<p>7:9 <em>After these things I saw and beheld a great crowd, which no one could number</em>- An allusion to how the seed of Abraham would be innumerable (Gen. 13:16; 16:10; 32:12; Hos. 1:10). The great multitude are the true Israel, and are thus parallel with the 144,000 from the tribes of Israel.</p><p><em>Out of every nation, comprised of all tribes, peoples and tongues</em>- The reference is limited by the context to the tribes of the earth / land promised to Abraham; see on &quot;All nations&quot; later in this verse. This is the same term used about the nations, tribes, peoples under the domination of the beast (17:15), and seems almost a title of the beast system in 11:9. The great multitude are therefore being parodied by the followers of the beast, who also claim as the Jihadists do to be universal in their support base. This is just as the 144,000 followers of the lamb are parodied by the supposed 144,000 followers of Mohammad. The events of the last days will bring about the final and ultimate clash of God&rsquo;s Kingdom and the kingdoms of men.</p><p><em>Standing before the throne and before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes and with palms in their hands- </em>They &quot;stood before the throne&quot;, as men will &quot;stand before&quot; God at the day of judgment (Rev. 20:12 s.w.). They had white robes, a term used about those slain at the start of the tribulation (6:11).&nbsp; In this we see the connection between the seals and the sealing of the 144,000 / great multitude. A specific group is in view- those who were slain in the tribulation. </p><p><em>Of all nations-</em> The multitude came 'out of' <em>ek</em> &quot;great tribulation&quot; (:14); yet they also come <em>ek,</em> out of, the nations, peoples, languages of :9. The suggestion would be that this group of various peoples are those where the tribulation has occurred. The very same Greek phrase &quot;nations, tribes, peoples and languages&quot; is used later in Revelation for the peoples within the land promised to Abraham who support the beast system (11:9; 17:15).&nbsp; The beast / whore rides upon them- and her dominion is over the earth / land, which is therefore where these tribes and peoples are located. This also solves the logistical problem of imagining that literally every tribe and language group of the Amazon or central Africa or Pacific islands must come under the direct control of any one world system. We can legitimately translate <em>ek</em> as 'out of'; the same word is found in Rev. 18:4 where &quot;My people&quot; are asked to come &quot;out of&quot; Babylon and the beast system- the mass of peoples and tribes within the land promised to Abraham from Euphrates to Egypt, which is under the control and religion of the beast. It's a typical Western stereotype to assume that all the people living in that area are simply 'Arabs'. That's as facile as saying that Europe is inhabited by 'Europeans'. The area is full of various tribes and ethnicities, as the conflicts in Iraq and Syria have demonstrated. So the statement that the great multitude had come <em>ek </em>out of the various nations and tribes is not merely a statement of fact, it is a commendation of the fact that they had spiritually 'come out of' those peoples. Rev. 15:2 repeatedly uses the word <em>ek</em> to speak of how the faithful had come out of the beast system: &quot;Them that had gotten the victory over <em>ek</em>, out of- &quot;over&quot; is not the correct translation the beast, and over <em>ek</em>, out of his image, and over <em>ek,</em> out of his mark, and over <em>ek</em>, out of the number of his name&quot;. Rev. 7:9 says that the faithful come <em>ek</em> out of the <em>phule</em>, the tribes AV &quot;kindreds&quot;. But we have just read with painstaking repetition of how the 144,000 have come <em>ek</em> out of the <em>phule</em>, the tribes, of <em>Israel</em> We must not fail to give this due weight in interpretation. The 144,000 come out of the tribes of Israel, and the great multitude come out of the tribes who are willingly dominated by the beast. The picture is that the tribes of Israel submit to the beast, but the faithful refuse to do so. Such a covenant is suggested by Dan. 9, and I have commented upon this elsewhere in writing about the Antichrist. This coming 'out of' the beast system may be in view in Mt. 24:31, where we learn that the Lord will gather His elect <em>ek</em>, out of, &quot;the four winds&quot;. And Rev. 7:1 in this very context speaks of the four winds of desolation to come upon Israel, from which the 144,000 are preserved.</p><p>Think of the misunderstood Jesus, welcomed by the crowds with palm fronds in hope of an immediate Messianic Kingdom. Surely John intends us to think back to that when we read in Rev. 7:9 that the Lord will be welcomed by another large crowd, from every nation, carrying palm fronds and calling out praise to Him for dying on the cross and redeeming them. Here are those who truly understand Him. The Lord had in mind this contrast between the crowd and those who would truly understand Him when He said that &ldquo;Now is the son of man glorified&rdquo; in the things of the cross (Jn. 12:23) in contrast to the crowds who were shouting &ldquo;Glory in the highest&rdquo; at the prospect of Him there and then inaugurating the Messianic Kingdom (Lk. 19:38). See on Jn. 5:23.</p>