The Lamb, the 144,000 & the New Song
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Before we begin, I would like to thank the congregation for giving so generously to the Believers in Afghanistan. As a congregation we have raised $1,367 and have added the $1,000 match. It is just one way that we can reach out in love to our persecuted Brothers and Sisters in Messiah.
Brief Background
Brief Background
For those who are just joining us, we are working our way through the book of Revelation. John the son of Zebedee was in exile on the isle of Patmos. Yeshua was revealed to him there, and John was commanded to write to seven communities in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey).
Last week we looked into the Second Beast who rose out of the earth. We covered how it acts with the authority of the first beast and sets up an image to the first beast. Specifically, we showed that the second beast demands, at the point of the sword, that all people worship the first beast. Those who worship the first beast receive the name, or the number of the name of the name, on their forehead or right hand.
Today we begin Chapter 14 and John’s vision of the Lamb and the 144,000 singing a new song in the heavenly Mount Zion.
The Song Learned by the 144,000
The Song Learned by the 144,000
Let’s begin by reading again Revelation 14:1-5
Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him were 144,000 who had His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and the booming of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like harpists playing on their harps. And they are singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one is able to learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. These are the ones who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been redeemed from among mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no lie—they are blameless.
Mount Zion
Mount Zion
When John speaks of Mount Zion, one of the hills surrounding Jerusalem, we need to remember that at the time of the writing of Revelation, it had already been conquered by Titus and most of the walls destroyed. Throughout the prophets, Mount Zion had come to represent more than just the physical city of Jerusalem.
Zion was the present dwelling of God: Ps. 74:2 “Remember Your congregation, which You purchased of old, redeemed as the tribe of Your inheritance, and Mount Zion, where You dwelt.” & Ps. 76:2-3 “In Judah God is known. In Israel His Name is great. In Salem is His sukkah and His dwelling place in Zion.”
Zion is the future dwelling of God: Zech. 2:14 ““ ‘Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! For behold, I am coming and I will live among you’—it is a declaration of Adonai.” & Zech. 8:3 “Thus says Adonai, “I will return to Zion and dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth and the mountain of Adonai-Tzva’ot will be called the Holy Mountain.””
Zion is the place of Israel’s hope of salvation: Ps. 53:7 “Who will give salvation for Israel out of Zion? When God restores His captive people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad!” & Ps. 69:36 “For God will save Zion, and rebuild the cities of Judah. Then they will dwell there and possess it.”
Zion is the place for Israel’s triumph: Ps. 110:2 “Adonai will extend your mighty rod from Zion: “Rule in the midst of your enemies.”” Obad. 21 “The victorious will go up on Mount Zion to judge the hill country of Esau. Then the kingdom shall be Adonai’s.”
The first century believers would also have known about the prophets declaring that Adonai would rebuild Zion. This would have been extremely encouraging especially since Jerusalem had been flattened. We need to go over several of these passages as well, because all these point to the Day of the Lord or the Second Coming of Messiah, Yeshua.
In that day the Branch of Adonai will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land excellent and appealing for Israel’s survivors. So it will come to pass that whoever is left in Zion and whoever remains in Jerusalem will be called holy—everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem. After Adonai has washed away the filth of the Daughters of Zion and has purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning, then Adonai will create over the whole area of Mount Zion and over her convocations, a cloud by day, and smoke and shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all, glory will be a canopy. Then there will be a sukkah for shade by day from the heat, and for refuge and for shelter from storm and from rain.
Here Isaiah is declaring that the “Branch of Adonai”, which is a title for the Messiah, will be the one to establish righteousness throughout Jerusalem and all of Mount Zion. Interestingly there is also a link here to the Feast of Sukkot, as there is a promise of Adonai protecting Israel with the Sukkah of his presence. Notice the similarity to the time in the Wilderness, where Adonai’s presence protected the people with a pillar cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night? This will truly be a time of rejoicing!
The next passage from Isaiah, is from our congregation’s founding scripture.
Go through, go through the gates. Clear the way for the people! Build up, build up the highway! Remove the stones. Lift up a banner over the peoples. Behold, Adonai has proclaimed to the end of the earth: Say to the Daughter of Zion, “Behold, your salvation comes! See, His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him.” Then they will call them The Holy People, The Redeemed of Adonai, and you will be called, Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken.
There is a link in this prophesy of Isaiah to both the calling of John the Immerser to “prepare the way” and to Yeshua’s second coming when His “reward is with Him.” Malachi 3:1, Revelation 22:12. So, we are seeing this concept of two comings of Messiah built into this same prophesy. This is why Yeshua’s Talmidim asked him, “Lord, are You restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?” There was an expectation that Messiah would fulfil these prophesies and usher in a time of righteousness and peace. This expectation is also seen in the prophet Micah. Micah speaks of the restoration of Mount Zion, which becomes an important passage to understand the concept of the term mountain in prophesy. Micah 4:1-3
But at the end of days the mountain of Adonai’s House will be established as chief of the mountains, and will be raised above the hills. Peoples will flow up to it. Then many nations will go and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of Adonai, to the House of the God of Jacob! Then He will direct us in His ways, and we will walk in His paths.” For Torah will go forth from Zion, and the word of Adonai from Jerusalem. He will judge between many peoples and decide for mighty nations far off. They will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning shears. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, nor will they learn war again.
We can see that “mountain” in this context speaks of the entire nation, and part of this end-time prophesy is that the “mountain” or nation of Adonai’s house will be established over all other nations. Before we get back to the passage in Revelation there is one other prophesy that I want to cover, and that is Zech. 2:10-16
Oy, oy! Flee from the land of the north”—it is a declaration of Adonai—“because I scattered you like the four winds of heaven”—it is a declaration of Adonai. “Oy, Zion! Escape, you who are living with the daughter of Babylon.” “For thus says Adonai-Tzva’ot, He has sent me after glory to the nations that plundered you—because whoever touches you touches the apple of His eye— ‘For behold, I will shake My hand against them and they will be plunder to their servants.’ Then you will know that Adonai-Tzva’ot has sent me. “ ‘Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! For behold, I am coming and I will live among you’—it is a declaration of Adonai. ‘In that day many nations will join themselves to Adonai and they will be My people and I will dwell among you.’ Then you will know that Adonai-Tzva’ot has sent me to you. Adonai will inherit Judah as His portion in the holy land and will once again choose Jerusalem.
This passage links us back to Revelation in several ways. Since we are talking about Zion, we see that Adonai is declaring that He s coming to live and dwell among Israel. This again is an allusion to the ultimate fulfillment of the Feast of Sukkot. But this passage also starts with a warning to “Flee from the land of the North” and to “Escape, you who are living with the daughter of Babylon.” This will link us into next week’s sermon on Rev. 14:6-13 where we see the first reference to Babylon.
There is also the strange back and forth in this text. Adonai is sending someone to the nations, who will shake their hand against them, who will come and live among them. This passage is prophesying of the Messiah, the one who will come in Adonai’s name, who will inherit Judah and again choose Jerusalem. But this passage seems to imply that the Messiah is pre-existent and sent from Adonai.
The 144,000
The 144,000
Coming back to Rev. 14:1, we once again see a reference to the 144,000. Several weeks ago, when we spoke about the 144,000 in Rev 7. We saw there that John seems to see a distinction between the 144,000 Messianic Jews and the uncountable multitudes of nations, tribes and tongues who were around the throne worshiping Adonai. And while there is reason to believe that the number 144,000, may be symbolic, I concluded then, that I believe this group represents the Firstfruits of believers, the Messianic Jews. This passage in Rev. 14:4-5 seems to confirm what I believe.
John lists the characteristis of these believers:
They are redeemed from the earth,
Have not defiled them self with women, for they are virgins,
Follow the Lamb,
Firstfruits for God and the Lamb,
In their mouth there is no lie, they are blameless.
Based on the context, it would seem that these believers have already been martyred, and are currently standing around the throne with the Lamb. They are those who have been redeemed.
When it states that they are virgins, and there does seem to be reason to believe that this is speaking spiritually not simply physically. When we look through the prophets, many prophets equate Idolatry with Spiritual Adultery. From the previous chapter, we can see that these 144,000 have kept themselves from committing immorality with Babylon.
We also see these people are the Firstfruits, which leads me to believe that these people represent the first of the harvest. It goes back to the idea that there is a much greater harvest than those mentioned here. And unlike those in the Chapter 13 who slander the followers of the Lamb, these believers are blameless and truthful.
Craig Keener puts it this way,
“The symbolism thus makes a strong point: [Believers] must be pure and faithful to [Messiah] if they wish to be prepared for and engage in the Lamb’s holy war. Unlike the world (13:17), believers can not indulge in divided interests.” (Craig Keener, The NIV Application Commentary: Revelation, 2000, p. 360)
The New Song
The New Song
When I read about the New Song that these 144,000 are singing there was something that really stood out to me, and that was that only the 144,000 were able to learn it.
There is a link between this New Song and the New Song that is sung in Rev. 5:9-10. There we saw that the 4 living creatures and the 24 Elders were each holding a harp and began to sing the following song:
And they are singing a new song, saying, “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals. For You were slain, and by Your blood You redeemed for God those from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. You have made them for our God a kingdom and kohanim, and they shall reign upon the earth.”
The New song in Rev. 14 is called the Song of the Redeemed, because only the redeemed can sing this song. Now, as I read this verse I asked, “Why is it that only these people are able to learn this song?”
I wanted to find out more so I did a word study on the word “learn” (manthana) in this passage. What I found confronted me.
Theological dictionary of the New Testament, μανθάνω among the Greeks, Ordinary Use.
The basic meaning then gives us “to experience.” Here again intellectual concern is implied, so that the word in the present stem can mean “to seek to experience.”
Theological dictionary of the New Testament, μανθάνω in the New Testament, The General Situation.
Obviously the term is only weakly related to the true concern of the Gospels; otherwise it would be more common. This needs the more emphasis in view of the fact that [manthana] is the most common word to denote the men whom Jesus associated with Himself. ... This is what corresponds to the preaching of Jesus. His concern is not to impart information, nor to deepen an existing attitude, but to awaken unconditional commitment to Himself.
What I saw when reading this was that those who were singing this New Song, are singing a song about something they have experienced. Those who are singing were called by the Lamb, and did not just “learn” the information of Yeshua’s teachings, but were awakened to an unconditional commitment to Him. And from this commitment, they had paid the price of Martyrdom. These people had experienced redemption, they had experienced devotion, they had experienced suffering for their Saviour. This reminded me of Rav. Sha’ul, Phil. 3:7-11
But whatever things were gain to me, these I have considered as loss for the sake of the Messiah. More than that, I consider all things to be loss in comparison to the surpassing value of the knowledge of Messiah Yeshua my Lord. Because of Him I have suffered the loss of all things; and I consider them garbage in order that I might gain Messiah and be found in Him not having my righteousness derived from Torah, but one that is through trusting in Messiah—the righteousness from God based on trust. My aim is to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the sharing of His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death— if somehow I might arrive at the resurrection from among the dead.
Reading this passage, I was reminded that now, in this life, is the only time that we are able to experience the sufferings of Messiah, Yeshua. Once we are with Him, there will be no more pain or suffering, and every tear will be wiped away. It is at this time that we share in His sufferings, and it is only now that we can become like Him in His death.
Now I am not a masochist, and honestly, I shy away from pain. But there is a calling here, that speaks of a greater glory. There is something here that makes me cry out to Adonai for the grace to follow Yeshua regardless the cost.
Application for Today
Application for Today
How do we apply this to our lives?
Firstly, we need to remember that Revelation is built on the foundation of all the prophets throughout Scripture. We need to interpret Revelation through the lens of the Prophets, not the other way around.
And personally, we are all called to follow the Lamb. He has redeemed us from all the earth, and we are called to live holy lives, free from defilement. We need to be people, in whose mouth there is no lie. We are called to be blameless. When we think of these things, it may seem overwhelming. We may look at our lives and say, “But I am not that perfect.”
To that I would like to read the next few verses of Rav. Sha’ul: Phil. 3:12-4:1
Not that I have already obtained this or been perfected, but I press on if only I might take hold of that for which Messiah Yeshua took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself as having taken hold of this. But this one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal for the reward of the upward calling of God in Messiah Yeshua. Therefore let all who are mature have this attitude; and if you have a different attitude in anything, this also God will reveal to you. Nevertheless, let us live up to the same standard we have attained. Brothers and sisters, join in following my example and notice those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. (For many walk who are enemies of the cross of Messiah—I have often told you about them, and now I am even weeping as I tell you. Their end is destruction—their god is their belly and their glory is in their shame. They set their minds on earthly things.) For our citizenship is in heaven, and from there we eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Yeshua the Messiah. He will transform this humble body of ours into the likeness of His glorious body, through the power that enables Him even to put all things in subjection to Himself. Therefore, my brothers and sisters whom I love and long for, my joy and crown—stand firm in the Lord in this way, my loved ones.