31. What vision was the apostle John given of the “great crowd” that survives the “tribulation” with the spiritual remnant?

³¹ Besides the remnant of spiritual Israel, or “chosen ones,” there will be survivors of that approaching “great tribulation.” About the year 96 C.E., the aged apostle John was given a vision of these who go through the “great tribulation” in company with the “remnant” of spiritual Israel. Immediately after having a vision of the spiritual sealing of the 144,000 faithful members of spiritual Israel, John proceeds to say:

“And in response one of the elders said to me: ‘These who are dressed in the white robes, who are they and where did they come from?’ So right away I said to him: ‘My lord, you are the one that knows.’ And he said to me: ‘These are the ones that come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. That is why they are before the throne of God; and they are rendering him sacred service day and night in his temple; and the One seated on the throne will spread his tent over them. They will hunger no more nor thirst anymore, neither will the sun beat down upon them nor any scorching heat, because the Lamb, who is in the midst of the throne, will shepherd them, and will guide them to fountains of waters of life. And God will wipe out every tear from their eyes.”—Revelation 7:9, 10, 13-17.

34. Where do those of the “great crowd” expect to enjoy everlasting life, and what acknowledgment do they make of God and of his Lamb?

³⁴ So the “great crowd” does not expect to go to heaven even after surviving the “great tribulation.” Those of the “great crowd” expect the Lamb of God to shepherd them here on earth after the “great tribulation” and guide them to everlasting life in a Paradise earth. They acknowledge the enthroned God of heaven as the Universal Sovereign over all creation. They acknowledge the Messiah Jesus as “the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world” and admit that they owe their salvation to God through his once “slaughtered” Lamb and, by faith and obedience, “they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”