We ended our discussion in Revelation last week with the picture of 144,000 people standing on Mount Zion with the Lamb. As with many such symbols in Revelation there is controversy. Who are these 144,000 people standing on Mount Zion with the Lamb? Billions of people have inhabited earth! Why are only 144,000 standing on Mount Zion?
Various cults have come along and claimed such numbers for themselves. Take the Jehovah Witnesses, for example. In the early 1900's their Watchtower organization proudly proclaimed their membership to be a "spiritual Israel", an elite group of believers who would be saved out of all the peoples on earth. That interpretation worked fine back in the early 1900's, when their membership ranks were down around four thousand. But by the mid 1950's their membership ranks swelled and it became evident that the number of Jehovah witnesses would far exceed 144,000! The Seventh-Day Adventists and the Mormons have made similar proclamations.
The mystery of the 144,000 was resolved back inRevelation 7.
This number is symbolic and represents all the descendants of the tribes of Israel who had been protected from God’s wrath and who were redeemed from the earth. A seal is put on their foreheads to identify them as God’s very own. Here is the background. In Revelation 7:3-8 (NIV) an angel intervenes on behalf of God’s people. And the angel says, "Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God. Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel. From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben 12,000, from the tribe of Gad 12,000, from the tribe of Asher 12,000, from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000, from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000, from the tribe of Simeon 12,000, from the tribe of Levi 12,000, from the tribe of Issachar 12,000, from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000, from the tribe of Joseph 12,000, from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000."
In these verses the apostle John simply marvels over the great multitude of God’s people who have been sealed and protected. Could you imagine being one of the 144,000 and feeling God’s protection in such a dramatic way? Could you imagine the security and assurance of having God’s very seal placed on your forehead? Could you imagine the pride of having such a rich spiritual heritage spanning back thousands of years?
In Revelation 14:1-5 (NIV) we see an even more complete picture of the 144,000. "Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless."
Could the 144,000 be descriptive of the Church today?
When I first read these verses it struck me how well they could describe the Church in today's world. As Christians, we really are a minority. In light of all the people on the face of this earth, what are 144,000 people? 144,000 is hardly the size of one community in one county in one state in one country on just one continent of the world. Jesus said in Matthew 7:14 (NIV), "But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."
No one really cares that you are Christian. No one really cares what your relationship to Christ is or whether you believe or don’t believe in him. If you are a good, law-abiding citizen, that is enough for most people. If you attend church you're in the minority. This morning most people are at home sleeping in, doing yard work, cleaning house, watching television, doing sports, or entertaining family. Their relationship to the Lamb isn’t a priority. At least not a big enough priority to be inconvenienced over. We need to get used to this fact. It's not going to change. It's just reality.
Notice that the 144,000 have the name of the Lamb and the Father written on their foreheads. We don’t know specifically what this means except to say that God’s people are readily recognizable. God knows their names and they know God’s name. I wonder, is Christ’s name written on your forehead? Is the name of the living God etched onto your forehead? Is there anything about your life, your priorities, your personality, your beliefs, or your behavior that makes you readily identifiable as a Christian to your friends, peers, or family?
Notice that the 144,000 sang a new song before the throne. And this was a song that only the 144,000 redeemed could learn. I wonder what this song sounds like to those who do not know the lamb. Does it sound traditional or contemporary? Does its lyrics make sense or are they mysterious?
144,000 did not defile themselves with women, but kept themselves pure. 144,000 follow the Lamb wherever he goes. Their lives were offered up as firstfruits to God. No lie was found in their mouths. They were blameless. 144,000 are about as counter-culture as anything we can imagine. Their holiness makes them stick out. Their relationship to the Lamb differentiates them and marginalizes them in society.
How are you like one of the 144,000?
How are you like the 144,000? How are you different from the 144,000? What is your relationship to the Lamb? Are you of God’s redeemed? Are you secure in your salvation? Are you a person of worship? A person of obedience? A person of purity and holiness? Do you listen to a different song? Do you stand against our culture and against peer pressure? Do you have God’s identifying mark etched on your forehead? "Small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."
One thing that strikes me about Revelation 14 is how even at the end of the age, God is working to enlarge the number of his redeemed. 144,000 isn’t an exclusive number. God never wants his people to take on a snobby, elitist attitude that says, "We’re the only ones. We're the only ones who are saved." Because we are a minority, we have this tendency to withdraw from the world.
We have a tendancy to retreat and to disengage from those who most need to hear the gospel and be saved. This is the exact opposite of what God wants of us. In John 17:15-18 (NIV) Jesus prays for the Church, "My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world." Jesus wants us to remain engaged in our world.
Notice what John sees next inRevelation 14. He sees an angel proclaiming the eternal gospel! Revelation 14:6-7 (NIV) says, "Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. He said in a loud voice, 'Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.' "
The first angel and the eternal gospel.
What happens among Christians is that we get apathetic and we grow indifferent toward those who do not know Christ. We do our thing and they do their thing. We wave at them in their yards as we drive to church and they wave back. We come to church and sing a new song, yet we're content that they keep singing the same old song. The longer you’ve been saved the less apt you are to care whether or not your neighbors know Christ, whether they follow the Lamb, or whether they worship the living God.
The first angel invites those of every nation, tribe, language, and people to fear God and give him glory. He invites all of us to escape God’s dreadful judgment and to worship our creator. When is the last time you ever invited someone to stand on Mount Zion with the Lamb?
The second angel and the maddening wine.
In Revelation 14:8 (NIV) John sees a second angel in heaven. "A second angel followed and said, 'Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great, which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.' " This second angel speaks the truth to the inhabitants of the earth. Babylon referring to Satan. The angel's message is essentially this, "Satan has liquored you up! Satan has made you drunk!"
We have all seen what happens as a person gets filled with wine. He stops seeing clearly. He stops thinking clearly. He lets down his guard. All inhibition gets thrown out of the window. His personality changes and he does crazy things. He takes foolish risks. Hisjudgment is impaired.
Like wine, sin has a way of blinding us, impairing our senses and our judgment. Satan loves to liquor us up to do his will. Notice in Revelation 14:8 how Satan makes all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.
Take a lesson from this second angel. Part of our calling is to make help people become sober in the Lord. Part of our calling is to speak against sin, speak against Satan, warn people of sin, and point people to life with Christ. It's not enough to invite someone to stand on Mount Zion with the Lamb. We must wrestle people from Satan’s grip and free them from the power of sin. This isn’t a passive activity.
It requires that we get involved in people’s lives. It requires that we stand alongside them in their vulnerability and weaknesses. We cannot enlarge God’s kingdom by singing songs at church. We must engage the enemy on the enemy's turf out in the world and point people to eternal life in Christ. Are we doing this? Do each of us have a ministry beyond these four walls?
The third angel and the fury of God's wrath.
Next, John sees a third angel in heaven. Revelation 14:9-12 (NIV) says, "A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: 'If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name.' This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus."
Proclaiming the eternal gospel is vital. Wrestling people from the maddening wine of sin is vital. This third angel reminds us of something else that is vital; giving people a reality check. I have to confess to you that preaching Revelation makes me uncomfortable. In fact, saying anything negative to a person or confronting people in general, makes me uncomfortable. Revelation is full of images of judgment and eternal consequences.
We have to ask ourselves, do we really believe the message of this third angel? Does the thought of drinking, at full strength, the fury of God’s wrath alarm us? Does the thought of people who do not know Christ being tormented with burning sulfur, as those in Sodom and Gomorrah were tormented, keep us up at night? Has it ever crossed our minds that maybe we should warn people of what is about to happen if they should not repent of their sins and turn to the living God?
We would warn people if we detected a tsunami wave coming. We would warn people if a hurricane was about to smash into the coastline. We would warn people if funnel clouds swept down out of the sky. We would warn people if an earthquake was about to happen or if a volcano was about to erupt. We would warn people if a firestorm was about to vaporize their house. But we're silent about God’s wrath.
Because we're silent about God’s wrath, people will be caught off guard, unprepared on the day of the Lord. They will cry out to us in their agony, "Why didn’t you say something? Why didn’t you go out of your way?"
The sickle and the harvest.
In Revelation 14:13-20 (NIV) John hears yet another voice in heaven. "Then I heard a voice from heaven say, 'Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.' 'Yes,' says the Spirit, 'they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.' I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one 'like a son of man' with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, 'Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.' So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested. Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, 'Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine, because its grapes are ripe.' The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia."
In these last verses John is invited to see all the inhabitants of the earth as a giant field. And he is invited to see God’s judgment as the day of the harvest. This is the day when the farmer comes and swings his sickle, gathers up the wheat, and destroys the chaff. Are we personally ready for that day? Have we prepared others for that dreadful day?
In Matthew 9:35-38 (NIV) we find this account of Jesus’ ministryand I’ll conclude with this. "Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.' "
Are we willing to the do the work of angels? Proclaiming? Delivering? Warning? Are we willing to be sent by God out into the field to do his work? Will we refuse to be content with our own salvation and resolve to never rest until every tribe, tongue, nation, and people group has heard the full gospel?