14:1 ¶ And I looked, and, lo, a
Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand,
having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. 2 And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice
of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of
harpers harping with their harps: 3 And
they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts,
and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and
four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. 4 These are they which were not defiled with
women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever
he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God
and to the Lamb. 5 And in their mouth
was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.
After the Translation or Rapture
of the Saints;
These are the servants of Christ
mentioned in chapter 7. Mount Sion here is a reference to the heavenly Jerusalem.
Hebrews 12:22 But ye are come
unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,
and to an innumerable company of angels, 23
To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written
in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made
perfect,
These 144,000 Jews were redeemed from the earth and we don’t
know if that means they were translated [raptured]
or martyred, although we cannot rule that out. They have a unique position in
God’s plan and can sing a new song that no one but they can sing. They are male
virgins, not hindered by any attachments to life. As men who have wives or
women who have husbands and families have a sort of divided loyalty while,
ordained by God, is not suitable for the purpose of these specific men.
There are many disturbing
statements made in the Bible like this one about not being defiled by women but
we must always remember that the Bible is written by men under the
understanding and wisdom given to them by God, which the Bible calls given by inspiration. See 2Timothy 3:16;
Job 32:8; and 2Peter 3:15 to learn that the Bible is not given by dictation but
by inspiration. Therefore, you are going to read a lot of cultural phenomenon
and biases, plus personal opinion in the writings. It would be inconsistent for
us to take a statement and declare that something that God had ordained like
the union between a man and a woman in marriage was somehow to be despised. For
instance we know that religious groups that forbid lawful marriage are pushing doctrines of devils.
1Timothy 4:1 ¶ Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in
the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing
spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2
Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot
iron; 3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats,
which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe
and know the truth.
Paul
also wrote;
1Corinthians 7:2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let
every woman have her own husband.
You
would be well warranted to conclude that the defilement mentioned here is to
point out that it is not given to these men to have families and to experience
the joy of marriage. They have a certain path, a goal they must pursue and
having a wife would get in the way. You and I can go back to Exodus to see a
time when the union between husband and wife was to be halted for a time for a
specific purpose. Read Exodus 19:15 and context.
We don’t exactly know what
function these exemplary individuals performed but they are Christ’s servants
who follow Him faithfully in that time.
14:6 ¶ And I saw another angel fly in the midst of
heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the
earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, 7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give
glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made
heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. 8 And there followed another angel, saying,
Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations
drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. 9 And the third angel followed them, saying
with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his
mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10
The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured
out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented
with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence
of the Lamb: 11 And the smoke of their
torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night,
who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his
name. 12 Here is the patience of the
saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of
Jesus.
The everlasting gospel is; Fear God, and give glory to him; for the
hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and
the sea, and the fountains of waters.
Everyone is going to hear this. A
second angel declares the fall of Babylon, the identify of we will explore more
fully when we come to chapter 17. A third angel warns that anyone who takes the
mark of the Beast is doomed. From reading verses 9 through 11 notice this cross
reference.
Isaiah 66:22 For as the new
heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the
LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. 23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new
moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to
worship before me, saith the LORD. 24
And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have
transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire
be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.
Verse 12 shows that during this
time the faithful will follow God’s commandments and have faith in Jesus. This
is important as one aspect of dispensationalism, the belief that it is not all
the same and that God has a different plan of action for different generations
of men and women.
If you believe that the entire
Bible contains the same instruction for all peoples at all times then you will
believe, based on this, that Christians in the time we are in must follow the
commandments given to Moses. If that is the case for today then the Christian
church does not belong to God as we do not follow those commandments. But in
fact, Paul said;
Galatians 3:24 Wherefore the law
was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by
faith. 25 But after that faith is come,
we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
So, there is a distinct difference
in what is expected of the believer during the Great Tribulation and what is
expected now if you believe in dispensations.
Another take on this is that Paul
defined which commandments were to be diligently kept by the Christian.
Romans 13:8 Owe no man any
thing, but to love one another; for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the
law. 9 For this, Thou shalt not commit
adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false
witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is
briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as
thyself. 10 Love worketh no ill to his
neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
So, this Great Tribulation and
persecution even unto death requires an even more diligent adherence to the
principles laid down by Christ in the popularly called Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, chapter 5. Look at these previous
explanations of what is called for in the believers’ lives in this Great
Tribulation.
Revelation 12:11 And they
overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and
they loved not their lives unto the death.
Revelation 13:10 He that leadeth
into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be
killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
This is a hard pill to swallow if
you have a family and loved ones.
14:13 ¶ And I heard a voice from
heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from
henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and
their works do follow them. 14 And I
looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son
of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
15 And another angel came out of the
temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy
sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the
earth is ripe. 16 And he that sat on the
cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. 17 And another angel came out of the temple
which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. 18 And another angel came out from the altar,
which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp
sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine
of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. 19
And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine
of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was trodden without the
city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the
space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.
There is a special blessing for
those who die after this pronouncement about those who worship the Beast and
take his mark is made. One like unto Christ, is told by another angel to reap
the harvest on the earth as judgment is upon them, the full force of God’s
wrath. Outside of the city of Jerusalem it is said that the blood will rise to
the level of horses’ bridles, about 4-5 feet in a space of 1600 furlongs which
is roughly 200 miles. This can simply mean that the bloodbath cannot be
imagined. This is usually associated by commentators with Armageddon coming up
in 16:16 and linked to the 200 million
number of the spiritual creatures in 9:16-19 and the kings of the east in 16:12. If this is true then the clearly
supernatural creatures of chapter 9 mean
that for every event on earth there are similar events happening in the
invisible world that precede the events on earth. Or it means that the description
in chapter 9 is a metaphorical description of the massive army that comes from
the east to meet at Armageddon for a climactic battle that results in a huge
bloodbath of unimaginable proportions. Whatever the case, the blood shows us
that these events will happen in the physical world and not just the spiritual.
What happens on earth is echoed in the world of the spirit.
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