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.”
A Song that Only You can Sing
A Song that Only You Can Sing
I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him a number, one hundred forty-four thousand, having his name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads.
A Man Singing From a Book
Revelation describes the mark of the beast as being on the right hand or the forehead (Rev 13:16). This is yet another satanic imitation of what God commanded for His people. God spoke to Moses about the importance of keeping God’s word foremost in the lives of His people, “8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.” (Deuteronomy 6:8, NKJV). [See also Deuteronomy 11:18 and Jewish man to the left with tefillin on arm and forehead.] Satan will place his mark of the beast on the hand and forehead of his followers. Satan is the author of nothing original. He is an imitator.
John looks and sees Jesus standing on Mount Zion. We were introduced to these 144,000 Jews in chapter 7, who have come to faith and are working diligently throughout the Tribulation to bring others to Christ. John sees them there in victory with the Lord in Jerusalem. They are sealed with the seal of God on their foreheads. The name of God is Yahweh, and His name is inscribed on their foreheads. A Jew reading this text would immediately see that the “mark of the beast” takes the place of God’s commands, and to accept the mark is to reject God Himself.
2 I heard a sound from heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of a great thunder. The sound which I heard was like that of harpists playing on their harps. 3 They sing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the one hundred forty-four thousand, those who had been redeemed out of the earth. 4 These are those who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are those who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed by Jesus from among men, the first fruits to God and to the Lamb. 5 In their mouth was found no lie, for they are blameless. (Revelation 14:2-5 WEB) John hears the voice of Jesus as thunder, and he hears a loud voice from heaven. It is a strange heavenly sound, sort of like a waterfall mixed with thunder and harpists playing on harps. I imagine a sound like a loud symphony tuning up. And these were singing this new song that only the 144,000 could sing. These men are all sexually pure and are free from the sexual idolatry that is going on in the world. There are special songs that only certain groups can sing throughout the Bible. Deborah had a song. Moses had several songs that were just his. That reminds me that each of us has a unique song we can sing. We sing a song of praise when we live our lives in submission to the Holy Spirit. And these 144 thousand, too, have a song of deliverance through the Tribulation. The text says that these are the “first fruits,” meaning the harvest of believers in the Tribulation. These are the first fruits of the survivors. It says they are “without fault” before the throne of God. That’s exactly how each one of us will stand before God because of the wonderful work of Jesus Christ. God sees each of us as faultless. Are you seeing the song that He has put into you? Reader, you may not be a very good singer, but offer your praise, honor, and glory to God because He is so faithful and true to you. He has been there every step of your life. Ask God to make your life a song for Him. Let us praise God that we, too, stand faultless before the throne of God because we are washed in the blood of Jesus!