Worthy is the Lamb: The Song of the Redeemed

Martin Luther King, Jr in his powerful ‘Our God is Marching On!’ speech said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” King is actually paraphrasing Theodore Parker, a 19th century Unitarian minister. Here’s the original quote: “I do not pretend to understand the moral universe. The arc is a long one. My eye reaches but little ways. I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by experience of sight. I can divine it by conscience. And from what I see I am sure it bends toward justice.” What does Theodore Parker mean? In looking down the corridors of time, Parker does not fully understand the events of history and where they are ultimately leading. To the natural eye they seem chaotic and willy-nilly. He wants to believe that we live in a moral universe where good and evil actually exist, where the good will ultimately win out, and life will — in the end — make sense. His conscience tells him this must be so even though experience may contradict it. In the end he is of the firm conviction that justice will prevail.

Revelation 14 assures us that the long arc of the universe does, indeed, end in justice. The righteous will be saved, and the unrighteous will be condemned. God has promised it will be so.

• Position of the Lamb

• Protected by the Lamb

• Praise to the Lamb

• Purity of the Lamb’s Followers

I. POSITION OF THE LAMB

“Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, ... .” (Revelation 14:1, ESV)

1. the apostle John has just finished giving us a terrifying glimpse at two “beasts” who will rise up at the end of the age, and who will deceive the world

a. we know these beasts better as the Antichrist and the False Prophet

2. but immediately after that vision John receives another

a. I’ve told you on several occasions that John did not receive merely one continuous vision

1) he was bombarded with vision after vision after vision

b. so when John writes “then I looked, and behold” he is seeing a new vision, and yet it is a vision that is obviously connected to all the other visions

1) the word behold in vs. 1, is a word that demands our attention of what is about to follow

2) John is saying “now pay attention, because what I am about to say is really, really important”

3) but before I tell you how important the vision of Chapter 14 is, let’s review —

3. let me take a moment to recap for you the chronology of events that we have seen in the book of Revelation to date

a. 1st, with the opening of the Sixth Seal in Revelation 6:12-17 we witness the opening days of the tribulation period

“ ... the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, “fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb for the great day of their wrath has come and who can withstand it?” “ (Rev. 6:17)

1) the opening of the sixth seal contains the announcement of seven Trumpet Judgments that represent God’s wrath upon a sinful and disobedient humanity

2) but before the trumpet judgments are poured out John shows us a picture of God’s saints before and after the tribulation period

a) the 144,000 are a picture of God’s people on the cusp of the tribulation period — he marks them with “the seal of the living God” (Rev. 7:2) which will supernaturally protect them against God’s wrath

b) the great multitude is a picture of God’s people on the other side of the tribulation — it’s a number that no one can count from every nation, tribe, people and language — all standing before the throne and before the Lamb

b. 2nd, is the trumpet judgments are sounded, and catastrophic wrath levels entire areas of the globe, probably leaving millions dead

1) the implication is that the world knows that this is the wrath of God, and still they did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood… Nor do they repent (Rev. 9:20-21)

c. 3rd, when the seventh trumpet judgment is sounded it is announced that “the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever” (Rev. 11:15)

1) when this announcement is made there are still 3½ years of Great Tribulation left

2) during that time the reign of the Antichrist is supported by the miracles of the False Prophet

3) they will, according to Rev. 13:7 wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them, and it will be a time of persecution that God’s people have not experienced since the beginning of the Church age — the list of martyrs will grow long during this period

d. 4th, just before the commencement of the last seven great plagues that God will pour out upon the Antichrist and his followers John reminds us of our ultimate victory in Christ

1) that’s what Chapter 14 is all about

4. the chapter opens with the position of the Lamb — he is standing, and he is standing on Mt. Zion

A. THE POSITION OF THE LAMB IS ONE OF AUTHORITY

1. while the Antichrist appears to rule as the supreme potentate in the world and countless multitudes worship him, the Lamb stands in sovereignty on Mount Zion

a. he has been there all along as the King of kings, the commander in chief, the supreme ruler in heaven and on earth

2. when the saints on earth are persecuted by anti-Christian forces and are commanded to worship the Antichrist or die, they should not despair

a. when they open their spiritual eyes, they see the Lamb standing on Mount Zion who gives them the assurance that they are safe and secure

3. the days of the Antichrist are numbered because he is going down in defeat

B. THE POSITION OF THE LAMB IS ONE OF GLORY

1. the Lamb is standing on Mt. Zion

a. it is a fulfillment of an Old Testament assurance given by God

“Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. 5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”” (Psalm 2:1–6, ESV)

2. certainly at the end of the age the nations will rage against God and His authority

a. God’s answer to their raging is simply to let the Son reign in majesty and glory

b. is Revelation 14:1 a picture of Jesus literally standing on Mt. Zion in Jerusalem — the peak where the Jewish Temple once stood?

1) many believers through the ages have thought so

2) but at the same time, Mount Zion was a standard 1st century name for heaven

a) we find an example of this in the Book of Hebrews

“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,” (Hebrews 12:22, ESV)

c. I believe it’s merely John’s way of reassuring believers that though the Church, and the Jewish remnant that turns to Christ during the Tribulation period will be sorely persecuted by the Antichrist, that we will stand for eternity before the Lord of Glory — he is the Lamb of God who takes away sin

1) the Antichrist may take away our physical life on earth, but he cannot take away our eternal life in heaven

2. as Jesus stands on Mt. Zion his prayer to the father has been answered

“I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.” (John 17:4–5, ESV)

“Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.” (John 17:24, ESV)

II. PROTECTED BY THE LAMB

“ ... and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.” (Revelation 14:1, ESV)

1. the purpose of this vision is to remind John’s readers that, as awful as will be the reign of the Antichrist, chapter 14 shows that God’s people emerge victorious from the Great Tribulation

a. the 144,000 of Revelation 14 are the same people mentioned in Revelation 7, and represent the entire body of the redeemed throughout the history of the world

b. I believe this number is Spiritual Israel, and not Ethnic Jews

1) the Apostle Paul deals with this extensively in Romans 9-11

“A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29 No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.” (Romans 2:28–29, NIV84)

“If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:29, NIV84)

2) Spiritual Israel, according to the Book of Romans represents the entire Body of Believers throughout history — both Jews who believe that Jesus is Messiah, and confessing Gentiles who have been grated into the Olive Tree of Israel

2. here we see the contrast of those sealed of God and those who receive the mark of the beast

a. God may not protect our bodies from the wrath of the Antichrist, but He will protect our souls from His wrath

b. Jesus told his disciple, “In this world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33)

1) even if we go through a lot of pain and grief in this life, even if we to through the tribulation, it will be worth it when we get to glory

3. at the end of time every single person ever to put their faith in Christ will stand before Heaven’s Lamb — not one will have been lost, misplaced, or forgotten

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” (John 10:27–29, ESV)

ILLUS. The 16th century Protestant reformer, John Calvin, wrote, “I’d rather be on the side that seems to be losing today, but is going to win finally, then to be on the side that seemingly is winning today, but will lose eternally.”

III. PRAISE TO THE LAMB

“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, 3 and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.” (Revelation 14:2–3, ESV)

1. John hears a voice speaking — it is both powerful and soothing

a. it is powerful like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder

b. it is soothing like the sound of harpists playing on their harps

2. the voice John hears is the voice of Jesus

a. how do we know it’s the voice of Jesus?

1) in Revelation 1 John sees a vision of the glorified Christ, and one of his attributes is that his voice was like the roar of many waters

b. what he speaks is not told us, but perhaps — just maybe — he is teaching them the new song of vs. 3

3. it is a song that only the redeemed from the earth can learn

“knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” (1 Peter 1:18–19, ESV)

a. the lost cannot sing it

b. the angels cannot sing it

c. the serifs and cherubs can’t sing it

d. only God’s people can sing it because only the saints know what it’s like to be trapped in sin, and to be redeemed by the blood of the lamb

1) we assume that their song glorifies the one sitting on the throne and extends thanks to the Lamb for the redemption he has accomplished on earth

IV. PURITY OF THE LAMB’S FOLLOWERS

“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 firstfruits for God and the Lamb, 5 and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.” (Revelation 14:4–5, ESV)

1. in these two verses John gives a fourfold characterization of the redeemed from the earth:

a. they are pure

1) the text says that these believers “have not defiled themselves with women” — because, “they are virgins”

2) almost all bible expositors — regardless of their end-time view — believe that the Apostle John is referring to spiritual purity in vs. 4

a) the verb to defile occurs two other times in the New Testament and in each instance it is used figuratively (1 Cor. 8:7; Rev. 3:4)

3) the Apostle Paul used the same illustration in writing to the Christians in the city at Corinth

“For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:2, ESV)

4) believers are pure because they’ve been washed by the blood of the Lamb

b. they are followers of the Lamb

1) wherever the Lamb goes they go ... this is the essence of discipleship ... taking up our cross daily and following Jesus

2) Jesus told the disciples that “anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me” (Matt. 10:38)

c. they were purchased from among men, and are first fruits

1) by shedding his blood on Calvary’s cross, Jesus paid the debt to set his people free from the curse of sin and guilt

2) Christ in turn offers up the Church to the Father as the first fruits of his atoning sacrifice

“Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” (James 1:18, ESV)

d. they are blameless

1) in an anti-Christian world saturated with lies and deceit, Christians stand out as emblems of truth, honesty, and integrity

2) this has been true since the very beginning of the Church

e. all of this is summed up in Eph. 5:27 where Paul writes that we’ve been sanctified

“so that he [Jesus] might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.” (Ephesians 5:27, ESV)

2. saints are truly transformed people — we have been cleansed by the blood, and changed by grace

a. these saint are contrasted to the sinners we read about in Revelation 12 — men and women who will choose to follow the Beast and worship him

V. APPLICATION

1. take your stand with the redeemed; otherwise you will ball with the condemned

ILLUS. We live in an era where we constantly hear the phrase, “being on the right side of history.” Unfortunately it’s become a way for liberals — particularly liberal politicians — to claim the moral high ground, and to shame conservatives for being on the wrong side of some moral agenda. There is a “right side” of history. It’s the one we’ve been reading about in the book of Revelation. To be on the right side of history is to stand with the Lamb of God.

2. in this life we have two eternal choices ...

a. 1st, you can take your stand with the redeemed

1) you can be counted with those whom God has purchased for Himself

2) this means you must trust Christ, who died for sinners, and every sinner who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved — this is a promise God will not renege on

b. 2nd, you can fall with the condemned

1) as we shall see next week, that’s what the rest of Revelation 14 is all about

2) in vs. 6-13 three angels announce judgment; and in vs. 14-20 three angels carry it out