Devotional 28 February 2025
Revelation 7:13-17 (ESV) “Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, ‘Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?’ I said to him, ‘Sir, you know.’ And he said to me, ‘These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”
John was no stranger to tribulation. When he wrote Revelation, he identified himself as “your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus” (Revelation 1:9). He was already suffering for his faith, exiled on Patmos for proclaiming the word of God. The seven churches addressed in chapters 2 and 3 were facing persecution, false teaching, and spiritual struggles. Yet, in the vision of Revelation 7, John is shown a promise: those who endure will come out of the great tribulation, purified and victorious.
The phrase “coming out of the great tribulation” (Revelation 7:14) is not just about a single event in the future—it describes an ongoing reality. The church, in every age, passes through tribulation. The faithful do not escape suffering, but they emerge from it, refined through endurance. Jesus warned His disciples that they would be hated, persecuted, and even killed for His name (Matthew 24:9). Yet the promise is clear: those who remain steadfast will be brought into God’s presence, clothed in white, sheltered by His grace.
The rewards described in Revelation 7:15-17 directly fulfill the promises given to the seven churches. Ephesus is enjoying eternal life after tribulation (Revelation 2:7). The church in Sardis was told that those who conquer will be “clothed in white garments” (Revelation 3:5), and here we see the faithful arrayed in white robes. Philadelphia was promised that the victorious would be made a pillar (Revelation 3:12) in God’s temple and Pergamum was told that they would eat of the hidden manna that is in the ark in the temple (Revelation 2:17), and in this vision, the redeemed “serve him day and night in his temple” (Revelation 7:15). Thyatira is sheltered by the one on the throne (Revelation 2:25) The suffering of Smyrna would end, as “they shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore” (Revelation 7:16), and Laodicea, once blind and poor, would be guided by the Lamb to “springs of living water” (Revelation 7:17).
These promises are not just for the churches of John’s time. The seven letters represent churches throughout history, each facing different trials. Likewise, the great tribulation is not limited to one period but spans the entire age of the church’s struggle against darkness. Yet, just as the tribulation is ongoing, so is the promise of deliverance. Those who endure, in every generation, will stand before the throne, victorious not because of their own strength, but because they have been washed in the blood of the Lamb.
This vision reminds us that suffering is not the end of the story. The path of tribulation leads to triumph. The One who calls us to endure is the same One who will wipe away every tear (Revelation 7:17). As we read the news of yet more of our brothers and sisters dying for the name of Christ we remember that whatever trials the church will face, we hold fast to the promise that, we too, will stand before the throne, clothed in the righteousness of Christ, never to hunger, thirst, or weep again.