The “great multitude” of Revelation 7:9 will be wearing white robes and holding palm branches.  Their being dressed in white robes indicates that their sins will have been forgiven, meaning that they will have heard the Gospel of God and will have repented of their Bible-defined sins.  Church-defined sins are totally different from Bible-defined sins (the breaking of God’s Law–1 Jn. 3:4).  Read 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1 to prove that God’s people have no association with the church, which He calls “… the unclean thing.”  In that the great multitude will be holding palm branches we know that they are looking forward to meeting Jesus Christ as did the people of Jerusalem when they heard that He was coming to their city: “On the next day many people who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went forth to meet Him, crying: ‘Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel Who comes in the name of the Lord'” (Jn. 12:12,13).

The context of the Revelation story reveals that the multitude’s repentance will have taken place during the “Great Tribulation,” a 2 1/2 year period of incredible suffering such as the world has never experienced.  As a result of their repentance they will escape the “Day of the Lord”–a yearlong time when God’s wrath on sinning man will make the horror of the Tribulation pale by comparison.  Following the 3 1/2 years of literal hell on earth Jesus will return to retrieve His Very Elect whom He will call up to Him where He awaits in the clouds.  This will be the first resurrection.  Read The Three Resurrections.  Key word–Resurrections.  Throughout the 3 1/2 years of death, destruction and terror, God’s saints will have been protected and cared for in “their place”–a “place of safety” preserved by the Lord.  I believe this place to be in a mountain range known as Petra which is located in the nation of Jordan.  I have been there and have seen the thousands of caves where people can live in comfort for long periods of time.  Those who will be in the great multitude could have escaped the Tribulation.  Their sins had caused the Lord to cast them into that period of horror, death and destruction.  God will have sent His Word throughout the world through His anointed ministers during the years leading up to the Tribulation.  If the multitude had repented, been converted and “walked as Jesus walked” (1 Jn. 2:6), they would have been protected and cared for during the Tribulation and the Lord’s Day.

God always sends warnings before He pours out His wrath on those who rebel against Him.  He does this through His messengers who warn of impending doom if repentance of sin followed by obedience to Him are not forthcoming.  Following His warnings to repent and obey, which come in the form of wars, epidemics, “natural” disasters such as fire, drought, flooding, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, financial problems, etc.), the Lord then has His messengers tell church people why they had to suffer those ravages, exactly as do the unchurched people.  His “messages” serve as reminders for the survivors that more destruction and death will follow if they do not repent and obey His Word.  Unfortunately, few have believed His Holy Scriptures.  As a result, generation after generation has suffered His wrath as generation after generation has grown further and further away from Him by believing less and less of His Word and obeying less and less of what little they believe.  Like those who had gone before them, each generation has turned out to be “ever learning (religion) but never coming to the knowledge of the Truth” (2 Tim. 3:7).  An incredible, heart-breaking irony is that each generation of church people “knows” that it is right with God.  Having rejected His “fine print” outright, religious man fails to figure out why he suffers the same ravages his ancestors suffered which is the same ravages the unchurched have suffered.  In the eyes of God, there is no difference.  Sin is sin, regardless of who commits it.  The consequences are the same for both groups.

Because of this Truth, billions of people will find themselves in the midst of the Great Tribulation that, I believe, lies just ahead.  We are witnessing the sin and turmoil which Bible writers proclaimed would usher in a time of indescribable terror, destruction and death that will afflict the entire world as Satan is allowed to express his hatred for mankind.  We are now in the period Jesus called “… the beginning of sorrows.”  Man, including churchman, has sown the wind, paid dearly for having done so, and must now reap the whirlwind–the “Great Tribulation” followed by the “Day of the Lord” when God Himself will pour out His wrath on those who did not obey His Law.  This group will include those who had His Law sitting on their coffee tables, who carried His Law to church each sun god day, who deliberately remained ignorant of His Law by depending on their hirelings for spiritual guidance.  These will be those who, when told about God’s true Gospel, rejected it in favor of Satan’s perverted version, who proclaimed their belief in and love for the Biblical God while refusing to believe and obey Him.  Sound familiar?  It should, for the preceding discourse perfectly describes Satan’s Catholic/Protestant Church System that has led multiplied billions of salvation seekers away from God.  In all honestly, over the past few days I have become spiritually ill listening to Satan’s people proclaiming the wonderfulness of the “Easter Season,” WHICH GOD CONDEMNS.  Read Passover Versus Easter.  Key word–Passover.

In spite of the world having gone insane, God promises to protect those who are submissive and obedient to Him (Rev. 3:10; 12:14).  Contrary to popular church opinion, He never lies (Titus 1:2/ Heb. 6:18).  He promised those who believe and obey Him that He will never forsake them (Heb. 13:5).  The questions each of us must ask ourselves are these: DO I BELIEVE HIM?  DO I OBEY HIM?  It takes both to get anywhere with Him.  Read Leviticus 26, Deuteronomy 28 and 1 John 3.  Before going into the Great Tribulation those in the great multitude will have done neither (believed and obeyed Him), though many of them will have “known” that they were doing both.  These will have called themselves Sinners Saved By Grace.  At some point, with destruction and death surrounding them, the great multitude will accept reality and turn to the God they had rejected for so lone.  L.J.