REVELATION 34 – The Lamb Upon Mt. Zion

       Last week we looked at the Beast of Revelation - this "666" and we went into the fact that the “666” is a  numerical equivalent most likely of the words “Kaiser Neron” or “Nero Caesar” is the way we would say it. Remember that John says in 13:17 and the beast provides that no one should be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, the name of the beast or the number of his name. So John equates the mark with the name, with the number of his name 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; So very clearly John is saying that this equates to a man. Particularly to a man’s name. That it’s not simply the Arabic number 666 that are in view that you hear in much of the popular apocalyptic literature. Last week we talked about the fact that the Universal Product Code has a 6 on the front of it, a 6 in the middle of it and a 6 at the end, that many people believe that people are going to be given a Universal Product Code, a little computer chip in their hand or in their forehead and that they won’t be able to buy or sell without that.

       We’re going to talk a little bit more about that later on. I want to kind of defer that for right now and let’s begin with chapter 14.

       14:1 And I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads. (2) And I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps. (3) and they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been purchased from the earth. (4) These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb. (5) And no lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless.

       We see here a picture of the Lamb in dominion. He’s standing on Mount Zion. Interestingly enough, Mount Zion is mentioned 7 times in the New Testament: Matthew 21, John 12, Romans 9, Romans 11, Hebrews 12 and then in 1 Peter 2 and here in Revelation. I don’t know the significance of that, but it is an interesting fact, that it’s mentioned seven times, given what we now of “seven” in Scripture that it has to do with completeness.

       Here is a picture of the Lamb, of Jesus Christ, standing on Mount Zion and with Him are 144,000. Who are these 144,000? That’s the question. What do they represent? If you’re a Jehovah Witness, these are the only people who are saved, who go to heaven. Only 144,000 in the Jehovah Witness scheme get to heaven. But there’s a problem with that. Who are the 144,000? What kind of people are they from the passage here?

R: They had their Father’s name written on their foreheads. I think it’s indicative of loyalty, that cause for ownership.

       Absolutely!  In the verses before, remember we’re talking about the mark of the beast on the forehead or the hand. Here we’re saying that the 144,000 have the name of Christ, the Lamb, and the name of His Father written on their foreheads. Do they have two separate names? No. It’s a single name. It is that mark of ownership. Again, we see that mark comes from Ezekiel 9 where YHWH says to the man in white linen ‘go through the midst of the city even through the midst of Jerusalem and put a cross, (remember he says put a Hebrew letter taol, which the original form was a cross), on the heads of those whom God would save.’ So we see this going on throughout the Bible. Some are marked with the name of God, some are marked with the name of unbelievers, of Satan and we see that here in Revelation, that those who are unbelievers are given the mark of the beast. They are of Satan. Those who are believers are given the name of Christ, of God. They have the name, they have the seal which is a mark of ownership that they belong to God.

       So what else can we figure out about the 144,000 here? Particularly in verses 3,4 & 5. They were worshipping. (3) and they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; Remember that Revelation is a worship scene. Here you have the throne of God, the elders around the throne and the four living creatures and here this 144,000 are before the throne and they are singing a new song. What else do we know about them? They were pure, and they weren’t women. They’re men. It says: (4) These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste. Remember in Greek, you can distinguish between male and female. Very clearly in the Greek these are men. These are men who have kept themselves chaste. Literally in verse 4 it says ‘they are chaste men’. That throws a monkey wrench in the Jehovah Witness scheme of things, of course. Because they think that there are women saved in that 144,000. So if you are even talking to a Jehovah Witness and they mention that, you can just take them to Revelation 14 and point out that it says there are only men.

C: If they think there are only 144,000, you’d think they’d stop knocking!

R: To digress, they teach that the 144,000 are already there. You Too Can Live in Heaven on Earth, is the name of one of their books. So you live in paradise on earth.

       These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. So what’s their focus? Christ. They’re following Him. They’re doing what He commands. . These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb. Notice again here they have been purchased from among men, what does that tell us? It’s past tense, isn’t it? Have been, it’s not futuristic. A lot of people equate this 144,000, and when you go back to the other 144,000 in Revelation 7, that these are futuristic. But it clearly says that these . These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb. Chilton points out that when you study the “first fruits” part of it, what it’s talking about is the beginning of the church. Jesus Christ was the first fruits purchased from among men. He was the first one redeemed from the dead. He was the beginning of the church. There are those who were saved immediately after Him, in the sense of the martyrs and those who really follow Him. It’s the beginning of the church is what I think we’re really seeing here. So it’s not a definitive number. Remember in Hebrew the 144,000 is not necessarily a specific number. It’s 12x12x1000, which the Hebrews would have seen differently. There were 12 tribes, so there’s 12,000 from each tribe. This is God’s army. This is the beginning of the church that’s in view here.

Q: So the “not defiled with women,” whether it’s from other countries or…?

A: I think what it’s talking about there when it says that they are not defiled with women, they are chaste men, it’s not talking about the fact that they are male virgins. Remember that in Scripture, the one who is chaste, the one who is faithful, is the one who is in covenant with God. The one who is an adulterous, is an idol worshipper. Over and over again. Israel remember is called an adulterous. We’re going to see even more so in Revelation. The one who is not faithful to her husband, the church who turns away from Christ, is unfaithful. So I think what it’s talking about here is that these were men who were faithful to Christ, even in the midst of persecution. They were the beginning of the church and they were faithful to God.

        (5) And no lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless. Again, what we see here is remember that in the latter part of chapter 13 the dragon and the beast were doing what?

C: I have a comment on the last verse before you move on. Isaiah 1:21 says How the faithful city has become a harlot. In the commentaries it says here “in the Bible the harlot can relate to an idolater or someone who has forsaken God.” And it cites other passages.

R: Chilton of course cites a lot of passages also. The harlot or the adulterous is the one who is not faithful to God. Very clearly Jerusalem is the great harlot. We’re going to see more of that as we get into Revelation. So again, these are men who are followers of Christ and who are faithful to Him. Who are willing to die for Him and there was no deceit, no lie was found in their mouth. Remember in chapter 13 the dragon and the beast, their focus is discription. Satan is the great deceiver. The church is truthful. The lie is idolatry. Remember back in Romans 1 Paul deals with that issue. He says 1:25 For they (he’s talking about the ungodly) exchange the truth of God for the lie and worship and serve the creature rather than the creator who is blessed forever Amen. So what is the mark of the ungodly church, of the people who follow Satan and the beast and the false prophet? What’s characteristic of all of them? They follow the lie. They worship the creature rather than the creator. The evolutionist. What does he say about God? He didn’t create this. It all created itself. They worship man. They worship nature. The Animists. They worship animals. They worship the rocks, the stones, the created things. The Indian type religion. So you find that characteristic in all other religions except for Biblical Christianity. It is that they worship the creature, or the religion itself, or the gods that they have created. They don’t worship the creator. That’s a distinct difference in Biblical Christianity.

       14:6 And I saw another angel flying in mid-heaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the land, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; (7) and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters.” (8) And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality.” (9) And another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or upon his hand, (10) he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will 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 goes up forever and ever; and they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” (12) Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.

       I want to point out something here: Chilton and others have pointed out that what we see here is a sequence of the first angel proclaiming something; the second angel proclaiming something; the third angel in verse 9 proclaiming something and then we see a vision of Christ in verse 14: And I looked and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, having a golden crown on His head, and a sharp sickle in His hand. So here is this vision of Christ, then we see three more angels who are doing something, who are involved in helping Christ do something: v15 And another angel came out of the temple… v17 And another angel came out of the temple… v18 And another angel… So we see three angels proclaiming, the vision of Christ, then three angels helping out as it were, with the judgment of God.

       I want to deal with these angels who are proclaiming: v6 And I saw another angels flying in mid-heaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the (NAS says) “earth” and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people. For all you English majors, what’s the problem with that sentence? It’s redundant. It’s saying the same thing twice. Those who live on the earth, and every nation and tribe and tongue and people is redundant. That is everyone who lives on the earth!

Q: When it says in verse 6 ‘And I saw another angel,’ what is that referring back to?

A: Just the fact that in his vision he saw another angel. Remember he’s been talking about angels before. But this is a different angel.

       In the New Testament, normally when they use the Greek word “Gas” , it does not mean earth, it mean land and it normally is equated with the land of Israel. So if I were to “live” as the word is translated there in verse 6, it is actually “sit” which is the same word in verse 14 where it says And I looked and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud… It’s exactly the same verb. So if I were to translate it: …an eternal gospel to preach to those who sit on the land (sit in a reigning position. Sit in leadership on the land) and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people, what would I then be saying? Those who sit on the land, if that refers to the land of Israel, and those who sit in a position of rulership, what are we talking about? The Pharisees. We’re talking about the leadership of the apostate church. I think very clearly that’s what John is talking about. Remember that Christ says that the gospel comes first to Jerusalem, and then to the whole world. That’s exactly the pattern we see here. Those who sit on the land (Israel) and then to the whole world. Because translators have translated it “those who live on the earth” then it says something entirely different. I think that’s misleading. I think that’s unfortunate. I think the translators have allowed their presuppositions which are futuristic, to determine what they are actually translating. This is really saying that this angel is preaching to gospel to those who live in Israel. To those who are the rulers in Israel, and then to every nation and tribe and tongue and people. (7) And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God,…” Don’t fear the Romans, fear God. Give Him the glory. Don’t bow down to Caesar, which is what they were doing. (7) …give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; Again, what is that angel saying? Has come! Not will come. Has come! So it’s very present. (7)… and worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters.” Don’t worship the creature, worship the creator is what the angel is saying.

Q: Couldn’t that verse 6 be translated to be more specific?

A: Be more specific in what regard?

Q: The ones who dwell on the earth and every nation and every tribe…

A: It could be. Very obviously many translators have taken it that way. But, I think that Chilton has rightly pointed out: the angel preaches this gospel to those who sit over the land. The usual expression for the Israelite apostates is ‘those who dwell in the land’ and there are five quotes from Revelation that uses that term. This time attention is focused on the message to the authorities of Israel. Those who are seated or enthroned over the land. The verb is the same as that used in verse 14 in the son of man enthroned in the cloud.

Q: What verse is referenced?

A: 3:10, 13:8, 13:12, 13:14, 17:2, and 17:8

Q: I was going to comment that I agree. I remember talking to Ken Sinkley (?) about that and he said that he was convinced the Bible is talking about the translation there but the argument that it’s redundant would give credence to it shouldn’t be written… If I’m picking up on what Jody’s getting at, I don’t think it’s beyond the Bible for God to be redundant to emphasize something.

A: Right. God is redundant. Over and over again He tells the same thing for our sake. Because we’re so stupid! We don’t get it! So yes, the Bible can be redundant.

Q: Your explanation of all the symbolism has helped me to understand some of Revelation but I’m wondering about the overall picture. Why is it so important, the (inaudible) of the New Testament and so on. Is it because of one deal of it say is the Jehovah Witness, they’re understanding with the second coming, is this meant to prepare us to recognize a code word so they wouldn’t be slaughtered by the Romans?

A: The question is: Is Revelation written to prepare us, is it in code so that the people wouldn’t be slaughtered by the Romans. Yes, the 666 is in code as we talked about last week. But I think the rest of Revelation as I’ve said from the beginning is a letter of comfort to Christians of the first century saying ‘God is in control.’ I don’t think it has very much to do with the second coming of Christ. I do believe there will be a second coming of Christ. I believe He will return and He will judge the world. I think the majority of Revelation is talking about Christ coming in judgment against Jerusalem in 70 AD and against the Roman empire. Remember that both apostate Israel and the Romans were persecuting the early Christians. I think that’s the message of Revelation. That no matter what happens to us. If the state begins to persecute and kill us, even if the apostate church begins to persecute us, that God is still in control and that all we need to do is trust God.

C: Those things continue to happen throughout history.

R: Absolutely! Over and over again.

C: What we can take is what we’ve discussed from almost the first class is what is it saying contextually and what is it saying conceptually. Contextually I think it’s talking about the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. But the principle we can take is the destruction or the attempt of destruction of the church or an individual group throughout all of history, we can take the same comfort that God is still in control. Even in atheistic Russia they were trying to destroy the church people took great pleasure from reading Revelation that God was in control and even if they lost their lives as a martyr for their church, they stepped into eternity. They stepped right before God. That’s what we can take out of it as Christians in the twentieth century, soon to be twenty-first century, as opposed to Christians of the first century that were reading it live.

C: Back in Russia, the church is revived.

A: Yes, God has protected the church no matter what.

C: I thought it was interesting to speak to a missionary one time from a Communist country and they didn’t believe in the pre-tribulation wrath of God. They’re living through what we can’t imagine. So they don’t sit around thinking, ‘Oh God I’m in hysterics!’

C: You know Revelation is now, when you’re going through that kind of attacks by the state, we can read all kinds of stuff into it when you don’t have that view.

R: Remember that my contention is the message of Scripture, as Peter says, we are called to suffer. We are called to suffer as Christ suffered. We are called to suffer and to submit as testimony to those around us. I think clearly the message to the first century church through the book of Revelation, the letter of Revelation, is that you’re going to suffer. You’re called to suffer but don’t worry about it, God’s in charge and God will overwhelm. Even the ungodly state, even the apostate church. I think if we realize that, we’ll see as we go through here, that Christians really don’t have to worry about it. I want to go on to the next couple of verses here:

       14:8 And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality.” (9) And another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If any one worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead on upon his hand, (10) he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.

       Now, do Christians have to worry about the mark of the beast? Absolutely not! This verse is very, very clear that if you receive the mark of the beast, you’re an unbeliever and your ultimate destiny is hell, eternal torment away from the face of God. (11) “And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; and they have no rest day and night,…” So even the Christians who see this as a futuristic thing and who are looking forward to such terror to this mark that is going to be placed on them so they can’t buy or sell or doing anything, do they have to worry about some computer chip put in their hand or forehead? No, not if they’re Christian. The worse thing that is going to happen to them on this earth is they may die, they may starve to death, so what? Where are they going to be? In heaven! That’s what we fail to remember. When we are afraid of death, what are we really saying in our hearts? I don’t really believe God. I’m not quite sure God what’s going to happen.

C: The mark of the beast, it’s the equivalent of saying the ownership, the name of the beast on your forehead. It’s not talking about 14, it’s the exact opposite, the counterpart, so instead of saying the mark of the beast we could actually call it the name of the beast or being owned by the beast. Just like we don’t interpret the name of Christ on our forehead literally, let’s not interpret the name of the beast in a literal especially when it’s talking about ownership.

R: In 3:17 its says and he provides that no one should be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, the name of the beast… So you’re absolutely right. Remember I said that when we talked about the mark before, that the high priest in Israel wore the turban, the mitre and on the front was a piece of gold, a gold plate that said “Holy to YHWH.” Holy to the Lord. It had YHWH’s name on the front of the man’s head. Who are we? We are a nation of priests. If we are Christians, we are holy to YHWH. We have God’s name on our foreheads. We don’t have to worry about the mark of the beast, the name of the beast. We are not under his ownership. We are owned by God. And, so what if they take away our right to buy and sell? Who cares? I’m going to suffer a little bit. I think the longest you can go without food is 21 days, so for 21 days I’m going to be pretty hungry. But then what? Even if they throw me before the beast…. Let me read you some stuff here:

       The early Christians understood that death had been conquered by the resurrection of Christ. This theme occurs repeatedly in their writings. Again and again, one is struck with the note of victory in the attitude of the martyrs as they faced death. St. Athenacious wrote of this fact in his famous defense to the Christian faith: ‘All the disciples of Christ despise death. They take the offensive against it and instead of fearing it, by the sign of the cross and by faith in Christ, trample on it as on something dead. Before the divine sojourn of the Savior, even the holiest of men were afraid of death and mourned the dead as those who perished. But now that the Savior has raised his body, death is no longer terrible. But all those who believe in Christ tread it underfoot as nothing and prefer to die rather than to deny their faith in Christ knowing full well that when they die they do no perish, but live indeed and become incorruptible through the resurrection. But that devil who of old wickedly exulted in death now that the pains of death are loosed, he alone is who remains truly dead. There is proof of this too. The men who before they believed in Christ think death horrible and were afraid of it. Once they are converted, despise it so completely that they go eagerly to meet it and themselves become witnesses of the Savior’s resurrection from it. Even children hasten thus to die and not men only but women train themselves by bodily disciplined to meet it. So weak has death become that even women who used to be taken in by it, mock it as a dead thing robbed of all it’s strength. Death has become like a tyrant who has been completely conquered by the legitimate monarch bound hand and foot as he now is. The passersby jeer at him, hitting him and abusing him. No longer afraid of his cruelty and rage because of the king who has conquered him.’” He goes on…. Bishop Eucevious the great church historian talks about the same kind of thing. He says, ‘for as soon as the sentence was pronounced against the first, others rushed forward from other parts to the tribunal before the judge confessing they were Christians. Most indifferent to the dreadful and multiformed tortures that awaited them. But declaring themselves fully and in the most undaunted manner on the religion which acknowledges only one supreme God.” In other words, here were people who were being condemned to the cross or to the beast or to the flame, and as soon as they would condemn one, another would rush up and say, ‘I’m a Christian!’ They weren’t afraid! They were proclaiming their Christianity.

       “This same cheerful hope is evident in St. Ignacious, Bishop of Antioch, the early martyr who was torn apart by wild beasts in Rome. He wrote a letter to his friends and said, ‘Don’t try to save me. I want to stand up and be counted. I want to be a witness for Christ. And if the beasts don’t come after me, I’ll go punch them in the snout! I’ll provoke them because I know that death is of no consequence.’

       So here you see the early Christian martyr attitude. Because they understood that death has no power. That the moment that I die, I’m going to be standing in the presence of Jesus Christ! Why do we see people in the world today afraid of death? Because they don’t really believe in their hearts, that there’s some question there, whether or not they’re going to be in the presence of God when they die. Because if we really understand that the moment my last breath is taken I’m going to be in heaven with Jesus Christ, that is an incredible thing that I should look forward to. Why should death have any sting for me? Any victory? Oh death, where is your victory, where is your sting? Not jumping off of buildings just to be killed or stepping out in front of a train, that’s not Christian. You want to kill me because I’m a Christian? Praise God! I’m going to be before the Lord.

       Next week we’ll get into the vision of Christ. Notice that if anyone has the mark of the beast, then they suffer the eternal wrath of God. So the Christian does not have to worry. He has already been marked. He has the mark of ownership. He has the mark of God upon his forehead. He is holy to the Lord.