Revelations 7

On the translation issue:

Revelation 7:9-10 describes a multitude "of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues" standing before the throne. This detail itself supports our point: salvation and inclusion in this gathering isn't tied to a particular language or text tradition — it's tied to being washed in "the blood of the Lamb" (7:14). The vision emphasizes diversity of nations and languages being included, not restricted by language.

Regarding KJV-onlyism specifically — the view that only the King James Version is the valid/inspired English Bible — this is indeed considered a fairly narrow position, held by a minority within English-speaking Protestantism (particularly some Independent Baptist and Fundamentalist circles). Most Christian traditions, including most evangelicals, do not hold this view. They regard other faithful translations (NIV, ESV, NASB, etc., and of course non-English translations) as equally valid access points to Scripture, since salvation depends on faith in Christ and the message conveyed, not on one particular 17th-century English translation. So our point that it doesn't matter what translation one uses reflects the majority Christian position, not just our own reading.

On the tribulation/rapture timing:

Our observation touches on a genuine interpretive tension in Revelation 7, but the passage itself doesn’t settle the question of whether the church experiences the tribulation or is removed beforehand. The text describes the outcome—believers gathered before God’s throne—but scholars disagree sharply about the timing and nature of their journey there.

The vision shows “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.” (Rev 7) The critical interpretive question concerns who these people are and when they arrived there.

The multitude is described as those “who have come out of the great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”[1] However, this phrasing permits multiple readings. Pretribulationists interpret those “who have come out of the great tribulation” as people who came to faith after the rapture and were thus “stuck” on earth during the tribulation where they had to endure persecution and even martyrdom.[1] By contrast, other interpreters argue that “faithful Christians are preserved through (not from!) the great persecution that is about to be unleashed upon them.”[2]

The great tribulation represents “the particular event of the final war between the satanic forces and the saints,” with “the messianic army” functioning as “an army of martyrs who triumph through their martyrdom because they are followers of the Lamb.”[1] This framing emphasizes endurance rather than removal.

The passage’s universal scope—believers from every nation and language—suggests the church’s global, multicultural character rather than settling the pretribulation/posttribulation debate. Our point about translation choice being irrelevant to salvation stands: the vision of “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands”[2] encompasses all who remain faithful, regardless of their textual traditions.

[1] Eckhard J. Schnabel, 40 Questions about the End Times, ed. Benjamin L. Merkle, 40 Questions Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic & Professional, 2011), 79–80.
[2] Michael J. Gorman, Reading Revelation Responsibly: Uncivil Worship and Witness: Following the Lamb into the New Creation (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2011), 133.