The Lamb and the 144,000 - Revelation 14:1-5
INTRODUCTION:
This morning we just begin our study of Revelation 14, then next week we will focus on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the cornerstone of our faith, but today as we come to chapter 14 it begins to bring us to a conclusion of the material found in chapters 12-14. Chapter 12 introduced us to important characters of the Great Tribulation period. Chapter 13 which we looked at over the last two weeks introduced us to the two evil human characters of the Great Tribulation, the Antichrist and his false prophet, this morning we enter chapter 14 the theme is ultimate triumph of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is important to understand that the material presented in these three chapters is not given to us in chronological order but prepares the way for the climax which begins in chapter 15. Chapter 14 consists of a series of declarations and visions that assure us of the ultimate triumph of Jesus Christ and the judgment of the wicked, those who led the rebellion against God and those who followed them. Much of chapter 14 is prophetic of events that have not taken place, but I believe are not that far in the future for us.
This chapter begins with the assurance that Jesus Christ, the Lamb will ultimately stand in triumph on Mount Zion with His followers, which we will look at this morning, and then that is followed by a series of announcements of judgment upon the wicked which we will look at after Easter. Let’s pray and get into our passage of Scripture for this morning.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles this morning to Revelation 14, this morning we will only cover the first five verses. Please stand if you are able for the reading of God’s Word and follow along while I read.
Revelation 14:1-5,
“Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps. And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been purchased from the earth. These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb. And no lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless.” (Revelation 14:1–5, NASB95)[1]
A VISION OF MOUNT ZION (Revelation 14:1)
This chapter opens with a phrase that John uses frequently in the book of Revelation to introduce a new vision or to announce a startling, dramatic event. He says, “Then I looked, and behold…” (Revelation 14:1a, NASB95)[2] He says “behold” because after the horror of the last chapter with its two beasts and their rule over the whole earth, John is startled by what he sees because He knows what it means, it means that what he saw in chapter 13 will not last forever, the 42 months will come to an end.
What is it that John sees that gives him this assurance? He sees the Lamb standing on Mount Zion. This is a monumental moment in redemptive history, to see the Lamb standing on Mount Zion means that the end of the times of the Gentiles has come, the Lamb has triumphed and has taken His stand on Mount Zion claiming that He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. Psalm chapter 2 foretells of this event, listen to the words of the psalmist, “Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, ‘Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!’ He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them. Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury, saying, ‘But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.’ ‘I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.”’ Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the Lord with reverence And rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!” (Psalm 2:1–12, NASB95)[3] The first three verses speak of the world as it now is and will be until the end. The rest of the psalm speaks of the triumph of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ as He rules the earth from His throne in Jerusalem.
Back to Revelation 14, standing with the Lamb on Mount Zion were the 144,000 having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads. Who is this 144,000? The bondservants of God who were sealed back in chapter 7, 12,000 from the 12 tribes of Israel, here we are told the seal was the name of the Lamb and the name of His Father. They were sealed before the great tribulation began, sealed that they might be protected through the great tribulation. Satan will desperately try to kill these fearless men, but God will not permit them to be harmed.
This group will be the most triumphant group of men the world has ever known. They will come out of the worst time in the history of man, they will survive the great tribulation, they will be battle weary but triumphant. These 144,000 will not be the only ones redeemed during the tribulation. There will be a great host of others, both Jews and Gentiles will be saved. Many of them will die as martyrs when the Antichrist unleashes his vicious persecution on those who will not worship him. Those who somehow live through the tribulation and escape death will enter the millennial kingdom. The unique thing about these 144,000 Jewish men is that everyone of them survives, not one is lost. As the Lord Jesus Christ takes His place of authority on Mount Zion they will be there with Him. They will enter the millennial kingdom as living men. This vision was John’s assurance that all would be well, that evil would not prevail, and God would be faithful to keep His promises to Israel.
A VOICE FROM HEAVEN (Revelation 14:2-3)
As John continues to look upon this scene on Mount Zion he hears a voice from heaven, the voice was like the sound of many waters, possibly like the waves of the ocean crashing against the rocky cliffs of the island of Patmos where John was imprisoned. John wanting us to understand how loud this voice was says it was like the sound of loud thunder, but the sound had a musical quality to it like the sound of harpists playing their harps. John goes onto tell us that this is not one voice, but many voices singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. Who is this group that is singing this new song? In the same chapter where we were first introduced to the 144,000, Revelation 7, we also learned of an innumerable multitude from every nation, tribe, people and tongues that was standing before the throne and one of the elders told John that this multitude was the ones who came out of the great tribulation. They are the ones who were murdered by the Antichrist’s decree to kill those who refused to worship him, they died as martyrs. I believe these are the voices that John hears singing this new song. What this new song is about we do not know, the words are not given to us, is it a song of redemption, is it a song of exultation that the tribulation has ended and the 1000-year reign of Jesus Christ on the earth is about to begin. John goes on to tell us that besides the ones that are singing the new song, no one else can learn it except the 144,000 that have come through the horrors of the Great Tribulation. This is the song of those who have suffered with Christ through the Great Tribulation, many suffering to the point of death. The heavens will resound and overflow with praise because God’s redemptive work culminating in the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to reign as King of kings and Lord of lords is accomplished.
John reminds us that this group of 144,000 sealed by God had been purchased from the earth. Though they are men on the earth, they have been purchased from the earth and do not belong to the earthly things, they belong only to the Lamb and to His Father. They will be connected to the Lamb and His earthly rule. These will be men in human flesh with the open seal of Lamb and of His Father on their foreheads. This 144,000 is the elect remnant of the old nation of Israel, God always promised that He would preserve a remnant for Himself among the Israelites. Paul speaks of Israel accepting Jesus Christ as their Messiah “as life from the dead” in Romans 11. This remnant will usher in that acceptance in the 1000-year reign of Christ. Finally, this group is in touch with heaven as it knows the new song that is sung there. Being purchased from the earth by the blood of the Lamb brings about purity of life in this 144,000.
A VIEW OF THE 144,000 (Revelation 14:4-5)
The worship of the Antichrist during the Great Tribulation will be disgustingly vile and perverse. The 144,000 will be purchased out of this society and will shine forth in the middle of this darkness as beacons of purity. Despite the immorality that surrounds them on every side during this time, John tells us that they will not be defiled with women, they will keep themselves chaste. The word translated “chaste” is a word that means “to be a virgin.” This group of 144,000 will be men and that the specific sin that they will avoid involves women indicates that sexual purity is in view here. Sexual immorality is everywhere and maybe this is the ploy that Satan uses to try and destroy this group that is sealed by God. They are not detached from the corrupt world system, they are living in it, but what this means is that they will stand apart from the sin of their culture. They will remain pure in a very impure world.
John says that they will be only and completely devoted to the Lamb, they follow Him wherever He goes. They will be loyal to the One who purchased them from the earth, no matter the cost. They are willing to suffer whatever it takes to remain loyal, totally devoted to the Lamb who purchased their lives with His own precious blood. Matthew 16:24 says, “Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.’” (Matthew 16:24, NASB95)[4] The 144,000 took this verse to heart and did just what Jesus asked them to do, they denied themselves and took up their crosses and followed Him with all their heart, soul, mind and strength.
John continues to tell us about this 144,000 and writes that “These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb.” (Revelation 14:4b, NASB95)[5] Jesus Christ is called the first fruits of the resurrection, an assurance that we who die in Christ will also be resurrected from the dead. James tells us that the church saints now are “a kind of first fruits among His creatures.” (James 1:18b, NASB95)[6] First fruits are the first and best of the harvest given to the Lord. First fruits to God and to the Lamb are kingdom words and not salvation words. The millennial kingdom has not yet come, the kingdom is not yet set up. But these 144,000 belong to the kingdom as was seen in their being with the Lamb on Mount Zion. Here we see God’s marvelous grace and keeping power, these Jewish men come alive through the fire of Antichrist’s days to walk as first fruits into the 1000 years – as a guarantee from among men of the reign of heaven on earth. These are the first to usher in the millennial kingdom with the Lamb.
The last thing that John tells us about the 144,000 is “no lie was found in their mouth; they were blameless.” (Revelation 14:5, NASB95)[7] The days of the Antichrist will be days of deceit. Last week we saw how the false prophet deceived them that dwell on the earth with his lies and his false wonders. The 144,000 will not believe the lies of the false prophet or the Antichrist and they will not repeat them. No lie was found in their mouth means that they speak the truth. They will speak the truth to those that dwell on the earth, but like we learned last week from 2 Thessalonians 2:8-12 the earth dwellers will perish because they will not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. Though the truth is spoken to them, and the love of the truth is modeled before them by the 144,000 they chose instead to believe the lies and deceptions of the evil one so that they might take pleasure in wickedness. But as we saw from the beginning of this chapter those who are saved through the Great Tribulation, are those who had a love of the truth. They spoke no lie, they spoke only the truth and they were blameless. Because of their faith in Christ’s death on their behalf, because they trust in God’s power and lead lives characterized by purity, the 144,000 will be blameless. They are not sinless, but their sins have been forgiven by the blood of Jesus Christ, and by His power and in His righteousness, they live above reproach, leading godly lives before all who see them.
CONCLUSION:
Within these first five verses of Revelation 14 John shares with us his vision of Mount Zion, a voice he hears from heaven, and gives us a view of the 144,000 as they are characterized before men. What does this passage teach us today?
First, it teaches that God still has a plan and a program for Israel, He is not done with them yet and He is faithful and will fulfill all the promises made to Abraham and David concerning the nation of Israel
Second, there will be a literal, earthly millennial kingdom that will begin when Christ gloriously returns to the earth, the 144,000 that come through the Great Tribulation will be the remnant of Israel that God has kept for Himself to bring about the restoration of the nation of Israel for the 1000-year reign of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Third, the godly lives of these men should encourage us as we live in this darkening world to live lives characterized by purity, truthfulness, seeking by the Holy Spirit to live blameless lives as a witness to the world and out of love for our Savior, as we wait for His appearing for us to take us home to be with Him.
[1]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[2]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[3]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[4]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[5]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[6]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[7]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995