<h3>THE REWARD OF THE FAITHFUL</h3>
<p>After that I saw a vast host, which no one could count, from
every nation and tribe and people and language, standing before
the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, with palm
branches in their hands. They cried aloud, "It is to our God who
is seated on the throne and to the Lamb that we owe our salvati<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[327]</SPAN></span>on!"</p>
<p>Then one of the elders turned to me and said: "Who are these
dressed in white robes, and from where have they come?" I said
to him, "You know, my lord." So he told me, "These are the people
who have come through the great persecution and have washed their
robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this
reason they are now before the throne of God and serve him day
and night within his temple. He who is sitting on the throne will
shelter them; never again will they be hungry or thirsty; never
again will the sun or any scorching heat smite them, for the Lamb
that stands in the space before the throne will be their shepherd
and will guide them to fountains of living water; and God will wipe
away all tears from their eyes."</p>
<p>Then I saw another angel flying in mid-heaven with an eternal
message of good news for the inhabitants of the earth, for every
nation, tribe, language, and people. He cried aloud, "Revere
God, praise him, for the hour of his judgment has come. Worship
him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the flowing
springs."</p>
<p>And I saw a great white throne and One seated upon it from
whose presence earth and sky fled away, and were no more to be
found. And I saw the dead, the great and the lowly, standing before
the throne. Then books were opened; also another book, the
Book of Life, was opened, and the dead were judged by what was
written in the books according to what they had done. The sea
gave up its dead, and Death and the Abode of the Departed also
gave up their dead, and all were judged according to what they had
done.</p>
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