“Something to Sing About”
(Revelation 14:1-13)
Series: Understanding The Book Of Revelation
Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD
First Baptist Church, Henderson KY
10-29-06 (AM)
- Please open your Bible to Revelation chapter 14.
We continue our series of verse-by-verse messages through the book of Revelation. Chapter 13 taught us about the future coming Antichrist (the beast from the sea) and his right-hand man known as the False Prophet (the beast from the earth). Together the two will promote a one-world government, a one-world economy—forcing people to bear the mark of the Antichrist—and a one-world religion—forcing people to worship the Antichrist.
By the way, you should have received a handout this morning as you entered the sanctuary. This handout will be especially helpful to those of you who are more visually oriented. It should help you get a “big picture” of the scope of the Book of Revelation, particularly seeing what is going on during the time of the Tribulation.
Chapter 13 sounds dark and bleak, but we remember that it ends by giving us the number of the beast. His number is the number of man, six, and the Antichrist’s number, 666, is an emphatic way of stressing his utter imperfection when compared to the Lord Jesus Christ. Now in the beginning of chapter 14 we get a glimpse of a future time of victory for all Christians.
- Please stand in honor of the reading of the Word of God. We’ll read just the first few verses to get us started this morning.
1 Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads.
2 And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps.
3 They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth.
4 These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.
5 And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God.
- Pray.
Introduction:
This chapter opens with music and singing. We read of Christians praising God in song. As I studied the text I was reminded of W.E. Sangster, the renowned preacher of an earlier generation who was diagnosed with a terrible illness that eventually robbed him of his ability to walk and talk. Just weeks before his death, Sangster got up on Easter Sunday and wrote his daughter a moving letter. In the letter he wrote, “It is terrible to wake up on Eater morning and have no voice to shout, ‘He is Risen!’”—and then he added these thoughtful words: “but it would be more terrible to wake up on Easter morning and not want to shout.”
That was Sangster’s way of reminding Christians that we have something to shout about, something to sing about. God in His grace has blessed us in Christ Jesus our Lord. So I want us to see some reasons we can praise God today. In the first five verses we’ll see that we can:
I. Praise God for His Redemption [1-5]
Chapter 13 opens by giving us a glimpse of a future time that probably refers to the millennium, that future time when the Lord Jesus Christ returns to reign on the earth for one thousand years. We’ll be reading about that time later in chapter 20.
The “Lamb” in verse one is the Lord Jesus Christ and John sees him “standing on Mount Zion.” Mount Zion is a reference to the city of Jerusalem. Jesus will return and reign from Jerusalem. Psalm 2, known as a “messianic” psalm because it foretells of the coming Messiah, tells us in verse 6 that God has set His King (Jesus) on His holy hill of Zion (Jerusalem). Isaiah 24:23 says, “The Lord of Hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem and before His elders, gloriously.”
Verse one also tells us that the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ, is not standing alone on Mount Zion. He has some folks with Him as He is reigning in Jerusalem. The Bible says, “And with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads.” Here is a reference to the earlier-mentioned 144,000 of chapter 7. We recall that these 144,000 are Jewish people whom God has sealed with His special mark of ownership.
Now down in verse 4 John refers to this group of 144,000 as the “redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.” What does that mean? “Redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb?”
Well these 144,000 are people God specially selected from the mass of unbelievers among the earth. He gave to them His grace, sealing them with the special seal of His ownership. They became His children, His followers. They were “redeemed” or “rescued” from the bondage of a world infected with sin. You might say that God, in selecting them from among the mass of fallen humanity, has rescued them and freed them. That is redemption.
To say that the 144,000 are the “firstfruits to God and to the Lamb” is to recall the Old Testament teachings about the Jewish harvest time. The firstfruits were the first gleanings of the harvest. Among other things, the firstfruits were a promise that more harvest would come. The firstfruits were literally the “first fruits.” More would come in the future. So the firstfruits represented a future, fuller harvest.
Applied to the 144,000, we see that these Jewish believers, these Jewish Christians, represent the greater, fuller harvest of all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, Jew and Gentile. They are the firstfruits of those who will be saved during the Tribulation and, in a greater sense, they represent the redeemed of all the ages. Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ “have His Father’s name written on their foreheads.” This is in contrast to those who bear the mark of the beast, the mark of the Antichrist. Chapter 13 teaches that during the future time of Tribulation on the earth, people will divide into those who are either “branded by the beast or sealed with the Spirit.” We’ll be either “pro-Christ” or “anti-Christ.”
Now these 144,000 remind you and me that we have something to sing about. We can praise God for His redemption. John tells us in his vision in verse 2 that he hears a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. And, he says, he hears the sound of harpists playing their harps and “they” (verse 3, apparently the harpists) sang as it were a “new song” before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders. So we have the heavenly multitude leading in song, a new song, and they are teaching the song to the 144,000. In fact, the Bible says in verse 3 that, “no one could learn the song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth.”
By the way, this is an incredible picture: heaven rejoices in song and teaches the believers on earth to sing. Heaven and earth rejoicing together! This picture reminds us of the words of Jesus in Luke 15:10 where He says, “There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Rejoicing on earth and rejoicing in heaven.
So only the redeemed (verse 3) could learn the song the heavenly host teaches. That makes sense to me. We can’t praise God for His redemption if we don’t know His redemption in a personal, experiential way. We can’t sing, “Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it” if we have never, in fact, experienced personal redemption. We cannot sing of a joy we do not know.
John further describes the redeemed in verse 4 as “the ones who were not defiled with women . . . virgins.” The context suggests that we should understand this description as our being faithful to the Lord. Rather than prostituting our allegiance to the Antichrist, we are remaining faithful to the Lord Jesus. Continuing in verse 4 John says, “These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes (faithfulness) . . . redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb and in their mouth was found no deceit—(why?)—for they are without fault before the throne of God.” That phrase, “without fault,” doesn’t mean Christians are perfect. I like that bumper sticker that reads, “Not perfect, just forgiven.” We are far from perfect, but we are identified with the One Who is perfect for us, the Lord Jesus Christ.
If you are a Christian you can praise God for His redemption. See, without Christ I am bound to sin. I enter this world with the stain of sin all over me. My sin binds me and my sin separates me from God’s holiness. I need someone to come and rescue me, to redeem me, from my sin. The Apostle Paul reminds us that we have been redeemed from the bondage of sin and our redemption did not come without a cost. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:20 we were “bought at a price.” The price is not gold, silver, or precious stones, but the price is the blood of the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ, who died in our place, paying the penalty of our sins, taking the punishment upon Himself so that we might receive His righteousness. So we can sing:
Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, redeemed through His infinite mercy, His child and forever I am!
We have something to sing about! We can praise God for His Redemption. Secondly:
II. Praise God for His Righteousness [6-11]
The righteousness of God refers to His good justice as the One True God and Eternal Judge of all creation. See the demonstration of His justice in verses six and following. First see His justice demonstrated in the fact that He proclaims salvation. He offers sinful humanity the chance to turn to Him and place their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
1) He Proclaims Salvation (6-7)
6 Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth — to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people —
7 saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”
The angel flying in the midst of heaven is a sign or symbol that God in His righteousness has made a way for the preaching of the Gospel to the whole world. Jesus said in Matthew 24:24 that the Gospel would be preached to the whole world before the end would come. And this is our duty now. The last words Jesus gives to His followers in Matthew 28 are, “Go into all the nations, teaching them all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” The Gospel must first be preached to the nations, every nation, tribe, tongue, and people, before the Lord Jesus Christ returns as Judge. This is why we take seriously evangelism and world missions.
The actions of this angel assure us that the proclamation of salvation has occurred. God is just. He is righteous. He offers salvation to all who will hear and repent. The Bible says in 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” The message in verse 7 is clear: “Fear God and give glory to Him”—why? “For the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.” Judgment is coming. Turn to God while there is yet time.
Praise God for His righteousness. He demonstrates His righteousness in that He proclaims salvation. But He also demonstrates His righteousness in that:
2) He Punishes Sin (8-11)
In order for God to be righteous He must not only proclaim salvation, He must punish sin. We expect human judges to punish sin. We expect justice to be done in our human courts. How much more should we expect justice in the heavenly courts? In order for God to be a just judge, He cannot simply turn His back on sin. He must punish sin.
The Bible says in John 3:16 that “God so loved the world He gave His only begotten—His unique, one-of-a-kind Son—so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” In His justice, God graciously offers salvation. He offers His son to take our punishment upon Himself. He punishes our sin in Christ. If we refuse to turn to Christ, however, punishment for sin falls upon ourselves. John 3:36 says, “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
Those who take the mark of the beast during the tribulation and refuse to follow Christ will be punished by a holy and righteous God. This is the point of verses 8-11.
8 And another angel followed, saying, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.”
This angel proclaims the falling of “Babylon” and Babylon here is a metaphor for the world system of the Antichrist. It is fitting that those who follow the Antichrist during the tribulation should be described as committing “fornication.” The methodology of the Antichrist is to deceivingly attract followers unto himself, much like prostitutes deceivingly attracting followers to themselves.
9 Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand,
10 “he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.
In His righteousness God punishes sin. It is His holy response to a people who have turned their backs on His love. Those who follow the Antichrist will “also drink of the wine of the wrath of God,” a wrath John describes as “poured out in full strength in the cup of His indignation.” This is punishment for sin in an everlasting hell. Look at the horror of it in the last part of verse 10. It says, “He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone.”
I suppose my proclaiming the truth of verse 10 makes me a “fire and brimstone preacher.” Someone said, “If we had more hell in the pulpits of America, we might have less hell in the land of America.” We might even better say, “If we had more preaching of the Word in the pulpits of America we might have less hell in the land of America.” Like it or not, believe it or not, hell is described as a place of “fire and brimstone.” Note the further description of hell in verse 11:
11 “And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”
Hell is a horrible place of eternal suffering. Note well the eternal nature of suffering in verse 11. John says, “The smoke of their torment ascends—(how long?)—forever and ever; and they have—(what?)—no rest day or night.” Those who believe there is no conscious, eternal suffering of the soul in hell need to read verses 10 and 11 more carefully.
It is popular for people to remark after someone dies that their soul is at rest. Friend, that is only true for the believer. Only the soul of the believer of the Lord Jesus Christ has rest after death. Not everyone is at peace. The Bible says that if a person dies without Christ his soul spends eternity in hell, eternally separated from God and, look again at verse 11, “they have no rest day or night.”
Remember, it doesn’t have to be that way. Again 2 Peter 3:9 says, “It is not God’s will that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” If we refuse to repent, to turn to Christ as our Lord and Savior, we choose our own destiny. We send ourselves to hell. We are either “pro-Christ” or “anti-Christ.”
Praise God for His redemption, praise God for His righteousness, and thirdly:
III. Praise God for His Reward [12-13]
Listen to the promise of God to all who follow the Lord Jesus Christ:
12 Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
13 Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.”
Blessed are the dead who die—how? “in the Lord.” Heaven is a place for the righteous. Heaven is a place for those who keep the commandments of God, for those who stay faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Not all who die will be at rest for eternity. In verse 13 the voice from heaven says, “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.” The Holy Spirit gives His voice of affirmation: “Yes.” Yes, says, the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.” We don’t do works to get into heaven, but if we are Christ’s we will do the things He has asked us to do and the Lord will reward each and every work done for His glory. Heaven is a place of reward.
We have something to sing about! Praise God for His redemption, praise God for His righteousness, and praise God for His reward.
Conclusion / Invitation:
A. J. Gordon was an American pastor in Boston Massachusetts. While pastoring a church in that city, he met a young boy in front of the sanctuary carrying a rusty cage in which several birds fluttered nervously. Gordon asked the boy, “Son, where did you get those birds?” The boy said, “I trapped them out in the field.” Gordon asked, “What are you going to do with them?” The boy said, “I’m going to play with them, and then I guess I’ll just feed them to an old cat we have at home.” Gordon offered to buy the birds, but the boy said, “Mister, you don’t want them, they’re just little old wild birds and can’t sing very well.” Gordon said, “I’ll give you $2 for the cage and the birds.” The boy said, “Okay, it’s a deal, but you’re making a bad bargain.”
The exchange was made and the boy went away whistling, happy with his money. Gordon walked around to the back of the church property, opened the door of the small wire cage, and he freed the birds, watching them soar upward to the heavenly blue sky.
The next Sunday Pastor Gordon took the empty bird cage into the pulpit and used it to illustrate his sermon about Christ’s coming to seek and to save the lost—paying for them with His own precious blood. He said, “That boy told me the birds could not sing very well, but when I released them and they winged their way heavenward, it seemed to me they were singing, ‘Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed!” (Source: Our Daily Bread).
- Stand for prayer.
Have you been redeemed? Has there been a time you have trusted Jesus Christ to rescue you from the depths of your sin? Are you free? Turn to Christ Jesus this morning.
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