Morning Bible Study: Revelation 7:13-17

13  Then one of the twenty-four elders asked me, "Who are these who are clothed in white? Where did they come from?" 

14  And I said to him, "Sir, you are the one who knows." Then he said to me, "These are the ones who died in the great tribulation. They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white. 

15  "That is why they stand in front of God's throne and serve him day and night in his Temple. And he who sits on the throne will give them shelter. 

16  They will never again be hungry or thirsty; they will never be scorched by the heat of the sun. 

17  For the Lamb on the throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe every tear from their eyes." NLT

(the following is from www.easyenglish.bible)

"Verses 13-14 An elder spoke to John. He asked John two questions. ‘Who are these people in white clothes? Where did they come from?’ It seems that John did not know the answers. So John asked the elder to explain.

These people have come out of the great trouble. The great trouble will be the period immediately before Jesus comes back to the earth. It will be an awful time. It will include the events of the seven seals. During this time, God will take these people from the earth.

These people trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ. They accepted all that Jesus had done for them. They knew that their sins had gone. Jesus took their sins from them when he died. The Bible often describes sin as if it is something dirty. Only the blood of a perfect sacrifice could make a person clean (holy). The death of Christ is the perfect sacrifice for sin. It was as if the blood of Christ had washed away the sins of these people. They had white clothes. They had the goodness of Jesus instead of their sin.

Jesus will take his church from the world (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17). But God has not told us when this will be. Some teachers say that it will happen after the events in chapter 3. John does not talk about the church on earth from that time. This event must be after chapter 3. But this vast crowd is not the whole church. The people in this crowd were alive at the time of the great trouble.

Verse 15 This vast crowd stood by the throne of God. Each person wore white clothes. The white clothes meant that Jesus had made them perfect. They were free from their sin.

They served God day and night. Day and night are not as we understand them. There is no night in heaven. John used these words to mean that they did not stop their service for God.

They were in God’s temple in heaven. There, they served him and they praised him. God will always be with them. He will surround them with his glory.

Verse 16 There will be no more hunger. Neither will they need drink. Jesus promised this to those who came to him (John 6:35). He was not talking about what the body needs. But in heaven, God’s people will have all that they require.

The sun and the heat can be a problem on earth. There is nothing like that in heaven. God’s people will be at home there. They will live in total comfort. There, nothing will disturb them.

Verse 17 The Lamb changes his role. He is their shepherd, the leader of the sheep. He is the good shepherd who saves his sheep (John 10:11). The sheep mean the people of God. A shepherd leads his sheep to the water. Jesus gives the ‘water of life’ to his people. This means that he gives eternal life to them.

God’s people will not still cry. God will remove all that would cause them to be sad. They will be very happy."