"From Every Tribe..Tongue..People and Nation" - Revelation 5:9

This is one of my favorite verses in the New Testament. Why? Because I believe that it indicates that there will be people in heaven some day from every tribe, language, people group and nation.

One could look at this verse as simply teaching that Christ's death paid for the salvation of the whole world. But this truth is already taught in more than one place in the New Testament (see II John 2:2, II Cor. 5:19). Rather, the language used here seems to indicate more than simply a payment that theoretically could open the door for people of the world in general. It makes the best sense to me to see this as a declaration in heaven at some future date, that people from every walk of life will be present at that time in heaven. It is a celebration of the accomplished fact and the following verse verifies it. There is says that Christ "...has made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign upon the earth." (v. 10). This is such a wonderful truth that leads to some great conclusions.

The first is not original with me. It comes from Randy Alcorn's great book about heaven. There he makes the claim that if there are people from every tribe and people group on earth, that will include groups long extinct like the Vikings and Mayans. What a cool thought! I think he is right. We will see people some day from groups we have only heard about. We will also get to hear their fascinating stories about how God managed to get the gospel to them even in remote or pagan places. I can hardly wait to meet them!

But the conclusion that excites me the most is that because of this prophetic truth, we can be sure that our mission efforts around the world are not in vain. Even better, we can confidently say that the Great Commission will be fulfilled. Even if we in the Church fail to carry out the Great Commission completely, God is going to make sure that in the Tribulation period and through His supernatural efforts, that every elect person from every tribe, tongue, people group and nation will be in heaven someday. What an awesome truth! This is a great incentive to go and make disciples of all the nations, and a wonderful promise of victory in this endeavor!

I look forward to being in heaven someday with my youngest brother, all my loved ones who are already there, all my present family, and people who will represent all the different people of this world. What a wonderfully diverse group it will be to the glory of God and our Lord Jesus Christ!