Revelation 7:9-10 reveals a future scene in heaven.
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
Did you catch that? Heaven will be inhabited by people from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages.
Question: How will people from every nation, tribe, people & language get there?
It won’t be by accident. God has been planning worldwide worship from the beginning. In the very first book of the Bible, God instructed Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply… (Genesis 1:28). Why? For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. (Habakkuk 2:14)
After the flood, God repeated the command to Noah: Be fruitful and multiply. (Genesis 9:7) Later, God told Abraham that all nations would be blessed through him. (Genesis 12:1-2). God repeated that promise to Abraham’s son, Isaac, and grandson, Jacob. (Genesis 26:4, 28:14)
Multiplication holds incredible potential for growth. Think about how a person’s descendants multiply as each generation passes. For example, Joe and Pam have two children who have 2 children each who have 2 children each. After three generations, Joe and Pam’s descendants have increased from two to fourteen! They have been fruitful and multiplied their physical legacy.
Spiritually speaking, the concept is the same. God has chosen to make worshippers of all nations by multiplying worshippers through their spiritual legacies.
It is called discipleship. Examples fill the pages of scripture: Moses discipled Joshua. Elijah discipled Elisha, Eli discipled Samuel. John the Baptist discipled many, and Paul discipled Timothy.
Jesus compared the power of multiplication to the growth of a mustard seed (the smallest of all seeds) into a strong tree full of branches and leaves (Luke 13:18-19). Maybe you feel as spiritually significant as a mustard seed right now. But that is the beauty of God’s design. He chooses the small, seemingly insignificant people in this world and does mighty things through them.
Consider the power of multiplication in the book of Acts. Chapter six tells us, “the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem exceedingly” (Acts 6:7). The momentum of multiplication powered a mighty mission movement in the Church. And the mission movement empowered multiplication. Even in the midst of great persecution, “the word of God grew and multiplied” (Acts 12:24). After just three decades, the early church had experienced 400% growth! Do you feel the power of multiplication?
The task of discipleship is not busy-work; it is the work. Jesus issued only one plan to achieve worldwide worship: making disciples. He banked his entire ministry on it. And He will not return until people from all nations respond to the gospel. (Matthew 24:14)