God's Victory and the Beast's Defeat

vv. 1-5) The Savior Appears:

[1] Appearance

These 144,000 were last seen in chapter 7, and they were identified as a group of Jewish believers who minister during the great tribulation and are given a seal of protection throughout that period.

While we are not 100% sure on the chronology of this verse one thing is very clear: this passage shows us that the 144,000 emerged victorious from the tribulation. The beast of the previous chapter will not defeat them in any meaningful way. Because they are triumphantly, worshipping, and standing before King Jesus.

In this chapter there are two answers to, two question raised by chapter 13. The beast being terrifying and awesome; he even can make war against the saints and overcome them:

Revelation 13:7 NKJV

7 It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.

So it is fair to ask, “Is the beast completely victorious over all God’s people?” The answer is an emphatically… “NO!”

The second question has to do with this Satanic dictator: “What happens to the beast and his follower?” The rest of this chapter will answer that question.

The y gathered on Mount Zion because Zion—the ancient name for the hills that make up Jerusalem—is the place where the Messiah gathers His redeemed and reigns over the earth.

Psalm 48 NKJV

A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. 1 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised In the city of our God, In His holy mountain. 2 Beautiful in elevation, The joy of the whole earth, Is Mount Zion on the sides of the north, The city of the great King. 3 God is in her palaces; He is known as her refuge. 4 For behold, the kings assembled, They passed by together. 5 They saw it, and so they marveled; They were troubled, they hastened away. 6 Fear took hold of them there, And pain, as of a woman in birth pangs, 7 As when You break the ships of Tarshish With an east wind. 8 As we have heard, So we have seen In the city of the Lord of hosts, In the city of our God: God will establish it forever. Selah 9 We have thought, O God, on Your lovingkindness, In the midst of Your temple. 10 According to Your name, O God, So is Your praise to the ends of the earth; Your right hand is full of righteousness. 11 Let Mount Zion rejoice, Let the daughters of Judah be glad, Because of Your judgments. 12 Walk about Zion, And go all around her. Count her towers; 13 Mark well her bulwarks; Consider her palaces; That you may tell it to the generation following. 14 For this is God, Our God forever and ever; He will be our guide Even to death.

Isaiah 24:23 NKJV

23 Then the moon will be disgraced And the sun ashamed; For the Lord of hosts will reign On Mount Zion and in Jerusalem And before His elders, gloriously.

Joel 2:32 NKJV

32 And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the Lord has said, Among the remnant whom the Lord calls.

Obadiah 17 NKJV

17 “But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance, And there shall be holiness; The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.

Obadiah 21 NKJV

21 Then saviors shall come to Mount Zion To judge the mountains of Esau, And the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.

Micah 4:1 NKJV

1 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the Lord’s house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And peoples shall flow to it.

Micah 4:7 NKJV

7 I will make the lame a remnant, And the outcast a strong nation; So the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion From now on, even forever.

Some commentators see this Mount Zion as the heavenly Zion referred to in Galatians 4. In this interpretation, the 144,000 are victims of this beast, and are now in heaven with Jesus. But that view doesn’t seem to match with the context at all. It also makes us wonder what good God’s seal on the 144,000 amounted to.

Revelation 7:4 NKJV

4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:

Whichever view you hold to, the main points do not change. The 144,000 belong to God. They are set apart for Him and live for Him. And Jesus will not abandon them.

The followers of Satan and the beast may have a mark on their hand or forehead. But this mark is just a copy of the idea behind the identifying mark on the foreheads of each one of the 144,00, showing that the belong to the Father.

“And who are these people, ‘having his Father’s name written in their foreheads?’ Not Bs for ‘Baptists,’ not Ws for ‘Wesleyens’ not Es for ‘Established Church.’ They had their Father’s name and nobody else’s. What a deal of fuss is made on earth about our distinctions! We think such a deal about belonging to this denomination, and the other. Why if you were to go to heaven’s gate, and ask if they had any Baptists there, the angel would only look at you, and not answer you, if you were to ask if they had any Wesleyans, or members of the Established Church, he would say, ‘Nothing of the sort;’ but if you were to ask him whether they had any Christians there, ‘Ay,’ he would say, ‘an abundance of them: they are all one now—all called by one name; the old brand has been obliterated, and now they have not the name of this man or the other, they have the name of God, even their Father, stamped on their brow.’”–Spurgeon

[2-5] Actions

Praise—vv.2-5. playing harps and sang praises unto the Lord. They sang a new song—a song of redemption—which no one else could learn.

Perfection—v.5. They were made perfect in the Lord. Only the Lord can purify men to make them holy in the sight of God.