“Snapshots of Hope”

Question: If we will be raptured and in heaven before these awful days…why does God tell us about them? 

All the cataclysmic happenings…then Satan’s war against believers..and how he uses powerful deception…

John wants believers to STAND FIRM…

The original audience no doubt had known setbacks & defeats…they had struggled against world, flesh & devil. 

Just liek you and I…have known setbacks, struggeld againsyt teh world, flesh and the devil.

John does not want anyone who believes in Jesus to think…it would be better to give in than resist. 

John doesn’t want anyone to think… it’d be better to join the world & Satan than be faithful to Jesus. 

Satan’s persecution of the believers…will be awful…

People may not be able to buy/sell food…fathers may not be able to provide for their family. 

Christians will be put to death…it may look and even feel like Christianity has lost.

Still, John gives us this passage so that we will NEVER GIVE UP. 

John gives us this passage so we will…NEVER STOP RESISTING SATAN. 

John gives us this passage so that we will…NEVER JOIN THE WORLD in its idolatry & immorality. 

John gives us this passage to help…EVERY BELIEVER TO PERSEVERE to the end and be saved.

We could title Revelation 14… “COMING SOON…”

Those words grab our attention…movies use them all the time to preview upcoming shows, movies and events…they don’t want you to miss…like teasers…used to snare an audience. 

How many times have you paid admission for a movie or show only to be disappointed because the best lines or scenes were all in the preview?

When God gives a PREVIEW…of future events…we’re not disappointed.

Not only does He know the future…He controls it. 

He is not just the lead actor…

He is the writer… producer & director of all that will happen!

So when He gives a preview of things to come…we should pay close attention.

These scenes are meant not to satisfy curiosity…

God’s intention…is to WARN the rebellious & ENCOURAGE the faithful. 

Remind…it is important to know how Revelation 14 fits into the chronology of Revelation…

In HISTORICAL Bible books (ie.Exodus, Joshua, Judges etc.) stories unfold in chronological order.

But in PROPHETIC writings (i.e. Dan. Jer. Zech.) narrative often goes in and out of chronological order 

Revelation is like that.

Sometimes what John sees will describe the Tribulation period as a WHOLE…(Revelation 1)

Other times what John sees is a STRICT SEQUENCE of judgments… (Revelation 6)

Sometimes the vision will BACK UP and fill in some necessary details… (Revelation 12)

Other times it LEAPS FORWARD to give brief glimpse of what will be described in greater detail later.

That’s what we have here in Revelation 14…a LEAP FORWARD…providing SNAPSHOTS

You may call it a “Coming Soon” feature…like brief teasers…for an upcoming movie.

It is a PREVIEW of upcoming events as we step closer to the end of the Great Tribulation…the judgments are not over.

We will see God’s full wrath on display in Revelation 15-16.

But before we get there…the Lord will interject several SNAPSHOTS OF HOPE.

Revelation 14 ties the entire book together…reminding us of the primary message…! 

And points us forward to the ultimate vengeance and victory of our glorious Redeemer!

2 things to watch for in Revelation 14 VISIONS & VOICES…(what John sees & hears)

Snapshot previews (anticipations) of what is going to happen after the Tribulation.

Revelation 14 “Snapshots of Hope” 

It’s a prophetic anticipation of things that will happen/unfold during & after the tribulation.

Fist thing to notice…is the huge CONTRAST between Revelation 13 & 14…

Revelation 13 opens with a beast “out of the sea” = Antichrist…7 heads, 10 horns…speaking blasphemy…ugly, monstrous & vile. 

Then a second beast = false prophet…enforcing a false religious system leading people astray. 

But now, as we open up Revelation 14…it is like…a breath of fresh air. 

Look how John begins, “Then I looked, and behold, on Mt. Zion stood the Lamb…” 

So we go from the hideously ugly beasts…to the Lamb of God standing victoriously on Mount Zion.

Revelation 14 …like Table of Contents (important) we learn what will happen before we get there.

Let’s look at some important SNAP SHOTS from the v.1-5.

1. See their SAVIOUR …Revelation 14:1a

Revelation 14:1 “Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb. and with Him 144,000 who had His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads.” 

Not just “a Lamb”…but “the Lamb…”

A little article “the” makes a huge difference.

You know your Bible…so you know that this Lamb…is none other than…the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Jesus is “the Lamb of God”. John the Baptist, “Behold! The Lamb of God…who takes away the sin…” 

Jesus is the FULFILLMENT of all the sacrificial lambs offered in OT. 

Every lamb that was ever slain…as a sacrifice for sin…was a PICTURE OF JESUS…

In fact, all the animals that were sacrificed were a picture of Jesus’ death on the Cross. 

So we open up this chapter with what seems to be a “heavenly scene”…with Jesus, the Lamb.

2. Note their PLACE…Revelation 14:1b

“…on Mount Zion.” 

We know Mt. Zion to be Jerusalem.

The temple in Jerusalem had been built on a mountain, and it was called Mt Zion. 

Psalm 48:1–2 “Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God! His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great King.”

When you read of people going to Jerusalem…they are always ascending going up. (Matt. 20:17)

Revelation 14:1 “Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb. and with Him 144,000 who had His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads.” 

There are 2 ways to interpret this “Mt Zion”

Figuratively…as in heaven…Heaven is referred to as Zion…

Literally…physically here on earth…in the city of Jerusalem…in a newly temple built there on Mt Zion. 

This is a huge monumental moment in the history of redemption.

Why? Because it fulfills OT passages.

Isaiah 24:23 “Then the moon will be confounded and the sun ashamed, for the Lord of hosts reigns on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and His glory will be before His elders.”

So this is a snapshot of King Jesus returning to the earthly Mt. Zion and reigning…Jerusalem!   

Revelation 14:1 “Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb. and with Him 144,000 who had His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads.” 

So this is a vision of Jesus standing on the earth which happens at the Second Coming of Jesus.

Who are these 144,000?

We have seen these 144,000 before in Revelation 7:1-8…

They probably came to Christ as their Messiah AFTER the rapture of the church…which occurs before the 7 year Tribulation period.

Think about what they have seen and experienced…

All the horrific events of Revelation 6

Where terror stricken people will cry out to the mountains and rocks…

“Fall on us, hide us from the One who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb!” 

So this 144,000 is the same group sealed from the 12 tribes of Jewish believers.

Real Jewish believers…unique, will be sealed for protection during the coming judgments…

They will evangelize the world…

They will confront unbelievers…

They will call them to faith in Jesus through repentance & faith and

They will proclaim the coming judgments…

They’ll be mocked, hated persecuted…

They will endure unbelievable hardship & persecution…but God protects them.

And here they are…standing triumphantly at the end of the tribulation…in Jerusalem…with Jesus Christ…after having endured all the difficulties of the tribulation period. 

It doesn’t tell us how they got to this point…It doesn’t tell us when and all that happens, 

Just the simple fact…they are there…

Actual living men who survived…to meet Christ on Mt Zion at His second coming…

Standing with the Lord Jesus Christ…the Lamb of God!

APPLIC: Put yourselves in the shoes of first century believers hearing this…be encouraged be faithful.

3. Their MARK…Revelation 14:1

“…having His Father’s name written on their foreheads.” 

Remember Rev 13 followers of the anti-Christ had his mark on them…visible proof of their loyalty to him and his satanic empire.

Here the 144,000 followers of the Lamb…with a different mark written on their foreheads…

The mark is the actual names of the Father and the Son…

Symbolizing God’s ownership. 

They are sealed… and there is the same number in each group.

How many made it safely to heaven? 

All 144,000! He started with 144,000…and He ended with 144,000!

Sealing, protecting & keeping…God protects His own…bringing them through the trials of that time.

Jesus had promised: “…all that the Father has given Me will come to Me and the one who come to Me I will certainly not cast out. John 6:37 

John 10:28 ESV

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

My point here is simple…the Good Shepherd never loses a sheep. He leaves the 99 and goes into the wilderness to find the 1 sheep He lost. He puts it on His shoulders and brings it back rejoicing. 

How wonderful! It is to speak of His eternal security.

God seals them, God secures them, God keeps them and God protects them…

And here they are standing triumphant at with Jesus!

Romans 8:1 begins with “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.” 

Romans 8:38-39 closes with “…there is no separation. “…neither death nor life…nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 

Jude 24 his closing benediction “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy….”

So Jesus had 144,000 and He ended with 144,000. So if you begin in grace…you will end in glory.

This foreshadows the gathering of the remnant of Israel…after the tribulation when the Son of God returns to earth…prophesied about in Isaiah 37:31-32; Micah 4:6-7

4. Their SONG …Revelation 14:2-3 

Revelation 14:2 “And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps.” 

Revelation 14:3 “…and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elder. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.”

“…a voice from heaven…” singing a song of redemption. A momentous occasion of joy!!

“…the sound of many waters.” Ezekiel describes the voice of God Ezekiel 43:2 (Jesus in Rev.1:15) 

But here in Revelation 19:6…the voice of a great multitude that is like the roar of many waters…”

So who is in heaven singing this song?

OT saints/raptured church/those who have died in Jesus!!

Picture the heavenly scene…before the four living creatures and the elders… represent the church… 

“No one could learn that song except the hundred and 144,000 who were redeemed from the earth.”  

Remember the escalation of praise… in Revelation 5.

The song begins in Revelation 5:9-10 with 4 living creatures & 24 elders singing a new song…

Then many angels joined in Revelation 5:12 “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain!!!”

Revelation 5:13 Then every created thing in heaven and on earth…CRESCENDO OF PRAISE!!

Then Revelation 7:9-10 those who died as martyrs during the tribulation period join the chorus.

Now the 144,000 join in the concert of praise!!

What’s the song?

We are not told…maybe it is a song of redemption like Revelation 5:9-10, 15:3-4

Imagine…a massive heavenly choir made up of OT saints, raptured church, redeemed trib. saints

We know that all heaven will overflow with praise because of God’s redemptive work in Christ.

Heaven’s praise will overflow to earth where a new song is sung. We are not told why.

These 144,000 are in Jerusalem…joining in song with those in heaven…who are around the throne, and worshipping God. 

They are praising the Lord for their protection and triumph!

They had suffered much…Hardship…Sorrow…Persecution!…but God turned their sorrows into song. 

If you really want to smell a rose, crush some rose petals in your hand. 

When you open your hand, there will be a pungent fragrance coming from that rose.

Many times when God wants His fragrance to flow from our lives, He crushes us. Not to hurt us, He has a purpose and plan, but He wants His fragrance to flow through our lives.

So God takes these who went through the tribulation…who were persecuted & suffered, protected by God…now He gives them a song that is all their own; no one else knows it or can learn it. 

It will be the song in heaven of the 144,000.

There is going to be a lot of singing in heaven! Get used to it! King David will be there playing his harp. We’re going to be singing and worshipping.

John Newton’s Amazing Grace: “When we’ve been there ten thousand years…Bright shining as the sun,..We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise then when we first begun.”

So we’re going to be singing, praising and worshipping the Lord with these 144,000 in what they were doing in glorifying Him. What a marvellous thing that is!

“A mark of triumphant Christian living in any era is constant praise to God. The 144,000 no doubt praised God through out their time of trial and persecution. Because their ordeal is over and they are victorious, they will burst forth in praise to God for their deliverance. Joy is the proper outflow of a heart that trusts in God’s sovereign power.” John McArthur 

5. Their DESCRIPTION (Set apart=Sanctified) …Revelation 14:4-5

Revelation 14:4 “It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as first fruits for God and the Lamb…”

Revelation 14:5 “…and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.”

Let’s look at how they are DESCRIBED…

Again we need to look behind the scenes…the time of tribulation when all restraint is removed. 

The vile perversity of the culture will be far more deviant and perverse than it has ever been.

In the midst of the vile darkness of this tribulation time…the 144,000 will shine like beacons of purity

They’ll stand apart from the sin of their culture…they have God’s name…not the mark of the beast.

They are not super human…supernatural…they are every day real people…just like you and me.

They know without a shadow of a doubt that Jesus is their Messiah.

Look how these 144,000 are described…

“…virgins…” They will be sexually pure… “virgins”…they will keep themselves chaste

Some believe it could also mean “spiritual virgins”…

They kept themselves from worshipping the beast/ image nor did they take his mark…they didn’t turn to false religions/idolatry. 

When Paul wrote to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 11:2 “For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a “pure virgin to Christ.” 

So this could also be spiritual virginity, referring to the fact they were did not turn away from God… 

But they were worshipping God completely and totally…completely sold out to Him. 

“…follow the Lamb…” v.4 …wherever He goes.”

They are loyal, devoted, followers of Jesus.

Jesus said “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.” Matthew 16:24

“…redeemed…” in v.3,4 redeemed = purchased…being first fruits to God and to the Lamb.” 

Redemption…God purchases us by the blood of Jesus Christ on the Cross. 

If you’re a Christian believer…

You too have been bought and redeemed out of slavery…

You belong to God and He set you free.  1 Corinthians 6:20, 7:23

1 Corinthians 6:20 ESV

…for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

These 144,000 are redeemed “…as first fruits to God.” 

What does that mean?

In the OT, they had the Feast of First Fruits…which meant that when they would gather in the harvest, …before reaping the whole field…they would take a portion of the wheat field…they would wave it before the Lord…put it on the altar and give it to God.  (See Deuteronomy 26:1-11)

The harvest was first given to God to recognize that… it all comes from God and all belongs to God. 

So the first fruits was symbolic of the believer being set apart/consecrated/dedicating to God.

So it could indicate that these 144,000 were the first to be purchased saved in the tribulation period and are dedicated to God…for a special purpose

“…blameless…”… (not sinless)

They will not lie…they will not push Satan’s lies. They will only speak God’s truth. 

They are blameless before the throne…also in

v.5. “In their mouth no lie was found , for they are blameless (without fault) before the throne of God.”

During the tribulation period…the unbelieving world will be mesmerized by deceit & false wonders of the beast and prophet…

But the 144,000 evangelists will accurately proclaim God’s Word, without wavering or changing it…they will not lie…for they are blameless.

In all generations believers are to be known as people of truth…speaking the truth

They are not sinless…but they are blameless.

BTW…That is true of you and me right now who are “in Christ.” 

Ephesians 1:4 “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we choose be holy and blameless before Him.” 

So many Christians beat themselves up saying, “I’m not worthy. I’m such a bad Christian. I’m not a good person.” They forget that they are a sinner…saved by grace. 

When you get saved, you are first of all…in Christ ...that is your new POSITION…in Christ.

When you are in Christ…You are perfectly righteous. 

JUSTIFICATION…

We call that JUSTIFICATION…the act of God where He declares the believing sinner to be righteous, 

We have been justified by faith…Romans 5:1

Based on the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross. 

Fellowship…you can’t improve on that…you can’t grow into that…

You instantaneously…the moment you are saved…you stand “in Christ” perfectly righteous before a holy God. 

How can a man be right with God? By faith. Not by works.

IMPUTATION…

The next word is called IMPUTATION…that is when God takes the righteousness of Christ and He imputes it to your account. 

It’s a banking term. If you had a bank account that went down to almost a zero balance, but someone with a lot of money deposited money into your account on your behalf, it would be said they “imputed” money to you. 

So we stand bankrupt before a holy God at the Cross….

But when we believe in Jesus, He takes the righteousness of Christ and deposits it into our account. Then we are standing perfectly righteous. That’s our position.

“SANCTIFICATION…”

The process that begins at justification, and it is a life-long process. 

That’s your practice…you go from your position…being perfectly righteous, which can never change or never be lost—to your practice, which is sanctification…a life-long practice where the Holy Spirit of God…the the Holy Word of God…through the trials and troubles of life…is making you…teh Child of God…He is shaping you and fashioning you to be more like Christ. 

The goal of sanctification is likeness to Christ.

It won’t be completely finished…until you get to heaven.

“GLORIFICATION…”

That’s the third phase of salvation. It’s called “GLORIFICATION.” 

So you are justified positionally, 

You are being sanctified practically… and 

You will be glorified when you get to heaven, completely and totally. 

That means no more sin. Praise the Lord!

You’ll be done with your earthly body of sin, and you’ll be in the presence of the Lord without sickness, sorrow, weakness or memory loss.

There will be no more cancer or disease.

And the list could go on. We will be glorified in heaven.

I mention all that because of v.5 “…without fault before the throne of God.”

Jude 24 “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy…”