Revelation chapter 14 and you're going to see as we begin why this morning I wanted to show you Psalm 2 and how it's going to find its fulfillment right here. Before reading the text, there's been several occasions in our lives Usually it's when circumstances seem like they are beyond hope that cause Joy and I to coin the term, the sovereignty of God trump card. If you've ever played Spade or Bridge or Euchre, you're familiar with the idea of a trump card. Every card has value and you come up with whatever strategy you think is going to work the best, but there is always the card out there that's the trump card and it beats all other cards. God's sovereignty. is the insurmountable and unconquerable trump card that ultimately defeats every opposing strategy and bests every hopeless situation. And that's important to remember because, just to remind you where we've been in Revelation 12 and 13, through this very symbolic message where John is receiving these visions, in Revelation 12, There is a righteous child who's about to be born and there's a great red dragon, Satan himself, that's posed to consume that child. He's fully committed to wickedness. This dragon fights throughout history against God and his goodness. In the first part of Revelation 13, There is a beast that arises from the sea and executes the purpose and plan of Satan. It's the Antichrist, opposed to all that's good, establishes a worldwide political system to plot against God and to promote sin. In the last half of Revelation 13, we saw a second beast that arises from the earth through the authority of Satan and the Antichrist. He's the false prophet. He leads the world into a single religious system focused on worshiping the Antichrist. There's even an idol made in the image of the Antichrist, and the false prophet is able to give it the appearance of life, and it roams as this murderous monster demanding worship on penalty of death. And meanwhile, the Antichrist and false prophet create a one-world economic system requiring all people to accept the mark of loyalty in order to access the ability to buy or to sell, to trade. All in all, it's been, in the last couple of chapters, a very frightening picture. Their wicked plot seems to be working. Their savage rage against the Lord and his saints looks to be unanswered, but the trump card of God's sovereignty has yet to come down. Our text this morning is just going to be the first five verses of Revelation 14, but I do want to read the whole chapter. So read the chapter with me. And I looked, and lo, a lamb stood on the mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand, having his father's name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven as the voice of many waters, as the voice of a great thunder. And I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps. And they sung as it were a new song before the throne and before the four beasts and the elders. And no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile, for they are without fault before the throne. And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth and to every nation and kindred and tongue and people saying with a loud voice, fear God and give glory to him. For the hour of his judgment has come and worship him that made heaven and earth and the sea and the fountains of waters. And there followed another angel saying, Babylon has fallen, that great city, because she made all nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast in his image and receive his mark in his forehead and in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation, and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascended up forever and ever, and they have no rest day nor night who worship the beast in his image and who receives the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints. Here are they that keep the commandments of God and of the faith of Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth. Yea, says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors, and their works do follow them. And I looked, and behold, a white cloud. And upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of Man, having on his head a golden crown, and his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle and reap, for the time is come for thee to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped. And another angel came out of the temple, which is in heaven, he also having a sharpsicle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire, and cried a loud cry to him that had the sharpsicle, saying, Thrust in thy sharpsicle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without, or outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even into horses' bridles by the space of a thousand six hundred furlongs. As I said, we'll be concentrating only on verses 1 through 5 this morning. I want to note three ideas from the texts. I want you to see the Lamb of God, the mountain of God, and the praise of God. Starting at verse 1, right away we see the Lamb of God. And I looked and lo, a lamb stood on the Mount Zion. This lamb standing on Mount Zion does not just show up in John's vision out of nowhere. This has been a long time coming. Let's just take a moment to remind ourselves just how long this has been coming. Back in Genesis chapter 3 when sin entered into the world through Adam and Eve, God expelled them from the garden and yet God was still gracious to them. He provided them a covering of a coat of skin, some animal skins. He shed the blood of some animal. I would argue most likely they were given lamb skins to cover their sin and shame. The reason I think it was probably a lamb was because the next chapter in Genesis shows that Abel, following in that righteous pattern, raised sheep and honored God with a sacrifice of the firstlings of his flock. A blood sacrifice of a lamb honored God and pointed to his promised salvation. Later when Abraham was tested, he was commanded by God to sacrifice his precious son Isaac. He was so confident in God's promise that he expected either he would see that son rise up again and live or as he told his son that ultimately God will provide himself a lamb. Moses explained God's plan of salvation to his fellow Hebrew captives by communicating the Passover plan of God. Choose a lamb, sacrifice it, collect the blood, spread it on your doorpost, because God has said of that lamb, when I see the blood, I will pass over you. Let's say Moses, later he received God's instruction for atoning for the sins of the people by offering a lamb on the day of atonement. Throughout the Old Testament, the people of God expressed their faith in God's saving plan by offering those sacrificial lambs as a very picture of what God himself would do. Later on, as the Apostle Peter describes it in 1 Peter chapter 1, he says, you're not redeemed with corruptible things like silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ as a lamb slain from the foundation of the world. When the New Testament opens, Remember in the gospels, as the New Testament opens and we start reading, John the Baptist sees Jesus walking, and John looks at his own disciples and points them to Jesus, says, follow him because that is the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. Do you know, have you ever thought about who those disciples were that John the Baptist pointed to Jesus and said, stop following me, go follow him because he's the Lamb? One of them was the very writer of this text this morning, John, the disciple John, who as a young man was pointed to the Messiah by John the Baptist. And as an old man, he's receiving this vision on the island of Patmos and records it for us. And all along the way, he has been recording us for us about this lamb. In Revelation 5, he saw a vision of the holy heavenly throne room. If you remember, John said he heard a voice and the voice said, look, there's the lion of the tribe of Judah. And so, of course, John turns around to look. And yet what he sees is, this is what he says, he says, I beheld in the midst of the throne and lo, there stood a lamb as if it had been slain. Come on, John, slain lambs don't stand anywhere. You can't sacrifice a lamb. You can't slit its throat and expect that it's going to walk away, that it's going to stand. And yet this one does. This lamb died, but lives. And soon in Revelation 5, there's this heavenly chorus that's falling down before the lamb in worship, singing, worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing. This lamb goes on in Revelation to approach the throne, to take that seven-sealed scroll from the hand of the father because he alone is able to open the seals of God's perfect plan for human history. And as he opens each one of those seals, the lamb brings on this tribulation period. The whole unfolding of this history is marching by his command. In Revelation 7, those who died as martyrs during the tribulation are in the presence of God, having said that they washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. And so as Revelation 14 opens, John sees this vision of a lamb standing on Mount Zion in verse 1. This is not coming from nowhere. It's a climactic vision that has been a long time coming, promised explicitly to Abraham and Moses, promised symbolically to Adam and Eve, the foundation of that promise predating creation. This lamb is said to have been slain from before the foundation of the world, a plan that predates history itself. This lamb is God's answer to the problem of sin and rebellion and Satan. Furthermore, Satan knows this to be true. As John describes Satan's rebellion and the rise of the Antichrist and the false prophet all through Revelations chapter 12 and 13, he also inserts for us these little statements about the hope of Christ. For example, if you want to look at Revelation 12 verse 11, how is it that the people of God who are attacked and accused by Satan find victory? Well, John says they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb. In Revelation 13, 8, when the Antichrist blasphemes God's name and draws the world to worship his own wicked image, And we ask, are there any who refuse to do that? Yes, there are. Revelation 13 says it's only those whose names were written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. This is what John intends us to understand. This is what his vision here is about. When you think about this just in the context of what we've looked at in chapters 12 and 13, Right? The horrors of chapter 12 and 13. There's this great red dragon. There's this seven-headed, ten-horned beast. There's another beast that looks like a lamb, but remember his voice gives him away because it's the voice of a dragon. They make this massive, monstrous idol that moves and breathes and murders. And yet God's answer for all of that is entirely counterintuitive to us. The trump card of God's sovereignty to answer those things was not to make some bigger, better, scarier monster. His answer has always been the lamb. This lamb standing on Mount Zion in verse one is Jesus, the son of God. Every image in scripture of a lamb being sacrificed, it points to him. Listen, we know that the blood of just some animals can't actually take away sin. But throughout the Old Testament, they demonstrated their faith in the promise of God's salvation by obediently pointing to the shed blood of Christ. And when he shed his blood, when he died on the cross, and he rose triumphantly from the grave to stand again, Jesus atoned for his people's sins in the way that no ordinary lamb could do. So that now, by repenting of your sin and trusting him in faith, you can demonstrate the same kind of trust and obedience to God, pointing to Jesus alone as Savior. Not only can you know that the horrendous rebellion of your own sins have been forever defeated, but you can also trust that you are forever secure in Christ. All of the worst wickedness that Satan can conjure, right? The Antichrist and the false prophet and their deceitful schemes, those monstrous beasts rising from the depths of hell, all of them will shrink in defeat before the Lamb of God. The Lamb of God is the focus of this vision. Secondly, I want you to consider the location of this vision, the mountain of God. Verse one again, and I looked and lo, a lamb stood on the Mount Zion. The location of this lamb on Mount Zion isn't just an incidental detail. the Apostle John received this vision is recording it faithfully and surely he knows the significance to the fact that not only is this lamb standing, but where this lamb is standing. He's standing on Mount Zion in Psalm 2. King David pictured, think of what King David pictured in Psalm 2. This future worldwide coalition against Yahweh and against his Messiah, right? The kings of the earth rise up, the rulers counsel together in one, in rebellion against him. And how does God respond? Remember? He laughs at them in derision. He answers them in his displeasure. And then he says in Psalm 2 verse 6, Yet I have set my king on my holy hill of Zion. And then the king says, I will declare the decree. The Lord has said, you're my son, this day I've begotten you. ask of me and I'll give you the nations for your inheritance and the end of the earth for your possession. You'll break them with a rod of iron. You'll dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel. This lamb is standing on Mount Zion because he is the promised king. He is the king of kings that is exactly who he is promised to be and where he is promised to be. And from this position, the nations are given to him by the Father. The ends of the earth are going to be possessed by Jesus. As if every molecule on earth, if you could carry it, turn it over and look at the label, it says the exclusive property of King Jesus. All of it is his. It's the city of Jerusalem that is built on this mountaintop. And that mountain is named Mount Zion. That's where the Lamb is standing. In Psalm 48 verse 2, it says, beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth is Mount Zion on the sides of the north, the city of the great king. Isaiah 24 verse 23, it says, the moon will be disgraced and the sun ashamed for the Lord of hosts will reign on Mount Zion in Jerusalem before his elders gloriously. Joel chapter 2 verses 31 and 32. The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and awesome day of the Lord and it shall come to pass that whoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance. This is where the Lamb is standing. This location, the Lamb of God on the mountain of God. It is the fulfillment of scripture. It denotes his kingship. It denotes his salvation. It is, as God said himself in Psalm 2, proof that God's King is right where he's supposed to be. And as surely as he stands there, he will succeed. One of the reasons I wanted to read all of Revelation 14 is because through the rest of this chapter, the word of God is declared, the rebellious are condemned to torment, the believers are rewarded, the wrath of Jesus himself is poured out on the earth. Or maybe think of it this way as the lamb is standing on the rock solid footing of this holy mountain of God. The Antichrist in chapter 13, the beast from the sea is on the tenuous shifting sands of the sea. Only one of them is going to be left standing. And King Jesus is not going to kneel before anyone. Everyone's going to fall to their knees before him. So we've seen here the Lamb of God and the Mountain of God. Now look at the praise of God. And y'all, I know we're halfway through verse 1. But the rest of verses 1 through 5 is all about the praise of God by the people of God. I want you to think of this as we read these verses once again and note how the people of God praise him with their voices and with their lives. Starting again at verse 1, and with him 144,000 having his father's name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven as the voice of many waters and as the voice of a great thunder and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps. And as they sung as it were a new song before the throne and before the four beasts and the elders and no man could learn that song but the 144,000 which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women, for they're virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. In their mouth was found no guile, for they are without fault before the throne of God. When the Lord Jesus is seen standing on Mount Zion, he is not standing alone. John says there are 144,000 others standing with him. That is one crowded mountaintop. And the identity of these 144,000, you may know, it becomes this source of needless debate. I promise it has nothing to do with elders of the Mormon Church or 144,000 obedient Jehovah's Witnesses. I just add, as Jehovah's Witnesses say that this 144,000 is the exact number of those who will be with Christ in heaven and spend eternity with God, that ought to be pretty devastating for a religion with almost 9 million followers. I mean, your odds ain't good. Others will say this 144,000 is just a symbolic number, it represents all believers, but the trouble is John doesn't say that. He's already introduced us to these folks back in Revelation chapter 7. Look there, if you would. Remember, after he speaks of the seal or mark of the beast at the end of Revelation 11, he now describes these 144,000 who have the Father's name written in their foreheads. They're marked, they're sealed by God. So this idea isn't new. In Revelation 7, there's a heavenly voice which calls out for withholding judgment from the earth saying, pick up at verse 3, Revelation 7 verse 3 and 4, saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed, and there were sealed 144,000 of all the tribes of the children of Israel. It goes on in Revelation 7 verses 5 through 8 to explain how that 144,000 is made up of 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel. It appears pretty specific to me. Furthermore, this is not just a symbolic number of the totality of the people of God symbolically, because if you're still in Revelation 7, after describing them, it goes on to say in verses 9 and 10, after this, So these 144,000 are specifically said to be of the tribes of Israel. while there are others who are redeemed to the Lamb out of all nations and tribes and people and languages. While there have been a lot of explanations offered to this, I think the most likely identity of these 144,000 are that they are a specific group of Jewish believers who have been sealed by God and used to proclaim his word during this tribulation period. They've been sealed. They've been protected from the Antichrist and his schemes back in chapter 13. God is not done with the nation of Israel. Now it's clear that this 144,000 is not everyone. It wasn't everyone in Revelation 7. And in Revelation 14, you're going to see down in verse 13, blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth. Or in other words, from now on. So it's not representative of all believers here either. However, while this is a distinct group, there is a sense in which all believers can learn from the example of their faithfulness. And so let's continue reading here. John's going to have more to say about them in a moment. But you'll note in verse 1, there are 144,000 with the Lamb on Mount Zion. And starting in verse 2, John hears a voice, the word there is phonei, a noise, a sound from heaven. I heard a voice from heaven as the voice of many waters and as the voice of a great thunder. And I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps. And as they sung, and they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts and the elders, and no man could learn that song except the 144,000 which were redeemed from the earth. What John sees in a vision to God's glory in verse 1, he soon hears singing to God's glory in verses 2 and 3. A song in heaven sung by unknown voices. He does not say who's singing. But he does describe the sound. He says it's like the voice of many waters. And that is, in fairness, a very similar expression to what he used earlier in Revelation for the voice of Jesus. A sound that was overwhelming enough to drown out the sounds of the waves that are hitting the rocks on the island of Patmos, where he has been banished. He says it's the voice of a great thunder, very loud, very powerful. It's very distinct. It's the voice or the sound of many harpers harping on their harps. Just as it is a strong and distinct noise, it is also musical. It's melodic. It's beautiful. It appears that this is not a song that is being sung by that 144,000. For two reasons I want you to see. First off, they are described as being on Mount Zion with Jesus, and this song is described as a sound from heaven in verse 2, and that they sung a new song before the throne in verse 3. So they're located at different places. Second, the 144,000 aren't singing the song because they're the ones who are learning the song. In verse three, no man could learn the song except the 144,000 which were redeemed from the earth. So that this group of individuals alone is able to learn this song is bound in the idea that they are, at the end of verse three, redeemed or purchased people. the message of redemption and salvation, the Lordship of Jesus. Those messages are so nonsensical to the world as a whole that only those who have genuinely experienced it will grasp it. This song of the praise of God is foolishness to the world, but the truths are a beautiful melody bound in the heart of his people. Let's also use this text so that we don't forget that the fact that Christians are called to issue our worship to the Lord in song. Not just songs made to satisfy our own hearts and minds and ears, but songs with a message that our hearts alone can know because our hearts alone have experienced what it is that Jesus has done. The goal of many modern praise chorus is to make just a more and more simplistic message that everyone can grasp. Like, look, I promise you that you can sing God is a good, good father 87 times in a row, but people without faith in Jesus as the son do not grasp the goodness of God as the father, no matter how many times they say it. We do nobody a favor, much less ourselves, if we try to dumb down the truth that we sing. After explaining that the 144,000 alone learned this new song, John turns to this spiritual disposition of these saints by describing sort of the quality of their character in their hearts that worship Jesus. Again, this is a distinct group, but it is a lesson that's valuable for all believers. And so he turns back to defining that group in verses four and five. These are they which were not defiled with women for their virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile, for they are without fault before the throne of God. In verse 4, John describes their character with several statements starting at verse 4. All of the ones in verse 4 start with the word these, right? These are they. So you'll see first, these are they, which were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. Living lives of sexual purity is the calling of every disciple of Jesus. Christians must not adopt the immorality of the world around us. Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 4 verse 3 that God's will for our sanctification is that we abstain from fornication. The word means sexual immorality. Doubtless during the tribulation period, the wicked world system promoted by the Antichrist and the false prophet, there's going to be Sexual morals are going to degenerate, although it's sometimes hard to imagine they could deteriorate any farther than what we see around us today. Christians must remain pure. However, let me point out to you a slightly different perspective on this description. The translators of the New American Standard Bible recognize the symbolic use of this word virgin. And instead of translating it, they are virgins, they translate it as they have kept themselves chaste. Because there is nothing impure about sexual relations within marriage as God defined it. And yet, I think this is talking more about their spiritual condition than a physical one. You recognize that someone who marries within God's plan for marriage and experiences sex within God's plan for marriage has not done something impure. Meanwhile, you can have someone who lives their whole life as a virgin and they are plenty impure if they have not repented of their sins and turned to Jesus. There's more going on here than just a physical distinction. Throughout the Old Testament, those who wandered away from Yahweh and worshipped other gods were considered to be guilty of spiritual adultery, right? The immoral political and religious system in chapter 13, a system that demands that you participate, is soon going to be described in those very same kind of terms down in verse 8. It's described as making all nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, her sexual immorality. Being sealed by God, this 144,000 behaves like people who've been set aside for God, and they refuse to defile themselves with this immoral world system. They keep themselves chaste and faithful to the Lord alone. This says more, I think, about their spiritual condition than merely a physical distinction. The second descriptor John gives is, these are they which follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They are followers of Jesus as all of us should be. This is our calling. You know, this lamb Jesus is also the good shepherd who said, my sheep hear my voice and they follow me. They're not going to follow a stranger. This is the one who stood before the rich young ruler and lovingly but firmly told him, you just go sell everything that you own and give it to the poor and come follow me. He's the master teacher who told his disciples, if you want to be my disciple, you have to deny yourself, take up your cross every day and follow me. You might sing, you know, I will follow Jesus anywhere, everywhere, I will follow on, but will you really? When you read chapters 12 and 13 and know that following Jesus means not shying away from the worst kinds of persecution, not giving into the temptation to deny him in the face of it, but instead denying yourself even when it means taking up your cross to follow, will you? This group does. They follow him wherever he goes. The third descriptor is, these were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. Now, some will point to that statement and say, see, this 144,000, it is representative of all believers because all believers are redeemed from among men. And while that's true, John's not saying they're the only ones who were redeemed. And in fact, to think that these alone are redeemed is to miss the point of what John is saying in regards to them being the firstfruits to God and to the lamb. The Old Testament feast of firstfruits is when harvest time came, you went out and you began to harvest and the firstfruits of the crop were brought and they were offered to the Lord with the expectation that he would bless and there would be more to follow. which is exactly what we saw when we looked at Revelation 7, right? There were these 144,000, and then there was this great number that no man could count of every kindred and language and nation. John calling this group the firstfruits absolutely precludes the idea that they represent all believers. At the very least, there are many more. There is a great harvest to come after them. And of all those who come, they're similarly going to be redeemed. The word redeemed literally means purchased. Listen, salvation is a free gift from God, but it was not a gift without price. It's just a price that you and I didn't have to pay. You've been purchased at the cost of His blood. That's what it is to be redeemed. Finally John says in verse 5, The word guile here means deceit or think of it like sneaky falsehoods. These disciples of Jesus are ambassadors of truth. How hard it is for us to live in this world doing nothing but speaking the truth. Granted, speaking the truth in love, that's what we're called to do, but only speaking the truth. When we get to Ephesians chapter 4 next year, You're gonna hear the Apostle Paul's appeal to speak the truth in love, to put away lying and speak truth to your neighbor. Honesty is required by all those who follow Jesus. To be his disciples, to be his followers, to imitate his life, we have to remember his life. He is the one who, in the words of Peter, did not sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. Don't underestimate the importance of simple honesty every day in your life. Bearing false witness, if I remember, is on a pretty big list of things that God doesn't like. You can claim to be a follower of Jesus and yet live a pattern of life that is filled with guile and deceit. And in doing so, your claim to be a follower of Christ is just another lie to add to the ever-growing list. Now clearly no one is perfect except Jesus. But John presents this 144,000 as exceptional. They are not perfect. The basis for them at the end of verse 5 to be without fault before the throne is that they have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Like we talked a few weeks ago about having your identity in Jesus. How are they identified here? Well, there's the Lamb on Mount Zion, this 144,000 who are with Him and dedicated to Him and follow Him everywhere He goes. They're redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. It's this lamb slain from the foundation of the world who stands in decisive contrast to the wicked world system we've been reading about in chapters 12 and 13. It's this lamb who's standing on Mount Zion, the mountain of God, who is the king of kings and all the earth is his inheritance to rule and reign. It's this lamb whose death and burial and resurrection has redeemed us to God by his blood of every kindred and language and nation. It's him whom heavenly choruses will spend eternity praising with songs that are distinct and thunderous and beautiful because he deserves it. It's this lamb who is that final trump card of God's sovereignty. He defeats all enemies. Everything submits to him, to God's glory forever.