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; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation [deliverance] to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and around the four living creatures; and they fell upon their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, "Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever" (Rev 7:9-12).
This "great multitude which no one could count" that is described by John as coming "from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues" is the same multitude found in two chapters earlier over in Revelation 5:9, "from every tribe and tongue and people and nation" for those whom Christ had died.
Notice that when this great multitude arrives in heaven, they are seen "standing before the throne...clothed in white robes...palm branches in their hands.
They have bodies and the elect will not receive resurrected bodies until the Rapture! So, if these new arrivals have bodies, they have to be those who have been resurrected in the rapture at the coming of the Lord in the air.
This great multitude that suddenly appears before the throne of God cannot be anyone other than the raptured saints of God who have lived from all history along with those who remain alive on earth the way I see it. The timing of the arrival of this great multitude in heaven parallels the timing Christ gave His disciples in the Olivet Discourse, as to when the elect of God would be gathered together---raptured---from one end of the sky to the other (Mt 24:29-31) an event that occurs immediately following the announcement of God's wrath (which we are not appointed too) *1 Thess 1:10 in the sun, moon, and stars.
And one of the elders answered, saying to me, "These who are clothed in white robes, who are they, and from where have they come?"
And I said to him, "My lord, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of great tribulation [persecution], and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Rev 7:13-14).
It is in my humble opinion that "these are the ones who come out of great tribulation," directly identifying this great multitude as the elect of God that Christ refers to in the Olivet Discourse, who will be gathered together from the four winds when the great tribulation by Antichrist is cut short by the signs given in the sun, moon, and stars.
It is my understanding that the great multitude is none other than the resurrected dead in Christ from all time and the living believers still on earth are caught up "standing" before the throne of God. Thus, the sixth seal represents the sign of the Day of the Lord---"the sun became like black as sackcloth...the whole moon became like blood...the stars of the sky fell to the earth...for the great day of their wrath has come" (Rev 6:12-17) as to which the seventh chapter of Revelation shows deliverance, or rapture, of God's faithful, "the ones who come out of great tribulation" (Rev 7:14), And then, the wrath will proceed.
With the breaking of the seventh seal, the scroll is finally loosed and the day of God's fiery judgment begins. Anticipating that the wrath of God is about to begin, there will be silence in heaven for half an hour. After the angel fills his golden censer with fire from the alter and throws it down to the earth, the seven angels will begin to sound the trumpet judgments upon the earth.
In summary, persecution by Antichrist (Satan's wrath) against the true saints of God (His elect) will be cut short when the elect of God are gathered from the four winds by the angels of Christ as shown in the Olivet Discourse (Mt 24:31) out of "great tribulation" and will suddenly (raptured) arrive in heaven, before the throne of God (Rev7:13-14) in their resurrection bodies. Something to consider, the arrival (rapture) of the great multitude is in chapter 7 of Revelation. The battle of Armageddon doesn't even occur until much later in the sequence of end time events, not until chapter 19. You must decide if you will continue to hold on to the pre-tribulation belief as an escape route from the "great tribulation" or if you will change your mind and at least examine the Scriptures to find out the truth and not what a man behind a pulpit has taught you (1 Tim 4:3-4).
Your decision will directly affect how you prepare for the last days, when
"[they] will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations on account of My name...
for then there will be great tribulation, such has not occurred since the beginning
of the world until now, nor ever shall" (Mt 24:9,21).
"And you will be hated by all on account of My name,
but it is the one who endures to the end who will be saved (Mt 10:22)
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Originally Posted by fuego
