After a break due to the Sprouting Souls study, we get back into the end times as here is our next Revelation study: Revelation 14:1-5 Revelation 14:1 - Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. -After studying all the negative evilness of the works of the beast and his false prophet in chapter 13, God draws us back to Himself, and shows us, like he here shows John, that even through extreme turmoil and tribulation, He is in full control of everything. We now see our Lord and Savior standing with the 144,000 on Mount Zion. Zion is the ancient name of the hills that make up the location of Jerusalem and is where the Old Testament scriptures promised the Messiah would gather his people and reign over the earth. Read Psalm 48, Isaiah 24:23, Joel 2:32, Obadiah 17 & 21, & Micah 4:7. -We first saw these 144,000 when they were introduced in chapter 7. That was towards the beginning of the tribulation, and now we see them towards the end. And just as the name written on their foreheads indicate, they were kept safe through this time of extreme trouble and turmoil. Read Daniel 3:19-35. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego being kept safe in the furnace that was 7 times hotter than usual is a perfect shadow of the 144,000 being kept safe through the 7 year tribulation that was more extreme than any other period in the history of the earth. Only by the hand of God could this take place. The mark of the beast on the foreheads of the inhabitants of the earth leads to death, but the name of God written on the foreheads of the redeemed leads to life. -And who were these people, having his Fathers name written in their foreheads? Not Bs for Baptists, not Ws for Wesleyens not Es for Established Church. They had their Fathers name and nobody elses. What a deal of fuss is made on earth about our distinctions! We think such a deal about belonging to this denomination, and the other. Why, if you were to go to heavens gates, and ask if they had any Baptists there, the angel would only look at you, and not answer you, if you were to ask if they had any Wesleyans, or members of the Established Church, he would say, Nothing of the sort; but if you were to ask him whether they had any Christians there, Ay, he would say, an abundance of them: they are all one now - all called by one name; the old brand has been obliterated, and now they have not the name of this man or the other, they have the name of God, even their Father, stamped on their brow. (Charles Spurgeon) Revelation 14:2 - And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. -Some translations say it is a sound and some say it is a voice that is now heard. Both are correct as the sound is voices joining together with the music of harpists and they create something so great and wonderful and load as the sound of mighty rushing waters or like a peal of thunder and they proclaim the greatness of God! Revelation 14:3 - And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. -To be rapt in praise to God is the highest state of the soul. To receive the mercy for which we praise God for is something; but to be wholly clothed with praise to God for the mercy received is far more. Why, praise is heaven, and heaven is praise! To pray is heaven below, but praise is the essence of heaven above. When you bow in adoration, you are at your very highest. (Charles Spurgeon) -Heaven is not the place to learn that song; it must be learned on the earth You must learn here the notes of free grace and dying love; and when you have mastered their melody, you will be able to offer to the Lord the tribute of a grateful heart, even in heaven, and blend it with the harmonies eternal. (Charles Spurgeon) Revelation 14:4 - These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they remained virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among mankind and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. -The virginity of the 144,000 could be literal as Paul called for celibacy in distressing times like in 1 Corinthians 7:25-35, and Jesus spoke of troubles for those with children and families in the end times as in Matthew 24:19-21. But it could also be speaking of a symbol of their general purity like in 2 Corinthians 11:2, as Israel, the nationality of the 144,000 (see Revelation 7:4-8), is often referred to as the “virgin daughter of Zion” or the “virgin daughter of Israel”. Read 2 Kings 19:21, Isaiah 37:22, Jeremiah 18:13 & 31:34, Lamentations 2:13, and Amos 5:2. -In the New Testament, Jesus is described as the firstfruits of those raised from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:20-23) and we are described as possessing the first fruits of the Spirit because the church was the first partakers in the gift of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:23). Here the 144,000 are called firstfruits because they are the first to be redeemed in the end times after the church has been raptured to heaven. This may also give further evidence to the great multitude out of many nations in Revelation 7:9 being those saved through the evangelism of the 144,000 during the tribulation. Revelation 14:5 - No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless. -This by no means indicates that the 144,000 are sinless, as all have fallen short of the righteousness of God (Romans 3:10). But it does indicate that during the tribulation they will be the voice of truth and speak the Gospel message and proclaim the glories and mighty works of God in an evil and dark world, and they are blameless in the eyes of God because they are covered by the blood of the very Lamb that they stand with on Mount Zion!
Posted on: Sun, 24 Nov 2013 03:37:54 +0000
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