Revelation 7:9-12 meaning

In Revelation 7:9-12, the vision narrows back to the throne room. Previously, John had seen “four angels standing at the four corners of the earth” and “heard the number of those who were sealed,” which came from all of the tribes of Israel (Revelation 7:1, 4). He returns his focus to the throne room but still sees people from the tribes who are to be sealed:

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all the tribes, peoples, and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb” (vs. 9-10).

And these people from every nation, tribe, and language are clothed in white robes, which is a symbol of righteousness. The image of a robe being cleansed and made pure or white is used as an allegory for righteousness in this passage from the Old Testament:

“For He is like a refiner’s fire
And like launderers’ soap.
He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver.”
(Malachi 3:2b-3a)

In Malachi, God is likened to a launderer who washes away the impurities of dirt from a robe. He is also likened to a refiner who heats impure silver and melts away impurities. God plays this role in at least two distinct ways. First, when anyone believes God makes that person righteous in His sight through the shed blood of Jesus (John 3:14-15, Romans 3:21-24, 4:3). This receipt of God’s free gift of being saved from our sins frees us from the penalty of sin and places us into God’s family as His forever child.

Thereafter, our sin cannot overturn God’s grace. However, it can soil our fellowship with God and with others. Sin can also create negative consequences for us. When we chase the world’s promised rewards, we forego the immense rewards promised by God. The way to gain God’s greatest reward, His largest blessing, is to hear, understand, and follow His words (Revelation 1:3).

All who believe are God’s servants. But some are rewarded more than others. We can infer that those who are clothed in white robes are believers who were rewarded for following the admonition of Revelation 1:3. They listened to and followed God’s commands.

James, the half-brother of Jesus, tells us that listening to God and embedding His word within us is the way to set aside our inner wickedness (flesh) and walk in His ways. This delivers/saves our souls/lives from the soiling of sin and the negative consequences that come from living in sin (James 1:21). The metaphor of white robes fits the basic idea of living in obedience to God such that He cleanses us from impurities in our daily walk.

The palm branches may refer back to what is known as Palm Sunday, the day that Jesus came into Jerusalem riding on a donkey, at the beginning of the week when He was crucified:

“On the next day the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began to shout, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”
(John 12:12-13)

The term “Hosanna” means “Oh save” and likely comes from people quoting Psalm 118:25. This psalm was a Messianic prophecy, so the people welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem were welcoming Him as their savior. He did in fact save them, but not in the manner they expected. Rather than merely delivering their nation from Rome, Jesus died for the sins of the world (Colossians 2:14).

Here, people gather to praise God again, and again they bring palm branches as they go out to Him. This time the Messiah will deliver the entire world from evil. He will bring judgement and inaugurate a kingdom in which righteousness reigns (2 Peter 3:13). The phrase Salvation belongs to our God is reminiscent of Psalm 118:25-26, the psalm likely quoted upon Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem.

And not only are all of the people praising God and proclaiming that Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb (v.10), but so too are the angels:

And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen, blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might belong to our God forever and ever. Amen” (v. 11-12).

The four living creatures were introduced back in Revelation 4:6-8. There they said “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.” Here the four living creatures are praising with the angels and the elders. Their first statement is Amen. Amen means “So be it.” We usually think of amen as coming at the end of a prayer. This is because we have petitioned God and end with asking for it to be so.

In this case, the pronouncement is that all things are coming to completion. And the worshippers are making a statement that is and always has been true of God. So the Amen comes at the beginning. It is now a current reality that this list of things might belong to our God forever and ever:

• Blessing: This is the Greek word “eulogia” from which we get the English word “eulogy,” which is a complimentary statement about someone’s life and character. Here the worshippers proclaim that the culmination of all words of praise belong to our God for the things He has done.
• Glory: This is the Greek word “doxa” and means that something’s essence is being seen. We see this in 1 Corinthians 15:40-41, which says that the sun has a different glory (“doxa”) from the moon. They have a different essence that can be observed. God’s essence is the culmination of all things. He created all things, and in Him all things exist (Colossians 1:16-17). Therefore, to God belongs the ultimate glory.
• Wisdom: This is the Greek word “sophia” and speaks to the skill of learning, knowing, and acting in a manner that creates the best positive outcomes. God is the ultimate in knowledge, and He works all things to the good of those who are His (Romans 8:28).
• Thanksgiving: God deserves all thanks because He created all things, and all whom He created owe Him their very existence. But further, God has paved the way for each creature to be fulfilled and have intimate fellowship with Him. To give thanks to God is in large part to recognize the reality of what is.
• Honor: This word is often translated as “price.” It has the sense of that to which value is attributed. The worshippers rightly acknowledge that it is to God that the ultimate value should be attributed, for it is from Him that all things come, and it is to and for Him that all things exist.
• Power: This is the Greek word “dynamis” from which we get English words such as “dynamic” and “dynamite.” As we have seen in Revelation, all things that take place are first authorized. God only allows those things which He decides to allow. In Revelation, God is always on His throne. He is always in control. Only those things He allows transpire. This is because He has all power and might.
• Might: This word can also be translated “strength.” God has both the power to act as well as the authority to act. His power and might has no restraint.

All these characteristics belong to our God. The word belong is inferred by translators. The idea seems to be that all these characteristics reflect God’s reality, and they are worthy to be spoken. This is true forever and ever. The phrase ever and ever translates the Greek phrase “aion aion.”

The Greek word “aion” has the sense of the span of an age, as with Matthew 12:32 where it refers to this current “age.” “Aion” is often translated “ever” with the sense of “at any time.” So when “aon” is repeated it has the sense of “to the age of ages.” No matter how many ages there might be, these characteristics of God will always be, and they will always be worthy of acknowledgement as the foundation of reality.

The four creatures are always singing praises to God, as we saw in Revelation 4:8. Similarly, the twenty-four elders continually praise God (Revelation 4:9-10). We can presume that the elders mentioned in verse 11 are the same as the “twenty-four elders” who “will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and they will worship Him who lives forever and ever” (Revelation 4:10).

Now the creatures, people, and angels join in their praise, all worshipping the Lord together.