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 A NUMBER TOO LARGE TO COUNT (REVELATION 7:1-9)

The salvation of a great multitude of every nation.

REFLECTION 

The theme for our reflection today is a number too large to count. John in his vision saw the salvation of 144,000 Jews from all the tribes of Isreal and “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,” (Revelation 7:9).  What will be the feature that identifies God’s people? One of the Angels in  Revelations 7:3 said that  “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” In other words, those who will be counted among the great multitude of every nation are those who have served God and have been marked with the seal of salvation. 

The next question which is of utmost importance is who qualifies as a servant of God. We have a large number of Christians who go to church every Sunday. Many are in church groups and others are in ecumenical Christian organisations. We have many Christian churches and we have more being opened in every corner of cities and towns professing the name of Christ. Are all these people servants of the Lord?! Will every one of us who have been baptised in the church and have a connection to a Christian family or Christian denomination be identified with the seal of salvation on our foreheads? The answer to these questions calls for self retrospection. Jesus clearly shows us those who qualify to have the seal of salvation as servants of God in Matthew 7: 21-23  when He said that “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ In other words, those living a life of pretence do not qualify to be called the servants of God and will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

A number too large to count will make it to heaven however Paul draws the difference between those who will be part of the countless number of people who will make it to heaven and those who will not when he wrote in Galatian in 5:19-24 that “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,  idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things, there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” 

My dear friend are you prepared to meet the Lord on judgement day?  Are you prepared to give account to the Lord on how you have used your time and life on this earth to serve Him? Remember it is only the true servants of the Lord who will have the seal of salvation on their foreheads.  Let us humble ourselves and be good servants and stewards of God and remain faithful to Him in our daily dealings with the people we come across. So that on that day the Lord will not say to us “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:41-46) Shalom.

PRAYER 

“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. Amen (Revelation 22:12-14)

Jean-Paul Agidi (Rev)