NOTES for Rev 7:2-4

Today we commemorate not one saint, not two, not even twenty: we commemorate all the saints. The number one hundred and forty-four thousand given by John does not signify a specific quantity, but fullness. Who are they, the saints? Where do they come from, and how do they attain holiness? Today’s reading answers this question. First, they “have come out of the great tribulation.” This is important for us when we say that keeping the commandments is very difficult. It was not easy for the saints. Their path was by no means strewn with roses. They passed through the path of tribulation, but attained the light of Christ. The second very important point is the source of holiness. With what did they wash their robes? With a virtuous life? No. With repentance? Not that either. With the blood of the Lamb. Repentance by itself and virtue by itself would have no power were it not for the Blood of Christ. The source of all holiness is He, and He alone.