Whether they came from the nation of Israel or from the various tribes of the earth, we understand from the Scripture passages below that many multitudes will worship the Lord in heaven someday.

You may wonder how to gain a white robe, washed in the blood of the Lamb (referencing the sacrificial system used by the children of Israel in the Old Testament, for the remission of sin). The answer was given over 2,000 years ago in a small town called Bethlehem. It was here that Jesus Christ the Lord was born. The son of God was placed in the care of a favored teenager named Mary and her betrothed, Joseph.

Jesus had an unusual birth. It was announced by angels to the shepherds and honored by the wise men following a star that appeared for this marvelous occasion.

My daughters, granddaughters and I attended the Ballet Rejoice production of “The Nativity” this week. We were awestruck at the significance of this moment in time as told through the reverent movements of all the dancers.

We couldn’t help leaving with overflowing love in our hearts for God the Father as He “gave” us His Son. When Jesus shed His blood on the cross for the sin of the world, all penalties were forgiven and all debts were satisfied in God’s economy.

His Son “gives” us a white robe of righteousness when we receive Him as Lord. He will bring you back from spiritual death in order to be transformed with the light of life for God’s kingdom purposes and His will to be done.

So many in the world right now are unable to care for others or even themselves. It really does take a Savior to heal our hearts and become ambassadors for Christ. He teaches us how to love ourselves first so that we can extend to others both love and forgiveness.

As you experience this Advent season with a heart full of God’s promises, remember that we love because He first loved us. (I John 3:16 says,

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.”)*

– Love, ❤️ Teresa

Revelation 7:2-17 (ESV) (bold added for emphasis)

² Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, ³ saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”

⁴ And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

⁵ 12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed,
12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,
12,000 from the tribe of Gad,
⁶ 12,000 from the tribe of Asher,
12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,
12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,
⁷ 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,
12,000 from the tribe of Levi,
12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,
⁸ 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,
12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,
12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.

A Great Multitude from Every Nation

⁹ After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,¹⁰ and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” ¹¹ And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹² saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

¹³ Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” ¹⁴ I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

¹⁵ “Therefore they are before the throne of God,
and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
¹⁶ They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
the sun shall not strike them,
nor any scorching heat.
¹⁷ For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Micah 5:2 (ESV)

^[c] But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
from ancient days.

Micah 6:6-8 (ESV)

“With what shall I come before the Lord,
and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
⁷ Will the Lord be pleased with^[d] thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
⁸ He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,^[e]
and to walk humbly with your God?

Micah 7: 18-20 (ESV)

¹⁸ Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
and passing over transgression
for the remnant of his inheritance?
He does not retain his anger forever,
because he delights in steadfast love.
¹⁹ He will again have compassion on us;
he will tread our iniquities underfoot.
You will cast all our^[p] sins
into the depths of the sea.
²⁰ You will show faithfulness to Jacob
and steadfast love to Abraham,
as you have sworn to our fathers
from the days of old.

Footnotes

1. Micah 5:1 Ch 4:14 in Hebrew
2. Micah 5:1 That is, city
3. Micah 5:2 Ch 5:1 in Hebrew
4. Micah 6:7 Or Will the Lord accept
5. Micah 6:8 Or steadfast love
6. Micah 6:9 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
7. Micah 6:10 Or Are there still treasures
8. Micah 6:12 Hebrew whose
9. Micah 6:16 Hebrew For the statutes of Omri are kept
10. Micah 6:16 Hebrew its
11. Micah 7:5 Hebrew bosom
12. Micah 7:12 Hebrew he
13. Micah 7:12 That is, the Euphrates
14. Micah 7:14 Hebrew of Carmel
15. Micah 7:15 Hebrew him
16. Micah 7:19 Hebrew their

Psalm 135: 13-21 (ESV)

¹³ Your name, O Lord, endures forever,
your renown,^[b] O Lord, throughout all ages.
¹⁴ For the Lord will vindicate his people
and have compassion on his servants.

¹⁵ The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
¹⁶ They have mouths, but do not speak;
they have eyes, but do not see;
¹⁷ they have ears, but do not hear,
nor is there any breath in their mouths.
¹⁸ Those who make them become like them,
so do all who trust in them.

¹⁹ O house of Israel, bless the Lord!
O house of Aaron, bless the Lord!
²⁰ O house of Levi, bless the Lord!
You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord!
²¹ Blessed be the Lord from Zion,
he who dwells in Jerusalem!
Praise the Lord!Read full chapter

Footnotes

1. Psalm 135:3 Or for he is beautiful
2. Psalm 135:13 Or remembrance

*NIV (I John 3:16)