“Then I looked, and there on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with Him were 144,000 who had His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads. I heard a sound from heaven like the sound of cascading waters and like the rumbling of loud thunder. The sound I heard was also like harpists playing on their harps. They sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders, but no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. These are the ones not defiled with women, for they have kept their virginity. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They were redeemed from the human race as the firstfruits for God and the Lamb. No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.” (Revelation 14:1-5 HCSB)
Primary Focus: One group of true believers before the One eternal Creator God, one eternal and true message of redemption, one eternal just and righteous judgment.
If you thought last week was a series of stark contrasts, buckle up and hold on tight because this week the contrasts are even more dramatic and stark. Let me share a story to illustrate this idea. Many years ago, my wife and I had been invited by one of our church members to their home for dinner. After enjoying a nice meal together, we began to clear the table and place our dirty dishes in the sink.
Growing up, each of us boys was given chores to do, and mine was dishwashing. My mother also raised us boys to be polite and courteous, and so after dinner at this friend’s home, I rolled up my sleeves and prepared to wash the dirty dishes. Above the sink was a light fixture, and as I prepared to wash the dishes, I reached over and flipped on the light switch so I could see better. Suddenly, the sink was lit up like noontime on a clear July day. The light bulb above my head was a 300-watt bulb and was bright enough to cause a need for sunscreen on my balding head. The light was so bright, I thought God had appeared, and an angelic choir was singing somewhere above me. I asked our host why she had such a massively bright light bulb over the kitchen sink, and she said, “I like my dishes clean, and that light makes sure I’m able to see ALL the dirt.”
Often, contrasts are missed because the differences between the items being contrasted are so slight, while others are obvious because they are quite dramatic and extremely different. As I write these words, the background of my screen is white, and the letters I type are black, and that combination (black on white) provides a very stark and obvious contrast. You might say the differences are like night and day. Contrasts can also exist and be experienced through our other senses. For example, there is a stark contrast between a children’s lullaby and a 1980’s hard rock song or between the soft scent of lavender and the overpowering stench of a skunk attack. Those contrasts are all quite stark, but what about the differences between two shades of a color that are very similar, like ecru and eggshell?
Why all the references to contrast? The last few weeks we’ve been confronted by images of the dragon, and by the first beast who came out of the sea, and the second beast who came out of the earth. Last week, the image we were given of the second beast was that of a lamb which spoke with the voice of the dragon and required the people to take the mark of the beast on their foreheads in order to buy, sell, and survive the wrath of the first beast. In contrast, this week we are back in the presence of the Lamb who was slaughtered but now He stands on Mount Zion with the 144,000 who had His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads. The contrasts John draws from these images should be clear and obvious to us.
One more item of contrast that is easy to miss is that the true Lamb stands on Mount Zion with the assembled 144,000 men of faith. Some take this to mean that He now stands on the earth and upon the physical Mount Zion in Jerusalem. I’m not convinced John intends for us to see this in a physical way, but only that this image carries another very stark contrast for us – the fulfilled promise of God’s covenant. The very word Zion carries the image and idea of stark contrasts – it means high place, fortress, or city from out of the desert or desert city. Mount Zion is the place God promised (the Promised Land) to those who would follow and trust Him. It is the embodiment of God keeping His promise, the fulfillment of His covenant to the people who walk with Him by faith. And THAT is the image and the stark contrast I believe John wants us to see!
People who listen to the false lamb, the second beast, hear only the lies of the dragon. They’re threatened with death if they refuse to bow down before the image of the first beast. While those who listen to the true Lamb, the one who stands before the throne of God, hear the truth of God’s word, receive the promise of redemption, and see the fulfillment of His covenant. We are promised eternal life when we stand with Him on the fulfillment of God’s promise because their names are written on our foreheads. Whose word do you trust and which promise do you want fulfilled in your life? The answer is obvious by your life; it is written on your forehead.
Next, we get into a little more detail about just who this group is and why they stand with the Lamb on Mount Zion. First, John hears the thunderous sound of harpists playing and people singing. The music and the singing from heaven is quite loud (cascading waters and rumbling of loud thunder) and is coming from the 144,000. They sing a new song before the throne, the four living creatures, and the 24 elders. This new song can only be learned by the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth and, thus, seems to be tied to their redemption and is flowing out of it. Don’t miss this contrast; our worship and singing flow out of our redemption while the worship of the beast flows out of threats and coercion. That’s a VERY stark contrast. The song we sing can only be learned by those who have been redeemed by the true Lamb.
Next, the 144,000 redeemed who bear His name are additionally described as “ones not defiled with women, for they have kept their virginity.” I don’t believe this is meant to be taken literally, but is symbolic and is intended to provide additional contrast to those who worship the beast. Anyone who worships someone or something other than the One true God is considered to be idolatrous and adulterous. God alone is worthy of our worship, and to offer worship to anyone other than the God who created you is likened to being sexually unfaithful to your spouse. In this passage of stark contrasts, to be sexually pure and to retain your virginity is to offer yourself and your worship to the ONLY One who is worthy of it, the God who made you.
If you jump down a few verses in our text (v. 8), an angel declares: “Babylon the Great has fallen, who made all nations drink the wine of her sexual immortality, which brings wrath.” This simply highlights and strengthens the contrast between the 144,000 who were pure virgins and those who defile themselves by drinking the wine of “sexual immorality” offered by Babylon (Roman Emperor worship). While I am not trying to downplay the importance of sexual purity in the life of Christians, this passage is clearly using these terms to contrast the purity of worship among God’s people with those who believe the lie of the dragon and worship at the image of the first beast.
Then this group is described as being “the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They were redeemed from the human race as the firstfruits for God and the Lamb.” To follow the Lamb is to imply obedience to His commands, sacrifice to His way, and service to His will. Jesus told His disciples: “If you love Me, you will keep My commands.” (John 14:15 HCSB) He goes on to tell them: “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you.” (John 15:19 HCSB) They were also taught: “The one who loves his life will lose it, and the one who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me. Where I am, there My servant also will be. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.” (John 12:25-26 HCSB)
But what about being the firstfruits for God and the Lamb? This introduces the idea of the harvest, which we’ll deal with more specifically in a moment, but it also ties back to obedience, sacrifice, and service. The firstfruits are those things that come out of our lives that belong exclusively to God. The people of God were to be reminded of God’s provision by bringing to Him the firstfruits of their annual harvest, the firstborn of their livestock, the first part of their income, the first part of everything that belonged to God. God had the right to the first and best part of these things, and He could use them in whatever way He desired because it belonged to Him.
As believers, we belong to God. We are the firstfruits of Christ’s redemptive work and are presented to God for His use in whatever way He deems fit. Paul reminds us that we must have Christ’s attitude of service and sacrifice. The servant is never greater than his master. If Jesus knelt before the Father in Gethsemane and prayed, “Not my will but thine be done,” then we MUST do the same. Our lives must not revolve around getting our will and our way in this life. To follow the Lamb is not about living comfortably, being safe, achieving fame, or being powerful. It’s about loving God first and foremost, loving others like you love yourself, and seeking His will in all that you do and desire.
Obedience, sacrifice, and service are the hallmarks of those who faithfully follow the Lamb.
Finally, we read that those who follow the Lamb are people who also stand in stark contrast to the dragon, his beasts, and their worshipers because “no lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.” As I cited last week, Jesus says that when the Devil speaks, it is nothing but lies because that’s his native language. Those who follow the Lamb are to be people of truth, honesty, and integrity. Jesus said, “If you continue in My word, you really are My disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32 HCSB)
The truth is often uncomfortable and difficult to accept. In the verses that follow, we will be confronted by some of these hard truths. But this week, I really want us to focus on the truth that John has been laying out before us. I mentioned last week that we often believe the lies that the Devil tells us because we want them to be true. I think the followers of the Lamb in the seven churches of Asia Minor are not significantly different from us. When it became hard and dangerous to be obedient to the Lamb, I think they began to hear the lies of the dragon and hope the lies were true. John’s vision is intended to strengthen their resolve, firmly ground them in the truth, and to call them to stand with their brothers who have given their lives for the truth. No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless!
The new song we’ve been empowered to learn is a song that calls us to faithfully follow the Lamb. This song is not known by the unredeemed. It can’t be sung by those who follow the dragon and his beasts. They can’t learn it and don’t understand it because it makes no sense to those who believe the lies. That’s why the world considers faith to be illogical. This new song can only be known and sung by those who have been born anew by the truth revealed in the Lamb. You will know the truth, and it will set you free.
Truth will be the hallmark of those who follow the Lamb.
Next week, we’ll look at how the proclamation of the three angels in the next verses bears out the hard truth of this new song we’re enabled to sing.
By God’s grace and strength may I stand contrast