Those Who Are Saved
(Rev 7:9~17)
Jonas Salk, an American medical doctor didnt apply for a patent on his vaccine for polio so that everyone was able to get free from polio. Neither did Benjamin Franklin, who invented a lightning rod. Neither did Jesus, our savior, much greater than the inventor of the polio vaccine. No wonder salvation is always on the lips of the saved people.
1. They sing the song of salvation. Revelation 7 describes the 144,000 people to be saved by God after the sixth seal of the scroll is broken. While kings, princes, and the rich are trembling among the rocks, a great multitude, standing in front of the Lamb, sing the song of salvation wearing white robes, holding palm branches in their hands and singing 'Salvation belongs to the Lamb.' Wearing white robes refers to the action of seeing their detestable sins and living a life of the cross. The great multitudes singing the song of salvation include the writers of the Scripture, the forefathers of faith, martyrs, and Christians.
2. They enjoy the responsive praise to their song. To their praise 'Salvation belongs to the Lamb,' the four living beings and angels respond with, 'Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to God.' Those who take God himself as their reward and the only one they praise have already started to live a heavenly life. By making an application that the world would never think of even in the midst of trials, we can make the world respond to our praise and say 'God is surely living!' We need to do whatever we do for Gods sake. Thats how we can win over others minds. No matter how nice the comments or advice we have for them, we need to wait for God to make our heart reach them. All that we need to do is show salvation with our language and attitude that will make them respond to our praise.
3. They have passed through their great tribulations. Jealous of the church community, Satan has driven Christians into great tribulations and persecution. Thats why we are in big trials. Gods selected people, however, come forward to God even in the midst of their trials. A deaconess, after divorce from her husband, remarried, dreaming of a happy new life. But she had to live a dreadful life because of her new husbands affair with another woman, wishing that her nightmare would come to an end soon. However God consoled her with the verse 'Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life,' which made her lay down her pride and come forward to God from her trials even though nothing in her circumstances has been changed.
4. They dwell in the tent that God spread over them. The deaconesss recovery was done under the tent of her church that God set for her while she was worshiping God with her community people. She was blessed to serve God through her husbands affair. In her spiritual community, where the Word reigns, she overcame her usual fear and envy and was able to rejoice despite her circumstances. On her way back home from her Mokjang, she heard that her husband caught bird flu. She devoted herself to taking care of her husband, who returned home after being dumped by his mistress, who was afraid of being infected by him. Thanks to the deaconesss caring and the intercessory prayer of her community, her husband also returned to his community, confessed his story, and repented of his sin. For Christians, the world is not a bed of roses. But God gives his selected people what the world cannot give.
5. They will enjoy Gods consolation. The clause, 'Never again will they hunger...' in Verse 6 implies that we can hunger or thirst or get hurt or suffer in scorching heat while living on earth. However, God will wipe away every tear from our eyes. We need to accept that trial is part of our life while we are living here in this evil and adulterous world. Thats how we can fight against the result of our sins.
Here are testimonies of our community. One of our deacons who used to be a CEO of a big company began to work as a cleaner after his retirement. He was mocked by a superintendent, who saw him having a cup of coffee in a guard post and asked him 'How can you be so poor in that old age?' At first he got angry, but later he admitted that people might well see him in that way and discovered his detestable pride. This is the feature of Gods selected people. Deacon Edward used to have a guilty conscience about the death of his first wife, an alcoholic. Then she appeared in his fellow deacons dream, a translator, saying 'I loved him. So do I now. Eddie actually took care of me well. And I forgive him.' Edward believes that she did this in order to lighten his guilty conscience about her. Thus he has come out of his great tribulation After coming out his great trials, he voluntarily joined the ministry of cleaning the cafeteria. May these testimonies be a song of salvation to you that leads you also to come out of your great tribulations! God will surely spread his tent over us for our salvation. May God bless us to enjoy fellowship with our companions, find His great consolation constantly in our life journey, and finally be saved by him!
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. (Rev 7:17)
