Revelation chapter 6 ended with the question: “…the great day of their wrath [of Him Who sits on the throne and of the Lamb] has come, and who can stand?”2 Here is the answer: first the faithful Jew, and then the faithful Greek.3 They will ‘stand’! This is how the Lord works in this world. The psalms of Israel testify to this, in this order too. In Psalm 67:1 – 2, 7, the psalmist prays thus: “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face shine on us [‘us’ is Israel, the Jewish people, the whole Bible was written by Jews]—so that His ways may be known on earth, His salvation among all nations.4 God blesses us, so that all the ends of the earth fear Him.5
It is said of the Messiah: “It is too small a thing for You to be My servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make You a light for the Gentiles, that My salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”6 Simeon, led by the Holy Spirit, reverses the order when he says: “My eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared in the sight of all nations: [first] a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and [then, next] the glory to your people Israel.”7 And the prophet says again in Isaiah 42:6: “I, the Lord, have called You and will make You to be a Covenant for the people (Israel) and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind…” This is the text referred to by the Lord Jesus in His first sermon in the synagogue at Nazareth.8
There is a wonderful movement of tidal waves in the progress of God’s salvation in this world. Salvation was offered first to Israel, in the time of Jesus and the Gospels and the era that the book of Acts records. Then, Israel received it, but only in part and was temporarily hardened in part (Romans 11:25), with only some of them receiving the revelation about Jesus, the ‘first-fruits’, but less than 1 % of the totality of the Jewish nation.9 Then the preaching of the Gospel spread worldwide so that all the nations can tap into it and hear the testimony of the preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom, Matthew 24:14. Then, after that, the final outpouring of the Holy Spirit on ‘all Israel’, in order that all Israel will be saved (Romans 11:26-29). And then the Lord will come back in all His Glory.
James declares how Peter has explained that God intended to gather a people for His Name from among the Gentiles from the very beginning.10 The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, James says, as it is written: “After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord.”11 And that will happen in the Kingdom of Peace and Righteousness.
The picture of the palm branches in verse 9 reminds us of the Feast of Tabernacles. The ‘multitude that no one can count’ comes out of the great tribulation—among them probably many martyrs. “We face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered,” Paul says.12 However, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. The great harvest is ready. Whereas the Jewish Feast of Pentecost is the feast of the first fruits of the harvest, the Feast of Tabernacles celebrates the gathering in of the whole harvest—first a hundred and forty-four thousand first fruits,13 then the great multitude. And finally the blessing of all the Gentile nations of the world, Zechariah 14:16-21. The number of the martyrs must first be complete, we heard, before the Lord would come into action.14 Well, here it has reached its completion. And what remains are only the songs of praise. There is only victory and blessedness. ‘Through the night of suffering and worries, the procession of pilgrims advances. Singing new songs of the morning, now that the new light is already starting to shine’.
• The Feast of Tabernacles, Sukkot, is a feast of remembrance for the exodus from Egypt and the journey through the desert where Israel received the Law, and it is connected to daily life—the gathering in of the full harvest. It is celebrated somewhere in our months of September/October.
• The last, eighth day is the ‘great day of the Feast’,15 on which water was drawn from the well and brought onto the altar in the Temple and onto the people themselves, as a symbol of the washing away of sins. This is why Jesus stands there and says: “Let anyone who is thirsty come to Me and drink.” With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.16
Bible References:
1.NIV 2.Revelation 6:16–17 3.Romans 1:16 4.Psalm 67:1–2 5.Psalm 67: 7, see also Psalm 98:3 6.Isaiah 49:6 7.Luke 2:29–32 8.Luke 4:16–21; Isaiah 61:1–2 9.Romans 8:36 10.Acts 15:14 11.Acts 15:16–17; Amos 9:11–12 12.Romans 8:36 13.Revelation 14:4b 14.Revelation 6:11 15.John 7:37–38 16.Isaiah 12:3
