Give God What He's Paid For (Revelation 14:1-5) Series

Over the past few weeks, as we've worked our way through Revelation 11-13 in particular, we've seen one theme repeated over and over: God's people will suffer. People who are have been purchased by blood of Jesus, who follow Jesus faithfully, will pay for that faithfulness in lots of ways. We will be given the Bud Light treatment, being harmed financially, as certain people refuse to do business with us. We will be thrown in prison. We will be killed. And when we die violently, our deaths will be celebrated. People will act like it's Christmas, and give each other gifts, when we get killed (Revelation 11:10).

Now, most of us in this room have only experienced low-grade persecution, at worst. It stings when we are excluded from fun things, or when we are talked about behind our backs, or when we find ourselves on the fringes of social groups. But even low-level persecution is enough, sometimes, to make us wonder if following Jesus is worth it. And if the persecution got far worse, how would we respond? When the time comes, will be faithfully die a non-violent death, resisting the urge to pick up our guns and defend ourselves? Or will we denounce Jesus, and accept the mark of the beast? Will we compromise, to put food on the table for our families?

We'd like to think we know the answer to these questions. But until we are in it, we really don't. So Revelation, for the last three chapters in particular, has been forewarning us about how life on earth works, throughout the life of the church. And this forewarning helps us prepare ourselves, and steel ourselves, to make the right decision.

This week's passage, chapter 14, builds on all of this, but it comes at it from a slightly different angle. Revelation 14 basically answers one question: "Is following Jesus worth it?"

It answers this question by giving us a picture of what happens on the other side of all of our suffering. If we are faithful, what is our final fate? What happens on the other side of the grave?

Now, this is not the first symbolic picture we've seen of the end, and it won't be the last. But this one, again, is designed to answer the question: "Is following Jesus worth it?"

Before we dive in, I should say that this is another example of where it would be best to work through the entire chapter, all at once. The chapter as a whole answers this question by giving us two pictures-- the first, is of the faithful church, triumphant with Jesus. The second picture, is of the final judgment of people who serve the Beast. And the two pictures fit together, and play off each other.

But this is a complicated chapter, and there's lots of different ideas floating around about what it means. So I my plan is to divide it into two parts. So this week, we will read only Revelation 14:1-5. Next week, we'll loop back, and cover the whole chapter.

So. Verse 1:

(1) and I saw,

and LOOK! The Lamb standing upon Mount Zion!,

and with him 144,000, having his name and the name of his Father having been written upon their foreheads,

John "sees" two things here. The first, is "The Lamb standing upon Mount Zion." We know the Lamb is Jesus. That part's easy. But what exactly is Mount Zion?

On a literal level, Mount Zion is a physical location. It's the place where the temple was built. It's often used as a second way of speaking about Jerusalem itself, in poetry (Gregory Beale, Revelation, 732, lists 2 Kgs. 19:31; Isa. 4:2–3; 10:12, 20; 37:30–32; Joel 2:32 [= 3:5]; Obad. 17, 21; Mic. 4:5–8; Pss. 48:2, 10–11; 74:2, 7, as key passages).

But it becomes more than that, in biblical thought. In the prophets, Mount Zion is described as being the place of final salvation. It becomes a way of speaking about a better future, where God's faithful remnant will find healing, and safety, and comfort. It's the place where lives can be rebuilt on the other side of suffering. Let's read two different OT passages (partly as an excuse to work in Hebrew; it's been a while):

Joel 3 (Hebrew numbering; I think this is 2:28ff in English Bibles):

(1) And then, after this, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,

and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.

Your old people, dreams they will dream.

Your young people, visions they will see,

(2) and, what's more, to the [male] servants and to the female servants in those days, I will pour out my Spirit,

(3) that I will give wonders in the heavens and on earth-- blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.