Revelation 7:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

NIV: And they cried out in a loud voice: 'Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.'

NASB: and they *cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.'

CSB: And they cried out in a loud voice: Salvation belongs to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!

NLT: And they were shouting with a great roar, 'Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!'

KJV: And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.

NKJV: and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

This verse focuses on the praise delivered by the multitude described in the previous verse. These believers have learned that only God, through His Son Jesus, can forgive sins and grant eternal life. Their acknowledgement that salvation is completely God's work apart from human efforts is similar to the praise Jonah offered just before God ordered the great fish to spit him out on land. Jonah cried out from the fish's belly, "Salvation belongs to the LORD!" (Jonah 2:9).

To provide for our salvation, God gave His Son Jesus, the Lamb, as our perfect substitute. Jesus took our penalty on the cross and freed us from sin's penalty and power. Romans 5:6 states: "While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly." It is significant that the multitude cried out to "God who sits on the throne" (Revelation 7:10), because God is a sovereign ruler. He could have chosen to let the multitude perish, but by an act of His will He chose to save those who believed on the Lamb and to rescue them from their persecutors.

Revelation 7:9–17describes an innumerable multitude standing before the throne and the Lamb. They ascribe glory to God and the Lamb, affirming that salvation belongs to God and the Lamb. This sets off a crescendo of praise from all the angels, the elders, and the four living creatures, all of whom prostrate themselves before the throne and worship God. John is not able to identify the multitude or indicate where they came from, but an elder identifies them as saved survivors of the great tribulation, Further, he explains they are now safe in God's presence, and will never again hunger or thirst or be scorched by the sun. The Lamb, the elder says, will be their shepherd, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

Revelation 7 occurs after the opening of the sixth seal, and before the seventh. John sees four angels standing at the four corners of the earth and another angel ascending from the rising sun with the seal of God. He seals 144,000 saved Jews on their foreheads. These 144,000 sealed servants of God are instrumental in leading a great number of people from all parts of the world to faith in Jesus Christ. This multitude of believers have passed through the tribulation and will serve God perpetually in the millennial temple. Their troubles and tears will be behind them.

The last and largest section of Revelation began in chapter 4, where John is shown events yet to come (Revelation 1:19). Chapters 4 and 5 describe what John saw in heaven, including a scroll of God's judgments. Chapter 6 focused on the events that transpire when Jesus opens six of the seven seals on that scroll, one at a time. Now, in chapter 7, an interlude occurs between the opening of the sixth seal and the seventh seal. In the interlude an angel seals 144,000 saved Jews as God's servants. Chapter 8 will describe the seventh seal, and the beginning of the ''trumpet'' judgments.

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''

Accessed 5/6/2024 11:39:05 PM