Revelation Chapter 14, Part 1

[Pastor Dave Honey]

THE LAMB AND THE 144,000

 

Revelation 14:1
Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father's name written on their foreheads.

This amazing group of men is one-in-the-same as those introduced in chapter seven. There have been many commentaries written regarding the identity of these men, as well as their location and timing. Some of the possibilities are:

1) These are the 144,000 Jewish Witnesses introduced in Revelation 7, assembled on the Heavenly Mt. Zion, before the throne of God, following their martyrdom. The problem with this idea is that it suggests God's seal of protection was of no use to them!

2) These are the 144,000 Jewish Witnesses introduced in Revelation 7, now standing victoriously on the earthly Mt. Zion, at the end of the tribulation period before Jesus, the Lamb of God!

3) Still others see the 144,000 as symbolic of the church which is in heaven.

4) Some so called religious groups believe that they are the 144,000, which poses a particular problem when their particular group eventually exceeds that number!

I personally believe that number 2 is correct. The 144,000 witnesses have come through the tribulation victoriously and now stand before the Lord in triumph!

God has placed His name on the forehead of the 144,000 Messianic Jewish witnesses for their protection! There is power in His name! Demons tremble and flee at His name! Satan, of course attempts to counterfeit His powerful name by making it necessary, punishable by death, should anyone refuse to accept the mark of the beast, the number of his name, 666 on their forehead, or right hand. The difference is that God's name is given freely to anyone who chooses to willingly follow Him, whereas Satan must intimidate people with the fear of death into accepting his name! That is the difference between love and hate, peace and fear!

Revelation 14:2-3
2 And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps. 3 They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth.

 

The voice of God has been heard like this before! In Ezekiel 43:2, God's voice is described as sounding like many waters. John heard the Lord Jesus Christ speaking to him with a voice that sounded like many waters in revelation 1:15! When God speaks, His voice is distinctive and clearly His own! Read the words of Jesus as He teaches that there is peace and safety in His voice:

John 10:1-5
"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.  2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.  3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  4 And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.  5 Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."

Compared to the absolute power of His voice:

Psalm 46:6b
He uttered His voice, the earth melted.

The sound of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder, I can only imagine the Majesty of His voice!

A group of harpists began to play in concert with one another as the 144,000 began to sing a new song of redemption before the throne! These, the 144,000 are the only ones who could learn and sing this wonderful song, probably because no one has seen the trouble they have seen! This is a very special group of men who now stand with the Lord Jesus Christ on Mt. Zion at the end of the tribulation period sharing the sweet victory of an incredible harvest with each other! A celebration of a victorious Superbowl team in the locker room after the came would pale in comparison to the victory song of redemption these 144,000 men are sharing together!

Revelation 14:4
4 These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.

You may recall the "Doctrine of Balaam" spoken of in Revelation 2:14. In Numbers, chapters 22-25, Balaam, a pagan prophet is hired by Balak, king of the Moabites to curse the Israelites. Each time Balaam would speak a curse against Israel, God would turn the curse to blessing! Balaam, realizing that he cannot succeed by speaking curses against Israel, advises Balak to send Moabite women to seduce the Israelite men into sexual immorality and pagan idol worship, thereby breaking down the Israelite forces and defeating Israel. The plan may have succeeded had Got not intervened!

 

The time of tribulation will be a time of unspeakable sin! Sexual sin will run rampant as mankind worships the Antichrist. The 144,000 Jewish evangelists will not only be men of great character, but they will be sealed with the name of God on their foreheads! They will steadfastly resist the temptations of lust and human pleasure and find victory in Jesus as they bring to God a great harvest! These men are totally sold out for God and His plan! their mission is paramount and they will follow their marching orders, marching orders from Jesus to the ends of the earth!

These men were the firstfruits of God and His Son! They chose to pursue holiness in their lives and the result was that everywhere they went, every word they would say, and every thought they would think was surrounded by the blood of Jesus!

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

To be sold out for God shouldn't be only when we feel like being sold out for God! It isn't a great sale, here today and tomorrow it's "business as usual!" It is written that these men will follow the Lamb wherever He goes! We should want the greatest commandment to not only be in our lives, but it should be our way of life!

Matthew 22:37-38
37 Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'  38 This is the first and great commandment.

Revelation 14:5
5 And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God.

God will choose 144,000 Jewish men who will willingly repent of their sin and receive Jesus as their Messiah and Savior! He will choose 12,000 Messianic Jews from each of the twelve tribes of Israel, to be His very special witnesses of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They will share the Gospel without error to every person they reach. They will by no means embellish God's Word, but they will share God's message to a tormented world! The message will be God's truth and it will sound something like this; "Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him!"

John 3:16
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

 

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