Hints of Heaven #3: The Great Company

Hints of Heaven:
Reflections on the Realm of the Righteous—
#3 The Great Company (Rev 7:9)
pdf
Dr. Paul Manuel—2013

People often view death as the end of existence, but it is not, and what is on the other side will be pretty amazing.

A man was driving along the highway when a rabbit jumped in front of his car. The driver, being a sensitive man as well as an animal lover, pulled over and got out to see what had happened to the rabbit. Much to his dismay, the rabbit was dead. The driver felt so bad he began to cry. Another driver, a woman, saw the man crying and also pulled over. She asked him what was wrong. "I feel terrible," he sobbed. "I accidentally hit this rabbit and killed it." The woman told him not to worry. She opened the trunk of her car, took out a spray can, and sprayed the dead rabbit. Miraculously, the rabbit came to life, jumped up, waved its paw at the two humans, and hopped down the road. After twenty feet, the rabbit turned and waved again. Hopping another twenty feet, it turned and waved yet again. The man was astonished. "What did you spray on that rabbit?" he asked. The woman showed him the label on the can, which read: [Are you ready?] "'Hare Spray' Restores Life to Dead Hare.... Adds Permanent Wave."

People often view death as the end of existence, but it is not, and what is on the other side will be pretty amazing, although not because of hare spray. For the righteous, the other side will include the presence of other believers in "The Great Company" of heaven.

* * * * * * * * * *

Becoming part of this illustrious group is by no means automatic. In fact, Jesus says...

Matt 7:14 ...small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Nevertheless, given the billions of people who have ever lived, that "few" will still be a pretty substantial number. How does God keep track of them all? ...The answer is... He writes them down. He records their names in a book. ...Of course, God does not need to write down anything. His memory is perfect,¹ because He is omniscient. As the apostle John says, "God...knows everything" (1 John 3:20b). He, thus, remembers everything, as well. The various references in scripture to the books He consults, especially in the final judgment, are meant to indicate that His deliberations will not be arbitrary but supported by a clear and unimpeachable record. (Keep in mind that the final judgment is not of the righteous but of the wicked, and it will take place after Jesus' reign in the Messianic Age. The righteous will have had their day in court earlier, at the beginning of the Messianic Age, when Jesus returns.²) So...

What Are the Books God Uses in the Final Judgment?

Daniel and John speak about several heavenly records, some or all of which God may consult for the final judgment. In describing this future event...

Dan 7: 10c The court was seated, and the books were opened.

Rev. 20:12a ...I saw the dead...standing before the throne, and books were opened.

These two writers do not indicate how many of the books that appear elsewhere in the Bible, only two of which are named, will also be in evidence at this time.

• The Book of Truth appears once in scripture and is a chronicle of historical events from God's perspective. It presents these events not simply as they appear to us but as they have implications for the unfolding of the divine program. An angel gives Daniel a preview, saying...

Dan 10:21a ...I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth.

The angel then describes what will happen internationally during the next century. This is the only mention of that book by name, so it is uncertain if the Book of Truth is one of the volumes God consults at the final judgment.

• The Book of Life appears most often in scripture (8x)³ and is a registry of individual believers whom God has delivered from the penalty of sin.

• It does not include the name of every human being,⁴ only of the righteous, those God redeemed.⁵ John mentions this volume several times in his Revelation...

Rev 3:5 He who overcomes will...be dressed in white. I [Jesus] will never blot out his name from the Book of Life....

Rev 13:8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Book of Life....

John also cites this book by name as one of the records God consults at the final judgment.

Rev 20:15 If anyone's name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

For us, this book is the most important, because it indicates where we will spend eternity, not in "the lake of fire."

• Other books, untitled, have lists of chargeable offenses that God uses to indict and sentence the unrighteous.⁶

• These offenses will determine the degree of punishment people will endure.⁷ John reports the courtroom deliberations.

Rev 20:12 ...I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened.... The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.

The charge against us, because of the sins we committed, may be recorded in these other books, but Jesus "took [that charge] away, nailing it to the cross" (Col 2:14b).

God, according to His foreknowledge "from the creation of the world" (Rev 17:8b), listed people in the Book of Life who would eventually accept His offer of salvation. Yet, just as God has written names into this book, so He can delete names from it.⁸

• Moses was willing to give up his place in the book if God would spare sinful Israel. God declines, stating that He will remove only the names of those who have forsaken Him.

• David asks God to delete the names of fellow Israelites who have persecuted him. There is no record of God's response, but it presumably was similar: to remove the names of the rebellious.

Only those who persevere in their devotion to God will remain the book.⁹ So Jesus admonishes his followers more than once: "He who stands firm to the end will be saved" (Matt 10:22b; 24:13). Again, John writes...

Rev 3:5 He who overcomes.... I will never blot out his name from the book of life....

Just as God honors a person's choice to be in the Book of Life, so He honors a person's choice (usually demonstrated by his behavior) not to be in the book or even to be removed from it. In any case, both omission and elimination are the result of a conscious decision on man's part, not an accident of fate. Your place in the Book of Life is secure in Jesus.

Of all the books God uses in the final judgment, the most important ledger in which you can be mentioned is the Book of Life, because it includes all those who will spend eternity with God in heaven.

• There is no payment needed from you to secure this listing.

• It is been paid in full by the savior, "the lamb slain from the creation of the world" (Rev 13:8).

• There is some effort expected by you to maintain this listing.

• It is minimal, though, especially in contrast to the monumental expenditure Jesus made, and your effort is only for the relatively brief period of your sojourn here, because "the one who endures to the end [of that sojourn] will be saved" (Matt 24:13 NASB).

• There is outstanding benefit reserved for you to enjoy this listing.

• It is, moreover, for a far, far longer period than your sojourn here, because the Book of Life contains God's certification of your eternal life, and your being part of "The Great Company" whose names are recorded in heaven" (Luke 10:20b NASB).

Of all the books God uses in the final judgment, the most important ledger in which you can be mentioned is the Book of Life.

* * * * * * * * * *

Our primary text this morning is a single verse, Rev 7:9, where John describes a scene in the heavenly throne room. The crowd assembled there has come out of the persecution that will precede Jesus' return (7:14). Many of them have given their lives in faithful service to God and here enjoy the culmination of their devotion. They are but some of those we will join in...¹⁰

III. The Great Company (Rev 7:9)

Rev 7:9 ...I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb.

When we think about heaven, one of the questions that often arises is: What will we see? Are there really fabulous mansions on streets of gold? Will we listen to angelic choirs and dine on sumptuous feasts? These are all part of the biblical descriptions of heaven¹¹ but another, perhaps, more important question is: Whom will we see? In this verse, John tells us we will not be alone.¹² On the contrary...

A. We will be with the Saints.

and they will constitute...

1. A vast group¹³

When John first sees this huge assembly of people, he does not know who they are. One of the twenty-four elders,¹⁴ those in regular attendance in the heavenly court, identifies them as having lived during the Great Tribulation, an event in the distant future to John and in the undetermined future to us. If this group is so large that "no one could count" it, then the total of all those in heaven will, indeed, be a substantial number, a vast group.
It will also be...

2. A varied group

John further states that this assembly has representatives "from every nation, tribe, people and language."¹⁵ Members of many groups appear here, and one might wonder how such a diverse collective can agree to do anything together, but they do. In heaven, they will all have one purpose¹⁶ to worship God.

In the mid-1700s, German Seventh Day Baptists worshiped separately from English Seventh Day Baptists, primarily because the two groups spoke different languages. By the late 1800s, that difference was less an issue, as most German SDBs spoke English, although they retained German in their services. Some German SDBs in Salemville wanted also to use English in their worship, and the ensuing debate within the church resulted in a split that lead to the formation of an English SDB congregation, the Bell church. Eventually, the German church did adopt English in worship and, in an ironic twist, got its minister (me) from the English conference. Presently, this import from the English SDBs is the only German SDB member who speaks any German.

We are not as diverse here as the group in heaven will be. We are primarily from Anglo-Saxon stock, whose native language is English, and most of us can trace our American ancestry back several generations. Nevertheless, as we gather here, we join in spirit with believers from around the world for one purpose: to worship God. Someday, what we do in different places we will do in one place, as we stand before God's throne in heaven. Then, we will be with the saints, and it will be a varied group.

However enjoyable it will be to see friends and family in heaven—and it will be enjoyable¹⁷—however exciting to be part of such a grand assembly—and it will be exciting—there is even greater enjoyment and greater excitement ahead of us, because...

B. We will be with the Lord.

We will be with...

1. God the Father

John says that the saints are "standing before the throne,"¹⁸ and they will do in heaven what they could not do on earth: They will see God.

We might expect that at critical points in the divine plan, God would have shown Himself to His people—while giving the law at Sinai or during Jesus' baptism—yet, He did not.¹⁹ In fact, there are only a handful of saints who had the privilege (or, some might say, the panic) of seeing God in their lifetime, and even for them the experience was restricted and often frightening:²⁰

• Moses, who could not view God's face lest he die,

• Isaiah, who saw God and thought he would die,

• Ezekiel, who struggled to describe what he saw.

These were limited and exceptional cases. God reserves the privilege of seeing Him, of actually seeing Him, for those who will be with Him in eternity.²¹

The Bible speaks often about God's presence with His people, and we have the promise of His presence with us now. Sometimes we may even sense His presence, yet what we experience here is but a shadow of the spiritual realm we will enter in The Great Change of the resurrection. There we will be with God in the fullest sense possible. So John describes eternity at the close of this book, saying,

Rev 21:3 ...Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.

Perhaps the most astounding part is John's statement a bit later...

Rev 22:4 They will see his face....

We will be with the Lord, with God the Father....

We will also be with...

2. God the Son

John says that the saints are "standing...in front of the Lamb," as well. For those who have been following John's account of this revelation, there is no doubt as to the identity of this figure. In chapter 5, the apostle says,

Rev 5:6a ...I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain.... 7 He came and took the scroll [containing the culmination of God's plan] from the right hand of him who sat on the throne [God the Father]. 8a ...the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders.... 9 sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.

This is, of course, none other than Jesus, whose death atoned for our sin and made possible our entrance to heaven. We will also see him and be there with him.

There was a TV series in the late 1950s entitled The Millionaire, about a philanthropist who sought out needy individuals and families, and gave them a check for $1,000,000. The series was about how they used the money and how it changed their lives. The recipients never met their benefactor, only his representative, so they could not thank him personally for his gift.

We, too, have received a gift, worth far more than a million dollars— "salvation from sin and all its dire consequences" (Mounce 1977:172)—and, although we express our appreciation through prayer and song, we have not yet met our benefactor face-to-face. In heaven, we will see him. Jesus said to his disciples,

John 14:3 ...I will come back and take you to be with me that you...may be where I am.

Paul wrote to the believers in Thessalonica that when Jesus returns to gather the saints,

1 Thess 4:17b ...we will be with the Lord forever.

In heaven, we will be able to thank him personally for his gift of life to us. There, "we will be with the Lord," with the Father and with the Son.²²

What awaits us when we leave this earthly plane? One of the Hints of Heaven in scripture is "The Great Company" we will join. Now we live in the midst of many people, some of whom—as recent events continue to remind us—have agendas contrary to God's agenda, but we will spend eternity in the midst of multitudes who have one agenda: to worship God. So...

• The next time you look at this congregation and lament that there are not more people in the service, take heart that one day you will be part of a vast group.

• The next time you wonder how those Lutherans or those Presbyterians or those Brethren can fail to see the correctness of being Seventh Day Baptists, be aware that one day you will be part of a varied group.

• The next time you face some difficulty or crisis and sense the Lord's presence with you but wish that feeling were stronger, more vivid, give thanks that one day you will actually be with God the Father.

• The next time you contemplate the magnitude of your sin, realizing how deserving you were of punishment, and you wish you could thank personally the one who sacrificed himself to purchase your pardon, be glad that one day you will be with God the Son.

Heaven will not be sparsely populated. In addition to family and friends, we will be with saints of all the ages, a vast and varied group. We will also see and meet personally the creator of the universe and the redeemer of our souls, for we will be with the Lord, with God the Father and with God the Son. Even if there are no sports or, worse, no chocolate in heaven, desiderata difficult for some to imagine, we will miss none of it, because more exciting than anything we have left behind is what lies ahead for us in "The Great Company."

For the Bibliography and the Endnotes see the pdf here.