THE LAMB

(Revelation 14: 1-5)

 

 

INTRODUCTION

Moses had recorded many of God’s commandments in his 5 books (the Pentateuch) and the following was found in Exodus 29:38-39:  “Now this is what you shall offer on the altar: two lambs, a year old regularly each day. One lamb you shall offer in the morning, and another lamb you shall offer in the evening”. In general, lambs were used as sacrifices in atonements, in burnt offerings to God. We may ask ourselves this question: “Why was lamb used as a sacrifice more than any other animal?” According to the Jews, lamb is a gentle animal, so when compare to Christ Jesus, the Scripture indicates that He “like a lamb that led to the slaughter” (Isaiah 53: 7), did not resit; lamb is also a simple animal, unlike a serpent or unlike a cow, lamb does not know how to attack other animals; lamb is also an animal that relies on its master and obeys him.

In the first part of John’s Gospel, New Testament, Christ Jesus was introduced by John the Baptist “here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John1:29), this refers to Jesus who was sacrificed and died as a substitute for us. However, at the end of the New Testament Christ Jesus was also introduce as “the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion”, referring He who eternally governs the heaven with the 144,000 who represent children of God throughout the centuries.

Let us meditate Revelation 14: 1-5 (with the topic “the Lamb”) through 2 parts: firstly, the Lambs and the singing voice of the redeemed from verse 1 to 3; and secondly, the Lamb and the special traits of those who were redeemed from verse 4 to 5.

I.THE LAMB AND THE SINGING VOICE OF THOSE WHO WERE REDEEMED:

“Then I looked, and there was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion! And with him were one hundred forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father’s name written on their forehead. And I heard a voice from heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder; the voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, and they sing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the one hundred forty-four thousand who have been redeemed from the earth.”

Revelation 12 ends with the sentence: “The dragon stands on the seashore”; but chapter 14 begins with the words “the Lamb standing on Mount Zion.”  The “dragon” is Satan (figurative meaning) “stands on the seashore” - it is not as solid as the Lamb, Jesus Christ, who “standing on Mount Zion”. Satan only “stands on the seashore” for a limited time; but Jesus Christ “standing on Mount Zion”, reigns forever and ever. And this is the true faith and the hope of God's children when facing persecution, hardship. Revelation 13 describes Satan's brutal ruling; but chapter 14 reveals a little about the glorious heavenly view that awaits them (God's children).

“Mount Zion” were used so many times (150) in the Old Testament; it refers to Jerusalem, God's eternal city and His dominion, or heaven, especially at the end of human history, different from the earthly empires. Psalm 2: 6 records, “I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.” In the context of the Old Testament, " Mount Zion" in Revelation also refers to the eternal dwelling of Christ Jesus’s children following their earthly life.

Christ Jesus and the 144,000 were standing together as described in verse 1, “with him were one hundred forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father’s name written on their forehead.” Does this mean only the 144,000 will live in heaven with Christ Jesus as indicated in the teaching of the cult, Jehovah's Witnesses? It is not. This number is only a symbolic figure and the Bible scholars must figuratively understand, as it refers to “After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands.”  (Revelation 7: 9). But why the number 144,000? This figure was taken from the twelve tribes of Israel in the Old Testament multiplied the number of twelve apostles in the New Testament, representing the Church, and then multiplied by a thousand as this was the number represents the completeness of the Jews; and according to the Jews. All indicates they were the chosen spiritual Israelites, the Church of God through generations. 

Those 144,000 who were mentioned above “who had his name and his Father’s name written on their forehead”, are not only belong to “the Lamb” but also indicating God's presence and protection towards His people. Moreover, if they do not have “who had his name and his Father’s name written on their forehead” they could not stand on Mount Zion; for those who do not have “who had his name and his Father’s name written on their forehead” certainly carry the “name of the beast.” When writing to the church of Philadelphia, a gentile congregation, Christ Jesus commanded: “If you conquer, I will make you a pillar in the temple of my God; you will never go out of it. I will write on you the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem that comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.” (Revelation 3:12). Then when referring to those who dwell in heaven, Revelation 22: 4 states: “They will see His face, and His name will be on your foreheads.”

In the final days, if we were only members of "Vietnamese Evangelical Church in Australia (Sydney)" or members of another church, we would not be able to stand on Mount Zion; for every person who wants to stand on Mount Zion must certainly know that he/she is the child of God. How can we be sure that we are children of God? Let ask Pastor Doan Trung Chanh.

From “Mount Zion” or  “heaven” echoed the singing voice of the 144,000 “a voice from heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder; the voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps." In fact, it is not the 144,000 who sang but it sounded like the sound of waterfalls and like the sound of loud thunder as mentioned earlier, but it is the singing voice of “every tribe and people and language and nation.” They sing “the new song before the throne, before the four creatures and the elders.” They sing “a new song ... No one could learn that song except the one hundred forty-four thousand who have been redeemed from the earth.” The word “new” in the phrase “new song” means it is different from the old songs, better than the old songs, not the old songs that are re-composed, but completely new. Through Revelation 5, we learnt about the four living creatures, the twenty-four elders, and the many thousands of angels who sang the victory song over sins, victory of the Lamb. Now, in chapter 14, the 144,000 sing the new song “No one could learn that song except the one hundred forty-four thousand who have been redeemed from the earth.” Hence, what is this song about? According to Revelation 11: 15-18 and 12: 10-12, we know that this is a song that praises the victory over the “beast” of Christ Jesus, the “Lamb of God.”

On our recent trip back to Vietnam, the final Sunday of the trip we went to worship the Lord at the Trung Ai Church, Qui Nhon. We heard a young man praising the Lord with a song, “His eye is on the sparrow” and it was well performed and very emotional. I can sing this hymn, but it's not that good; non-Christian singers could sing this hymn, but it is not touchy. As for the "new song" in heaven, “No one could learn that song except the one hundred forty-four thousand who have been redeemed from the earth.”

It is only the 144,000 “who had his name and his Father’s name written on their forehead” can sing this “new song” why can no one else can sing? The reason is that without their own experience of Christ Jesus's miraculous salvation, no one could sing that triumphant song. How can those who fail before the power of sin and death sing the victory song? Heaven is not a place to learn a “new song”, we must practice that song while we are on earth. In other words, we must trust Christ Jesus for salvation, then join the choir to learn this song and sing it.

The image in Revelation chapter 14 is different from the image of Revelation 12 and 13, from the dragon and the two immoral beasts in contrast with the Lamb, standing on holy Mountain Zion; from persecution and martyrdom contrary to the safety scene on Mount Zion; from the incomplete 666 as opposed to the full 144,000; from the name of the beast that was marked on the hand and on the forehead as opposite to the triumphant of the Lamb and His Father, God himself on their forehead; from the silence of the persecuted against the singing of “every tribe and people and language and nation.” This singing voice is described “And I heard a voice from heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder; the voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps.” Let us imagine the sound of Niagara Falls, like thunder roaring in the sky, like the sound of millions of millions of harps, to be able to feel the resounding voice of this choir including us.

II THE LAMB AND THE SPECIAL TRAITS OF THOSE WHO WERE REDEEMED:

“It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins; these follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been redeemed from humankind as first fruit for God and the Lamb, and in their mouth no lie was found; they are blameless.”

In a small local area of Vietnam, there were four state officials, who notoriously persecuted Christian and all had died either in a traffic accident or electrical shock. This event was well known to the locals and a comment from a state official was made to the local Church pastor, “your God had killed four of our comrades.” But in my view, the state officials are very respectful toward the religious living style that the local children of God have displayed although they do not express this in words.

The phrase “these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins” ought to understand in the context of the Old Testament or in figurative meaning.  The word “defiled” literally means the soil is not mixed with mud, or with chemical. According to Deuteronomy 23: 9-10, “When you are encamped against your enemies you shall guard against any impropriety. If one of you becomes unclean because of a nocturnal emission, then he shall go outside the camp; he must not come within the camp” Therefore, the phrase “these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins” does not mean that the 144,000 who sing the new song are men, and these men are still chaste; but it refers to the battle between Christ Jesus and Satan, the worldly power, the false prophets as it is a holy war, and these 144,000 who lives are clean and pure; they are the loyalty or the faithful to Christ Jesus, they do not follow false prophets. Revelation 19: 8 states that they are “clothed with fine linen, bright and pure” (for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints).

Why were they called “virgin”? According to the Old Testament, worshipping idols instead of worshiping God who created us is spiritual adultery, unclean. But how could these 144,000 people be called “virgins”? According to Revelation 7:14, they have “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

Therefore, the word “virgin” refers to the true children of God, who are not in harmony with the way of life of the world but are chastity “bride” who wait for the “bridegroom”, Christ Jesus, to greet them in heaven. In other words, they are not defiled by different kind of “idols” which, the apostle Paul refers to in 2 Corinthians 11: 2-4: “I feel a divine jealousy for you, for I promised you in a marriage to one husband, to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by its cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you received a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you submit to it readily enough.

Those who truly are Christ Jesus’s children do not live a worldly life; but “these follow the Lamb wherever he goes.” The word “follow” is not only meant walking side by side with the teacher; but it also means that they act the same as their teacher or used to refer to a disciple who lives according to teacher’s word until he becomes his teacher.  In one aspect they follow Jesus Christ’s footstep by imitating how He lived. These people live among the world, but not belong to the world; they live under worldly pressure, but not in harmony with the world. Jesus Christ prayed for His people that “I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one.” (John17:15).

There are those (Jesus Christ's children) who want to live their lives according to the way they want to live and do not desire to be like Him.  There are those who want to live “in this life” but do not like “.. follow the Lamb wherever he goes.”  There are those who want to live half Christian life and half worldly life. In general, Christian who live in harmony with the world will win the hearts of many; but they will destroy the foundation of faith and morality. This is a stumbling block to evangelical development.

But how do we know how Jesus Christ lived in order to follow? We know how He lived through the Scripture. In other aspect, they are also willing to follow the tribulation path that Jesus Christ went from the court of Pilate to the hill of Calvary as it is the road to persecution. In that spirit, the apostle also called the children of Christ Jesus, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” (Romans 12: 1).

The figure of 144,000 is a typical figure represents “every tribe and people and language and nation”; “They have been redeemed from human kind as first fruit for God and the Lamb.” That is why they stand on Mount Zion with the Lamb, singing “new song”,  were called “virgin”. They were “redeemed” by "grace (of God), by faith (in Christ Jesus)"; for they cannot and do not rely on anything else to stand on Mount Zion with the Lamb sing “new song”, are considered “virgin”. They were redeemed from idolatry to live for God and to live for “the Lamb”; they do not live for the world and for themselves.

The phrase “first fruits” is not only refer to the first product of the harvest, but it also means that the product is offered to God. Romans 11:16 records: “If the part of the dough offered as first fruits is holy then the whole batch is holy; and if the root is holy, then the branches are holy.” and Deuteronomy 26:10 God commands the Israelites about the offering of first product as follows: “So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me. You shall set it down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God.”

The word “lie” in the phrase “and in their mouth no lie was found” means no deceit words to cause listeners to lose their way. These are different from those whom Revelation 3: 9: “I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not but are lying.” The sentence “and in their mouth no lie was found” is not only true; but also, their sincerity, even when they live under the pressure of “beasts” and “false prophets”; and that is why they may be martyred. The implication is that these 144,000 who faithfully testify the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who lead everyone to “the Way, the Life, and the Truth.”

 

CONCLUSION

 

The owner of a successful business decided to move his factory to a larger facility as his business has been increased significantly. On the opening day, the merchant’s friend came to a flower shop to order a congratulatory bouquet. Unfortunately, for some reasons, the florist made a wrong delivery. On the opening day, the merchant received a funeral bouquet and the card read: “Our deepest condolences for your loss” and the bereavement family received a bouquet of flowers and a greeting card with all the well wishes for the opening of a new facility. When the friend who sent flowers to congratulate his friend discovered this mistake, he came to the flower shop and asked why, the owner explained: “I sincerely apologize for the mistake we made, and sorry for what has happened.” In fact, what happened to the merchant could not compare to the bereavement family for they received a bouquet with a card: “Congratulations on your new place.” In your final day, Brothers and Sisters, what card would you receive and what will be the written words on the card?

Will our standing today affect our standing in the future? God wants the future to determine our lifestyle today; not the way of life today determines our future destiny. Do we know for sure that we will stand with “every tribe and people and language and nation” singing “new songs” in the future?