This transcript was generated by whisper.ai.

I'm glad you're back for day two of our look together through Revelation chapter
14. We began yesterday looking at these pictures from Revelation 14 and it's
going to continue through 15 and 16. These pictures have helped you and I to
find hope when the world's falling apart.

These pictures have helped you and I to deal with the fact that life in this
world sometimes is unfair and we began looking at the lamb yesterday. Today as
we look at the last half of verse one and we look on to verse five, we're going
to be focusing together on those who are standing with that lamb. Let me read
those verses for you.

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 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 followed the lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased
from among men and offered as first fruits to God and the lamb.

No lie was found in their mouths. They are blameless. So here we have Jesus,
this lamb, and this lamb is leading worship, 144,000 in this awesome expression
of worship.

It's so awesome. How do you describe it? There are words used here to try to
describe it.

It's like the roar of rushing waters. It's like thunder. It's like harpists
playing and they're all singing this new song before the lamb and with the lamb.

They all have the mark of the lamb on their hearts, on their lives. Now just
contrast this picture with the one we just saw described in Revelation 13. The
followers of the beast had the mark of the beast on their foreheads.

These carry the mark of the lamb. That's the difference. You've got to read 13
and 14 together and there are these 144,000 singing.

Now the question we have is who are these 144,000? It's very clear. In verse 4
it says they were purchased from among men and they were offered as first fruits
to God and to the lamb.

They are the first fruits. That is a picture from the Old Testament. That is a
picture, for instance, the book of Leviticus talks about these first fruits.

It says speak to the Israelites and say to them, when you enter the land that
I'm going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of
the first grain that you harvest. It is to waive that sheaf before the Lord so
it will be accepted on your behalf. The priest is to waive it on the day after
the Sabbath.

This is the feast of the first fruits. The priest waived this sheaf before the
Lord as a sign that the entire harvest belonged to him. These 144,000, they are
called the first fruits.

These are not the only ones that are redeemed. These are not the only ones that
are blessed. These are those that are representing all of us who are redeemed.

We talked earlier about the fact that it's 12 from each tribe of Israel, so it's
representing those from Old Testament, but it's also, you have 12 apostles, it's
also representing the New Testament. These are representing everyone who's been
redeemed. Now, we've read early in the book of Revelation that they have the
privilege of representing because they are martyrs.

They've given their life for Jesus Christ, but they are not the only ones that
are being blessed. Some people read this and they say, well, it talks about they
haven't defiled themselves with women. Does that mean only men are going to be
blessed in the end?

It talks about just this 144,000. Is that all that's going to get to heaven? No,
it says first fruits.

And when you understand the Old Testament, you understand that means a
representative group of the fact that all of us who have come to Jesus Christ
are going to be with him enjoying these blessings. So do not see this group as
separate from or even above all other believers. What is said about them
represents all of us as believers.

We will all stand on Mount Zion. We will all have a new song of redemption. We
are all called to a life of purity.

We are all changed and made blameless by the blood of Christ. So the questions
that you might have about this 144,000, there are also questions about you. And
there are questions that people have about this group.

First question is, what is this Mount Zion that they're standing on? Are they
standing on Mount Zion on earth or Mount Zion in heaven? Are they talking here
about Mount Zion in Jerusalem?

Or if you read Hebrews chapter 12 verses 22 to 24, it talks about a Mount Zion
in heaven, the city of the heavenly God, Mount Zion that's there. Although some
people think this is talking about Mount Zion on earth, I believe this is Mount
Zion in heaven. As I read it, it's talking about them being before the lamb and
it's talking about them being before the throne of the lamb.

This sounds like heaven to me. The scene that I see here of them standing in
Mount Zion is an assurance not only to them but all of us as believers that
God's people that he cares for who are his own will be finally taken with him
and rejoice with him forever in glory. We will stand with him in that place of
glory.

Now, second question, probably the main question people have about this group
is, what is this about not defiling themselves with women? Does this mean they
were celibates? Is this actual?

Is this spiritual? What is this talking about? First, even the phrase seems
strange, defiled with women, as if even touching a woman would make you unclean
somehow.

That would be sort of a low view of women, that would be a low view of marriage.
Does this mean that somehow sex, somehow in and of itself is evil? That somehow
I'd be more spiritual if I were celibate?

Well, I hope not. I mean, I really, really hope not and in fact, I know not.
When you read God's word, the Bible has such a high view of marriage and of sex
as God's plan in marriage, that the idea of these men who did not defile
themselves with women here is about moral purity, about them not allowing sexual
immorality to come into their lives.

In fact, I believe that these verses refer to moral purity and they also refer
to a spiritual faithfulness as expressed all throughout the Old Testament. I
think this is not just about women. I think this is about their relationship
with God.

When you read through the Old Testament again and again, you will come across
the fact that when the people of God are unfaithful to God, it is pictured as
them being unfaithful in terms of a marriage. Israel, in fact, is called a
prostitute and unfaithful because as a nation she didn't follow after God. So
here are these people who even in the midst of a time when everyone else was
worshipping the beast and following the beast, everyone else was worshipping the
ways of this world, they were following the ways of this world.

These are a people who choose to follow after God. These are a people who are
faithful no matter what. And that is the picture.

Here's a picture of faithfulness. Now the third question some have is about
their song. It says here that no one else knew their song.

Why couldn't no one else learn their song? What's going on here? Are they so
special that they're the only ones who get to know this song?

Again, they represent all of us. And this song that they sing is a song of
salvation and it can only be learned in the intimacy of a relationship with
Jesus Christ. The idea here is not secrecy, is not that some have what others
cannot have.

The idea here is intimacy, that we're all invited into an intimate relationship
with Jesus Christ. The picture here is they follow the lamb wherever he goes. It
sounds like a twist on a nursery rhyme, doesn't it?

The little lamb followed Mary everywhere that she went. But here we follow the
lamb, the lamb of God everywhere that he goes. And as we follow him, we sing a
song with him, a song that's all the greater because of what we have been
through.

Remember, these are the martyrs. They've given their life for their faith. So
they're singing this greatness of this song, this song that comes at the end of
time, that recognizes that the lamb was always there, that he never failed you,
and sees in those moments, even those darkest moments, how he was carrying you
through.

When life isn't fair, here's what you remember. You remember that one day, our
sorrows will be transformed into songs. When life isn't fair, you remember that.

God begins working things together for good, even before we get to heaven. He's
using your sorrows even now to develop character, develop hope in you. But one
day, that will be multiplied, that will be exploded.

He will turn our sorrows, not just forgotten, he will turn them into songs. Now,
I know, even as I say this, that some of you listening, you have a sorrow in
your life that has not yet been turned into a song. And I hope that me talking
about this doesn't make you feel like you have to force that to happen now.

The promise is that someday, by God's grace and power, that sorrow will be
turned into a song. It may not happen on earth. It may, but it may not.

You don't have to force it to happen on this earth. You can trust God with that
sorrow on this earth, and you realize that even if it stays a sorrow the rest of
your life on this earth, one day, even that will be changed. Even if life isn't
fair to you in this life for the rest of your life, one day, even that will be
changed.

That is the greatest hope we have. And that's the first picture, a lamb that's
leading worship, a lamb that turns our sorrows into songs. Our Father, we thank
you.

We thank you that you turn our mourning into dancing. You turn our sorrows into
songs. You turn our grief into joy.

Only you could do that. And although it may not be happening now, bring a spark
of hope into my heart, into our hearts in this moment, to realize we can trust
you. It will happen.

It is your promise. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Tomorrow, we're going to hear
together from some angels about a second truth that encourages us when life is
unfair.