02.44. LECTURE No. 44 -- Rev_14:1-7
LECTURE No. 44 -- Revelation 14:1-7 The Book of Revelation a Book of Truth - Those Who Oppose It Are Making a Mistake - It Is Not a Mistake to Preach the Truth of This Book - Chapter Fourteen Is a Parenthetical Passage - The Passage Presents an Earthly Scene and Refers to the Earthly Mt. Zion in Jerusalem - The One Hundred and Forty-four Thousand Who Will Be with Christ the Lamb of God Upon Mt. Zion - They Will Be Filled with Joy and Will Sing a New Song - They Will Be the First Fruits Unto God and the Lamb of the Millennial Period or Kingdom Age - They Will Be Pure and Holy and Blameless Before the Throne of God and the Lamb - God Will Send an Angel to Preach the Everlasting Gospel to the People of All Nations - It Will Be a Gospel of Love and Warning - Such an Angelic Testimony Will Be Needed Different Aspects of the One Gospel Explained
A Word of Defense
MANY OF OUR FRIENDS have expressed their joy and appreciation for the light and truth which have come to them as a result of our present study of this last book of the Bible. It is natural that they would do this, for in Psalms 33:4 the Psalmist David said, “The word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth.”
These words apply as much to the Book of Revelation as to any other portion of the Bible. How strange it is that we who are ministers of the Word must first defend our right to teach the Book of Revelation.
Why should the teaching of this wonderful Book be an offense to some professed ministers of the Gospel and to many so-called followers of Christ?
If the Word of God is right, and we know it is, and this last Book of the Bible is a portion of His Word, then it must be right also, and we are right in making a study of it in an earnest effort to discover the truths which the Book contains. If all God’s works are done in truth, then those works of God which are revealed to us in this wonderful Book are true also,-as much as the works of God revealed to us in any other portion of the blessed Book.
True enough, the things of God revealed to as in this last Book of the Bible have much to do with the works of God in judgment; nevertheless, when we come to understand what they mean we will be compelled to say with David “The word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth,” including those of the Book of Revelation.
We urge, therefore, in all sincerity that as individual Christians you do not allow either the unbelief of your preacher, or the criticism of your friends, or the persecution of those who have no knowledge of God or His Word to rob you of the light and truth and blessing which may come to you through a study of the Book of Revelation.
For our own and for your defense, we quote again Revelation 1:3, where it says, “Blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein for the time is at hand.”
We have progressed in our present study to Revelation the fourteenth chapter, where our lesson will begin. In our last lesson we concluded our study of the remarkable thirteenth chapter of the Revelation, in which we studied concerning the coming Antichrist and the False Prophet.
Lesson Text We shall now advance in our study by reading what is written in Revelation 14:1-7, where John said:
“And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the Mount Zion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.
“And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
“These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.
“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” A Parenthetical Passage
Although we have not concluded our reading of this chapter, we wish to state just here that Revelation 14:1-20 is a parenthetical passage revealing conditions as they will be when other events of the Revelation shall have run their course, and Christ Himself will have returned from heaven back to earth to Mount Zion.
There is no question but what Revelation 13:1-18 presented to us the darkest picture we have studied thus far in this Book. How refreshing, therefore, that in this chapter God should make known to us some of the brighter things that are ahead which will come to pass, after the judgments of God shall have run their course.
Revelation 14:1-20 Presents an Earthly Scene
We must remind you, first of all, that this is an earthly scene because reference is made to Mount Zion. This is a place within the city of Jerusalem, and there is no other place upon the earth referred to in the Scriptures by this name. We know that there is also a heavenly Jerusalem referred to in Hebrews 12:22, as Mount Sion, where the Apostle said, “But ye are come unto Mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels.”
And so we see, that there is both a heavenly place and an earthly place called by the same name, but when we understand our lesson text in the light of its context, there is little doubt but what the passage here refers to the earthly Mt. Zion in Jerusalem, to which Jesus will come when He returns to rule and to reign upon the throne of David over the nations of the earth.
The Lamb, therefore, of this passage is none other than Christ, and the 144,000 spoken of here are none other than the 144,000 spoken of in Revelation the 7th chapter which we have already studied. There we learned that during the tribulation period 144,000 of all the tribes of Israel will he called out and sealed in their foreheads and be preserved by reason of this mark upon them throughout the tribulation period.
From our study of Revelation 7:1-17, we learned that these 144,000 sealed ones from the tribes of Israel will be the ministers of God’s Word and witness for Him during the tribulation period during the reign of the Antichrist.
We see, therefore, that there are 144,000 in each case and that both are described as having been sealed. These marks of identification, therefore, seem to reveal that the 144,000 of Revelation 14:1-20 are the same as the 144,000 of Revelation 7:1-17, and the inference is that having been sealed and preserved by the power of God, will live through the entire tribulation period and enter with Christ upon Mt. Zion in Jerusalem into the joys of the Millennial reign.
Joy in Heaven
According to our lesson text this event, when it comes to pass, will cause joy in heaven, for John said,
“I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.”
There seems to be no way of telling just who these harpers will be, but when the Lamb; that is, when Christ, returns from heaven back to the earth and ascends to the throne of David in Jerusalem on Mount Zion and the 144,000 are gathered about Him to join with Him in establishing the reign of righteousness upon the earth, all heaven will be moved with joy and the harpers will play and sing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders in heaven.
When they sing this new song, the 144,000 assembled in Jerusalem will learn that new hymn of joy and praise and they will sing for joy also because of their redemption and because of the reward which they are to receive because of having been faithful in their witness and testimony for Christ during the dark hours of the tribulation period.
They Will Be the First Fruits Unto God and the Lamb In Revelation 14:1-4 of our lesson text, it says, “These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.”
From this statement we discover, that these 144,000, whether this number is exact or representative of a larger group, are designated as being pure in the sight of God. The fact that they are called virgins indicates their purity. The language used here does not necessarily indicate physical chastity only, but spiritual chastity also.
We must not forget that the tribulation period under the reign of the Antichrist will be a time of lewdness, and of unfaithfulness, both physically and spiritually. It will mean much, therefore, for any man or woman to maintain the high Bible standards of physical and spiritual purity at that time. But these 144,000 will succeed in doing so; therefore, they are called virgins. As a reward for their walk of separation and their physical purity and spiritual faithfulness Lord God, we are told that they will be permitted to “follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth.” What a privilege that will be!
In Revelation 14:4 it also says, “These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.”
Let us not think for a moment that the firstfruits spoken of here refer to the Christians of this present day, who are being called out as members of the body of Christ. We know that Christ was the firstfruits of them that slept, and that we who are Christians are the firstfruits unto God as pertaining to the church, which is the body of Christ, which is being called out during the age from among both Jews and Gentiles through the preaching of the Gospel as a people for His name. But the Word plainly teaches that before the events indicated in our present lesson come to pass, the church will have been completed and raptured away to be with Christ. The firstfruits in our lesson, therefore, do not refer to the church, but to the firstfruits of the Millennial period.
These 144,000 who will come through the tribulation period and will be with Christ on Mt. Zion will be the very first ones to enter with Him into that glorious period of peace and blessing, which is to follow the tribulation! They may rightfully be called, therefore, “the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb,” in this new order of things yet future.
Blameless Before God And last of all it says, of these 144,000 redeemed ones, “And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.”
Let us remember that the tribulation period will be a time of lies and falsehood, when Antichrist will reign by reason of signs and lying wonders. The great lie which will be propagated during that time will be that Satan is God and that the Beast is his Christ and therefore should be worshipped. Countless multitudes will believe such a lie as this.
But the 144,000 will neither believe such a lie nor will they be given to telling lies, for it says, “In their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.”
Indeed, my friends, they will neither tell nor believe nor act a lie. Therefore, they will be without fault before the throne of God. The Everlasting Gospel
Now, let us turn our attention to what is stated in Revelation 14:6-7, where John said:
“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.”
This is a striking statement, which is suggestive of many things. We should not forget that by this time in the ongoing of events during the tribulation period, Antichrist and the false prophet will be in supreme command of the forces and powers of the earth as indicated in the thirteenth chapter, which we have just studied. We know that they will make every effort to destroy the witnesses of God on the earth.
In the first place, all who will not worship the image of the beast are subject to be killed. We learned in Revelation 11:1-19, that when God sends His two witnesses to prophesy forty and two months, during the tribulation period, even they will be overcome and killed and their dead bodies shall lie in the streets of Jerusalem for three and a half days, after which the spirit of life from God will enter into them and they will stand on their feet and then will be caught up into heaven.
In the twelfth chapter we learned that the dragon was wroth with the woman and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
This would indicate that even the testimony and witness of the 144,000, who will be God’s witnesses during the tribulation period will be greatly hindered by the work of Satan. An Angel Messenger Needed
We see the necessity, therefore, and the reason why God will send an angel to come and fly in the atmospheric heaven above the earth “to preach the everlasting gospel to every nation, and kindred and tongue, and people.”
The angel will be able to do this without hindrance because by that time, according to Revelation 12:1-17, Satan will have been cast out of the atmospheric heaven, where he is now the prince of the power of the air, down to the earth. His angels also will have been cast out with him, therefore, the atmospheric heaven above the earth by that time will have been cleansed of all Satanic and demonic influence, so that an angel commissioned of God can safely come into the heavens above the earth and preach the everlasting gospel to the people without being hindered by Satan and his angels.
The people of the earth will be able, therefore, to hear the message of the angel, but the Antichrist and false prophet will be unable to silence the voice of the angel. This will be one testimony which they cannot overcome.
Today men refuse to hear the message of God as it is preached by faithful ministers everywhere. They refuse to heed or take warning. And during the tribulation period they will refuse to listen even to the terrible judgments which God will send upon them, but when the angel flies in the midst of heaven they will be compelled to hear the message which God has for them whether they want to hear it or not.
Different Aspects of the Same Gospel But what are we to understand from the expression “the everlasting gospel” as it is used here? We all know that there is but one gospel. On the other hand, in the Testament, we find the gospel referred to in several different ways, bringing to our attention certain distinctions which must be kept in mind, if we hope to understand what the Word of God teaches on this subject. For instance, in Matthew 24:14, Jesus said,
“This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations and then shall the end come.”
This phase of the Gospel was first preached by John the Baptist and then by Jesus and His disciples. We know that in due time they rejected Jesus as their king and He was crucified and buried, after which He rose again and ascended into heaven. But in spite of these things, the gospel of the kingdom announces that God intends to set up a kingdom upon this earth over which Jesus, as the Son of David, will rule and reign in righteousness, as prophesied in Luke 1:32-33.
When Elijah the prophet returns to the earth, as promised in Malachi 4:5-6, he will once again preach the “gospel of the kingdom,” much as John the Baptist preached it at the time of Christ’s first advent, announcing to everyone the soon coming of Christ as King to occupy the throne of David.
Jesus was rejected, nearly two thousand years ago, and since His death and resurrection, and ascension into heaven, men have been preaching the “gospel of the grace of God,” which the Apostle Paul refers to in Acts 20:24, where he said, “But none of these things move me, either count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have to testify the gospel of the grace of God.”
This phase of the Gospel is referred to in the scriptures in many different ways.
- In Romans 1:1, Paul said he was ‘Separated unto the gospel of God.”
- In Romans 1:16, He said, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
- In Ephesians 6:15, it is spokes of as “the gospel of peace.”
We know that it is a glorious gospel, for in 1 Timothy 1:11 it says, “according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which is committed to my trust.”
The outstanding characteristic of the Gospel in this present age, therefore, is grace, and its chief subject is Christ and it is the power of God unto salvation. The Everlasting Gospel But “the everlasting gospel” which will be preached by the angel flying in the midst of heaven, according to our lesson text will not be a gospel of grace but it will be a gospel of judgment. It is a message of warning, for the angel will say, “Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.”
This statement is of great significance when we remember that when the angel comes, the people of the earth will, for the most part, be worshipping the Antichrist by bowing before the image of the beast, which the false prophet will set up in Jerusalem. When the angel appears flying in the heavens, he will appeal to all people in every nation not to worship the Antichrist, but to worship the true God, who made heaven and earth and the sea and the fountains of waters. Thus, we see, there will be a distinct note of warning in the message of the angel, who will preach the everlasting gospel to the nations of the earth, while the people upon the earth are engaged in the worship of the Antichrist.
~ end of lecture 44 ~