The Lamb and the 144,000 (Revelation 14:1-5)
- What is one song you would like to learn to sing by heart?
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2. Who did John see standing before him? (Revelation 14:1)
3. Where in this vision of John’s was the central character standing? (Revelation 14:1)
4. Who was standing with the Lamb? (Revelation 14:1)
5. What was written on the foreheads of the 144,000? (Revelation 14:1)
6. What was the sound that John heard from heaven like? (Revelation 14:2)
7. What did the 144,000 do as John looked on? (Revelation 14:3)
8. Who besides John heard the 144,000 singers? (Revelation 14:3)
9. Who was given the privilege of learning the song of the 144,000? (Revelation 14:3)
10. How is the purity of the 144,000 described? (Revelation 14:4)
11. How is the commitment and faithfulness of the 144,000 pictured? (Revelation 14:4)
12. What is said here about the unique spiritual condition of the 144,000? (Revelation 14:4-5)
13. How is the integrity of the 144,000 described? (Revelation 14:5)
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14. Why do you think the 144,000 are able to learn the new song of praise?
15. What does it mean to “follow the Lamb wherever He goes?
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16. What can you do to make yourself more open to follow the Lord wherever He leads you?
Commentary
Chapter 14 is a bright contrast to the darkness of chapter 13, which describes Satan (the dragon), Antichrist, the final false prophet, deception, the unredeemed, idolatry, and the mark of the beast. Chapter 14 describes the Lamb, angels, redeemed saints, genuine worship, and those sealed by God. In chapter 13 there is falsehood, wickedness, corruption, and blasphemy; in chapter 14 there is truth, righteousness, purity, and praise. In addition to its prophetic significance, this passage yields important practical principles for triumphant Christian living.
Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads. (14:1)
The phrase I looked and behold, or its equivalent appears frequently in Revelation to introduce startling, dramatic events (v. 14; 4:1; 6:2, 5, 8; 7:9; 15:5; 19:11). What arrested John’s attention was the awe-inspiring sight of the Lamb … standing on Mount Zion. Revelation depicts the Lamb as slain (5:6; 13:8), glorified (5:8, 12-13), exalted (7:9-10), the Redeemer (7:14) and Shepherd (7:17) of His people, and the Lord of Lords and King of Kings (17:14).
This passage describes the return of Christ to the earthly Mount Zion. Some people insist that the number one hundred and forty-four thousand is not to be taken literally. They argue that it symbolizes the church, or the Tribulation saints, or history’s most outstanding Christians gathered in heaven for this scene. Some cults insist that it refers to them—which poses a problem for the ones with more than 144,000 adherents. But all such speculative personal alteration of Scripture is pointless; their identity is not in doubt. This is a group of 144,000 real, live people—12,000 Jewish believers from each of the twelve tribes of Israel (Rev. 7:4-8).
The text also describes the 144,000 as having His [the Lamb’s] name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads. Unbelievers will receive the mark of the beast (13:16-17); the 144,000 will have the mark of God placed on their foreheads (7:3) for their protection. Satan and the unbelieving world will desperately seek to kill these powerful, fearless preachers of the gospel. But, having marked them as His own possession, God will not permit them to be harmed. Throughout the cataclysmic outpouring of God’s final judgments and Satan’s final fury, they will preach the gospel. They will confront unbelievers with their sins, call them to repentance and faith in the Savior, and proclaim that the catastrophes taking place are God’s righteous judgments. And despite Satan’s best efforts, all 144,000 will survive to meet Christ on Mount Zion at His second coming. They will enter the millennial kingdom as living men. Most likely, the 144,000 will continue their evangelistic work throughout that thousand-year period. While only redeemed people will enter the kingdom, the children born to them (Isa. 65:23) will not all believe. In fact, there will be enough unregenerate people by the end of the Millennium for Satan to lead a worldwide rebellion against Christ’s rule (20:7-10).
And I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps. And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been purchased from the earth. (14:2-3)
Standing with the Lamb on Mount Zion, the 144,000 will join in the heavenly song of redemption. With all the devastation they have seen, with all the trouble they have faced, with all the rejection, hostility, hatred, and persecution they have endured, one might expect them to be too sorrowful to sing (Ps. 137:1-4). But instead they will joyously praise the Lord for their protection and triumph.
This is not the first time John heard a voice from heaven (4:1; 10:4, 8; 11:12; 12:10), nor will it be the last (v. 13; 18:4; 19:1). The voice he heard was very loud and continuous, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. Ezekiel 43:2 likens the voice of God to the sound of many waters, while Revelation 1:15 describes the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ in the same way. But since Revelation 19:6 uses both of those phrases to describe the voice of a heavenly multitude, it is best to understand them in that sense here.
The song began in 5:9-10, when the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders “sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.’” The next to join in were myriads of angels, who began “saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing’ (5:12). Finally, “every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them [began] saying, ‘To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever’” (5:13). In 7:9-10, the Tribulation martyrs joined in the escalating chorus of praise: “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’”
The mighty voice was not mere noise; it had a musical quality, like the sound of harpists playing on their harps. The reference to harpists and harps suggests that the voice expressed not thunderous judgment but joy. Harps are frequently associated in the Old Testament with joyous praise (2 Sam. 6:5; 1 Chron. 13:8; 15:16, 28; 2 Chron. 5:12-13; Neh. 12:27; Ps. 33:2; 71:22; 144:9; 150:3). Heaven will resound with loud praise when the Lord Jesus Christ returns in triumph to establish His earthly kingdom.
The new song sung in heaven before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders is the song of redemption (Ps. 33:1-3; 40:3; 96:1-2; 98:1-2; 144:9-10; 149:1; Isa. 42:10). The angels will join the Old Testament saints, the raptured church, and the redeemed Tribulation martyrs in praising God for salvation. While angels do not experience redemption, they do rejoice because of it (Luke 15:10). All heaven will overflow with praise because God’s redemptive work culminating in the return of Christ is accomplished.
Heaven’s praise overflows to earth, where the new song is taken up. John notes that no one could learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been purchased from the earth. The unregenerate cannot, of course, sing the song of redemption; it is only for the redeemed, those purchased by Christ’s blood. Why the song is restricted to the one hundred and forty-four thousand is not stated.
These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste. (14:4a)
Amid the darkness of the Tribulation period, the 144,000 will shine forth like beacons of purity. Despite the rampant sexual sin that surrounds them, they will not be defiled with women, but will keep themselves chaste. That the specific sin that they will avoid involves women indicates that sexual purity is in view here, not detachment from the corrupt world system. That the 144,000 will be separate from Antichrist’s empire has already been made clear; they bear God’s mark, not the beast’s (7:3-4). Nor does this passage teach that they will all be unmarried, since sex within marriage does not defile anyone (Heb. 13:4). What it means is that they will stand apart from the sin of their culture; 144,000 morally pure preachers amid the defilement that surrounds them.
These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. (14:4b)
The 144,000 are further characterized as the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They will be partisans to the party of the Lamb.
These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb. (14:4c)
In redemptive language reminiscent of 5:9, John explains that the 144,000 have been purchased from among men. But while all believers have been purchased by God (Acts 20:28; 1 Cor. 6:20; 7:23;1 Pet. 1:18-19), the 144,000 were purchased for a special purpose. They will be redeemed as first fruits to God and to the Lamb. In the Old Testament the first fruits, the first part of a crop to be harvested, were offered to God (Deut. 26:1-11) to be used in His service (Deut. 18:3-5). The 144,000, like the first fruits offering, will be set apart for divine service. The number 144,000 does not symbolize all the Tribulation saints, but rather designates a group of Jewish evangelists. The purpose of their lives will be to serve the Lord by proclaiming the gospel to the lost, perishing, Christ-rejecting world.
And no lie was found in their mouth; (14:5a) The 144,000 will not propagate Satan’s lies, but will speak God’s truth. They will be like those of whom Zephaniah wrote: “The remnant of Israel will do no wrong and tell no lies, nor will a deceitful tongue be found in their mouths” (Zeph. 3:13). The unbelieving world will be consumed with “false wonders,” “all the deception of wickedness,” and “a deluding influence” judgmentally decreed by God so that those who reject the gospel “will believe what is false” (2 Thess. 2:9-11). But the 144,000 will accurately proclaim the Word of God without wavering, equivocating, or altering it.
They are blameless. (14:5b) Because they will trust in God’s power and lead lives characterized by praise, purity, devoted loyalty, and singleness of purpose, the 144,000 will be blameless. That does not, of course, mean that they will be sinless (1 Kings 8:46; Job 15:14-16; Ps. 143:2; Prov. 20:9; Eccl. 7:20; 1 John 1:8-10), but they will be sanctified. They will be above reproach, leading godly lives before all who see them.
The 144,000 deserve a place in the “Hall of Fame” of the Christian faith (Heb. 11). They will lead holy lives and minister effectively for God during history’s darkest hour. Their exemplary efforts will spearhead the greatest spiritual awakening the world will ever see (6:9-11; 7:9). The inspired account of their lives and ministry provides a pattern of triumphant Christian living for all believers to follow.
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