1. the dwelling place of the glorified Lord Jesus Christ who sits at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us just waiting to complete what He finished at the cross;
2. home with a room for all believers in Jesus Christ;
3. built by the hand of God and is “eternal in the heavens;”
4. a safe-deposit for eternal treasures; AND
5. the assembly of the redeemed of all nations.

“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, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

The church is God’s “united nations.” (It is a really solid idea. One that can work.) Imagine a time and a place where there will be no more division, conflict or hatred. Envision a place where there is no more separation by class, culture or creed. Zero disproportioned attention. Zero misses.  Complete and absolute representation. That’s heaven. John the Revelator describes the inhabitants of heaven in Revelation Chapter 7. “They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 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. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. 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.” (This is my text for Sunday’s sermon.) 

One of the characteristics that I love about our church family is that we, like our city, are ethnically and culturally diverse. We have people from many nations, cultures and languages standing together on Sunday mornings giving God glory for His great salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord. It is as they say, “a little taste of heaven.” I remember just a few years back hosting Damaris Carbaugh as our Easter guest soloist. She is one of my favourite Gospel musicians. She resides in New York City. Upon visiting our city, she observed that Mississauga seems even more diverse than NYC. Just take a walk through Square One and you can’t miss that we are an immensely culturally diverse city. More diverse than Times Square, wow!!

The only thing better than being there (heaven) is to have a sneak-peak at the upcoming glory that awaits us stored in the sacred writing of the Bible. There are so many details to absorb that one has to walk slowly and thoughtfully through this passage. But let me just whet your appetite for more of this passage by noting two realities about the people who are gathered in glory.

1. Their robes are spotless white. Don’t get distracted by the description of heaven’s fashion line-up. Stay focused on their colour, “white.” John uses this metaphor to speak of both the cleansing of the defilement of our sin and the righteous deeds of the children of God. Christians are those who have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus, God’s Son, at the cross (1 John 1:7-9). But the white robes also reflect the life of “keeping oneself unstained by the world” (James 1:27). 
2. They held palm branches in their hands. Palm branches in the Bible signify celebration and rejoicing. (See Lev. 23:40; John 12:13.) Doesn’t it make perfect sense that John joins the twin ideas of salvation and celebration? As Isaiah wrote, “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” Those who have received the great gift of God’s salvation have enormous JOY, and well they should!