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Revelation 14:1-5

The Church of the Seven Trumpets

A sermon by Pastor Joe Haynes

Preached on September 29, 2019 at Beacon Church

Even when persecuted by powerful enemies, Christ is preserving His people, preparing them for glory, receiving their praise, and purifying them as He is pure.

The change of scenery in 14:1, from what we read in chapter 13, is dramatic. Let me point out the contrasts and then we’ll be ready to see the dramatic contrast with what we read in chapter 13.

The Lamb has saved His people from the Beast (v1)

This passage is built on two main verbs—what John saw and what John heard—those two verbs introduce verse 1 and verse 2 respectively. Then in the middle of verse 3 through verse 5, John writes what God had made him to understand about what he saw and heard.

“Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads,” (Rev. 14:1 ESV). What John saw was the Lamb, where the Lamb was standing, and who the Lamb was with. The word order in Greek seems to introduce these things in order of importance. First John sees the Lamb; then he sees He’s standing on Mt. Zion; then he sees 144,000 standing with the Lamb. Do you think John saw a literal scene with a lamb? No, it’s a symbol for Jesus—that’s how the very first verse in Revelation says this whole book was communicated to John: as the King James translates it, it was “signified;” communicated in signs. The Lamb is a sign for Jesus. So what about Mt. Zion? Just as the Lamb is a sign, so is the place where He stood. The symbolic use of Mt. Zion is well-known in the Bible.

Mt. Zion was God’s capital, because it was in Judah and God had promised to raise up His King from the tribe of Judah. King David was from that tribe and so was Jesus Christ, the rightful heir to David’s throne! Because Zion was the capital, Mt. Zion symbolized the way God ruled from there to protect Israel;

In the New Testament, Mt Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of God, are now used as symbolic pictures for what the next verses describe: the “assembly” of righteous people under the covenant protection of the blood of Jesus.

So, like the Lamb is obviously a sign for Jesus, Mount Zion is a sign for the people where God’s Spirit lives, the people He protects, His Church. The last thing John saw in verse 1 is who is with the Lamb. 144,000 who have His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads. This is where the first set of contrasts really stands out.

The most noticeable contrast is that in 13:16-17, the people who worship the beast are all forced to receive his mark on their hands and foreheads—it’s a sign that they belong to Him like slaves to a master. The people with Jesus have His name and His Father’s name on their foreheads—they bear the name of God, and referring to God as the Father of the Lamb reminds readers that they also call God, “Father.” The other noticeable contrast of course, is when John sees the number of those children of God: 144,000. In 13:7-8, the Beast is given authority over all nations, and all who live on the earth worship it.

8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.  9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear:  10 If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints. (Rev. 13:8-10 ESV)

Everyone worshiped the beast except for a relative few whose names were written long before, since the foundation of the world, as those whose lives were under the protection of the Lamb. In chapter 7, when the judgements of the seven trumpets was about to begin, the action unfolding in this vision was paused while 144,000 of God’s “servants” (7:3) were sealed on their foreheads. Now we know what that seal was: the name of the Lamb and of His father. That sealing confirmed that no matter what was going to happen to those chosen few, whether they were martyred, or whether they died in the judgements about to come on the Roman Empire at that time, their souls belonged to God. And now we see what happened to them: they are with the Lamb after all. The worst the Beast could do to  them was kill their bodies—but here they are, alive and with the Lamb after all. As Jesus said, "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell." (Mat 10:28)

That’s what these signs mean in verse 1. As I understand the way the predictions in Revelation have been fulfilled so far in 2019, the seven trumpets predicted the judgements that brought about the end of the Roman Empire in the 5th century, and the end of the Byzantine Empire in the 15th century. When the 7th trumpet was blown (11:15) the events line up with what was happening during the Protestant Reformation of the middle-16th century. This scene does not seem to be about a real lamb and a real 144,000 specific individuals standing on the real Mt. Zion—it seems to be a picture revealing the fate of all those who preferred to die rather than bow down and worship the Beast—the Roman Catholic Popes and their false religion. That’s what John “saw” in verse 1. What did he “hear”?

The Lamb is glorified by God (v2)

“And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps,” (Rev. 14:2 ESV). A couple of details helped this verse click for me: first, John hears a single voice—not plural: one voice. And second, John hears it coming from heaven. These details take on special significance when we remember that the Lamb and His thousands are standing on Mt. Zion. In Jerusalem. The site of the ancient Temple built by King Solomon as a dwelling place for the Ark of the Covenant and for the glorious presence of God.

So notice the repetition of words for “sound” in verse 2. In the ESV we have “voice,” “roar,” “sound,” “voice,” and, “sound.” The KJV translates each of those as “voice” because in Greek they’re all the same word. If you want to translate that, “voice” isn’t the best word for waters or thunder or harps. But the Bible often uses repeated words to draw attention to a key point. And here, the word “voice” is singular. It’s not many voices; it’s one voice John hears: “like” many waters; “like” loud thunder; “like” harps (actually it says, “like harpists harping on the harps”—it seems he’s trying to underline the idea of harps). And the repetition should make readers ask, “is the idea of ‘one voice’ important?” And the answer is yes. A search on connections between Mt. Zion, voices, singing, harps, and loud sounds took me straight to the dedication ceremony of the Temple King Solomon built in 2 Chronicles 5:13:

11 And when the priests came out of the Holy Place (for all the priests who were present had consecrated themselves, without regard to their divisions,  12 and all the Levitical singers, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, their sons and kinsmen, arrayed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps, and lyres, stood east of the altar with 120 priests who were trumpeters;  13 and it was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the LORD), and when the song was raised, with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the LORD, "For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever," the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud,  14 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God. (2 Chr. 5:11-14 ESV)

You should also notice in that passage where it refers to the priests in their divisions—that’s the 24 divisions of the priests under their 24 elders (see 2 Chr 24); that’s where we get the picture of the 24 elders around God’s throne in Revelation. The 24 elders are there at the dedication of the Temple in 2 Chr 5:11, the 24 elders are suddenly mentioned in Rev 14:3, when the 144,000 sing their song, in front of God’s throne, the living creatures, and the elders. This whole Mt. Zion scene is a reference to the dedication of the Temple: Mt. Zion; the one voice, harpists harping on their harps, singing, and the gathering of “all Israel” in Solomon’s dedication is echoed by the gathering of 144,000 from “all the tribes of Israel” here. Those were real, literal events; these are a picture, a scene drawn from that event. But what does it mean?

You’ve heard of the time when God parted the Red Sea? When He led Israel with a pillar of fire and cloud? When he gave manna from Heaven? When He made the walls of Jericho fall down? When fire rained down and burned up Elijah’s offerings, the water, and the prophets of Baal? This event at the dedication of Solomon’s Temple should be right up there among the highlights of God’s glorious actions in ancient Israel! Not only did the glory of God so fill the Temple that the priests couldn’t even carry on their duties, as soon as Solomon finished his prayer of dedication for the Temple, 7:1 says, “fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of Yahweh filled the temple.” Let me point out the obvious: the glory of God is even more tangible in this scene on Mt. Zion with the 144,000: the Lamb is standing right there in plain sight. And He is in His new, spiritual Temple. This Temple is no shadow; it’s the real thing. This Temple will never be destroyed. God will never let His glory depart from this Temple. Never.

What a contrast with the hollow deceptions of the Beast in chapter 13! In 13:13 the Beast tries to impress its people into worshiping it by “making fire come down from heaven” in front of all of them—when God’s fire fell down after King Solomon’s prayer, no one had to make it fall: it was God in holy power accepting Solomon’s prayer for the forgiveness of his people’s sins! Fire fell from heaven, not made by men, and consumed all the offerings and sacrifices.

When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the LORD on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, "For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever." (2 Chr. 7:3 ESV).

All the people saw it happen and they bowed down and glorified God for His steadfast love. The Beast rules by deception and fear; the Lamb of God is worshipped for His mercy and love.

The Lamb is praised for His salvation (v3)

Of course, next John hears the 144,000 singing! “…And they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth,” (Rev. 14:3 ESV). We aren’t told what the 144,000 sing exactly—but we can guess it is along the same lines as the way the people praise the Lamb at first in 5:9-10. The point is that this song is new in the sense that it is from a personal experience of being saved by the Lamb, of being “redeemed”—that’s the word used in 5:9, that the Lamb had “ransomed” people from all nations—that’s the same word in 14:3, that this is the song of the “redeemed.” “…And they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth,” (Rev. 14:3 ESV).

The song is very old, but it’s new every time someone learns it! Because it is the song of praise to God for His salvation, and it is new whenever a heart is regenerated. Psalm 33:3 says, "Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts." (Psa 33:3) and Psalm 40, "He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD.  4 Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust,"  (Psa 40:3-4); and Psalm 96, “"Oh sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth!  2 Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day.  3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!"  (Psa 96:1-3) The 144,000 are “the servants of God” in chapter 7; they are “the redeemed from the earth” in verse 3; they bear the names of Christ and of His Father. They are the ones saved by the blood of the Lamb, and in this particular scene, they are those who have come out of that Great Tribulation—they are the born again, regenerate, saved saints of the Church of the Seven Trumpets. They have experienced what it is to be saved by Jesus Christ. And so they sing of His goodness, and of His steadfast love enduring forever. And they sing, as the psalms keep repeating, to spread the Good News.

This is in a way the most dramatic contrast with the Beast and those who worship it in chapter 13. And it’s a contrast that’s not written. Because where are the people who trusted their lives to the Beast? Where are they now? They are dead. Awaiting judgement at the second coming of the Lamb. But where are the people who refused to worship the Beast, even though it cost them their lives? They are symbolized here as standing with the Lamb, on Mt. Zion, rejoicing and singing of His salvation. These signs mean to encourage God’s people that those who worship the Lamb will live again, even though their bodies die, so that they can enjoy His salvation forever.

The Lamb is glorified in the purity of His people (vv4-5)

If you don't yet consider yourself a follower of Jesus, I'm guessing you've often had doubts about Jesus from observing his people. The unfaithfulness of those who claim to be Christians naturally leads us to question it when they tell us Jesus is faithful. A man drowning in debt with nothing to live on is not the first person you trust to recommend a financial advisor. But if Jesus is worthy, shouldn’t we expect His people to be like Him?

4 It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb,  5 and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.  (Rev. 14:4-5 ESV)

Again, this scene is not a literal event but a picture, a snapshot of the true Church of Christ as it really is, even though we cannot see it yet. The picture of virginal purity and of following the Lamb show us that though they suffered under the hands of their enemies, though they were tempted, they would not lie for the beast or accept its lies (v5)--though they surely sinned as we do, though they needed to repent daily and seek the Lord’s forgiveness, these people were “redeemed from mankind” (v4), the blood of the Lamb cleanses them; the Spirit of God living in them purifies them, and leads them to walk in purity even as Christ is pure. They did not commit adultery against the Lamb by submitting to the Beast; they kept their worship pure. So they are called “firstruits.” The word “firstfruits” is a harvest word. When the firstruits were harvested, the whole harvest was ready to begin. In the Old and New Testaments, this metaphor is used of the people God saves. In Jeremiah 2:3," Israel was holy to the LORD, the firstfruits of his harvest." And in James 1:18, "Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” This means that the Church of the Seven Trumpets is only the beginning of the harvest. It seems very likely that we are living very near to the end of the harvest of those Christ is saving from among mankind. As we will see in the chapters to come, the end of the prophecies of Revelation are very close indeed.