Revelation 14

Revelation 14:1

In chapter 7, we read of twelve thousand from each of the twelve tribes of Israel who will go throughout the world preaching the gospel. Although they will be targets of Antichrist’s persecution, here in the middle of the Tribulation, we see not 143,999 witnesses, but 144,000. In other words, they all make it through.

Revelation 14:2

Why could no one else sing the song of the 144,000? Because they alone went through testing and Tribulationyet maintained their integrity. Thus, they alone could sing of what they were able to observe the Father do on their behalf in the time of Tribulation. Every one of us goes through times of tribulation. God’s intention is that they might produce in us “as it were, a new song"a symphony. There they werein a damp, dark dungeonwithout even a crust of bread to eat or the ACLU to plead their case. Yet what were they doing? They were singing. At midnightin the darkest hourPaul and Silas sang. They weren’t singing to try to get God to do something. They sang simply because the Lord was with them (Act_16:25). “Well, that hasn’t been my experience,” you might be saying. “My marriage,” or “my job,” or “my health is a dungeon to me, and I’m not happy.” Precious brother, dear sisterGod’s intent is to give you a new song. But there’s one thing that will stand in the way: sympathy. You see, I can either go through challenges and hard times with a symphony in my heart because the Lord has promised not only to strengthen me in them (Isa_41:10), but to walk with me through them (Mat_28:20)or I can choose to get sympathy from people. If I choose to tap into sympathy, it will always be at God’s expense because the underlying though unspoken implication is that what is happening in my life is out of God’s control. God is totally, absolutely, completely faithful to meet us in every trial, in every difficulty. Don’t let His plan get short-circuited by those who say, “I feel sorry for you.” Instead, say, “God is good. Sure, what I’m dealing with right now is a challenge. But I am discovering the Father is exactly who He claimed to bea God who comforts me completely.” It’s tempting to let people feel sorry for us, but we mustn’t, because it puts God in a bad light. Don’t settle for sympathy, gang. Go for the symphony.

Revelation 14:4

These 144,000 are blessed. They speak with authority They have the Lord on their minds constantly. They have a song in their heart personally. They see the Lamb’s directives very clearly. It’s all built and based on the fact that they are virginspeople of purity. Purity Pays A Topical Study of Rev_14:4-5 Over the years, I have noticed that when people go through trials and tribulations, one of two things inevitably happens. Either their faith ignites and burns bright, or their faith is quenched and burns out. We see this same principle in Scripture… Standing near the fire, he couldn’t believe what was happening. He had left his business, his family, everything to follow the Rabbi from Galilee. And now, after three years, the One he was looking to, believing in, depending on was being carried off to be crucified. When asked if he was a disciple of this One, Peter swore, “I don’t even know Him"as the flame of his faith turned to embers (Mat_26:74). “If you don’t bow down to my idol, you’ll be cast into a fiery furnace,” declared the king. “So be it,” answered three Jewish young men. “God is able to deliver us. And even if He doesn’t deliver us, we will not bow to your idol.” So it was that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego were thrown in the fiery furnace whererather than burning out, their faith burned bright as they walked through their trial unharmed (Daniel 3). Burning out or burning bright, which will it be? Here in Revelation, Pastor John’s desire is that the faith of those in the seven churches under his care would burn hot amidst the persecution that threatened to extinguish it. You see, like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, John’s flock was commanded to annually declare the lordship of Caesar. Failure to do so resulted in a loss of their livelihoods economicallyor the loss of their very lives physically as they were burned as candles or fed to lions by the thousands. Because some of his congregants would be tempted to give in and burn out under such pressure, Pastor John was given a vision of 144,000 whose faith would not falter even in the overwhelming persecution of the great Tribulation. We first met these 144,000 in chapter 7twelve thousand evangelists from each of the twelve tribes of Israel who fan out throughout the globe sharing the gospel. Here in chapter 14, we find all 144,000 standing with the Lord on Mount Zion. In other words, they made it through the Tribulation without collapsing, without caving in, without giving up. How? I believe the answer is crucial for us because Jesus said in the world we all will have tribulation (Joh_16:33). When the job we count on doesn’t open up, when the marriage we long for doesn’t pan out, when the kids we wait for don’t turn around, when the money we hope for doesn’t come inwe will be tempted to think that, because the Lord didn’t seem to do what He said He would do, we’re justified in downing a couple cold ones at Mutt’s, logging on to a pornographic website, or dating an unbeliever. It’s in the time of tribulation that the pressure is greatest to bow before the idol and say, “It’s okay if I get my mind off my problems for a while because I’m in Christ. I’m forgiven.” “Wait,” says Pastor John to his congregation, “there are 144,000 who will not get sucked into compromise, 144,000 who won’t defile themselves. Therefore, you can make it as well.” So can we. We’re living in dark days. The temptations are intense. It would be so easy to let down and give in. But in our text, John gives us six reasons why we shouldn’t… The Lord on Our Mind 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.Rev_14:1 Choose to walk in purity, and the Lord will be on your mind constantly. As a result, you will have peace of mind continually. Why? Because God will keep the one whose mind is stayed on Him in perfect peace (Isa_26:3). That is why Paul says, “I would have you be wise concerning that which is good but simple concerning that which is evil” (Rom_16:19). The word he uses for “simple” is literally “stupid.” In other words, “When everyone else is laughing at the off-color joke, you be the one who doesn’t get it.” A number of Christmases ago, I was given a footstool with a wonderful hand-painted bear on it. Unfortunately, it was the same Christmas that then-three-year-old Peter John received his first tool setwhich was why Christmas afternoon found an unattended Peter John with hammer in hand and eight nails in the bear stool. Knowing he had done wrong, he said, “Pray for me, Daddy,” as I walked into the room. “Okay, Peter,” I said. “Lord, thank You that You forgive our mistakes.” And Peter felt a lot better. As I pulled the nails out of the bear, Peter grew more relieved with each one. But the problem was, that although the nails were gone, the holes remained. I still have that footstool. It’s a wonderful reminder to Peter Johnand to me! Yes, you can log on to the Internet. You can tune into HBO. You can go to the tavern and then say, “Father, forgive me. I did that in a moment of depression.” And you’ll be forgiven right then. Your sin will be forgotten by the Fatherbut not by you because, although the nails will be gone, the holes will remain. That is why David, a man who knew something about looking where he shouldn’t have, and doing something he shouldn’t have, says in Psa_101:3, “I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes.” Authority in Our Voice 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.Rev_14:2 The voices of the 144,000 were like thunderearth-shaking and impacting. Truly, the voice of a grandparent, a parent, or a high-schooler living in purity is like thunder because authority and integrity are linked together inextricably. You cannot separate the two. If you think, My kids will never know; my grandchildren will never hear; the guys at work don’t have a clue what I do late at night, you underestimate the discerning ability of the human spirit. Even if people don’t know your story, they can sense in your voice, see in your face, discern in their hearts whether or not you are a person of integrity. That is why the voices of the 144,000 are likened to thunder. A Song on Our Lips 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.Rev_14:3 A new song in Scripture always implies a song of rejoicing or happiness. It may come as a shock to you if you’re new in the things of the Lord that God is a happy God. It’s true. The reason people left everything to follow Jesus, the reason they traveled great distances to see Him and even went days without food to listen to Him was because there was something about Him so joyful, so happy, so abundant. Concerning Jesus, Heb_1:9 declares, “Because thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity thou art anointed with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” In other words, “The happiest Man in history was the One who hated sin.” In that, I understand happiness in life is directly proportional to holiness in life. Happy is the people whose God is the Lord (Psa_144:15). The holier we choose to be, the happier we will be because happiness and holiness travel together. The Lamb in Our Sight These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth.Rev_14:4 Wherever the Lamb goes, the 144,000 follow. The sun is so big its interior could hold 1,300,000 earths. Yet I can block the entire sun out of my sight with only my thumb. The same is true concerning God. He’ll never leave or forsake us, but the “thumb” of our sin blocks Him from our sight. The 144,000 follow the Lamb easily because their purity allows them to see Him clearly. Sweetness in Our Mouth And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.Rev_14:5 In Eph_5:3-4, Paul makes an interesting point when he says, “Let not fornication, uncleanness, or covetousness be named among you; neither filthiness, foolish talking, nor coarse jesting.” The first list is like the engine of a trainthe second like the cars that follow. The Bible always links purity with speech because out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Mat_12:34). Thus, when a person is always telling coarse jokes, or involved with foolish jesting, it means that he or she is partaking of immorality in some way. The words are merely the cars that follow the engine. That is why the mouths of the 144,000 were filled with sweetness. Fruit for Our God These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.Rev_14:4 John’s admonition to those in the first century is as vital to us as it will be to those in the Tribulation: Choose holinessfor the result of holiness is that the Lord will be on your mind, authority will be in your voice, a song of happiness will be on your lips, Jesus will be in your sight, and sweetness will be in your mouth. But above all, holiness in your life will produce fruit for your God. You might not care about being happy, about being blessed, about having direction for your life personally, or speaking with authority presently. But perhaps you really do care about what God thinks of you eternally. And of the 144,000 who walk in purity, He says, “They’ve made a tough choice, and I regard them as the finest fruit.” And even if you have failedas we all haveif you are one of His, God still finds you faultless. Where? Before the throne (verse Rev_14:5). Why? Because the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all our failings (1Jn_1:7). So it is that God says, “Not only are you faultless before the throne, but I will keep you from falling on earth” (see Jud_1:24). You’re faultless positionally, but I can keep you from falling practically if you’ll allow Me.” Choose holiness, gang. You’ll never regret it. Choose holiness, for if you do, you will be happy presently and blessed eternally.

Revelation 14:6

The 144,000 have been the infantry. Now here comes the air support: angels. I believe angels have been itching to get into the fray, to preach. Why? Because they’ve been going to school for a long time to get ready for this ministry. Peter says that the angels are studying, earnestly looking into the things of salvation (1Pe_1:12). Paul goes on to say that when we meet together, we need to be sensitive to the angels in our midst (1Co_11:10). I truly believe angels are studying right along with us. Studying what? The Scriptures? No. They already know Scripture. They’re studying us. Why? They’re trying to figure out this thing called grace. Having never fallen into sin, how are they to learn about grace? By watching us. How could God use Jon? Why would He put up with Linda? How could Kent be part of His chosen priesthood? they wonder. But the time is coming when their schooling will be over, and they’ll be released in the Tribulation to preach the everlasting gospel. Jesus declared that the end of the world as we know it will come after the gospel of the kingdom is preached to the entire world. Consequently, you will hear people say, “We’ve got to get out there and preach to every nation so the Lord can come to rapture the church.” Not true. The Lord can rapture the church today, even though there are people groups who have not heard the gospel directly because the angels will preach the gospel to every nation, every tongue, every kindred, every people.

Revelation 14:7

“Worship the One who made everything you see,” the angel will declareputting a conclusive end to the evolution/creation debate.

Revelation 14:8

Two Babylons are spoken of in Revelation: religious Babylon and commercial Babylonthe false religious system and the oppressive economic system. The second angel declares both are powerless.

Revelation 14:9

The third angel says, “Don’t take the mark of the beast.” But the world, by and large, will buy into Antichrist’s diabolical plan. Those who suggest either that hell is not a literal place or that it won’t last for eternity haven’t read the Bible. In fact, Jesus taught more on the subject of hell than on the subject of heaven. That is why this angel cries with a loud voice, warning people to reject the mark of the Beast. There’s lots of talk about angels these days as cute, cuddly creatures. But when you read this passage, you realize they are creatures who plead passionately, proclaim loudly, and preach vehemently because hell is real. It’s not a game. I think of the twentieth chapter of Isaiah, where a most amazing thing happens… Although the Assyrians were headed in their direction, the people of Israel didn’t take the threat seriously. Oh, come on, they thought. Certainly we won’t be wiped out by the Assyrians. So God said to Isaiahthe eloquent orator, the educated, articulate prophet"The stakes are high. But the people aren’t listening. So I want you to take off your sandals, take off your clothes, and walk naked throughout this region for three years.” Now, whether this was three years continually or three years sporadically, Bible scholars disagree. But the fact remains that stately Isaiah did, in fact, obey. Why was he told to do this? Because the people had grown so calloused to the prophets’ words, they weren’t heeding the message. So God used this bold move to get their attention and to illustrate the fact that, as captives of the Assyrians, the Israelites would be led naked across the desert into captivity. Like Isaiah, we, too, live in crucial times, gang. You have relatives. I have friends. We have co-workers who are going to hell because, like the Israelites, they have become calloused to the threat of hell. But the stakes are too high for us just to say, “Well, whatever.” No, we must share the naked truth with themnot baring our bodies, but baring our souls. “But they’ll laugh at me,” you say. What do you think they did to Isaiah? Here in Revelation, the angels preach with a loud voice, “Don’t take the mark. You’ll be tormented forever.” People are in tribulation even today. Share the everlasting gospel with them, and, like the angels, you’ll soar in the heavenlies. I guarantee it!

Revelation 14:12

“Be patient” is the word given to those who become Christians during the Tribulationto those who respond to the evangelism of the 144,000, the message of the angels, the powerful testimony of the two witnesses in Jerusalem.

Revelation 14:13

The voice saying, “Blessed are those who die after they become believers during the Tribulation, because they will have rest from the hell on earth surrounding them,” would be unnecessary if the church is to go through the first part of the Tribulation, as some believe. If that were the case, the word would not be, “Blessed are you if you die,” but, “Blessed are you who hang on because the Rapture is about to occur.” Rest in Peace A Topical Study of Rev_14:13 I read an article about an intern in San Francisco who carries a cell phone, a laptop computer, and a handheld computer organizer to stay on top of his daily schedule. He even wears a pager under his wetsuit while surfing. No wonder psychologists are seeing more and more cases of stress and fatigue caused by a syndrome that has come to be known as “information overload.” After all, a single weekday edition of the New York Times contains more information than the average person in the seventeenth century would have encountered in his entire lifetime. That’s why I love what Jesus said when He said, Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.Mat_11:28-29 It is interesting to me that Jesus doesn’t promise rest from a difficult relationship, rest from the pressure of a job, or rest from the expectation of a college professor. He promises rest in one’s soul. Fellow fatigued Christianas we learn of Him, we find that the commands and demands, frustrations and expectations, the whirling and swirling of information all around us is actually redemptive. That is, it can serve a purpose. Due to a previous commitment, my wife, Tammy, and I weren’t able to see our son Benny’s Little League game one Friday. “How did it go, Ben?” we eagerly asked upon our return. “Well,” he answered, “before I got up to bat the first time, I went to the end of the dugout and I got on my knees and prayed.” “That’s great!” I said. “You probably parked it over the fence, huh?” “No,” he said as a huge grin spread across his face. “I struck out. But I got to pitch the next inning!” How often we pray, “Lord, change my husband,” or, “Lord, help my boss see the talent latent within me,” or, “Lord, let me get an ‘A.”’ Like Benjamin, we pray with faith and fervencyonly to strike out. But there’s a next inning, folksa big inning, a new, big inning, a new beginning. It’s called heaven. And because Jesus is preparing a place for us there (Joh_14:2), it is necessary that He prepare us for the place. But here’s the problem: We keep getting sidetracked. God desires us to focus on the big inning, the big picture of eternitybut we remain glued to home platecontinually intrigued, interested, tempted by the things of earth. I’m not talking about sin necessarily; but about getting stuck in the world’s trappings and priorities. To counter this, the Lord instructed His people to put a ribbon of blue on the borders of their garments, since blue in Scripture is the color of heaven (Num_15:38). But over the years, people became so accustomed to seeing blue, they didn’t notice it any more than you would notice someone coming in here wearing a pair of Levi 501s. So how does God choose to free us from the pull of the world? Our text tells us… And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.Rev_14:13 Who is the Lord speaking to here? To those who become believers during the Tribulation. With the wrath of God toward a Christ-rejecting, sinful world being poured out all around them, these Tribulation saints are weary beyond anything we can imagine. And what do they hear in heaven? “Happy are you who die in the Lord.” Why? “Because, at last, you will rest from your labor.” Fellow baby boomers, the older generation understood this in ways we don’t, as evidenced by the inscription seen on so many headstones in generations past: Rest In Peace. Perhaps it was the hardship of their lives that made them so much more aware of the true rest awaiting them in heaven than are we with our cars and computers and compactors. Our text helps me begin to understand that the gravitational pull of the worldto get me to trivialize my life, to waste my time, to throw away the limited days given me on earth to prepare for heavenis weakened through my own personal struggles and trials, fatigue and disappointments, heartaches and tribulation. And unlike a blue ribbon that’s easily forgotten or becomes an item of superstition, the weight of weariness or worry, sadness or stress causes me to say, “I’m really looking forward to heaven.” Why do I go through this struggle year after year? you wonder. The reason is that it’s absolutely necessaryto get you uncoupled from the world, to set you free from the pull of the temporal, to get you to long for heaven. If the people to whom our text was initially written were living on an island in Hawaii, being waited on hand and foot under swaying palm trees and setting sun with no money problems, no physical pain, no marital stress, no child-rearing difficulties, they would probably say, “My butler should be here any minute with my filet mignon, so could You hold off Your return for a little while longer, Lord?” Hard times will never come to an end, gang, because God knows they’re the only way we’ll long for heaven and thus fix our eyes on eternity. Jesus didn’t talk about heaven while sitting on the beach, overlooking the ocean, sipping a Coke. He talked about heaven in the same passage in which He told His disciples one of them would betray Him, one of them would deny Him, and He Himself would die (John 13-14). We don’t sense the bleakness the disciples must have felt because we know the whole story. They didn’t. They thought their whole lives were coming to an end. After all, they had left everything to follow this Rabbi. “Blessed are they,” Jesus would say, “who see the bigger picture, the scope of eternity, the kingdom of heavenfor they will have rest not from their problems, but in their soul. Precious brother, dear sister, you can get on your knees every night and pray, “God, solve this problem,” or, “Take away that pain,” or, “Get me out of this situation"but it could be that those are the very things God is using to make you a man or woman who lives for heaven. You might pray passionately and strike out on three pitchesbut never lose sight of the new, big inning just ahead. Batter up!

Revelation 14:14

Clouds are significant throughout Scripture because they represent the visible presence of God… When the law was first given, a cloud covered the mountain (Exo_19:16). When the law was given a second time, a cloud again appeared (Exo_34:5). Upon its completion, a cloud covered the tabernacle (Exo_40:34). Whenever the Israelites were to break camp on their journey to the Promised Land, a cloud led the way (Num_9:17). When the temple was dedicated, a cloud filled the holy of holies (1Ki_8:10). What a tragic sight it must have been for the Jews to see the glory of God leave the temple, the city of Jerusalem, the land of Israel because of their sin (Eze_9:3). But wait. God is never through with Israel. The cloud reappears in Israel when Jesus was on the Mount of Transfiguration (Mat_17:5) and again when He ascended to heaven (Act_1:9). According to this passage, it would seem that there comes a point in the Tribulation when salvation is no longer possible. The 144,000 have been called to heaven. The angels have made their proclamation. And now there will be a separation between those who become Christians in the Tribulation and those who don’t. So, too, in your own tribulation you need to understand there comes a time when your own hearteven as a believercan become hardened. The Bible speaks of a root of bitterness that can take hold in the soil of a man’s soul (Heb_12:15). I’ve seen believers go through tribulation, and rather than allow the Lord’s work of grace to take place in their hearts, they choose, instead, to be bitter and unforgiving. Don’t let that happen. Don’t be unforgiving. Don’t be cynical. Don’t be bitter. Don’t play that game because if you let bitterness and unforgiveness continue, there will come a point in your own tribulation when it will become an irreversible part of who you are.

Revelation 14:17

Referring to the parable of the wheat and tares in Matthew 13, the previous passage spoke of a harvest of grain. The second harvest here in verse Mat_13:18 speaks of a harvest of grapes.

Revelation 14:19

At this point, the harvest of separation has begun; the end of the world is at hand. “The city” in Scripture always referring to Jerusalem, it is fitting that the grapes are pressed “without the city,” for it was “without the city” that the True Vine, Jesus Christ, was pressed to the Cross for our sin (Joh_19:17). The blood resulting from the secondand lastharvest will flow from the valley of Armageddon down Jordan’s Rift Valley past Jerusalem one hundred eighty miles to the city of Bozrah… Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?Isa_63:1-2 Who is this One? None other than Jesus Christ. And now I begin to understand that I have two options: I will either drown in the horrific bloodbath of Armageddon, or I will bathe in the gracious Blood of the Lamb. Truly, the greatest bloodshed in all of history took place not in a world war, but when Jesus died on the Cross in order to wash us in His blood.