God Will Wipe Away Every Tear
Pastor Tan Thai · Jul 26, 2020
This sermon explores Revelation 7:9-17 through three questions: who is the great multitude in white robes before the throne, why do they praise the Lamb, and what blessings will they receive. The message closes with the comfort that although believers shed many tears through great tribulation, God Himself will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
This sermon was preached on Sunday, July 19, 2020, based on Revelation 7:9-17. The pastor raises three central questions: who is the great multitude clothed in white robes before the throne of God, why do they praise the One seated on the throne and the Lamb, and what specific blessings will they receive. The introduction reviews the context of Revelation 7:1-8 concerning the 144,000 sealed before the great tribulation, as well as the meaning of the Holy Spirit's seal as the certain guarantee of salvation.
The pastor presents two interpretations of the 144,000: one holds that they are Jewish believers saved in the last days according to Romans 11:25-26, while the other sees the number as symbolic of the entire Church of God throughout all ages, grounded in Galatians 3:29, Galatians 6:16, and Romans 2:28-29. The pastor favors the second interpretation, arguing that the list of twelve tribes in Revelation 7 differs from those in Genesis 49 and Ezekiel 48, and that the seal is not an instrument of salvation but evidence for those already saved. Therefore, the 144,000 sealed and the innumerable multitude in white robes represent the same group, differing only in their position within the chronological sequence of the visions.
The second section explains why the great multitude praises the Lamb: they fully recognize that without God's choosing and sealing them, they could not have maintained their faith through the terrifying tribulations. The pastor cites Luke 21:16-19, Romans 8:30-31, Hebrews 12:2, and Philippians 1:6 to emphasize that Jesus Christ is the Author and Finisher of faith, not human effort. The closer one draws to God, the more grateful one becomes for the grace He grants each day to continue walking faithfully.
The third section describes the blessings the multitude receives from the Lamb according to Revelation 7:15-17: standing before the throne to serve God day and night, being sheltered by His presence, no longer suffering hunger, thirst, or the scorching sun, and being led to springs of living water. Most significantly, God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, fulfilling the promise in Revelation 21:4 concerning the new heaven and new earth.
The pastor closes with a message of honest comfort: Scripture does not promise believers a trouble-free life, but rather records an abundance of tears throughout the Psalms, the writings of Jeremiah, Lamentations, and even in the life of Jesus Christ Himself, who wept at the tomb of Lazarus and over Jerusalem. Tears shed by believers are not a sign of weak faith but a natural expression of flesh-and-blood humanity in the midst of suffering. The firm hope is that God Himself will wipe away every one of those tears when His people emerge from every great tribulation of life on earth.