Multitude that will stand in front of the throne
Pope Francis kisses a statue of the baby Jesus Christ during the 'Te Deum' prayer for the year 2018, in St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican in 2018.
Perhaps you have heard the hymn: “When the Saints Go Marching In”. In Christian tradition, today we remember all our brothers and sisters who have gone before us. We mark the event with the sign of faith.
I want to be there in that number that will stand before the throne. I suppose you want the same thing. More importantly, it is God himself who wants it. As St Paul wrote to Timothy (2:4) “He wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
What is “that number”? It’s the one mentioned in the Book of Revelation, where it describes St John having a vision of heaven: (7:9): “I saw that there was a huge number, impossible for anyone to count, of people from every nation, race, tribe and language.
White robes
They were standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palms in their hands. They shouted in a loud voice, ‘Salvation to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
What do you have to do to be there in that number? First, believe in Jesus Christ. As we read in Romans (10:9): “If your lips confess that Jesus is the Lord and if you believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, then you will be saved ... For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Jesus described what it means to believe ‘in your heart’, saying: “It is not those who say to me, ‘Lord!’ who will enter the kingdom heaven, but those who do the will of my Father in heaven.”
