4th Easter Sunday (year C)

(Rev 7,9.14b-17)

Revelation 7:9 After this, there appeared an immense multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and language. They all stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wrapped in white robes, and they carried palms in their hands.

Revelation 7:14 ...And he said, "They are those who have passed through the great tribulation and have washed their robes, making them white with the blood of the Lamb.

Revelation 7:15 Therefore they stand before the throne of God, and minister to him day and night in his sanctuary; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.

An immense multitude from all peoples and nations stands before the throne of God and of the Lamb. Who is it made up of? The group consists of Christians because, according to v. 14, they "have washed their robes, making them white with the blood of the Lamb". The immense multitude of the saved is of universal origin. 

The white garments (en leukois, "in white") symbolise the dignity of belonging to heaven. White was worn on festive occasions because it was believed to be the colour in which heavenly beings, including God himself, were clothed. 

The palm is the sign of victory. Even in the Greek world, the winners of ancient games were often given a palm tree. Throughout the Mediterranean world, the palm tree meant 'victory'. When the crowd welcomed Jesus in Jerusalem waving palm branches, it was on the occasion of the feast of Easter.  

The people of believers are now introduced into the glory of the living God and participate in the heavenly liturgy; a grandiose, stupendous liturgy that is celebrated before the throne and the Lamb. They stand before the throne (a circumlocution for the name of God), but also before the Lamb, whose imitators they have been, bearing the palm of victory. 

Standing, according to the symbolism of this position, means being in a state of resurrection. They participate in the same life as God and the Lamb. This is the people of believers in its glorious aspect, that is, the triumphant Church that in heaven shares in the victory of Christ. They are those who have completed the journey, those who already share in the full and final victory of the Lamb.  

"They are those who have passed through the great tribulation and have washed their robes, making them white with the blood of the Lamb". The presentation of the saved emphasises their origin and defines them with a present participle: "those who come" (hoi erchomenoi), closely akin to the divine formula "ho erchomenos" ("He who comes"). They are now one with the Lamb because they have realised, through their tribulation, the call to immerse themselves in the death and resurrection of the Son of God.  

The great tribulation is persecution, martyrdom. The great tribulation alludes historically to the persecutions suffered by Christians, of which Nero's was the prototype, but refers in a special way to the great tribulation that will precede the final judgement. 

This tribulation is called "great" because it will surpass in intensity all the previous ones, it will be the most terrible of all, it is the one that will extend to believers throughout the world and in which Satan will use his most powerful instruments and deploy the most effective means to bring down the Christian faith. The Church is always persecuted, but in the last times it will be even more so, and every true Christian must expect a greater or lesser share of tribulation. 

Since the immense multitude comes from the great tribulation, it is reasonable to infer that they, or at least the majority of them, are martyrs.  

"They have washed their robes, making them white with the blood of the Lamb". Let us note an interesting thing: the text does not say that they washed their robes making them white with the shedding of their own blood, but with the blood of the Lamb. They have washed their robes (gr.: stolàs) in the blood of the Lamb, i.e. they have sanctified themselves and purified their souls (stola) through the merits of Jesus to whom they have drawn near in faith. It is implied in their 'they washed' that the stoles/clothes were soiled, i.e. that they were sinners. If they can now appear in white robes in the presence of God, this is not due to their merits, but to the atoning and cleansing virtue of the blood of Christ.  

With this paradoxical image of the blood of the Lamb making white the garments of believers, it is meant that they participate in the salvific value of the atoning death of Jesus, by virtue of which they have been preserved from succumbing in trial. It is therefore not only the martyrs, but all the members of the Church who have remained faithful in persecution. In fact, we repeat once again: it is not written that they washed their robes in their own blood, but in that of the Lamb. The 'blood' is a symbol of Christ's death and the efficacy of his saving work. The Greek has 'en tō' ('in the blood'), a formula probably derived from the Eucharistic liturgy (1 Cor 11:25 'in my blood').

Christians are not justified by any observance of the Law or by the performance of all those rituals that are corollary to faith, but by their assimilation to the cross of Christ.

"For this they stand before the throne of God". "For this", not for anything else: it should give us serious pause for thought. At a time when there is much talk of ecumenism, the centrality of the crucified Christ as a conditio sine qua non for salvation must be reaffirmed. 

 Argentino Quintavalle, author of the books 

- Revelation - exegetical commentary 

- The Apostle Paul and the Judaizers - Law or Gospel?

Jesus Christ true God and true Man in the Trinitarian mystery

The prophetic discourse of Jesus (Matthew 24-25)

All generations will call me blessed

 Catholics and Protestants compared - In defence of the faith

 The Church and Israel according to St Paul - Romans 9-11

(Buyable on Amazon)