Verse 9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and
palms in their hands; 10 and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne,
and unto the Lamb. 11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts,
and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, 12 saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom,and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.
Note that John only “heard the number of them which were sealed . . . an hundred and forty and four thousand . . .” (verse 4) but, here, he “beheld” (or “saw”) this “great multitude which no man could number . . .” suggesting the 144,000 were in among the “great multitude” and they all looked alike!
The Commentary suggests three main views of the “great multitude:”
1) “the 144,000 and the ‘great multitude’ . . . are not differences, but explanations: thus the fact that the ‘great multitude’ cannot be numbered” implies “that the number 144,000 is symbolic rather than literal.”
2) emphasizes “the differences between the 144,000, and the ‘great multitude’ One is numbered, the other cannot be. One represents a special group,’ the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb” who “follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth, the other, the remaining triumphant saints of all ages.”
3) “the ‘great multitude’ as the entire company of the redeemed, including the 144,000.”SDA Bible Commentary Vol.,7 page 784 (under “A great multitude.”)
From early Christian times commentators have been in disagreement regarding the relationship of this multitude to the 144,000. Three principal views have been held.
One view holds that the 144,000 and the “great multitude” of the present verse both describe the same group, but under different conditions, and that vs. 9–17 reveal the true identity of the 144,000. According to this view, vs. 1–8 portray the sealing of the 144,000 to prepare them to stand through the terrors that attend the coming of the Messiah, whereas vs. 9–17 show them afterward rejoicing about the throne of God in peace and triumph. Those who hold this view believe that the apparent differences between the description of the “great multitude” and that of the 144,000 are not differences, but explanations: thus the fact that the “great multitude” cannot be numbered, they take as implying that the number 144,000 is symbolic rather than literal. The fact that the multitude is from all nations, and not from Israel alone, as the 144,000 are presented as originating from, they understand as meaning that the Israel from which the 144,000 come is not literal Israel, but spiritual, embracing all nations of Gentiles.
A second view emphasizes the differences between the 144,000 and the “great multitude.” One is numbered, the other cannot be. One represents a special group, “the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb” who “follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth” (ch. 14:4), the other, the remaining triumphant saints of all ages.
A third view represents the “great multitude” as the entire company of the redeemed, including the 144,000.
Seventh-day Adventists have generally favored the second view.-Nichol, Francis D., The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association) 1978.
While we may personally favor one over the other, we should try to take all the facts into consideration before making up our minds. Since John only “heard” the number of the 144,000, and then “saw” the “great multitude,” it is difficult if not impossible to distinguish one group from the other. From that standpoint, view 1) seems to coincide well in that they are not at all different, because they appear identical with the 144,000 being symbolic of what is unnumbered.
Our Lesson Author’s View
John sees a “great multitude, which no one could number,” who came“ ‘out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb’ ” (Rev. 7:14, NKJV). That is, they are a special group of people who, despite whatever tribulation they went through, have stayed faithful to Jesus, a faithfulness symbolized by their being covered in the robes of His perfect righteousness. The word “tribulation” is used very
frequently in the Bible to refer to the things that believers suffer for their faith (see for example, Exod. 4:31, Ps. 9:9, Matt. 24:9, John 16:33, Rom.5:3). Therefore, although some Adventist interpreters view this group as another representation of the 144,000, we could understand the “great multitude” as a reference to all the redeemed who have suffered for their faith down through the ages.
Here, too, in John’s description of the “great multitude, which no one could number,” we see, as we do in all the Bible, the great theme of salvation by grace. The only claim of the redeemed to salvation, to eternal life, to the new heavens and the new earth, is the righteousness of Christ, which is given to them by grace.
“Nearest the throne are those who were once zealous in the cause of Satan, but who, plucked as brands from the burning, have followed their Saviour with deep, intense devotion. Next are those who perfected Christian characters in the midst of falsehood and infidelity, those who honored the law of God when the Christian world declared it void, and the millions, of all ages, who were martyred for their faith. And beyond is the ‘great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, . . . before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands.’ Revelation7:9. Their warfare is ended, their victory won. They have run the race and reached the prize. The palm branch in their hands is a symbol of their triumph,the white robe an emblem of the spotless righteousness of Christ which now is theirs.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 665.
