Revelation 14:1, “Then I saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him were 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.”
We live in a world of sheer and utter chaos; in the midst of this chaotic world in which we live in sometimes what we must do; instead of going to take some time in quietness and reflection; what we must do instead is to go to God in prayer. The age in which we are covering; mainly the Tribulation which we will be looking at one component of in Revelation 14:1-5, is among the hardest verses and even more complex is the issue it raises for us today. Some have viewed today Mount Zion as heavenly but also earthly, arguing justly from the same Scriptures. Some have viewed the 144,000 in Revelation 14:1-5 as the same as in Revelation 7. The only problem with such a view of the 144,000 in Revelation 14:1-5 in comparison to these is the description of the 144,000 within Revelation 14:1-5. It is seemingly without question that what we are seeing here is a heavenly Mount Zion. What we could have here is very complex, but fits perfectly into our understanding. Revelation 21 describes a new Jerusalem, and in Scripture Jerusalem is also known as Mount Zion. The stark contrast between Revelation 13 and 14 really makes one take notice. The Apostle John here switches between describing pure evil, and pure good. The best way to view these verses; Revelation 14:1-5; then is to understand that the Mount Zion the Lamb is standing upon and the 144,000 is really the New Jerusalem. This could seemingly then be describing an event prior to the Millennial reign of Christ, or it couldn’t. Many have said that this scene is in heaven; yet we have not gotten through the bowl judgments and the Glorious appearing.
The struggle with this verse is such that it that I merely wish to present some views on these verses, rather than to expound upon it very much in depth. It would seem to me personally that these 144,000 differ simply from Revelation 7 saints for the simple fact that Revelation 7:4 says, “And I heard how many were marked with the seal of God. There were 144,000 who were sealed from all the tribes of Israel:” Yet Revelation 14:1 describes them as, “With him were 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads”, so the real problem lies within our understanding. If we want to view these saints as among the 144,000 then we have a problem. The problem we run into then is that these are merely on earth. From the studies that has been ongoing over the past few months the best of what can be gathered seemingly seems to point to the fact that these saints are “super saints” saints who have made a stand throughout the ages for there faith in Christ. If this is then true, it would clear the confusion for the simple fact that those who were with Christ were those who had completely surrendered to the will and purpose of God for all ages; preach the Word; fulfill the Great Commission; live the Great Commandment and be about the Ultimate Purpose of Christ. It would then lead us to Hebrews 11 which describes these saints and the actions that they have done. It would be these then that made the stand for the faith and were counted among the first to understand as first fruits the great knowledge that comes from following God’s will absolutely.
Yet in contrast again to Revelation 14:1; Revelation 13:16 says, “He required everyone--great and small, rich and poor, slave and free--to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead.” The contrast would be that those who have staked their claims with Christ stand in direct opposition to the Satanic powers and influences of this age. It would be then no surprise those who have truly sought the face of God; among them the Apostle Paul whose life was forever changed would be then counted among those who would be among the 144,000, perhaps much like Daniel staking his life in the understanding of God’s revelation meant that he knew that in the end God would have a special place set aside for the faith he had shown during the hard times? In a real sense what we are trying to do is gain a better insight into the Scriptures within this verse. They are not easy to understand as the Apostle John changes and transitions within the scope of his prophecy; making it very hard to understand clearly what he is saying. Yet this is not hard to understand. Those that take the mark will oppose God just like those who don’t accept Jesus in this age are among those who are agents of Satan and those who have accepted Jesus are those who are agents of the Cross. Then we see clearly that the Apostle is again drawing our attention back to the nature of good verses evil; to the fact that we can really only have one decision; yet that decision will affect our eternity. John is replaying once again for us the timeless message of the Cross for our understanding even within the confines of this great prophecy.
Revelation 14:2, “And I heard a sound from heaven like the roaring of a great waterfall or the rolling of mighty thunder. It was like the sound of many harpists playing together. 3This great choir sang a wonderful new song in front of the throne of God and before the four living beings and the twenty-four elders. And no one could learn this song except those 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.”
Heard a sound from heaven (Revelation 4:1;10:4,8;11:12;12:10), or will it be the last (v.13;18:4;19:1). The voice in which John heard was like the roaring of a great waterfall or the rolling of mighty thunder. Ezekiel 43:2 likens the voice of God to the sound of many waters. While Revelation 1:15 describes the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ in the same way. But since Revelation 19:6 uses both of those phrases to describe the voice of a heavenly multitude, it is best to understand them in that sense here.
This song began in Revelation 4:9-10, with the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders sang, “9And they sang a new song with these words:
"You are worthy to take the scroll
and break its seals and open it.
For you were killed, and your blood has ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation.
10
And you have caused them to become God’s Kingdom and his priests.
And they will reign[1] on the earth."
Then was joined by the angels, “The Lamb is worthy--the Lamb who was killed.
He is worthy to receive power and riches
and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and blessing. (Revelation 5:12). Finally Revelation 5:13 says, 13And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They also sang:
"Blessing and honor and glory and power
belong to the one sitting on the throne
and to the Lamb forever and ever."
Then in Revelation 7:9-10 the Tribulation martys joined in the escalating chorus of praise, “9After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white and held palm branches in their hands. 10And they were shouting with a mighty shout, "Salvation comes from our God on the throne and from the Lamb!"
The reference to harpists and harps suggests that the voice expressed not thunderous judgment but joy. Harps are frequently associated in the Old Testament with joyous praise (2 Samuel 6:5; 1 Chron 13:8; 15:16, 28; 2 Chron 5:12-13; Neh 12:27; Pss. 33:2; 71:22; 144:9; 150:3). This then would lead us to see that the heavens will rejoice, because the Lord Jesus Christ will return triumphantly to establish His millennial reign. The new song in front of the throne of God and before the four living beings and the twenty-four elders is the song of redemption (Pss. 33:1-3; 40:3; 96:1-2; 98:1-2; 144:9-10; 149:1; Isa 42:10). This then would lead us to see that the angels will join the Old Testament saints, the raptured church, and the redeemed Tribulation martyrs in praising God for salvation. While angels do not experience redemption, they do rejoice because of it. (Luke 15:10). Heaven will resound with praise as a direct result of the fact of God’s redemptive purposes being completed as a direct result of the return of Christ.
The song’s restriction to, “No one could learn this song except those 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.” This is best explained by Dr. Henry Morris in The Revelation Record {Wheaton, Ill: Tyndale, 1983}, 260}, “Although the words of the song of the 144,000 are not recorded, it surely dwells in part at least on the great truth that they had been “redeemed from the earth.” Although in one sense all saved people have been redeemed from the earth, these could know the meaning of such a theme in a more profound way than others. They had been saved after the rapture, at that time in history when man’s greatest persecutions and God’s greatest judgments were on the earth. It was at such a time that they, like Noah (Genesis 6:8), had “found grace in the eyes of the Lord” and had been separated from “all that dwell upon the earth” (Revelation 13:8). Not only had they been redeemed spiritually but, percussively as it were, they had been redeemed from the very curse on the earth (Genesis 3:17), being protected frm pain and death by the guarding seal.”
This then could lead us to see that the 144,000 will join with the heavenly chorus in praising God for His marvelous work of salvation. It is plausible then to see that some of the lyrics could be found in Revelation 15:3-4, “3And they were singing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb:
"Great and marvelous are your actions,
Lord God Almighty.
Just and true are your ways,
O King of the nations.[1]
4
Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come and worship before you,
for your righteous deeds have been revealed."
Throughout the ages what have marked triumphant believers is the question of praise. When we praise we evoke the name of God into the time and existence of our humanity. It will no doubt be the same for the 144,00 during the Tribulation, because of their ordeal is now over they are victorious; they will burst forth in praise to God for their deliverance. Joy is the proper outflow of a heart that trusts in God’s sovereign power (Phil 3:1; 4:4; 1 Thess 5:16; James 1:2; 1 Peter 4:13).
Revelation 14:4, “For they are spiritually undefiled, pure as virgins, following the Lamb wherever he goes.”
G.K Beale in NIGTC: The Book of Revelation; p.739 points out, “In the final analysis, it is preferable to understand virgins as a metaphor of all true saints who have not compromised in various ways with the world because they have remained loyal as a virgin bride to her betrothed (as in Revelation 19:7-9; 21:2; 2 Cor 11:2). Of course this must be the case if the conclusion already reached above is correct that the 144,000 represent all true believers. Satake notes that in the only other places in the text where saints surround Christ (8:0, 17; 19:8-9), it is always the whole redeemed community that does so. Additionally, if the 144,000 is a figurative number for completeness, why should not the mention of virgins also be figurative in like manner? Brutsch agrees, though he mentions the possibility that a literal group of virgins could be mentioned as metonymous for the whole redeemed community. That Jerusalem and the picture of a “prepared bride” are both figurative for the entire church in Revelation 21:2 enforces an all-inclusive symbolic interpretation of the virgins here. (Satake Gemeindeordnung, 44; Brutsch Offenbarung II, 157-58). The figurative view is enforced even further by the fact that not only is Jerusalem as a bride based on the OT, but virgin is repeatedly applied to the nation of Israel in the OT “virgin of Israel” and similar phrases in 2 Kings 19:21; Isa 37:22; Jer 14:17; 18:13; 31:4, 13, 21; Lam 1:15; 2:13; Amos 5:2.”
What we then see is that the word virgin could be in the background of Jeremiah 31 in relation to Israel’s future purity in a content in which Israel’s restoration is predicted with themes similar to those of Revelation 14:1:4, to which Beale points out again, “Israel is to sing aloud about its salvation (Jer 31:7), 2) “Shout for joy on the height of Zion” (v.12), where they will be with God (v 6); 3) they have been saved as a “remnant” (v.7); 4) they are God’s firstborn” (v.9). The broad background of Israel as “virgin” may well be in mind is further suggest that beyond the notion of defilement within Revelation 14:4 is OT Israel’s defilement with idolatry and that the same notion is ready at hand in Revelation 14:8-11. Virgin can also be seen as a veiled allusion to the new Israel in 14:4 first admirably with the temptation to commit immorality with national Babylon, which is also figurative in context (14:8).”
What we see here then here is a total submission to the will of God, which lies within understanding what the Great commission is, but not only understanding the Great Commission, but also the Great commandment, and the ultimate purpose of Christ. These are things that these believers understood very well, for these are the direct will of God for every believers life. In them you can find the understanding of being victorious in Christ, for those who are victorious are those who are most aptly living out a demonstrated faith to a world that is Satanic in origin. It was these believers who stood in opposition, overcame because of the faith they had in Christ, and in the promises in Scripture, more than likely through contemplation, solitude, prayer and study of God’s Word. It is the same for us today, for there are no “special believers”, only believers who are victorious in the here and now. This was the mark of the believers here they overcame because they understood; the peril not too. It was they who were described as following the Lamb wherever he goes. Would that be how your family, friends and relatives describe you today dear reader, as following the Lamb wherever He goes?
John Phillips in Exploring Revelation, 180-181 describes such people, “They allow no rivals, no refusals, and no restraint to mar their dedication to Him. Does He need someone to stand upon the steps of the Vatican and cry out against the marriage of Christendom to the Beast? There are 144,000 ready to go! Does the Lord need someone to beard the Beast at some high function of state and roundly denounce him, his policy, his statecraft, his religion, his economic boycott, his mark, his ministers, his alliance with Satan? There are 144,000 eager to go! Does the Lamb need evangelists to proclaim to the untold millions the gospel of the coming kingdom of God? To climb the highest Himalayas, to cross the desert sands, to blaze evangelistic trails through streaming jungles, or to mush huskies across wide artic wastes? There are 144,000 ready to go! And though the Beast Gestapo [sic] dog their footsteps and wreak upon their converts his direst vengeance, yet on they go undaunted and undeterred. That was the very spirit of their consecration as they followed the Lamb whithersoever He lad them on earth, and their reward is in kind.”
Those who wish to follow Christ; be triumphant saints will be those who seek first the Kingdom of God through denying themselves and taking up the Cross and following Him all the way. These saints will be those who have counted the cost, and seen the price of following after the lusts of the world, and its materialism, and be among those who sought the face; sough after the great treasures of knowledge in God’s Word; those who sought the face of God Himself, and in turn were radically changed. These will be the believers who will have the privilege of being marked as Revelation 14:4c, “They have been purchased from among the people on the earth as a special offering to God and to the Lamb.”
Revelation 14:4c, “They have been purchased from among the people on the earth as a special offering to God and to the Lamb.”
Lest anyone misunderstand what is being said here all believers have been purchased by God (Acts 20:28; 1 Cor 6:20; 7:23; 1 Peter 1:18-19), the 144,000 were purchased for a special purpose as a special offering to God and to the Lamb.” Special offering can also be seen as first fruits in NKJV. In the Old Testament the first fruits, the first part of a crop to be harvested, were offered to God (Deut 26:1-11) to be used in His service (Deut 18:3-5). The 144,000 like the first fruits offering will be set apart for divine service. The 144,000 does not symbolize all the Tribulation saints, but rather designates a group of Jewish evangelists. The purpose of their lives will be to serve the Lord by proclaiming the gospel to the lost, perishing, Christ-rejecting world. The 144,000 could very well shadow the national salvation of Israel when Christ returns. Zechariah 12:10 says, “Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on all the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died.” Of that day Paul wrote in Romans 11:25-27, “I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud and start bragging. Some of the Jews have hard hearts, but this will last only until the complete number of Gentiles comes to Christ. 26And so all Israel will be saved. Do you remember what the prophets said about this? "A Deliverer will come from Jerusalem, and he will turn Israel[3] from all ungodliness.27 And then I will keep my covenant with them and take away their sins." Dr. Macarthur points out, “The 144,000 wil exemplify the purpose, decisiveness, dedication and clarity of life goal that marks triumphant Christians (Romans 12:1-2).
Revelation 14:5a, “No falsehood can be charged against them.”
Zephaniah 3:13 bests helps us to understand this, “The people of Israel who survive will do no wrong to each other, never telling lies or deceiving one another. They will live peaceful lives, lying down to sleep in safety; there will be no one to make them afraid." The world at this time will more than likely be shattered by “false wonders”, all forms of wickedness, religious spirits, and satanic influences and thus judgmentally decreed by God so that those who reject the gospel of Christ “Will believe what is false” (2nd Thess 2:9-11). Yet these 144,000 will be as our Lord as 1 Peter 2:22 describes, “He committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth.” Yet this should not shock us for Acts 4:13 says, “The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men who had had no special training. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus.” If we have been with Jesus and allowed Him to touch us; then we ought to be described and remembered for our ethical excellence and moral standards which directly collide with the satanic provisions of truth and wisdom which stand in direct opposition to the Way, Truth and the Life found only through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ! It will be these 144,000 who describe this perfectly and who commit themselves to faithfully defending and being about the Truth of God’s Word; not Satan’s traditions.
In all generations, triumphant Christians are characterized by “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:14) and “laying aside falsehood [and] speak [ing[ truth” (Eph 4:25). Knowing the vital importance of “accurately handling the word of truth”, they will “be diligent to present [themselves] approved to God as [workmen] who [do] not need to be ashamed” (2 Timothy 2:15). They will never be guilty of “walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God”; rather, “by the manifestation of truth [they will commend themselves] to every man’s conscience in the sight of God” (2nd Cor 4:2).
Revelation 14:5b, “They are blameless.”
As a direct resulting of living out the faith characterized by praise, purity, devoted loyalty, and singleness of purpose the 144,000 will be blameless, but this does not mean that they will be sinless (Job 15:14-16; 1 Kings 8:46; Ps 143:2; Prov 20”9; Ecc 7:20; 1 John 1:8-10), but that they will be sanctified. They will be above reproach, leading godly lives before all who see them. All Christians are called to holiness for in Ephesians 1:4 Paul wrote, “He chose us in Him before the foundations of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him” (Col 1:22), to the Corinthians in 2nd Cor 11:2 Paul wrote, “I betrothed you to one husband; so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin (Ephesians 5:27). Peter exhorted believers to be “like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:15-16). Jude reminded his readers that God “is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy” (Jude 24).
The testimony of these believers lives recorded for us in Revelation 14:1-5 gives us an understanding into the nature of living victoriously and triumphantly throughout all ages. While these believers will go through the darkest hour of history; yet in retrospect the conditions are still much the same today. We live in a world that loves itself, as it will even more so in the Tribulation. It is our responsibility to shine forth the Light and radiate that light into the darkness so that people will know the Light of God’s love and Word, and turn to Him to have a personal relationship. It is our responsibility as believers to live triumphantly in this age, so that we can in turn win others for Christ, and turn the world upside down for Jesus Christ, and for His everlasting Kingdom. May you be found triumphant today. If not may you decide today to become triumphant and victorious believer in Christ whose sacrifice cleansed the record held against you, so that you could engage in the process of a journey towards the day when you will stand face to face with Christ be perfected by Him, and enter into eternal bliss.
May God bless you and keep you.
Pastor Jenkins
