Who are the great multitude in Revelation 7?

Neostarwcc

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They can't be the 144,000 because John said "after this vision" when he saw the 144,000. He also could count the 144,000 he could not count this great multitude. So just who are this great multitude in Revelation 7:9? Revelation 7:14 offers a clue. When the elder told John who the multitude were he told them they were the ones who came out of the great tribulation. But just what is the great tribulation? My theory has always been that the great multitude John saw in Heaven were all of the saved. Especially when the very last verse in chapter 7 says "And God will wipe away every teat from their eyes" . God promises this to the saved in Revelation 21. But I've heard several different interpretations. That they were the raptured church and that the saved was a MUCH bigger number than the great multitude John saw. Another interpretatiom I've heard is that its the 144,000 and that only 144,000 people are saved. But John could count the 144,000. This great multitude has to be a number in the hundreds of millions or billions. Which also makes me think that its all of the saved that John saw. Because if its the raptured church would that number be an uncountable number? Idk.
 

StephenDiscipleofYHWH

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They can't be the 144,000 because John said "after this vision" when he saw the 144,000. He also could count the 144,000 he could not count this great multitude. So just who are this great multitude in Revelation 7:9? Revelation 7:14 offers a clue. When the elder told John who the multitude were he told them they were the ones who came out of the great tribulation. But just what is the great tribulation? My theory has always been that the great multitude John saw in Heaven were all of the saved. Especially when the very last verse in chapter 7 says "And God will wipe away every teat from their eyes" . God promises this to the saved in Revelation 21. But I've heard several different interpretations. That they were the raptured church and that the saved was a MUCH bigger number than the great multitude John saw. Another interpretatiom I've heard is that its the 144,000 and that only 144,000 people are saved. But John could count the 144,000. This great multitude has to be a number in the hundreds of millions or billions. Which also makes me think that its all of the saved that John saw. Because if its the raptured church would that number be an uncountable number? Idk.
The great multitude are those gathered into the kingdom of God on earth during the time of the great tribulation and seven last plagues. They are the second living harvest anti-typical of the wave sheaf. The 144,000(first anti-typical harvest during Ez 9) will help to gather these people into the Lord's kingdom out of every nation, and tongue. This happens before the Lord's return with fire to destroy the heavens and the earth.
 
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Neostarwcc

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The great multitude are those gathered into the kingdom of God on earth during the time of the great tribulation and seven last plagues. They are the second living harvest anti-typical of the wave sheaf. The 144,000(first anti-typical harvest during Ez 9) will help to gather these people into the Lord's kingdom out of every nation, and tongue. This happens before the Lord's return with fire to destroy the heavens and the earth.

I've heard that interpretation before. But why does Jesus say the saved will be dressed in white in Revelation 3:5 and then the great multitude are also dressed in white? And the Elder told John at the end of Revelation 7 that God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. God says this also in Revelation 21 as referring to the saved. Its almost as if he's trying to give clues that its all of the saved that have been saved throughout history. You would think that if its just the amount of people left on the earth after the seven last plagues that John would be able to record how vast the number was. Especially when I can't think that the raptured people would be more than 150,000 people. John could apparently count numbers that high. But this number must have been in the hundreds of millions or billions for John to not be able to count them.
 
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HTacianas

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They can't be the 144,000 because John said "after this vision" when he saw the 144,000. He also could count the 144,000 he could not count this great multitude. So just who are this great multitude in Revelation 7:9? Revelation 7:14 offers a clue. When the elder told John who the multitude were he told them they were the ones who came out of the great tribulation. But just what is the great tribulation? My theory has always been that the great multitude John saw in Heaven were all of the saved. Especially when the very last verse in chapter 7 says "And God will wipe away every teat from their eyes" . God promises this to the saved in Revelation 21. But I've heard several different interpretations. That they were the raptured church and that the saved was a MUCH bigger number than the great multitude John saw. Another interpretatiom I've heard is that its the 144,000 and that only 144,000 people are saved. But John could count the 144,000. This great multitude has to be a number in the hundreds of millions or billions. Which also makes me think that its all of the saved that John saw. Because if its the raptured church would that number be an uncountable number? Idk.

The great multitude is the entirety of the Church.
 
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_Dave_

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John is being shown the martyred saints who have come to Christ and then been killed during the Great Tribulation. Many commentators say that there will be a greater soul harvest in a shorter time during the tribulation period than has ever been seen in prior times.

But it will be a time of great persecution and many of the new in Christ will die.
 
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Ttalkkugjil

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Here's the Feast of Tabernacles' antitype, the Church in victory's vestments, ready to celebrate Glory's Festival.

When tribulation's end will be at hand and Glory's Kingdom will be revealed, then the believers' multitude, from every people group, will be gathered before God's throne. There they'll stand. For they'll appear in the vestments of Jesus' righteousness imputed to them by faith. In their hands they'll hold palms, joy's tokens, in honor of God and of Jesus.
 
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Brian Mcnamee

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In Rev 5 we see another multitude who praise the lamb and they note they were redeemed by the blood of the lamb out of every tribe tongue kindred and nation and note they will rule with him upon the earth. In Rev 6 we see 9 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed. This group seems to be isolated from the group in Rev 5. The group is Rev 7 is specific to those who come out of the tribulation. They could be tribulation saints who die during the tribulation which Dan 7 and Rev 13 seem to indicate a very high number will be slain of the saints. Rev 13 He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.Dan 7
He shall speak pompous words against the Most High,
Shall persecute[fn] the saints of the Most High,
And shall intend to change times and law.
Then the saints shall be given into his hand
For a time and times and half a time.
26 ‘But the court shall be seated,
And they shall take away his dominion,
To consume and destroy it forever.
27 Then the kingdom and dominion,
And the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven,
Shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High.
His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And all dominions shall serve and obey Him

Both of these prophecies have a 42 month duration of persecution. Both are stopped by the coming of the LORD. Rev 12 shows Satan thrown down out of heaven and his time is short. 10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. 12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”

This group in Rev 7 is likely those overcomer's described here who by the word of their testimony did not love their lives unto death. Many are saved in the day of wrath. Jesus in Isaiah 61 spoke of the acceptable year of the LORD and the day of vengeance of our God. Much is accomplished in this period.
 
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