He has prepared for us in heaven is the conclusion and fullness of the care and love that He already offers us here and now. Heaven has already begun here for those who accept Christ’s gifts and who serve the Lamb with joy and confidence. That’s part of what we celebrate during this Easter season.
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Conversation Questions
Have I ever suffered for my Christian faith?
How do I experience the risen Christ’s care for me here and now?
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