The Countless Multitude: Heaven Touches Earth

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

The Church is catholic. We confess “one holy catholic Church.” The word catholic means universal. When Martin Luther translated the Apostles’ Creed into German so that the people could pray it in worship and at home, he translated catholic as Christian. People have been debating that choice ever since—but catholic is simply a Latin word meaning universal.

So the implied meaning is that there is one holy Christian Church—one Church scattered throughout the whole world, made up of people from every time and place: from the United States and from ancient Israel, even from the former USSR.

In Revelation, John is given a great vision from God. He sees that there will be four great wraths upon the earth—death, war, famine, and pestilence. Before these angels bring destruction, they are told to wait while the angels of the Lord seal the foreheads of believers with God’s holy mark, to distinguish them from those who will receive wrath.

John hears a number: 144,000. Out of more than seven billion people, that doesn’t sound like very many. But then John turns—and he sees “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.”

This is one of the great patterns in Revelation: God gives a promise, and the fulfillment is far greater than we could imagine. The 144,000 becomes a countless multitude.

The elder asks John, “Who are these people?” And John replies, “Sir, you know.” The elder says, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.” That is, those sealed and saved through the trials of this fallen world. You and I are among that number—the 144,000 that is truly the great multitude.

The Church, therefore, is catholic—universal. It is made up of the blood of many people, all washed in the blood of the Lamb. The Church speaks many languages, but it shares one confession: Christ crucified and Christ resurrected. That is the truth upon which the Church stands or falls.

The gates of heaven are wide open for all who believe.

Believe it or not, there are Roman Catholics in heaven. I know we just celebrated Reformation Day—but they’re there. There are Baptists in heaven too. And yes, there are Lutherans in heaven. I often joke in Sunday school that everyone in heaven is Lutheran—not because only Lutherans get there, but because once everyone arrives, they realize the Lutherans were right! (And they tell the same joke in their churches too.)

Here on earth, the Church is divided and fractured, yet it remains one—still catholic, still gathered around one Lord, confessing one faith, holding one hope, and knowing one love.

This truth brings deep comfort because we have the Word of the Lord. Now, here’s something that stretches our understanding: heaven exists outside of time. Eternity has no past or future; we are bound by time here, but heaven is not. When John looks upon the countless multitude, the Apostle John himself is already part of that number, because eternity holds all of God’s saints at once.

We are living in the great tribulation now—not a future seven-year period, but the ongoing struggle of the Church in the world. And yet, when we come to the Lord’s Table, we sing “Holy, Holy, Holy” because Christ Himself is truly present. Where He is, there is heaven. That means that in Holy Communion, heaven touches earth. You commune with the saints in glory—and, in a mysterious way, even with your future self.

Don’t ask me how the physics work; it defies physics.

Your loved ones who have died in the faith are there with you, and those yet to come are there as well. The Church is secure in Christ her Lord.

The promise of God is not a guarantee of an easy life now. I could fill this church if I preached that faith brings wealth and health, but that’s not the gospel of Jesus Christ. The promise is that though we endure tribulation, famine, war, pestilence, and even death—yet we live. “Whoever believes in Me shall never die.”

So no matter the heartache or suffering we endure, when we reach heaven, our joy will be beyond measure. The Lord will bring us through the valley of the shadow of death and will wipe every tear from our eyes with His loving hand.

This week, you may have seen the news—our brothers and sisters in Christ are being slaughtered in Nigeria and throughout Africa. We are not promised freedom from persecution; in fact, Jesus says, “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account.”

The promise is eternal life with God—the resurrection of the body and the life of the world to come. The evils of this world are not the final word; the resurrection of Jesus Christ is.

And this promise is for everyone who believes. There is no end to the Father’s house in heaven.

John sums it up beautifully:

“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies himself as He is pure.”

We give thanks for the saints who have gone before us, for their witness and for the Word that has been preserved through the ages so that it can come to us today. For this Word is the life-giving Gospel—and you are His precious children.

Or, as I told the little ones earlier: you are His holy saints in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
Amen.