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PART 5.4 - THE LAMB OF GOD IN THE MIDST OF HIS 144.000 BLOOD WITNESSES FROM ISRAEL (REVELATION 14:1-5)
REVELATION 14:1-5
1 I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him a number, one hundred forty-four thousand, having his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads. 2 I heard a sound from heaven, like the sound of many waters, and like the sound of a great thunder. The sound which I heard was like that of harpists playing on their harps. 3 They sing a new song before the throne, and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the one hundred forty-four thousand, those who had been redeemed out of the earth. 4 These are those who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are those who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed by Jesus from among men, the first fruits to God and to the Lamb. 5 In their mouth was found no lie, for they are blameless before the throne of God.
The Redeemed Are Secure in the Lamb of God: After the depressing visions about the power-obsessed anti-Christ and his cunning prophet John received comfort through a view to the light. He saw the glory of the Lamb of God and his love of the blood-witnesses who where tortured and killed for his name's sake. Since the description of how the enthroned Crucified One had broken the seventh seal (Revelation 8:1), the book of Revelation reported in 99 verses only on the shaking trumpet judgments and nothing else on the Lamb of God. But now the Savior came forward from his seclusion, and it took John almost his breath away so that he could only say stammering: I saw, - behold the Lamb!
The Lamb of God is the comfort and the source of strength for all believers in Christ in all times. In contrast to the false prophet, who appeared as a lamb with a dragon's voice, and to the seven-headed monster from the sea having a deathly wound similar to the true Lamb of God, now the true Lamb of God appeared in his holy love, lowliness and loftiness.
Jesus left the throne of his Father so as to save his blood-witnesses from the persecution through the son of the Evil one in the centre of Jerusalem. John saw Christ on the mountain Zion standing in their midst. Where the Lamb of God appears, there is a place of comfort, into which an enemy cannot invade.
Around these witnesses, in the unholy land, anti-Christ went wild. He sat enthroned in the third temple in the midst of mount Zion and blasphemed against God, his Lamb and his church. Yet the venomous and vitriolic words of anti-Christ do not hurt the 144.000 elected from Israel any longer as they rest in Christ. They are in the presence of the Lamb of God and escaped from all suffering. The true Zion exists in the midst of the satanic Zion and yet cannot be destroyed by the son of perdition. The protective power of the risen Christ is greater than we may think of. With him are peace, security, rest, and holy joy. Christ is our hiding place (Psalm 23:4-5).
The 144,000 redeemed are full of praise and gratitude and recognize that they did not hold fast to faith in their persecution and death because of fantasy but because of an eternal reality, namely, Jesus is alive and reigns! The Lamb of God did not alter in his sympathizing, substitutionary and supplicating character traits. He did not become proud because of the plentitude of power given to him. Jesus is standing in the midst of the crowd of perfect Jewish Christians from Israel. He is full of joy to see his bride church purified by sufferings, and to talk with her and comfort her.
Mount Zion in the Past and in the Future: Likewise as Jesus once in his lifetime on earth walked in the midst of his disciples, so John saw his Lord now standing in the midst of his followers on the legendary mount Zion. Mount Zion is mentioned 154 times in the Old Testament and seven times in the New Testament. At first it meant the Old City of David on the southeastern slope of today's Jerusalem. Soon after however all of Jerusalem and also the whole of Israel was recognized as Zion (Psalm 149:2; Isaiah 46:13; Zephaniah 3:14-15 and other verses). In most cases, however, this term describes the Temple Mountain including the temple and the services therein (Psalm 84:8; Isaiah 8:18; 24:23; 31:4; Jeremiah 31:6; Micah 4:7 and other verses). There was the place of atonement and worship. In the figurative sense “Mount Zion” is the place where the believers meet their Lord and also the place where they are secure in him (Hebrews 12:22). In the end what should strictly speaking be thought of is the heavenly Jerusalem (Galatians 4:25-26; Ephesians 2:6; Philippians 3:20; Revelation 21:2). John does not specify the term “Zion” in his vision, so it may include all these mentioned meanings!
In Zion on earth according to the book of Revelation in the end of times anti-Christ will reign, threat the Lamb of God and dispute his right. If John designates with the term “Zion” Jerusalem destroyed by the Romans and today rebuild, then Jesus broke into the midst of the realm of Satan's son and redeemed his faithful witnesses - who may already have died or are still alive - and took them to his presence. But if he thought of the heavenly Jerusalem, then John describes, how Jesus rose from his throne so as to welcome his blood witnesses personally as they had glorified him in their live and dying and belong to him (Isaiah 43:1).
The 144,000 sealed out of the tribes of Israel (Revelation 7:1-8) passed their test. They endured sufferings, tortures and temptations of the last time, even though anti-Christ and his false prophet reigned from Jerusalem mightily the whole country, and deceived and killed. In the last days of the time Mount Zion is in the centre of interest, and therefore the Jewish Christians will be persecuted and killed preferentially before all other followers of Christ. Yet the perfect number of the elect ones demonstrates that Jesus does not loose even a single one of his sealed followers. Nobody out of the eleven tribes (without Dan) will be an unholy and fruitless failure, because all of them are living on the grace, power and love of the Lamb. The fact that Jesus will make perfect all his 144,000 followers from Israel, demonstrates the authority of his name: His name is Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). The evangelization of Jews will be accomplished in the last days in spite of the anti-Christian terror. Even the disunity of the Messianic churches and their opposite views in the matter of faith will not stop the triumphal advance of the gospel in Israel. For the true Messianic churches are in agreement about the confession of the apostle Paul: I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first, and for the gentiles alike. (Romans 1:16)
The Name of God and of Jesus Christ on the Foreheads of the Martyrs: In this bright and encouraging vision of the Lamb and those who are his on the Mount Zion, John was able to decipher the content of the seal which the angel had engraved on the foreheads of the 144,000 (Revelation 2:7-8): It is the name of the Lamb and the name of God Father. What about this name? A baptism “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” is not an empty routine matter, but the way to grant eternal rights and authority which are realized in the faith of committed followers of Christ. While the 144,000 from Israel bear this name, they confess that they are depraved and lost sinners by nature who were cleansed solely by the blood of the Lamb of God from all their sins. Jesus has purchased these sinners from Israel with his blood as his eternal property. They do not belong to themselves any longer, but to the Lamb of God. The seals on their foreheads testify legally and unchangeably his legal claim.
The seer realized clearly that not only the name of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, can be read on the foreheads of the sealed, but also the name of God, his Father. This verse is one of the most important verses in the book of Revelation where God is confessed as the Father of Jesus Christ (Revelation 1:6; 2:28; 3:5.21; 14:1). In this manner John inculcates on us that the almighty Creator, the Lord and judge of the world, is not first and foremost “our” father, but the father of Jesus Christ. None of us is worthy to call God his father (Luke 15:21). Solely by the atoning death and the supplication of Jesus Christ we are appointed to the right of sons. Jesus Christ allowed, even commanded us to call his father also our father (Matthew 6:9). Jesus had not been adopted or reborn by God, but he proceeded out of him before the time as the word proceeds out of the mouth. Jesus is God from God, light from light, true God from God, begotten (born) and not made, of one Being with the Father. Yet we are not worthy to lift up our eyes to God (Luke 18:13-14). Solely by the grace of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ we were adopted and born again by the power of his Holy Spirit. From this time on the Holy Spirit testifies us that we are children of God and calls in us: “Abba, Father!” (Romans 8:15-16). John describes this mystery in his epistle to the churches: Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God! ... Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:1-2; Romans 8:17; Philippians 3:20-21; Colossians 3:4; and other verses)
This privilege is not only for the Christians out of the unclean nations, namely, that they have been reconciled by the blood of Jesus Christ with God and become his own children. This right is first and foremost for the Jewish Christians who know and believe in their temptations and sufferings that Yahweh is not only the father of their nation (in the legal sense) (Deuteronomy 32:6; 2 Samuel 7:14; 1 Chronicles 17:13; 22:10; 28:6; Psalm 68:5; 89:26; Isaiah 9:5; 63:16; 64:8; Jeremiah 3:4.19; 31:9; Malachi 1:6; 2:10 and other verses), but the Father of Jesus Christ and through him also their father. Therewith they confess that Yahweh, the God of the covenant, has become their own father. This creed is the rock on which Jesus Christ is building his church. The knowledge of this mystery receives man only by direct inspiration from the Father (Matthew 16:16-19)! As Jesus confirmed this fact before the Sanhedrin, he was crucified (Matthew 26:63-64). From the pastoral and missionary point of view it is a sensation that 144,000 Jews bear on their forehead not only the name of the Lamb but also the name of his Father. Therefore we want to worship together with them and praise continually with great joy the Father and the Son in the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
The New Song Before the Throne of God: John suddenly heard a voice from heaven like the roar of a great waterfall emerging from the distance, but which was getting louder and became like the rumbling and thundering of a thunderstorm. When the seer listened closely, he heard the voices of singers playing their harps eagerly and enthusiastically. The soft sound of the harps sounded so mightily that it finally filled the whole heaven.
With this cosmic music the present vision changed. John now did not see Mount Zion any longer, but was standing in the midst of the throne room in heaven where the 144,000 in the presence of the four throne guardians and the 24 elders played their thanksgiving and praise to the Father and the Lamb. The text of this song is concealed from us. Nobody is able to learn and understand these words, except the 144,000 who went through unspeakable sufferings, temptations, torture and death for Jesus' sake.
That we nevertheless look into the content of this praise, is related to the worship of Stephen, St Paul and of John, as each of them could have composed some verses of this song in the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We think of the speech of Stephen before the Sanhedrin (Acts 7:1-60) or the speech of St Paul before King Agrippa (Acts 26:-29), of his hymn in the epistle to the church of Rome (Romans 8:31-39), of his declaration for Israel (Romans 9:1-8), of his eager supplication for the church (Ephesians 3:14-21), of his Christology (Philippians 2:5-11) and of his blessing greetings (Philippians 4:7). In a similar manner John confessed in great astonishment that Jesus was God in flesh (1 John 1:1-3) and that God himself is love (John 3:16; 1 John 4:9-10.15-16). All apostles of Jesus Christ were Jews and belong to the church of the firstborn. Only Jews have given us the gospel of life. Who will learn by heart their texts, is able to hum along the new song of the 144,000.
The blood witnesses from Israel lived with the wording of the Torah in their mind and clung to the promises of the prophets. They sang the psalms from memory. They believed in the glory of God, held to his covenant with his stiff-necked people and hoped for the promised sonship (Exodus 4:22; Deuteronomy 7:6; Romans 9:3-5). They were the first to receive the Holy Spirit and eternal life. Therefore the depth of their worship arose not only from their feelings, but based on the richness of the grace of the Lord which had been committed to many generations. The sufferings of the last time deepened their love of the Father and his Lamb by the power of his Holy Spirit. The entire Old Testament burst out of them in the knowledge and experience of the New Testament. Our modern hymns should draw again more and more from the fullness of the Word of God otherwise they will “rot” quickly.
Chastity of the Martyrs: The statement in Revelation 14:4 that only men who had no sexual relationship with a woman and blameless virgins belong to the chosen of the Lamb of God is misleading in the German version. The term “virgin” is in the Greek and Latin language two-gendered and denotes chaste men as well as blameless virgins.
The marriage ordinances of the Bible originate from the paradise before the fall and are a good gift of God (Genesis 1:27; 2:18-25; Matthew 19:4-6; Mark 10:6-8 and other verses). Yet since the fall all men, even those who are unmarried, are sinners and will not become righteous by themselves but solely by the grace of the Lamb of God. The same is true for all deaconesses, nuns and unmarried women. Nobody will become righteous through his own merit, but solely through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ (Genesis 6:12; Psalm 14:3; Romans 3:10-24 and other verses). Ascetics are not holier than justified sinners (Romans 3:28; Galatians 2:16 and other verses.). The monk Luther had suffered from this spiritual reality on his own body and conscience and married a nun so as to give all honor to the Lamb of God.
This spiritual principle does not exclude that several people like St Paul are called to celibacy by Jesus so as to devote their whole time, strength and income to Jesus (Matthew 19:12; 1 Corinthians 7:7 and other verses). Yet we all will become righteous solely by the blood and righteousness of Christ, which was emphasized by St Paul starkly.
Behind the mysterious passage about purity and abstinence of the 144,000 Jewish Christians is not chastity hidden but this is the biblical language use that the elected of Jesus Christ abstained from every idolatry and did not worship the image of the son of the dragon even under pressure and death threat (Jeremiah 3:6-13; 13:27; Hosea 2:4; 3:1; Matthew 12:39; 2 Peter 3:14; James 1:27 and other verses). They solely confided in the Lamb of God and did not open up to any multicultural or syncretistic church service. Some expositors think that worshippers on Mount Zion did not associate with the “Harlot Babylon". They did not open up to any other spirit but the spirit of the Lamb which is the spirit of the Father and of the Son (John 16:13-15; 17:10 and other verses). They solely loved Jesus, their Messiah, and his Father, namely with all their heart, with all their soul and with all their strength (Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30, 33; Luke 10:27 and other verses).To the little Lamb in the throne of God they sacrificed out of love their honor, family, property, time, and life. That was their pure and undefiled religion.
On the Way Following the Lamb: It is attested that the 144,000 follow the Lamb of God wherever he goes. Jesus gave the serious invitation: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. (Matthew 16:24-26; 10:38-39; Mark 8:34-38; Luke 9:23-26; 1 Peter 2:20-21 and other verses) Jesus appeals to the will of man so that he commits himself totally to him and goes with him through thick and thin. That requires, however, the opposite of self-realization: we are not to care about ourselves any longer, to pity ourselves and centre around ourselves, but accept that only Jesus is the centre and purpose of our life. Additionally we are “to take up our own cross". In Ancient Rome slaves who had run away and rebels were crucified. Thus the command of Christ means that we have to confess through the spirit of God that we are rebels and refuse to serve, and have to be judged. We all do not what we should do and do what we do not want to do (Romans 7:15-20). Therefore we deserve to be crucified. Our proud ego must break up and die when we follow Christ so that he can live in us (Galatians 2:19-20).
Jesus also said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” (John 10:27-28) To listen to the voice of Christ and to discern between his voice and so many others in the cacophony of our present time is the mystery of being the disciple of Christ. We hear the voice of Christ when we read the gospel and pray according to his word. Yet listening to the word of God must combine with obedience of faith, otherwise he who listens will become guilty!
Jesus says, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall (only in this way) find rest unto your souls.” (Matthew 11:29) Jesus wants to transform us into his lamb nature! The Lamb of God reveals himself as the good shepherd so that the shepherds in the church become lambs! Repentance means change of mind. Particularly the saints and active Christians need to turn daily to the Lamb of God. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. (Matthew 5:5) “In every house a lamb” is one of the best ways for peace in a family and in a block of flats.
St Paul writes, “For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Psalm 44:23; Romans 8:36-37). The testimony of St Paul denotes the great change in his life: the hotspur and fearnought, the law fanatic and persecutor of the church became a lamb while he followed Christ! What the stations of the transformation of our evil ego may be while we follow the good shepherd, has Fritz Binde demonstrated in his book “Walking the way after the Lamb".
Does Jesus Send his Witnesses Into Death? Jesus said, “I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves.” (Matthew 10:16-26) How long will a sheep live, if it is thrown in the midst of a wolf pack? Not a single minute! The wolves will shoot it down in flames. How, then can Jesus send his followers in the midst of wolves? He shuts their mouth so that they are not able to bite and tear his sheep. No man or demon is able to do harm to a faithful witness of Christ until he has accomplished his testimony (Revelation 11:3-7; Matthew 28:20). Not all of the followers of Christ have to die in their service for Jesus, but James, the brother of John, James, the brother of Jesus Christ, Peter and Paul as well as other apostles sealed their testimony for the Lamb of God with their life. In doing so they followed the Lamb who does not require anything from us what he had not experienced and suffered himself. In the period of anti-Christ the number of the followers of the Lamb who give witness to their faith by their death will jump up.
A crowning description of how to follow Christ is “through death to life and through suffering to glory". Jesus takes the 144,000 from Mount Zion so as to lead them before the throne of God where they praise God and his Lamb. The life which they received from the good shepherd is eternal. Even though they die, they will live in eternity. Delivered from circumstances which could cause fear and threat, (Psalm 23:4-5), they will be transformed into the image of the Lamb and his Father (Genesis 1:27; Romans 8:29-30 and other verses).
A further secret which characterizes Christ and his followers is that they have compassion for all lost people. Jesus was moved with compassion on the scattered people who had no shepherd (Matthew 9:36-38). He inserts his mercy, his compassion and the love of God into the hearts of his followers (Luke 6:36; Romans 5:5); he makes them kings and priests (Exodus 19:6; 1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:6; 5:9-12 and other verses). The compassion of Christ and the love of God are the forces which promote the salvation plan. The 144,000 are following the Lamb of God also in the eternity in this respect.
We, too, are called to join the crowd of the compassionate ones who do not superficially condemn the transgressions of their neighbors, colleges and relatives, but make intercession in a priestly manner for the sinners before the throne of God and do not cease to pray for them that they may repent and join the flock of Christ and become transformed from their wolf nature into the image of the Lamb of God. The testimony of Jesus in Luke 4:18 should be repeated and exercised by each of his followers, “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD has anointed me to preach good tidings to the meek; he has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them who are bound.” (Isaiah 61:1-2)
Muhammad has established in his Qur’an that there are different types of Christians: disciples, helpers (fighters), faithful prayers, committed Muslims, followers of Christ and blood witnesses. He confirmed several times that the “followers of Christ” are a special type of Christians, who love their enemies and have compassion on them (Suras Al 'Imran 3:52,55; al-Ma'ida 5:82; al-Hadid 57:27a.). Muhammad watched the Christians narrowly and recognized and described the true followers of the Lamb. Yet he was not prepared to take off his wolf nature, instead he became one of the great anti-Christs and false prophets.
Firstfruit to God and His Lamb: The 144,000 are assured that they are firstfruits to God and his Lamb. The first Pentecost was thanksgiving for the first sheaves! Those who received on Pentecost the Holy Spirit were the earnest of further people who received the Holy Spirit. They shared the gospel and its power. One link of the relay of those who became awakened by them is the crowd of 144,000 who are the firstfruit of the people of the Old Testament who returned in the 20th century to their homeland after the dispersion of 1,878 years (70-1948 AD). The spirit of the son of the dragoon, however, can not tolerate those who are born by the Holy Spirit among them; he must murder them. Yet they go on living, praying and believing. They wrestle with God for the saving of their lost people (Romans 9:1-3; Revelation 3:7-13). And in fact, they are promised that just before Christ will return an awakening in their hardened and obsessed people will flare up the fire of which none of the anti-Christs and false prophets is able to extinguish (Acts 15:13-18; Amos 9:11-12; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:24-32; 37:1-14; Joel 3:1-5; Zechariah 12:10; John 19:37; Revelation 1:7 and other verses).
John heard in his vision (Revelation 14:5) that the 144,000 martyrs bore witness to the truth about the Lamb of God and his Father publicly, in examinations, in persecutions, and even until death. They did not feign even though the temptation nagged at their hearts to pretend to be Jews and not Christians. The spirit of the Lamb overcame their doubts, their cowardice, and the temptation to take the line of the least resistance, so that they were able to testify the entire gospel with wisdom to their people which was influenced in an anti-Christian manner.
In spite of their example the 144,000 from Israel should not be idealized, as they live like us on the forgiveness and grace through the blood of the Lamb. Only the Holy Spirit leads them to believe in the promises of Jesus in spite of increasing resistance and hatred so that these promises come true through their life (Matthew 10:19-42; John 16:1-4 and other verses). Because of the faithfulness of Jesus they are able to be faithful, and we too.
The Holy Spirit bears witness to the 144,000 that they are blameless. In those sheep that are going to be slaughtered in the last time the grace of Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit have achieved their purpose (2 Corinthians 13:13; Revelation 7:14-17; 12:11).
PRAYER: Holy Father, we magnify You because Your only Son will come to receive those who died for Your name and His and He will gather them on Mount Zion, in the power base of antichrist and lead them toward heaven to You, while they sing and praise, having reached the goal of their souls written on their foreheads, the name of the Father and the name of the Son, the one God. Amen.
QUESTIONS:
- What is written on the foreheads of the martyrs whom Christ will lead personally to His heavenly Father while they sing and praise?
- Why does antichrist not catch them and destroy them?
- What is the significance of the number 144000 with respect to those praising martyrs?