1After this, I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the earth, or on the sea, or on any tree. 2I saw another angel ascend from the sunrise, having the seal of the living God. He cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to harm the earth and the sea, 3saying, “Don’t harm the earth, the sea, or the trees, until we have sealed the bondservants of our God on their foreheads!” 4I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel:
5of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed,
of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand,
of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand,
6of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand,
of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand,
of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand,
7of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand,
of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand,
of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand,
8of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand,
of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand, and
of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed.
9After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could count, out of every nation and of all tribes, peoples, and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands. 10They cried with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation be to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
11All the angels were standing around the throne, the elders, and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before his throne, and worshiped God, 12saying, “Amen! Blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might, be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
13One of the elders answered, saying to me, “These who are arrayed in the white robes, who are they, and where did they come from?”
14I told him, “My lord, you know.”
He said to me, “These are those who came out of the great suffering. They washed their robes and made them white in the Lamb’s blood. 15Therefore they are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple. He who sits on the throne will spread his tabernacle over them. 16They will never be hungry or thirsty any more. The sun won’t beat on them, nor any heat; 17for the Lamb who is in the middle of the throne shepherds them and leads them to springs of life-giving waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
The Lamb and His 144,000 (purchased from the earth, chaste and blameless) stood on Mount Zion while they sang a new song to Him. This is the same 144,000 described in chapter 7. Now they are on Mount Zion, which is heaven. This indicates that these saints have been martyred. The two names, of God the Father and Jesus, being written on their foreheads, are in contrast to the mark of the beast. This shows possession and loyalty. They are God’s possession; His mark of ownership is on them. They are also loyal to him, similar to the meaning of the mark of the beast with his followers.
The two aspects of the sound, like “many waters” and like “thunder,” indicate its volume. This appears to be the music introducing the song sung by the 144,000. The mention of the four creatures and elders also clarifies that “Mount Zion” is the throne room of God. They are likely standing on the sea of glass before God’s throne and singing praise to Him.
The right to sing this song was limited to the 144,000. This is a special privilege they will have in heaven as a reward for their faithfulness till death in serving God during the Tribulation. Their moral character is first indicated by their virginity. This is an unusual designation. Normally, the term “virgin” is reserved for girls. This indicates that the 144,000 are unmarried men since marital sex does not defile.
A second privilege this group has is their close association with Jesus, the Lamb. They will follow Him continuously in eternity.
Their designation as first fruits to God indicates that they were the beginning of the harvest of souls during the Tribulation. The millions from every part of the world revealed in the second half of chapter 7 are the harvest that follows from them.
Their moral character is described further as blameless and as men who never lie. This makes this group unique among humans. Is this just symbolic language? No. This is Jesus’ assessment of these men who will be with Him throughout eternity.