“a great crowd in heaven, standing in the Sanctuary”
Identifying the “Great Crowd” Seen In Heaven
Does the term “great crowd” used in the prophecies in the Book of Revelation refer to an earthly or to a heavenly group of people?
It is important to take notice of where the scene described in Revelation 14:1 takes place.
Revelation 14:1
“And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the Mount Zion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.”
These mentioned here in Revelation 14:1 standing with the Lord on “Mount Zion” are the same group of people who are mentioned in Revelation 7:15.
Revelation 7:15
“For this reason they are before the throne of God, and they serve Him day and night in His sanctuary. The One seated on the throne will shelter them:”
In chapter 7 they are referred to as a ” great multitude” or “a great crowd”.
Revelation 7:9
“After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;”
It is important to note when reading verse 15 of Revelation chapter 7 that they are seen in “the Temple sanctuary“ standing “before the throne of God”.
We must therefore look at the Temple pattern we learn from the Bible to form an understanding here.
Who were the only ones who were consecrated to enter the Temple sanctuary and stand within it?
Answer: Only anointed priest, because the Temple Sanctuary was consecrated Holy ground.
If anyone else other than an anointed priest attempted to approach the Inner Courtyard let alone the Sanctuary, they would have been slain by the Temple guards who were also priests.
The reality is that most of the family members of the Israelites never even got close enough to even see the Temple sanctuary let alone peer into it.
To enter the Sanctuary one must be of the ‘priestly’ Order.
In ancient Israel that was only one of the twelve tribes that comprised God’s nation. The tribe of Levi. The other eleven tribes were not allowed to enter the Inner Courtyard of the Temple. They all were part of God’s nation of people. But not all shared in this special priestly service.
So this must mean that the “great crowd” mentioned in both Revelation chapter 7 and in chapter 14 are a priestly class and not a description identifying all Kingdom heirs. Since this vision that the apostle John saw was of Heaven, these verses cannot be referring to a human group of Kingdom heirs.
As we learn from the Biblical pattern, the other 11 tribes represented all those who are part of God’s Kingdom (nation) who are not called by Him into Priestly service.
The Sanctuary of Temple of God is literally in Heaven and Scripture clearly tells us that flesh and blood cannot enter Heaven, so that it would be impossible for humans who are made of flesh and blood to “worship day and night” there.
1 Corinthians 15:48-50
48 As is the one made of dust, such are those who are also made of dust; and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
49 As we have borne the image of those made of dust, let us also bear the image of the heavenly.
50 Now I say this, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither does corruption inherit incorruption.
These two verses in the Book of Revelation need to be considered closely within the context of the Biblical pattern God has given us as a guide. This is what we are taught to do in the Book of Hebrews chapter 8.
Also important in considering a “great crowd” is that it doesn’t need to be a throng of millions to be considered ‘great’. The reality is that a group of 144,000 is a very large crowd to have in one place at one time.
A city with a population of 144,000 is considered a fairly large city. Do you think you could possibly count that number of people standing together in one place? Wouldn’t it look like a sea of people impossible to count?
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