The Joy of the Redeemed: A Call for Endurance - Glorious Hope | Studies in Revelation

Having sung that song through the battle and the blessing by City

of Light, I think I've made the right choice, because the words,

particularly in that closing verse, get us ready for what we're

about to see.

As John reveals it to us in Revelation 14.

The battle has been fought and won, and where are the redeemed of

the Lord?

Well, in a moment, we will see John telling us that they are there,

symbolized by a number of 144,000.

The gathered people of God are around the throne singing praise

of his name, for the victory is his.

The battle is won, and the redeemed are there.

But before we get to that, I want to go back to something that

we've thought about a few times in the studies that we've been

doing in Revelation that's been about identity.

We thought a few times about that word and what it means for us.

Who are we?

Or whose are we?

As well as the identity of the people that we see.

The Lamb that looked as though it had been slain, of course we know

that to be the risen Lord Jesus Christ, the true Lamb that

was slain.

And so looking to Jesus and knowing him as that image presented

to us is good and right.

But whenever we think of our own identity as human beings, we

realize that there's so much more to who we are, by whose we are.

At the beginning of each of our lives, a decision is made for

us on our behalf, and we have absolutely no say in it whatsoever.

And this decision has perhaps shaped us more than we can imagine.

We either like and appreciate this decision, or we quite literally

balk against it.

This decision is the name that was given to us by our parents.

Now, your name might be a family name, so links you with generations

of your family.

I have it on both sides.

You all call me David, but the taxman calls me William, named after

my father's father, and Samuel, named after my mother's father.

I was very quickly told that if we ever had a boy, William would

not be carried on in the family tradition.

Or your name might be a new name that was in the fashion of the

time.

Did you know that the name Wendy did not exist until JM Barrie

wrote Peter Pan?

And so new and modern names happen to come along, and particularly

if you live overseas.

Where I once met a man, and this was 2000, was called email simply

because it sounded like a good word.

So you either like your name or you don't.

Or maybe you wished you were called something else.

Because our names give us an identity, either linking us to the

past generations of our family or the name we've been given signifies

something more about the time and culture into which we were born.

And if we like our name, we live up to its standard.

And perhaps if we've met someone who we don't get on with,

their name resonates.

And we judge everyone by that name the same as we've judged that

person we don't get on with.

So it does truly define.

Well, this has got absolutely nothing to do with anything else

I'm going to say tonight, but if you're interested, Olivia remains

the top baby girl name for the ninth year in a row.

That's in 2025.

But interestingly, the name Mohammed is the most popular name

for boys in the UK for the second year in a row in 2025.

And this alone might tell us a little of the shape of the country

in which we now live.

Anyway, that's got nothing to do with what I'm about to say next.

Names are important.

They tell us things.

And so, as we now turn to revelation, chapter 14, what we're

Revelation 14 · chapter mention

quite literally presented with is a name tag that's blank.

If you've ever been to a conference or to a gathering, you've

been told to write your name on a sticky label or on a proper

name badge.

Well, tonight we're not looking for your name because we

pretty well know each other's name.

But there's two other names that are given to us in this passage

this evening.

And by the end of tonight, you will be confronted about what name

you will be putting on that name tag.

You see, the passage does link us back to what we've already been

looking at in previous chapters in Revelation, and it presents

us with really two types of people.

Two names or two groups of names of people.

The first we find in verses one to five.

And those are who we call the Redeemed, and those are the redeemed

from the earth who have placed their faith in Jesus.

The second are those who have worshipped the beast and his image

and have defiled themselves with the woman.

Their name will be discovered to us later whenever we come to that.

But we're going to begin by thinking of these first five verses

and what they have to say to us.

And verse one begins like this.

Then I looked, says John, a new scene is before him.

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.

Now, straight away, John sees something new and distinct from the

two beasts.

That he saw in chapter 13.

He sees the risen Lord Jesus Christ standing in Zion.

And with him stand a group of people, 144,000 in total.

And we've met these people before, back in chapter seven.

And the 144,000 represent the people of God, all those redeemed

by the Lamb.

But we've also found their mark before because we're told in

verse one that they have a mark on their foreheads.

And on their foreheads, it is the name of the of the Lamb and his

Father's name.

And this mark is that of the Lord.

So to have his name written on them means that they are his, and

they are his to claim and his to keep.

In other words, they are secure in his keeping.

And this is important for us to begin to know who these people

are.

They are kept by God, and they can never be shaken from his hand.

Moving on to verse two.

John now not only sees, but he hears a voice.

And he describes the voice like this.

The voice is loud.

He describes it as the roar of many waters, but the voice is also

strong, the sound of thunder.

But I wonder, did it surprise you that it was like the sound of

harpists playing harps?

How can all of these three things come together?

We have been introduced to the roar of many waters before, and we've

been introduced to a voice that sounded like thunder before,

but this is new, the sound of harpists playing harps.

Now, it seems that this is not the voice of God this time, but the

voice of the 144,000.

And we say that because of the plurality that's given in verse three,

because the text tells us that there's more than one voice, this

sounding like harps playing, but it's strong and it's loud.

And verse three tells us that it is a new song that they sing.

So what we're seeing here again is an act of eternal worship

that's taking place before the throne of God.

It's in the presence of the four living creatures and in the

presence of the elders.

And even though John doesn't tell us what this song is, we've

heard it before.

Because as this multitude was gathered around the throne in Revelation

Revelation 7:10

7, verse 10, they sung the song, this redeemed of the Lord.

What did they sing?

They sang, salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne,

and to the Lamb, the great praise of heaven, of all people standing

before the throne.

And so, once again, we are seeing and hearing the song of the

redeemed.

It's a celebration song because it's the celebration of heaven,

and it's theirs to sing.

And that's what verses 4 and 5 confirm for us.

The reason why they can sing it is because these are those 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 first fruits for God and

the Lamb.

And in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.

What we have in these two verses are three descriptions, the

144,000.

First of all, we're told that they're virgins undefiled by women.

They follow the Lamb then everywhere, and they, thirdly, are

the redeemed, the first fruits.

So first we're told that they are undefiled by women, there are

virgins.

And clearly the language is symbolic here.

For John is not saying sexual relations defile inherently.

Indeed, those who claim that marriage defiles spread the teaching

of that marriage defiles, spreads the teaching of demons, as

Paul teaches in First Timothy 4:1:3, where he speaks very clearly

that those who say people should remain single or not get involved

in marriage.

Well, Paul says that's wrong.

So if Paul's already taught this, then we should understand that

this is not literal.

The thought then is similar to what Paul does teach, what he says

to the Corinthians in 2nd Corinthians 11:2, that he betrothed

them to one husband to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.

In the Old Testament, the people of God are portrayed as the

bride of the Lord, and they're indicted for their harlotry, for

giving their allegiances to other gods through other peoples.

And so this people, in front of John, the 144,000, the people

of God in the heavenly Mount Zion have not committed adultery

with other gods.

They have remained faithful and loyal to the one true God.

So that's one description.

The first description of these people, the second description is

similar to the first.

It describes them as having followed the Lamb.

And that means to be obedient to him, to listen to him, to heed

his voice, that voice of the good shepherd, as John refers to

Jesus in his Gospel.

And finally, the 144,000 are the redeemed among humanity.

They are those who are ransomed and delivered by the Lamb's

blood.

And so what does John mean in calling them the first fruits of

God and the Lamb?

We could ask the question, does he mean that the 144,000 are

saved first, with more being saved later on?

Well, first fruits designates the first part of the crop, anticipating

the full harvest to come.

Now, it is doubtful that the term always carries the notion of

more to follow, as if there were other believers apart from the

144,000 to be redeemed.

John has already told us that the 144,000 are the redeemed from

those on earth back in verse three.

So he likely means they are specially devoted to God.

If there's any idea of further blessing, it would be the renewal

of all creation, not the salvation of others in the future

beyond the 144,000.

And we have to be very careful when we start to look at that number

as being literal, because then we're verging into the terms of what

the Jehovah's Witnesses believe, that there will only be

144,000 in the new heaven with all of the other redeemed, so called

redeemed of the Jehovah's Witnesses on the new earth.

That's very dangerous territory to be in.

But as we move into verse five, there's one final description

that is separate from what verse four says, a description of

this 144,000.

And it is of their blamelessness.

John tells us that they do not lie.

And of course, those who belong to the people of God do not

make a practice of lying.

But what John is.

Well, he's not focused here on the literal practice of lying, just

as he's not speaking of literal singleness.

In verse four, in the Old Testament, devotion to idols is described

as lying.

And Isaiah ridicules the idolatry of his day, saying about

the idolater in chapter 44.

In verse 20, he feeds on ashes.

A deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself

or say, is there not a lie in my right hand?

The lie in his right hand is the idol.

So the 144,000 are blameless because they refuse to involve themselves

with idolatry, with the worship of false gods.

They stay faithful to God even when persecuted.

And this is where we move into verse six as we hear of the judgment

of God that is to come.

But before we do, I do want to encourage your heart, because as

we read verses one to five, isn't it wonderful to see the image

that's presented here?

In the midst of tribulation, of persecution and trial, the family

of God are assured that they are kept safe for the day when they

will sing the celebration song of heaven.

You see, the 144,000 have the right to sing it, and that is the

promise given to those who are in Christ here and now.

It will be to our song, as we stand before the throne and declare

salvation belongs to our God and to the Lamb.

For those in Christ, for the believer, this is our reality, and

nothing, nothing can take it away from us.

We are secure and we are as we are.

Then we must worship God, because that security can only come

through Jesus, as Paul writes in Romans 8, 38, 39.

For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor

rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor

height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will

be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our

Lord.

This is wonderful truth, wonderful truth for us to know, but

it's also wonderful assurance for God's people.

And we shouldn't take it for granted because it was bought at

such a cost, but we should enjoy it as the blessing of God's

salvation to us through Jesus Christ.

Hence why we sing the battle which was all of Christ's and the

blessing which is all ours.

So take heart, there is a song to be sung, a song of celebration

to our God.

And what John sees here now for the second time, is the people,

the redeemed of the earth, singing it before the throne of heaven.

But as we turn to verse six, so John sees three angels, and they

bring with them three messages.

The first message is contained in verses six and seven, and it's

one of encouragement.

We're told that John sees and an angel is flying directly overhead.

Some translations call this the middle heaven.

And the first of the three angels enters the scene with a message.

And notice what the message is.

It's an eternal gospel to proclaim to all those who dwell on

the earth.

So significantly this time, John does not use the phrase earth

dwellers, as he has done before and will use again.

But here he speaks of a gospel for all people, a gospel for those

from every people, group, tribe, language and nation.

And this is a proclamation of the message of salvation to be heard

by all people, so that they might respond as all nations will.

Those who do well, they will be saved.

For those who don't embrace the gospel, they will be judged for

their rebellion.

So what John is saying here, that while there is still time, as

we've seen before in Revelation, people can respond in

Faith.

But the second angel comes in verse 8, and this is what we're told

about that message.

Another angel, a second followed, saying, fallen, fallen

is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of

the passion of her sexual immorality.

And this is more encouragement for John's readers.

The source of all the ugliness, perversion, and unsatisfying

consumerism and consumption that wrecks so many lives will on

that day lose all of its allure.

Whether it was the Babylon of the Old Testament, the Rome that

was encircling around John and the first Christians, or whether

it is the world of our day, one day it will all be gone.

All of the ugliness of sin, all of its perversion, and all of

the unsatisfying consumerism and consumption will be gone, and

we will truly be free, because no longer will it be able to deceive

us nor destroy us.

Babylon, given to us here symbolically is judged for making

the nations drink the wine of her fornication.

And this fornication is spiritual, and it does include the

idea of sexual sin.

But it is first and foremost that spiritual aspect of our lives.

And so the focus is on spiritual harlotry and spiritual

prostitution, just like the children of Israel were often told,

and indeed why they were punished for their rejection of God

and going after other gods, gods that were ugly, perverse and

unsatisfying.

You see, God is making all things new.

Babylon will face judgment for encouraging the worship of false

gods, spreading worldwide the message that it is good and right

to rebel against the one true God.

But God will make it all right.

And fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, for the victory is Christ's,

and his reign is eternal over all.

And so this should be encouragement for us that there is

a day where all of the things of this world, the things that hurt

us, the things that make us angry and cross, the things that

would want to lure us away, will be gone, nevermore to tempt

and lead astray the people of God.

But there's a third angel that appears in verses 9 to 11 and warns

those.

And these are our second group of people, the worshippers of the

beast and his image.

And this is quite the contrast for what we've seen in verses one

to five, which showed us those who have been marked by Christ enjoying

perfect security in Mount Zion, singing and celebrating.

And here in verse 9 through to 11, we see all who have been marked

by the imposter, the beast and his image, all who believed his false

promises and fell for his charm, gagging and spitting as they

drink the wine of God's wrath.

Rather than being comforted by the lamb, they'll be tormented in

the presence of the lamb.

And you know that torment will be so severe that it will never end.

Their experience of torment continues perpetually.

And such a portrait of the final judgment is exactly what Jesus

says in Matthew chapter 25 and verse 46, where he says, the righteous

Matthew 25 · chapter mention

will enjoy eternal life, but the wicked face eternal punishment.

And John's readers are warned that terrible suffering will forever

ensue if they worship the beast and its image, or if they receive

its mark.

And where we can see encouragement in the message of the

first two angels.

This third message of the third angel is a stark warning, and

it's not to be given to a place of gloating or a place of satisfaction

where believers can look down and wag the finger.

Rather, this should be a position and a warning to believers

that should drive us to our knees in prayer and open our voices

to proclaim that while there is yet time, the lost can be redeemed.

And the remarkably strong warning in verses 9 to 11 is not

primarily written for unbelievers, because John did not

write the book for unbelievers.

As he concludes this section, verse 12, he tells us that this warning

is addressed to believers.

He says the saints, and is intended to provoke them to persevere

until the end.

If they give their allegiance to the beast, then they will suffer

forever and ever and ever.

So that's why we have the warning of verses 9 to 11.

And the message of the two angels calls John's readers to endure

and to persevere.

And endurance is explained in terms of keeping God's commands and

continuing to put faith in Jesus.

The reality of faith will reveal itself in observable and concrete

ways.

Those who endure follow God in obedience.

And so verse 13 concludes this section.

And I heard a voice, John says from heaven, saying, write this.

Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.

Blessed indeed, says the Spirit, that they may rest from their

labors, for their deeds follow them.

And so now a heavenly voice speaks, summing up in many ways the

message of this chapter so far and really the book as a whole.

John is supposed to record this message because of its importance.

Believers are called to endure in a world fiercely opposed to them.

But this world, as it is now, is not their home or our home.

And so those who die in the Lord are blessed.

They leave the struggles of this world behind, exchanging them

for their final reward, that celebration song of heaven.

The Spirit reaffirms the blessing of death.

Because believers rest from the toils marking this present evil

age, they will then experience relief from the pressures impinging

upon them in life.

Believers will rest, John says, because their works follow

them.

In other words, their works testify that they belong to God.

And so the rest given them is warranted, just as the reception

into heaven is warranted because they have trusted in Christ.

And isn't this what we all need to know?

We need to understand this truth, that earthly history will

end one day, and then either eternal glory for the redeemed of

the Lord or eternal punishment as we know them to be the worshippers

of the beast and of his image.

And so we go back to that name tag at the start.

What is your name?

What is your identity?

Are you the redeemed of the earth that God will bring into his

heaven?

Or are you a worshiper of the beast and of his image?

You see, how we put a name down will determine how we get there.

And I don't simply mean we simply have to write it down.

But only those with the Father's name written on their foreheads

will know eternal glory and presence with God because the name

of the Son is on their foreheads.

And it is faith in Jesus that makes them the redeemed of the earth,

so that they will enter eternal glory.

Those with the mark on their forehead or hand because they have

worshipped the beast and its image will enter eternal punishment.

Those who have worshipped the beast and his image.

You see, the problem here is there's no middle ground.

And not one of us is neutral.

I wonder, do we fully understand that we can't be neutral?

The number of times I've looked down this meeting house and

how the pews are designed, people sitting on one side or the

other.

Have you ever tried to sit in the middle?

It doesn't work because none of us are neutral.

We are either for Christ, and if we're not, then we are against

Him.

And if we are against him, then we are a worshipper of the beast

and his image and have his name written on our hands or our

foreheads as a sign that we are not the Lord's.

Which is it for you?

Do you know the blessed assurance of life in Christ that

you will join the redeemed in Zion?

Or will you face eternal punishment because you have rejected

it?

I urge you this evening to look to Jesus, each and every one

of us, to take heart that there is a place for the redeemed

in the city of Zion, where indeed we will sing the eternal celebration

song of Heaven.

But I also must warn you of what John sees and hears in the message

of the third angel.

In fact, we can even go back to the second, because Babylon will

fall.

And if your hope is in Babylon.

Well, then you have no hope at all.

For the message of the second angel warns us of the judgment that

will come, that if we have that mark on our heads, foreheads

and on our hands, that of the name of the beast, then we will be

lost forever.

And in fact, this is something we should know, because what we've

read In Revelation chapter 14, verses 1 to 13, is nothing new.

Revelation 14:1–13

Jesus said it first, as he said in John chapter 5 and verse

John 5 · chapter mention

24.

Truly, truly I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes

him who sent me has eternal life.

He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death

to life.

This is what Christ tells us.

And if this is not our hope tonight, then we're not neutral hoping

for the best.

We will be found in a lost eternity that goes on forever and

ever and ever and ever, where the smoke of punishment will endure.

And it will be a place that I do not want to be, nor do I want

you to be.

So come unto the Saviour to know glorious hope as a follower

of him, a hope that will lead you to the celebration hymn of heaven.

And so you will know that you are redeemed to be the Lord's, the

first fruits of his wonderful salvation, and so escape such a horrible

and horrific punishment that truly we all deserve.

But because of Christ, we can know his salvation and redemption.

Let us pray.

Our Father God, we thank you for your word.

And however we understand the Images of Revelation 14 to be, there

is one conclusion for us, and that is to be with the 144,000 symbolically

given to us as an image of the redeemed from the earth who sing

the salvation and celebration song of heaven.

For, Father, that is what you have given us, a means of assurance

by which we can know this truth.

So speak to us clearly, help us to understand your truth that

indeed we must be born again.

That indeed we must endure and persevere until the end, so that

we will know the outcome of our faith and the blessing of our

salvation.

And that is the image of what John sees of those gathered around

your throne and before the Lamb.

So, Father, may we respond well to your wonderful truth this

night.

In Jesus name, amen.