Revelation 7: The Lamb shepherds His people
Begin in prayer
Before we read about the great multitude who washed their robes in the Lamb's blood, let us kneel before the Lord. Ask Him to still our hearts and to show our family the Lamb who shepherds His people.
The eternal God is your dwelling place. Underneath are the everlasting arms. He thrust out the enemy from before you, and said, ‘Destroy!’
Deuteronomy 33:27
Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Show us the Lamb who washes His people clean and shepherds them. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.
See where we're going
The question of who can stand before the Lamb's wrath is followed by a vision of God's servants being sealed. Harm to earth and sea must wait while they receive the living God's mark on their foreheads. John hears one hundred forty-four thousand sealed from Israel's tribes, then sees an uncountable multitude from every nation standing before the throne and Lamb. They praise God and the Lamb for salvation, wearing white robes and carrying palm branches. An elder explains that they came out of the great tribulation and washed their robes white in the Lamb's blood. They serve before God's throne, sheltered and shepherded by the Lamb, with hunger, thirst and tears brought to an end.
As you read Revelation 7, look for the answers:
- What are the four angels told not to do until God's servants are sealed? (verses 2 to 3)
- Where is the great multitude from, and where do they stand? (verse 9)
- What did they do to their robes, and what does the Lamb do for them? (verses 14 to 17)
Reflect together
Key truth
God keeps and cleanses His people through the Lamb, who shepherds them to everlasting comfort.
The earth's fearful question receives a picture of servants whom the living God claims as His own. A seal marked ownership and protection, so their safety begins with His action. The harm is held back until they are sealed, showing that judgment cannot outrun His care. John hears a counted company from Israel's tribes and then sees a crowd from every nation beyond human counting. Their palms recall Israel's Feast of Tabernacles, when the people remembered God's wilderness care with rejoicing. This crowd's salvation belongs to God and the Lamb, and their white robes are explained by His blood. Their tribulation did not cleanse them, for the Lamb's death is the source of their purity. God's shelter answers their exposure to suffering, and the Lamb becomes their Shepherd. The One who gave His life leads them to living waters, while God removes every tear.
How does Revelation 7 show us that God keeps and cleanses His people through the Lamb, who shepherds them to everlasting comfort?
God marks His servants as His own before the angels harm the earth.
The angels must hold back harm until God's servants receive His seal on their foreheads (verses 1 to 3). A seal marks ownership, so the living God publicly identifies His servants as His own. John hears one hundred forty-four thousand sealed from Israel's tribes, twelve thousand from each listed tribe (verses 4 to 8).
A multitude from every nation praises God and the Lamb for salvation.
John sees an uncountable multitude from every nation, tribe, people and language standing before the throne and Lamb (verse 9). Their white robes and palms show a rescued company at worship. Palm branches were used at Israel's Feast of Tabernacles, which remembered God's care in the wilderness. They give the credit for salvation to God and the Lamb, as heaven joins their worship (verses 10 to 12).
The Lamb's blood makes those from the great tribulation clean.
The elder says this multitude came out of the great tribulation (verse 14). They “washed their robes, and made them white in the Lamb’s blood.” The picture gives the reason they can stand before God, for Christ's death cleanses sinners.
The Lamb shepherds them and God will wipe away every tear.
They serve God day and night, and He who sits on the throne spreads His tabernacle over them (verse 15). That shelter ends their hunger, thirst and exposure to the sun and heat (verse 16). The Lamb at the throne becomes their Shepherd and leads them to springs of waters of life (verse 17). God will wipe every tear from their eyes, bringing His care to each one.
Memorise
the Lamb who is in the middle of the throne shepherds them, and leads them to springs of waters of life.
Revelation 7:17
Looking to Jesus in my life
Ask yourself in your heart, what am I trusting to make me clean before God?
John saw a multitude that no one could count, from every nation and language, in white robes before the throne. An elder asked, “who are they, and from where did they come?” Then he answered, “They washed their robes, and made them white in the Lamb’s blood.”
Blood stains a robe, but the blood of the Lamb makes it white. Jesus shed that blood on the cross for His people from every nation. Their sin was washed away at the price of His life, and nothing they do can add to His work. It is enough. Then He rose, and now He shepherds them from the middle of the throne.
So come to the Lamb. Turn from your sin and put your trust in Jesus. He calls people from every nation and language to be washed in His blood. Each one who comes is cleansed and forgiven, and the Lamb will shepherd that one, and God will wipe away every tear.
Parent's note
Tell your children that the Lamb's blood is the only thing that makes a sinner clean. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart. Parents, if a child asks about the number in verse 4, just say that God knows and keeps all His own.
Pray together
Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God for the Lamb who washes and shepherds His people, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.
for the Lamb who is in the middle of the throne shepherds them, and leads them to springs of waters of life. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
Revelation 7:17
Lord Jesus, thank You that Your blood makes sinners clean, and that You shepherd Your people. Please lead each of us to come to You and trust You. Wash our sin away, and help us to follow You this week. Amen.