Revelation 14:1-5
Stand!
“Would you open your Bibles with me to...”
Rev. 14:1 Then I looked,
and behold, a Lamb standing on
Rev. 14:2 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.
Rev. 14:3 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.
Rev. 14:4 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.
Rev. 14:5 And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without
fault before the throne of God.
Pray
Introduction
√ Chapters 12 and 13 gave us important details regarding the main participants of the Tribulation period...
Chapter 12 Important characters of the period
Chapter 13 Evil rulers
Chapter 14, however, looks ahead to the end of the Tribulation and the victory of Jesus over the Antichrist and his followers.
Ap. Stand
John now gives some good news - that is after evil has it’s way for 7 years on the planet - in the end Jesus and His servants win!
A “breath of fresh air” by way of a word of encouragement.
Instruction for living, that is, how we can stand for Jesus
in our generation.
So, let’s join John as he looks at the Lamb!
The Lamb of God (vs. 1)
Rev 14:1 Then I
looked, and behold, a Lamb standing
on
√ The Lamb of God
You'll remember that we left off our study in the Revelation looking at the False Prophet – a man who looks like a lamb but has the heart of a dragon!
Now in Chapter 14 John introduces us to the True Lamb of God.
Rev. 5 identifies the Lamb as Jesus Christ.
The interesting thing is to look at the prophetic contrast painted in these two chapters between the True and the counterfeit Lamb.
The False Prophet is
a dragon that looks like a lamb!
Deceives the whole world with his lies
Marks/seals those who worship Antichrist
Kills those who refuse the mark
Jesus is the True
Lamb of God.
Enlightens the whole world with His Truth
Seals those who worship God with the Name of His Father.
Gives life to those killed by the False Prophet
√ The
The 2nd thing we note is where the Lord Jesus is standing...
"Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on
It is quite steep and it was the last portion of the city to fall into Jewish hands when they drove out the Jebusites.
Sometimes called the “city of
Sometimes refers to all of
The significance of the location where Jesus is standing is that it communicates to us that the Antichrist will be defeated by Jesus.
Remember, as we’ve already studied, the Antichrist sets
himself up in the
Additionally, the Antichrist, the False Prophet and all
their henchmen attack and destroy all those in
The presence of Jesus and His 144,000 servants in
√ Heaven or earth?
There are some who interpret Rev. 14:1 as a reference to the
heavenly
Heb 12:22 But you
have come to
...and the fact that John refers to “a voice from heaven” in vs. 2 and the reference to the throne of God in vs. 3-5.
While that is a good argument I think the better understanding is that John is speaking of the earthly Mount Zion in Israel because...
He doesn’t say “like
Of the 160 times “
“heard a voice from heaven” would seem to imply that John wasn’t in heaven when he heard it, rather, on earth.
All the OT prophets speak of Messiah coming to the earthly
Ex. Micah 4
The point is that Micah and the rest of the Old Testament prophets tell us that it is in the earthly Zion that the Lord will establish His presence in the latter days.
√ What about the Throne?
One last objection that some would raise is John’s reference to the throne of God.
Therefore they would say that
“before the throne of God.”
Up to this point in our study the Throne of God has been clearly seen in heaven - not on the earth.
However, the resolution to what seems like a contradiction is to remember that during the Millennial reign of Jesus on the earth that the Throne of God is on the earth!
So, I think it best to interpret this section of the Revelation as a literal event…
…that is, Jesus is going to return to the earth and stand on
√ The 144,000
Here we find that special group of End Time saints known as the 144,000, or the “Godly remnant.”
We first met them in Rev. 7 where they were called out and sealed with His Name for the purpose of ministering for God during the Tribulation period.
Now we find them at the end
of the Tribulation standing
with Jesus on
That is, after all that Satan, the Antichrist, the False Prophet and the wicked of the world threw at them during the Tribulation - these guys are still standing!
That is - they won!
Ex. Bare fist boxing 100 years ago - the winner was the one who was still standing at the end!
This special group of saints who will face the most wicked time in the history of Man are able to make it through without...
Compromise
Losing their faith in Jesus
Bowing before Antichrist
How will they do it?!
Ap. Let's look because there are lessons that we can apply in our own lives so that we too can stand for Jesus in our day.
The 144,000 (vs. 2-5)
Rev 14:2 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.
Rev 14:3 And 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.
Rev 14:4 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.
Rev 14:5 And in their mouth was found no guile, for they are without fault before the throne of God.
√ The 144,000
John gives us some details about this group that will help us understand how it is that they are still standing at the end of the Tribulation.
1) Redeemed
To stand firm against the forces of wickedness in the world a person must first be redeemed from the world!
That is, before a person is redeemed they are a slave to the World system. They're a slave to sin, to the lust of their flesh, the lust of their eyes and the pride of life.
The un-redeemed person belongs to Satan - so it is impossible to fight against him.
The only way free of Satan is to be redeemed from him - literally purchased out of slavery.
The Bible tells us that Christians have been set free from Satan by the work of Jesus on the Cross.
Gal. 3:13 Christ has redeemed us
from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is
written, “Cursed is everyone who
hangs on a tree”).
And…
Rev. 5:9 And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
So we're reminded that this group of 144,000 Jews is saved - redeemed by the Blood of Jesus Christ giving them power to stand against Satan.
Ap. Stand against evil
The only way in which we can stand against evil is to first be redeemed! If you’re not redeemed then you are still a slave of Satan!
2) Virgins
John tells us that this group of men will be virgins - literally that they unmarried and celibate.
Important to understand this section of scripture before you all run out and take a vow of celibacy!
We are not to understand this to mean that it is superior to be unmarried - to remain a virgin.
Ex. Gen. 2:24 – God’s plan for Man
"Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh."
God's perfect plan for a man and a woman is to be married.
Paul echo's this thought in his discussion on marriage in Eph. 5:31 and then applies it spiritually in vs. 32...
"This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church."
So don't misunderstand this section of Revelation to mean that it is somehow God's plan for us all to remain unmarried.
√ What does it mean then?
Simply this; that the demands of ministry and faithful service unto Jesus during the Tribulation period will require the complete devotion of the men in this group.
Free from the worries of family.
Free to go wherever the Lord leads them.
Free to lay down their life without regard to the responsibilities of a wife.
Ex. Paul made the same sacrifice because of the demands of the ministry that the Lord had called him to.
Ap. So how can we apply to this truth to our lives and our ability to stand in the day in which we live?
Spiritualize it - to be pure spiritually means that one is not defiled by the love of the world or compromise with evil.
Ex. Paul’s desire for
the Christians in
2Cor. 11:2 For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
Clearly Paul is speaking spiritually. That is, his desire is to present the
Christians in
Sin and disobedience
False religion
The application we find is that when we keep ourselves from the moral filth of this world we will find ourselves able to stand with integrity and not be sunk by sin.
Ex. The Titanic - the actual gash in the steel plates was relatively small. However, the rivets used were made of low grade metal with a high content of pot-ash.
The result was that they "popped" when the ship hit the ice berg and the plates of steel separated!
The instruction for us is that if we practice integrity in the little things in life…
…then the big sins won't sink you!
3)
No guile
in the mouth and without fault
The idea that John is communicating here is that there is no falsehood in them. Specifically in their religion - their faith.
These are men of whom one could say...
“They practice what they preach”
This is a direct contrast to the False Prophet who looks like a man of God, but in fact is a servant of Satan.
The 144,000 are commended by God as being authentic representatives of Christ in all that they say and do!
Ap. Christians in every generation are exhorted to be of like nature!
2Pe 3:14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;
√ How does being blameless and without guile make a person stand?
By not giving the enemy a weapon to trip us with.
Ex. Political enemies trip each other by digging up "dirt" about one another. Because of fear of being exposed publicly all sorts of compromise takes place.
Ap. If you aren't practicing falsehood then Satan won't have anything with which to trip you up with as you minister for Jesus.
Finally the most important element to standing against wickedness.
4)
They
follow the Lamb wherever He goes
Sounds sort of like that song...
"Mary had a little lamb - wherever Mary went the sheep were sure to follow!"
That is not the song the 144,000 are singing!
The point that John wants us to understand here is that this group will not be separated from Jesus!
No matter the...
Trial
Temptation
What others are doing
Where others are going
...these men will not be moved from the presence of their Lord!
Ex. Spike and the basketball - water.
Ap. How easily are we distracted? Do you have a single focus in life, or do you find that your mind is prone to wander?
If you want to stand in these days and not be tripped up by the evil activity around us then you must discipline your mind to keep Jesus as your central focus in life.
Close
√ Standing for Jesus
We’re reminded from our study this morning that…
Jesus and His saints win!
That we can stand for Jesus in our own generation because we’re…
Redeemed
Pure in the practice of our faith
Practice what we preach
Follow the Lamb wherever He goes