Salvation comes by the blood of the Lamb.

 

All Saints’ Day, November 5, 2023

To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His own blood and made us a kingdom and priests to God His Father—to Him be the glory and the power forever.  Amen.

Revelation 7:9-17  ⁹After these things I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing in front of the throne and of the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and with palm branches in their hands.  ¹⁰They called out with a loud voice and said: Salvation comes from our God, who sits on the throne, and from the Lamb.  ¹¹All the angels stood around the throne, the elders, and the four living creatures.  They fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God, ¹²saying: “Amen.  Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and might belong to our God forever and ever.  Amen.”  ¹³One of the elders spoke to me and said, “These people dressed in white robes, who are they and where did they come from?”  ¹⁴And I answered him, “Sir, you know.”  And he said to me: “These are the ones who are coming out of the great tribulation.  They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.  ¹⁵Because of this they are in front of the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple.  He who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.  ¹⁶They will never be hungry or thirsty ever again.  The sun will never beat upon them, nor will any scorching heat, ¹⁷for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd.  He will lead them to springs of living water.  And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (EHV)

Salvation comes by the blood of the Lamb.

Dear friends washed in the blood of the Lamb,

            Last Sunday’s sermon text focused on God’s help with the dangers that continually surround Christian believers in this sin-damaged world.  Jesus described His disciples as sheep surrounded by wolves so that we would be ever vigilant against those enemies of His love.  The scene changes greatly in today’s text, for now we see His followers gathered at home in heaven.  Therefore, chief among the things we see in this text is that Salvation comes by the blood of the Lamb.

Surrounded by the wolves and worries of the world, it might seem incredible that anyone could be saved.  Continuously assaulted by temptations, fears, misinformation, the sinful lusts of our own natural flesh, and a thousand other ways we find ourselves sinning against God, how can anyone hope to reside in heaven someday?  In fact, more than a few rock-solid Christian believers have faced the end of their lives wondering whether they are good enough to be saved.  And, of course, the answer is always, “No!  We are not good enough to gain heaven on our own.”

Perhaps the devil’s worst lie is that we must please a wrathful God in order to dwell with the Lord in heaven, but it is a lie.  Thus, we must face the reality that we can’t enter heaven on our own, for all have sinned against God and deserve only His wrath and condemnation.  Yet, St. Paul wrote, “Indeed, it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) 

In our text this morning, we see what God’s grace does for those who walk by faith.  John reported, “After these things I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing in front of the throne and of the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and with palm branches in their hands.”  God gathers His elect from every part of the world, and throughout the course of history, so that His kingdom and His heavenly mansions are being populated in uncountable numbers from literally every age and place in the history of the world wherever the Gospel is proclaimed.  And all who hear and believe will be gathered as one people with one hope and one faith.  Never again will there be any disagreements in doctrine.  There will be no worries over family history, or the color of skin, or what part of the world we might have come from.  No longer will anyone speak of aliens, foreigners, or enemies, because all things will be resolved.

Never again will we fight over language, race, heritage, or background because the division that caused the dividing of peoples at the tower of Babel has been healed.  That division was caused by pride and a refusal to follow God’s plan for the people on earth.  However, in this picture, we see the result of Christ’s victory over all those things that kept us apart from our Creator and Lord—all the chosen children of God standing together in front of the Father and the Lamb who loved us enough to die so that we all might live. 

The One who was slain so that we might live, lived without sin, without any dispute with God’s plan, and with no desire to do anything but His Father’s will.  Jesus lived this holy life for you and me.  Thus, before the throne of God, all who have believed in Jesus as Lord and Savior testify joyfully of Jesus’ victory: “They called out with a loud voice and said: ‘Salvation comes from our God, who sits on the throne, and from the Lamb.’”  They now know from personal experience that Salvation comes by the blood of the Lamb.

Jesus told His disciples, “In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:10)  Here, we experience the excitement of the angel hosts as they gather to celebrate what God has done for us in Jesus.  All the angels stood around the throne, the elders, and the four living creatures.  They fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God, saying: “Amen.  Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and might belong to our God forever and ever.  Amen.”  The angel hosts encircle the throne room of heaven encompassing all who join the ranks of the living.  Just as they gathered in the sky to sing with joy and praise at Jesus’ birth, so they sing with glee for the goodness and mercy of our God as He brings His people home forever.

Now, whenever the book of Revelation is studied, people always wonder, when?  When does this happen?  When do these things come about?  The picture of this text is ongoing.  It is not a one-time event, but the progression of salvation history as men, women, and children come to believe in Jesus and God gathers them into His heavenly home at the appointed hour for each individual. 

One of the elders spoke to me and said, “These people dressed in white robes, who are they and where did they come from?”  And I answered him, “Sir, you know.”  And he said to me: “These are the ones who are coming out of the great tribulation.  They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”  This world is always full of trouble, hardship, pain, and death.  Since Adam and Eve fell into sin, the devil has been deceiving, abusing, and misleading as many as he can trying to thwart God’s righteous love.  Still, throughout that same history, God has rescued believers out of the multitudes who hear His holy Word and who, by the Spirit’s work in the Word, believe God’s promise of forgiveness and salvation by faith, and like Abraham, “then, those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.” (Galatians 3:9)  They are credited with true righteousness through faith in the Savior who lived righteousness for them.

In a time of great apostasy in Israel, the prophet, Jeremiah was given God’s promise of peace, for the Lord declared, “In those days and at that time, declares the Lord, the guilt of Israel will be sought, but there will be none.  The sins of Judah will be sought, but they will not be found, for I will forgive the survivors whom I spare.” (Jeremiah 50:20)  God the Father sent His own dear Son, Jesus, to be the righteousness we need, but also to take the guilt and shame of the world upon Himself, so that His righteous blood cleanses us of all sin, and though we may struggle to forget our faults and failures, God has forgiven and forgotten all sins, because Jesus paid the full price for you and me on the cross, just as He did for the whole world, so that Salvation comes by the blood of the Lamb.

Washed in the waters of the Baptism which Jesus instituted to make us clean, and brought to faith in Christ through the hearing of the Word of grace, our Lord and Savior has dressed each of us in spiritual wedding clothes of brighter radiance than anyone could ever imagine.  The radiance of Jesus’ perfect glory shines over all who walk with Him by faith, which allowed St. John to exclaim later in this report, “And I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” (Revelation 21:2)

This morning, we celebrate All Saints’ Day—a remembrance of all those believers who have gone home to the Lord Jesus before us.  Many of us have again this year had to watch loved ones depart from our presence.  Their departure often brought us sadness for they no longer brighten our days with their love.  We miss them dearly.  At the same time, what joy is ours to see this picture and know, with full confidence, that they are rejoicing with the Lamb who saved them, with the God and Father who created them, with the Holy Spirit who brought them to believe in Jesus, and also with the angels assigned to protect them in this life, and with fellow saints who participated in teaching and nourishing them with God’s love.  John reported:

Because of this they are in front of the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple.  He who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.  They will never be hungry or thirsty ever again.  The sun will never beat upon them, nor will any scorching heat, for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd.  He will lead them to springs of living water.  And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

Here on earth, we often think of serving as something forced, difficult, or even unpleasant.  Because of sin, work is often hard, tedious, and tiring, but not in heaven.  In heaven, our service is only joy and love.  As when Adam first walked the earth in the Garden of Eden, serving the Lord has become again a joyful life.

Furthermore, there is no more pain, sorrow, suffering, or death.  Just as mankind’s first home was complete Paradise, so in heaven there are only good things, peace, comfort, and life.  The believer is in heaven with God who created them to be loved and cared for, and His love and care has never diminished for His people and never will.  Forever after, we will be in the presence and care of the Savior who willingly laid down His life to live and die so that He could be our Helper and Leader in everlasting glory.  All the things that trouble and pain us now are wiped away for all the eternities of eternities because Salvation comes by the blood of the Lamb.  Amen.

Now may the God of peace—who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, in connection with His blood, which established the eternal testament—may He equip you with every good thing to do His will, as He works in us what is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ.  To Him be glory forever and ever.  Amen.