Innumerable multitude, Last Day of the Feast & The Great Tribulation
An important reference to the fulfillment of the feast of tabernacles is in Rev 7:15. Rev. 7:13-17 is set within a complete or uninterrupted vision from the viewpoint of observing an innumerable multitude of people. This multitude of people obviously have God' Spirit dwelling in them. John 7:37-38 provides the conditions for this to be a reality.
Joh 7:37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
Joh 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
What makes this last day of the feast so great? This great day is an accurate representation of the time of the great white throne judgment when the Spirit of God is made available to those who have died and are awaiting their opportunity to accept Jesus as savior and receive God's Spirit and then be judged by their works.
Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Then Rev. 7:13-17 speaks to the identity of the innumerable multitude.
Rev 7:13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
Rev 7:14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Rev 7:15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
Rev 7:16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.
Rev 7:17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
There are many areas of interest in these verses. The first is that the correct translation from the Greek for “came out” should without question be “are coming out”. This completely changes the time element for these verses. Next, instead of “great tribulation” it should be “the great tribulation”. The important thing here is that this represents a title of the nature of a state of affairs. The tribulation period prior to the millennial rule of Christ was NEVER referred to as “the great tribulation”. It was only spoken of as “great tribulation”.
“The great tribulation” is in reference to the effect of the state of affairs of Satan’s six thousand year rule. There has been an unending Satanic attack on humanity from the time of the disobedience of Adam and Eve until today. It will continue on until the sounding of the seventh trump when his rulership is replaced by Jesus and his Father. Those who have been called to follow Jesus have been instructed to come out of the ways that Satan has so easily deceived mankind to accept as good. After the seventh trump the way of "good" will finally be available to all mankind
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2Co 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
2Co 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
Pro 12:13 The wicked is snared by the transgression of his lips: but the just shall come out of trouble.
Rev 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
Rev 18:5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
Rev 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
We have all experienced the effect of the Satanic tribulation to one degree or another. But many have been subjected to horrible atrocities through the centuries. It will take time for those who come up in that resurrection, to grow out of that gross, diabolical, misinformation and for many, the unspeakable physical abuse that they were subjected to.
The last part of verse 14 pictures an immense number of people who have accepted and have been cleansed by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It is an accurate description of the "great white throne judgment" period of time when the Spirit of God is made available to everyone. It's important to note, that the people who are living today who have been called and chosen by God, have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb and go to the throne of God in prayer.
Verse 15 describes the awesome future when God will be dwelling with mankind.
15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple:
and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
Joe 3:17 So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.
Zep 3:17 The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.
Eze 37:27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Eze 37:28 And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.
Eze 43:7 And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places.
Rev 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
Isa 66:23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.
Isa 66:24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.
Lastly, Rev. 7:17 reveals that the innumerable multitude will be shown the way to abide in God's Spirit (living fountains of water). It is very plain that those of this multitude are not spirit beings. They are though, on the road to becoming spirit beings in the kingdom of God.
Rev 7:17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.