The passage
      v9. John sees the Great Multitude standing before the throne of God. They are wearing white robes and holding palm branches. This is probably a victory image. The victory, in Christ, is won. So, the whole church, all believers, the redeemed, stand before the throne dressed as a victorious people.
      v10. The shout of the redeemed identifies the one who has secured for them this place of honour.
      v11-12. The angels respond to the shout of the redeemed by falling before the Lord, saying "Amen" and ascribing seven attributes to God.
      v13. John is now prompted by one of the elders to question "who are they", this "great multitude"?
      v14. A twofold answer is given: i] They are those who "have come (and are coming) out of the great tribulation." This tribulation is not just the last great tribulation when evil is fully revealed, rather it includes the past and present tribulation of the church, constantly facing the struggle of good against evil. Evil is seemingly the master, but in fact, God is the master, exercising his reign through the suffering community of Christ; ii] They are those who have been redeemed, perfected in Christ, justified on the basis of his death and resurrection.
      v15. The situation and role of the redeemed in the heavenlies is now described. The place is described as a temple, but as there is no temple we can best understand it as the sanctuary or dwelling-place of God. In this place the redeemed have access and thus must serve as priests providing access for others. This is possibly what is meant by serving God in the sanctuary. The description is certainly not one of static inactivity. The "tent over them" illustrates the all-protecting presence of God.
      v16. The situation is described in the most beautiful of terms. First, a list of negatives gives us an idea of the fulfillment we can expect in the age to come. Does this mean that in the eternal kingdom we will face no times of trouble, that we will be at complete rest and in complete peace? This may well be so, but the descriptives may also reveal to us that we will no longer be at the mercy of our fleshly nature, nor will our material environment slowly break us. We will no longer be at the mercy of our fleshly limitations, nor the onward rush of circumstance.
      v17. On the positive side, Jesus will guide us into the very presence of the Lord God, satisfying us fully with his divine presence and supporting us in our every need.

Out of the heat
      The limitations of the present moment are hard for us to accept. None of us are in total control of our psychological self, our spiritual self, or the circumstances around us.
      Our feelings so often dictate our actions. We feel our way through a situation and then justify it. We are corrupted by sin.
      Our spiritual life is similarly deprived and out of control. We desire to know God and to serve him, but so often he seems distant from us, beyond our reach, and as we try to live for him we find ourselves compromised beyond recognition. Indeed, we "thirst" after his presence, we desire to be united to him, to be one with him, and yet our lives seem parched.
      The circumstances of life are similarly out of control. In the face of the surge of life's daily grind we cannot help but feel lost and alone, filled with fear. It is hard indeed to accept such limitations.
      Against the limitations of the present moment there stands the reality of the age to come. This reality is powerfully presented in the passage before us. John's vision captures the gathering of God's people in the last day. This vision lifts our eyes from the horror of the opened seals - the mystery of chaos. The mystery of chaos is our present experience. The older we get the more we recognize the chaos around us. The queues get longer, the traffic jams heavier, the political game increasingly cynical. The crowd of people who stand before the throne of God came through this tribulation, through times of trouble and persecution. They are a saved people. In the presence of our Lord God they stand enshrouded in his divine power. They now have no limitations. They will never again hunger and thirst for the presence of the Lord. Never again will the heat of desire or circumstance scorch them.
      So then, as we face the mystery of chaos, remember that the darkness of tribulation will pass and a new day will come, yes is even here. In that day the Shepherd will lead us to springs of rejuvenating water and God will wipe away every tear from our eyes.

v9
      ariqmhsai (ariqmew) inf. "[no one could] count" - number. The infinitive is complementary, completing the sense of "was able." The crowd was too large to count. Who are they? It is often argued that they are the martyrs of the church, but this is unlikely. They are the believers of the last generation that came through the great tribulation, but in John's mind this is probably his generation, and in reality, every generation up till the end of time.
      eJstwteV (iJsthmi) perf. part. "standing [before the throne]" - standing. The participle is adjectival, describing the "great multitude" "who were standing." To "stand before" often means to "attend upon" as if a servant.

v10
      hJ swthria tw/ qew/ hJmwn "Salvation belongs to our God" - salvation to our God. There is no verb, but can be translated as a verbal phrase, "we are saved by our God." In the context, the salvation refers to coming safely through the tribulation. God has brought us through life's trials to stand safely before him. Note, the tribulation is properly Satan's last-ditched confrontation with Christ and his redeemed, but of course, the timing of this confrontation depends on how "realized" our eschatology is.

v11
      epesan (piptw) ....... epi ta proswpa autwn "they fell down on their faces" - fell [before the throne] on the faces of them. They lay down and prostrated themselves; they lay down prostrated; they lay face down before the throne.
      prosekunhsan (proskunew) aor. "worshiped" - did obeisance.

v12
      tw/ qew/ hJmwn eiV "be to our God" - to our God. There is again no verb in this sentence, but as a verbal phrase the verb to-be is added for meaning. The attributes are ascribed to God directly, "be to God", or better are confirmed, "belong to God."

v13
      apekriqh (apokrinomai) .... legwn (legw) aor. .... part. "asked" - answered ...... saying. Typical Greek form for a direct statement: the aorist of the verb to "say/answer" + participle "saying" = spoke and said, asked, turned and asked, turned and said ......

v14
      eirhka (airw) autw/ perf. "I answered" - I have said to him.
      kurie mou "sir" - lord of me. A respectful address to an important person.
      su oidaV (ouda) "[sir] you know" - The purpose of the question in v13 is to show that John does not have the answer to the vision and therefore needs divine interpretation. Therefore, the TEV carries the sense well with "'I don't know, sir, You do,' I answered."
      eplunan (eplunw) aor. "they have washed" - they washed. The tense is controlled by the main verb "are [the ones coming]", translated "have come." The main verb is translated as past tense since the verb is taken as one of past reference. This serves to counter the wrong impression that the ones who have come through the tribulation are limited to believers from the present and future. John is now told how it is that the redeemed are victorious. They have personally identified with the sacrifice of Jesus and have been purified by it.
      en tw/ aJmarti "in the blood" - in/with/by the blood. Here the preposition takes an instrumental sense. The blood, meaning the sacrifice of Jesus, is the instrument by which the cleansing takes place.

v15
      enwpion tou qronou "before the throne" - The blessings of the victorious redeemed are listed, v15-17. This first blessing describes ease of access to God.
      latreuousin (latreuw) pres. "serve" - Thankfully the NIV properly translates this word as "serve", as do many other translations, eg. TEV, RSV, NEB ("minister"), but sadly the NRSV opts for "worship" (shame on them). It is annoying when the word "worship", meaning adoration, is confused with the word serve/minister. We are privileged to serve the Lord eternally.
      tw/ naw/ (oV) "temple" - temple, palace. There is no temple in the eternal kingdom, 21:22, but there is the realm of God's eternal habitation, call it temple if you wish!
      skhnwsei (sknhow) fut. "will spread his tent [over them]" - will tent [upon/over them]. Will cover, or even dwell over them, and therefore "will shelter them with his presence", possibly even "will live with them and protect them."

v16
      ou peinasousin (peinaw) eti oude diyhsousin (diyaw) eti "never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst" - they will not hunger anymore nor thirst anymore. This image reflects our daily struggle for survival, and harks back to Israel's wilderness journey. The ancients would easily identify with the image, but what of affluent Westerners? Where lays our struggle? The image of the cooling of the desert-sun's scorching heat, is similarly not that powerful for an airconditioned Westerner. For us it is the end of traffic jams, cues, 9 to 5, aircraft holding patterns, crowds, real estate agents, lawyers, high-rise units, .......