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.
(4) The sun will be turned to darkness,
while the moon, to blood before the day of Yahweh comes-- great and fearful--,
(5) and then, everyone who calls on the name of Yahweh will escape/slip away (1 Sam. 20:29),
because on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be an escape,
just as Yahweh said,
and among the remnant whom Yahweh is calling.
What we see in Joel 3, is a great promise. One day, Yahweh is coming in judgment of the earth. This is the "day of Yahweh," a great and fearful day. But on that day, the people who are faithful to Yahweh, and call on him (rather than some other god) will escape. They'll slip away, and find safety on Mount Zion. What we see here, is Israel being divided into two groups of people (not all of Israel is Israel; cf. Romans 9:8), and calling the faithful remnant to himself.
Now let's read from Micah 4:1-8:
(1) And then, at the end of the days, the mountain of the house of Yahweh will be established/fixed as the highest/head of the mountains,
and it will be lifted up above the hills,
and waters will flow to it,
(2) and many nations will come,
and they will say,
"Let us go,
and let us ascend to the Mount of Yahweh
and to the House of the God of Jacob,
that He may teach us from his ways/roads,
and that we may walk in his paths,
because from Zion, instruction ("Torah") will come out,
while the word of Yahweh, from Jerusalem,"
(3) and He will exercise authority between many peoples,
and He will decide/arbitrate between mighty nations, including/up to those far away,
and they will hammer their swords into plowshares,
while their spears into pruning knives.
Nation will not lift up, against a nation, a sword,
and they will no longer learn war,
(4) and each man will dwell under his own vine, and under his own fig tree,
and no one will frighten [them],
because the mouth of Yahweh of Armies has spoken.
(5) because/although all the peoples will come/walk, each one in the name of his god (elohim),
while we come/walk in the name of Yahweh our God (elohim) forever and ever.
(6) On that day, utterance of Yahweh, I will gather the lame,
while the outcasts, I will gather,
and the ones whom I have injured/treated harshly,
(7) and I will make the lame into a remnant,
while the outcasts, into a strong nation,
and Yahweh will reign over them on Mount Zion from this time, up to forever/eternity,
(8) while you, Migdal-eder, O hill of Daughter Zion, to you it shall come,
and the former dominion shall come,
the kingdom for Daughter Jerusalem.
So Mount Zion is the place where Yahweh will reign over his people forever. Where He will gather the lame, and the outcasts. Where Yahweh will settle disputes, so that wars don't ever break out. Where people can live in peace in their backyards, taking breaks under their own fig trees. Happiness, is a quiet, safe place where you can sit under the shade, and enjoy the fruit of your labor. And that place, is Mount Zion.
These are the kinds of ideas that we are meant to think about, when we hear the words "Mount Zion" in Revelation 14:1. When we see the Lamb standing upon Mount Zion, we are seeing what life looks like on the other side of suffering, and being outcasts, and being defeated. We see a day of prosperity, and peace, and protection.
And that day, is ushered in by the Lamb.
Let's reread 14:1:
(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,
Everyone in Revelation has a tattoo on their forehead. The last two chapters, we've been reading about those who have the mark of the Beast on their foreheads. The mark shows possession, and ownership. You get the mark, by bowing down to the Beast. In the first century, this concretely meant by bowing down to statues of the emperor, or other idols, and worshipping them. Even today, there is a line you can't cross. We don't pledge allegiance to any human empire, because our allegiance belongs to the Lamb.
So over the last couple of chapters, we've read a lot about the mark of the Beast. Now, Revelation reminds us about the seal of God written on the foreheads of the faithful. The church is owned by the Lamb, and by the Father. That's our tattoo.
Now, I say that, but each of us has to make sure that we have the right tattoo on our forehead. Who owns you?
Who do you belong to, really?
So in verse 1, John "sees" this picture. In verses 2-3, John "hears" something. And just like elsewhere in the book of Revelation, there is an interplay between what John hears and sees. They interpret each other. Verse 2:
(2) and I heard a sound from heaven [what John hears, interprets what he sees]
like the sound of many waters, [Rev. 1:15; Ezekiel 1:24; 43:2; loud]
and like the sound of great thunder, [Rev. 4:5; 6:1; 8:5; 11:19; powerful]
and the sound that I heard was like harpists playing on their harps, [sounds good]
John hears this incredibly loud sound in heaven. The fact that it's in heaven (along with the interplay between seeing and hearing) tells us that the Mount Zion we just read about, isn't a physical location in Jerusalem. It's a heavenly Mount Zion.
So John hears this ridiculously loud sound. It's like many waters together-- like Niagra Falls, where you can't even hear yourself. It's like a thunderstorm, with booming thunder.
At the same time, this sound is beautiful-- it's kind of like harps.
Now, depending on how old we are (smirking), this surprises us. Usually, something can either be loud, or it can be pleasing to the ears. But sounds can't be both. There comes a point where you have to choose, one or the other. And even teenagers driving down the road with subwoofers in their trunk, eventually learn this truth.
But this sound is different. It's super loud, and it sounds amazing.
What is this sound?
Verse 3:
(3) and they are singing [something] like a new song before the throne
and before the four living creatures and the elders,
and no one was able to learn the song, except only the 144,000-- the ones having been purchased from the earth.
This sound, is the sound of worship. So we see the 144,000 singing a new song before the throne. They sing loud. They sing well.
And they sing a new song.
Why something new?
In general, humans write new songs when they have new experiences. A pop star breaks up with her boyfriend, and you know in a few months there's going to be a catchy new tune on the radio about how she doesn't need a dude to buy her flowers or hold her hand. She can hold her own hand, thank you very much. Or if a rock star finds himself struggling with depression, and loneliness, you'll find yourself hearing this dark, haunting, song on the radio in a few months. New experiences, lead to new songs. That's just how God has wired human beings.
Here, the 144,000 have a new song, because God has done a new, amazing thing for them (and this is how it works in the Bible as well; new situations-- good or bad-- and new acts of deliverance, are what lead to new songs). They've passed through the dark times of tribulation. They've been boycotted, and jailed, and killed. They've been treated as enemies of the state. All of that is in the past, because the Lamb has rescued them out of that. Now, they find themselves standing with the Lamb in Mount Zion, free from fear. Free to prosper.
That's worth singing loud about.
Now, in the last line of verse 3, John adds something else to his description. This song can only be learned by the 144,000. And so we find that there's a second "mark" that separates humanity into two groups: those who belong to God, and to the Lamb, are able to learn this song, and those who belong to the Beast, can't.
Some of us are more musical than others. You see black notes on white pages, and they mean something to you. You can hear the music, by just looking at a piece of a paper (an interplay between seeing and hearing, lol). And you can even sit down at a piano, or with some other instrument, and sight-read it without any help. Others of us need to be walked through it, step by step, note by note. But we aren't completely hopeless; eventually most of us can learn anything, and sing anything.
Now, if you've ever been a part of a choir, one of the things you'll realize is that some of the songs are really stupid. Others, are about things that you strongly disagree with. They might be beautiful songs. They might be fun to sing. But you just can't think too much about the words, because you completely disagree with them. John Lennon's song, "Imagine," is a good example of this. He imagines a world where there's no countries, and no violence, and no religion, and no possessions. It's like a socialist utopia. No one owns anything. No one worships anyone. And somehow, because there is no ownership and no religion, everyone gets along.
It's one of the catchiest songs of all time. There's a reason high school choirs sing it. But it's a flawed, stupid, and misguided song.
And if you're in a high school choir, taking choir for credit, you have to sing it. You find yourself singing a song, despite yourself, even though the words aren't true to you.
At the same time, in ND at least, some high school choirs still sing songs about God, and Jesus. And high schoolers who don't have God's seal on their forehead find themselves in the same situation. They are singing about someone they have no relationship with. Someone who they maybe don't even believe exists. But they are in a choir where you're expected to sing songs, even if your heart doesn't match your mouth. And so they sing, because they want an "A."
With this song in Revelation, sung by the 144,000, the heart has to match the mouth. If you haven't been purchased by God, AND faithfully followed Jesus, you can't learn the song. There can be no disconnect between the heart and mouth, for this song.
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A great quote by J. Ramsey Michaels, Revelation, vol. 20, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1997), Re 14:1–5:
What distinguishes these 144,000 from the rest of the human race is something very simple. They are able to learn a song (v. 3).
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Now, if we remember Revelation 7, we feel pretty good at this point about the identity of the 144,000. They are the people of God, true Israel, made up of people from every tongue, and tribe, and nation. It's the church. We know that we are the 144,000.
But verses 4-5 add to this, in a surprising way. I'll warn you that these are hard verses, and then, once you understand them, they are uncomfortable verses:
(4) These ones are the ones with women not being defiled.
For virgins, they are.
These ones [are] the ones following the Lamb wherever he goes.
These ones were purchased from people/humanity-- firstfruits to God and to the Lamb,
(5) and in their mouth there wasn't found a lie.
Unblemished/blameless, they are.
When you look at the 144,000 on the far side of their suffering on earth, when they've gone to be with Jesus, they have several identifying marks. We could call this, "Six marks of the 144,000."
The first and second marks, seem to be about sexual purity. A literal reading of this shows that only men are part of the 144,000. Women, by default, are defiled, and defiling. So only men who are virgins, get to stand with Jesus on Mt. Zion. And we maybe find ourselves thinking, it's no wonder there's only 144,000.
But we aren't supposed to try to understand this literally. It's symbolic language. And what we are seeing here, is rooted in the symbolic world of the priesthood, and sacrifice, in the OT. So we find ourselves getting excited, because we know we're about to get into some super interesting stuff.
In the OT, only men could be priests. I'm not sure why, and that's a pot I'm not looking to stir this morning. But in the OT, even though all Israelites were priests, and God was making a kingdom of priests for himself (Exodus 19:6-- not just a NT idea), the priests at the temple were all men.
So men were the priests, and God was particular about how those male priests lived. The main passage that talks about this is Leviticus 21. I'll let you read the whole thing later, if you'd like-- I'll just summarize it (for the sake of time).
What we see there is that priests were expected to live holy, dedicated ("consecrated") lives to God. And a major part of what that meant, is that they could only marry certain women. The women had to be virgins, or widows of other priests. [And part of the reason for that, interestingly, is so that the children were holy (Lev. 21:15). For children to be holy in the OT, both parents had to be holy. An interesting contrast to Paul's advice in 1 Corinthians 7:13-14?].
Another key part of what it meant for male priests to be holy, was their physical appearance. Let me read from Leviticus 21:16-23 (these verses were camp favorites, when I was a teenager):
16 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Speak to Aaron and say: No one of your offspring throughout their generations who has a blemish may approach to offer the food of his God. 18 Indeed, no one who has a blemish shall draw near, one who is blind or lame, or one who is mutilated or deformed,[b] 19 or one who has a broken foot or a broken hand, 20 or a hunchback, or a dwarf, or a man with a defect in his eyes or an itching disease or scabs or crushed testicles. 21 No descendant of Aaron the priest who has a blemish shall come near to offer the LORD’s offerings by fire;[c] since he has a blemish, he shall not come near to offer the food of his God. 22 He may eat the food of his God, of the most holy as well as of the holy. 23 But he shall not come near the curtain or approach the altar because he has a blemish, that he may not profane my sanctuaries, for I am the LORD; I sanctify them.” 24 Thus Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons and to all the Israelites.
Any male priest who had some type of physical defect, or blemish, wasn't allowed to bring an offering to God (Lev. 21:18-21). Sometimes, these blemishes were temporary-- if you got some kind of rash, and it cleared, you could rejoin the priestly rotation. But others were permanent-- if you were missing a toe, or finger, you weren't allowed before God.
So I think what we are seeing in Revelation 14, is a picture of the church, being described in terms of the OT sacrificial system. Jesus died as the sacrificial Lamb. He died, to purchase us, to make us into a kingdom of priests, serving God (Revelation 1:5-6; Revelation 5:9-10). God has purchased us to be the firstfruits, dedicated to God. We are the sacrifice. We are the tithe. And when we offer our lives to God, God expects those lives to be unblemished. We live consecrated, dedicated, holy lives.
And what's the huge blemish that Revelation keeps talking about? The mark of the beast. The mark you get from worshipping the emperor, and serving human empire, is a terrible blemish. Anyone who has that mark, doesn't end up with Jesus.
So, again, when the 144,000 are described as male virgins, undefiled by women, it's symbolic language, that builds on Leviticus 21. In the OT, male priests were only allowed to marry virgins, and the widows of priests. But in Revelation, the 144,000 are even more consecrated than that. The only one that we are married to, is Christ.
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Same word I've translated "unblemished," but English Bibles usually translate as "blameless," is found in Lexham English Septuagint, Numbers 6:14: 14 And he will bring his offering to the Lord, a one-year-old unblemished lamb for a burnt offering and a one-year-old unblemished lamb for a sin offering and an unblemished ram for an offering of well-being.
Jesus also presented himself as an "unblemished" offering, Hebrews 9:14.
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At this point, let's reread Revelation 14:5:
(5) and in their mouth there wasn't found a lie/falsehood.
Unblemished/blameless, they are.
One of the marks of the 144,000 standing with Jesus, is that there is no lie, or falsehood, in their mouths. I think what this means, is that while they were on earth, their lips matched their heart. They didn't worship God, and the Beast. They didn't claim to follow Jesus while they were in church, but refuse to tell people about Jesus. They lived for Jesus, with the entirety of their bodies.
So that's Revelation 14:1-5.
Now, let me back up, and ask you a question: Who are the 144,000, who get to stand with Jesus on Mount Zion? [the application could be unpacked more]
You could answer this by saying, "the church." Or, you could say, "People who have been purchased by the blood of Jesus." You could say either of those things, and you're not wrong, exactly. But we need to add to this description.
Getting to be with Jesus is not just about an initial act of conversion. You don't get to be with Jesus, because 40 years ago, you prayed a sinner's prayer, or you were baptized, or you went to confession at least once a year. It's not just about an initial moment of "faith." [All of this is an unpacking of Revelation 13:10: "Here (in the willingness to die) is the steadfastness and the faith(fulness) of the holy ones."]
Faith, and faithfulness toward God, and the Lamb, needs to be an ongoing thing. God sent Jesus to make us into a kingdom of priests, who live holy lives, dedicated to himself. And God expects to get what He paid for. The 144,000 who stand with Jesus, are the ones who didn't compromise themselves with the Beast, whose mouths matched their heart, and who lived in service to God, offering themselves.
That's who ends up triumphing, conquering, on Mount Zion with Jesus, worshipping God in heaven.
So we started today by asking a question: Is it worth it, following the Lamb wherever he goes, being harmed socially, and financially, and physically? Or should we just give in, and be friends with the world, and accept the mark of the Beast?
And these verses strengthen us, and challenge us, and encourage us, to keep your eyes fixed on the goal.
Imagine a future where there is a Mount Zion in heaven, where people live in peace, and prosperity, and security with Jesus.
If you want this to be your destination, how do you live now? If you want to end up with Jesus in the future, you have to follow him now, wherever he goes (Revelation 14:4). Be the kingdom of priests, that God purchased you to be. Live consecrated, unblemished lives. And make sure your mouth matches your heart now, so that your mouth can sing a new song to God later.
Translation:
(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,
(2) and I heard a sound from heaven [what John hears, interprets what he sees]
like the sound of many waters,
and like the sound of great thunder,
and the sound that I heard was like harpists playing on their harps,
(3) and they are singing [something] like a new song before the throne
and before the four living creatures and the elders,
and no one was able to learn the song, except only the 144,000-- the ones having been purchased from the earth.
(4) These ones are the ones with women not being defiled.
For virgins, they are. ["virgins" is focused in the Greek]
These ones [are] the ones following the Lamb wherever he goes.
These ones were purchased from people/humanity-- firstfruits to God and to the Lamb,
(5) and in their mouth there wasn't found a lie.
Unblemished/blameless, they are. ["Unblemished" is focused]
