GOD WHO MAKES THINGS RIGHT
Revelation 7:13-17 NKJV
13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?"
14 And I said to him, "Sir, you know."
So he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. 16 They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; 17 for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
There is a lot of speculation about the great tribulation. When is it going to come? Who is going to go through it? Will Jesus come for His church prior to the tribulation breaking out? I don't have all the answers for these questions. I have my opinion. But it's not worth arguing about. In my opinion, the Lord comes back for His church prior to the great tribulation. That would make me a pre-tribulation person. Pre-trib for short. God spared righteous Noah before the judgment of the flood. God spared righteous Lot prior to the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah. I believe that God will spare His people who have been made righteous through Christ prior to the great tribulation.
But what if I am wrong? What if the church goes through the great tribulation that will come on the whole earth? Then we have the comfort of knowing from our verses from today that God will make it all right in the end. And it seems as if those who do go through the tribulation have a special place around the throne and will serve in the temple of God. Those who go through the great tribulation will have robes of white and will be worshipping around the throne. I can't help but notice that in heaven, there is a great amount of worship and praise. So it is a good thing to practice up on while we are here on the earth.
God treats those who have gone through the great tribulation with tenderness. His presence is among them. I don't think we should skip over that. Verse 15 says He who is on the throne will dwell among them. That is powerful. And there will be no more hunger or thirst or discomfort. No sun or heat to strike them.
And Jesus will shepherd them and lead them to the fountain of the waters of life. But it's this last sentence that got my heart: "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." The ones who go through the great tribulation are going to suffer. They will experience loss in their lives and loss from watching those they love suffer. But God will not allow that pain to continue to harass and trouble them. He will wipe away every tear, all the sorrow, and the pain will be a thing of the past. Not permanently scarred but permanently blessed.
No, I don't want to go through the great tribulation. But if I do, I know that in the end God will make it all right.