John Sees Jesus Coming

As a family, read Revelation 7:9-12. Afterwards, share the following discussion.

What happened?

This section of the Book of Revelation can be challenging to fully understand. In chapters 6-20, events called the Tribulation judgments begin to happen. God unleashes judgments on the world and on the people who have rejected Him. These are the people who have never let Jesus into their lives to deal with their sin. During this terrible time on the earth, many people will give their lives to Jesus when they realize He is who He says He is – the only solution to their sin problem.

In Revelation 7:9-12, John sees a vision of a great multitude from every tribe, nation, and people from all over the earth who have given their lives to Jesus. Because God makes salvation available to anyone and everyone, we see people from all over the world – who speak every language and who come from every cultural background – getting to celebrate with God in Heaven.

Why is this important to us today?

Jesus went to the cross for everyone. He wanted people from every race and every background to know that through Him they can experience love and forgiveness. It’s important to treat people the way Jesus would treat them and see them as He sees them. It doesn’t matter if others speak a different language; it doesn’t matter if they have as much money as we do, or if they look different from us. They need Jesus just as much as we do.

People who are different from others in our society are often treated in a mean or unkind way. If someone is richer or poorer than we are, if someone has a different skin color than we do, or if a person has special needs, we can be quick to treat that person differently from the way we treat the people we care about the most.

Heaven will be filled with all kinds of people from all over the earth. Yet we have to remember that anyone who doesn’t choose to follow Jesus will face His judgment. God has surrounded you with people who need to know that God cares about them, that He created them, and wants them to invite Him into their hearts and lives – no matter who they are.

Spend a few minutes talking about what you just read by answering these questions:

1. How have you seen people in your school or neighborhood treated unkindly because they are different? Why do you think that happens?

2. What are some ways you can encourage others as you see them the way Jesus sees them?

How can we better follow God this week?

This week, practice being someone who shows kindness to every person. Find those in your school, community, or neighborhood who are ignored, made fun of, or treated unfairly because they are different. Find something nice you can do for them (invite them to sit with you at lunch, take them a meal, or help them with a chore) and then invite them to come to church with you. Your kindness might be the very thing that encourages them to follow Jesus.