Think of this! All the impurity and sin that clings to us in this life, that we despise and detest, that hurts us and our families and those around us … all will be gone. We will be completely pure and holy. But we will take no personal pride in this holiness because it has all come because of the cleansing of the “blood of the Lamb.”

I spoke this week to my Jewish brother in Israel. He was our guide in Israel two years ago on a trip there. (We left only 12 days before the horrific attack that started the current war). This dear young man and his wife and three children live in Jerusalem in a Christian community. He knows Christ deeply and walks with Him daily.

But they are in war. He is a reservist in the army and is frequently deployed to Gaza for his duties. For two years, he has been under the intense stress of combat, and he called me in turmoil, asking for prayer and counsel. What a privilege to minister to him and remind him of the sure promises of our Father.

The People

And today, I am reading in my daily study in Revelation 7 and see the vision given to the Apostle John of what is coming in the days ahead, which includes a massive number of the Israelite people who will be saved. A figurative number is given, which represents the completed work of God saving all those who will have come to Christ in faith.

Scholars debate whether this is just Israelites or all who are in God’s kingdom, but it does not matter today, for it includes everyone from “every nation, tribe, people, and tongue standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes” (Rev. 7:9). This number includes my precious Hebrew brother and his wife, and my wife and our children who know the Savior.

The Future

But listen to what awaits us one day in heaven. The description is real and breathtaking; figurative in some ways, indicating there is more than can be described. My dear brother and I will soon experience the perfections of heaven.

Purity

They were clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands (Vs. 9)

They washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, and for this reason they are before the throne of God (Vs. 14-15)

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