Book of Revelation - Ch. 14, Vs. 1-6 (11/11/2018)

I've got an early release next Friday, and I am off all of next week, a long

Thanksgiving weekend. Who ever heard of that? Yeah.

Yeah. I can do a lot of things now. I was just trying to think of something to say to make the machine work.

No, what I said was true. We can't use lies as an illustration of truth.

Is it working now? That's true.

And it's very good that that's true, because I know nothing about technology except that I have to get an 18 -year -old or younger to do it.

If I've got a problem, don't go to your brother that's two years younger than you, or to your sister -in -law who's 10 years, 15 years younger than you.

Go to your niece who's 40 years younger than you, and they'll know what to do.

Okay, we're going to, I'm going to go ahead and start, I think Raj said he'd come in shortly, and if not, he'll be in for the afternoon service, is that right?

Well, we're getting ready to go into chapter 14. Chapter 13 was about Antichrist and the false prophet.

And in comparison to chapter 13, chapter 14 is a contrast.

It's a contrast to the darkness in chapter 13. Chapter 13 describes

Satan, it describes Antichrist, the unredeemed, idolatry, and the mark of the beast.

Chapter 14 describes the Father, the Son, angels.

It also describes redeemed saints, genuine worship, and those sealed by God.

In chapter 13, there's falsehood, wickedness, corruption, and blasphemy.

In 14, there's truth, righteousness, purity, and praise, quite a contrast.

We're going to work our way verse by verse through this chapter, as we have all the previous chapters, but I want to begin a little bit differently today.

I want to read the first, I want to first read chapters one, verses, verses, not chapters.

Verses one through seven, with the goal of setting a few questions in mind. Question number one, do the 144 ,000 servants survive the tribulation?

Question two, if they survive, do they enter the Millennial Kingdom? And if they enter the

Millennial Kingdom, what role do they play? What do they do if they're there? Question three, will there be any

Gentiles saved after the rapture? And that's regardless of when you think the rapture occurred.

If you're a pre -tribulation rapture, you would say, are any Gentiles saved during the tribulation?

If you're a mid -tribulation rapture person, you would say, are there any saved after the

Great Tribulation begins? If you were a post -tribulation rapture person, you would say, are there any

Gentiles saved after the Battle of Armageddon, but before Christ returns, before the rapture?

So the question is, are there any Gentiles saved after the rapture?

And question number four, what does the scripture say about salvation after the rapture, if it says anything at all?

Those are the questions that we're going to keep in mind as we read these first seven verses. And I looked, and lo, a lamb stood on Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty -four thousand, having the

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 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 -four thousand, which was 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 goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto

God and unto 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 to kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice,

Fear God, and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment is come. And worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of water.

Let us pray. Most gracious Heavenly Father, thank you for this day. Thank you for giving us this place to come together to study your holy word.

Thank you for giving us this congregation, who has in their heart a great desire to search for the truth, and an understanding of where to go to find the holy scripture, and that they understand that their guide is the

Holy Spirit. Bless us and keep us and go through the services today, in Jesus' name we pray, amen.

Well, I trapped myself into identifying these 144 ,000 people as witnesses.

I went all the way through my paper, and every time

I had 144 ,000, I had 144 ,000 witnesses. You know where I got that? I got that from the

Jehovah's Witnesses, who think they're the 144 ,000 witnesses. So I went back in and I changed my words, and if I accidentally say witnesses as I read this, it's because I failed to see that one, and take it out.

So I changed it, do the 144 ,000 servants survive the tribulation?

That's the first question, that's the first question that we brought up, do the 144 ,000 servants survive the tribulation?

So now let's begin, chapter, verse 1. And I looked, and lo, a lamb stood on the

Mount Zion, and with him 144 ,000, having his father's name written in their forehead.

Now you'll notice that I don't have any trouble with the word witness in the scripture, it's not there.

So he looked, and what did he see? He saw three things. The first thing he saw was a lamb on Mount Zion.

Well who was that lamb? Jesus, how do you know?

He was the Lamb of God, well did we expect to see a lamb on Mount Zion?

Look at Psalms, chapter 2, starting at about verse 6.

Verse 6 is where we will begin, chapter 2, verse 6.

And this is the Lord speaking, yet I have set my king upon the holy mountain of Zion, and I will declare the decree, the

Lord hath said unto me, thou art my son, this day have I begotten you.

That's really interesting, that's the verse that the Lord gave to the

Pharisees and the lawyers when they were trying to trick him. And he said,

I'll answer your question if you answer this one. What did David mean when he said, thou art my son, this day

I have begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathern for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.

Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.

Be wise now therefore, O ye kings, be instructed, ye judges of the earth, serve the

Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling, kiss the son lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way when his wrath is kindled but a little.

Now the first thing I'd like to mention is the word son. I wish Raj was here right now, he could verify this.

There's two words son in this passage. There's the son in verse 12. And there is another son in verse 7.

Now you look at that, we don't see any difference. Thou art my son, this day I have begotten thee.

Go down to 11, 12, kiss the son, looks exactly the same to me, what about you?

Not so in the languages. The word for son here in verse 12 is not the

Hebrew word for son, that is the word Ben. Like David Ben -Gurion, an old prime minister of Israel, a lot of names,

Ben, Ben -Judah, what was the movie?

Ben -Hur. Ben -Hur. Ben -Hur is good. Ben -Hur, that's the

Hebrew word for son. It means the son of her. But this word is the

Aramaic word, not Ben, bar. Now I actually looked that up and that is true.

I took it to be true because Dr. MacArthur said it, but I always check anyhow. And indeed it was bar.

Well that would be a term that would be especially suitable if these commands were being addressed to the nations.

Be wise now, therefore,

O ye kings, kings of the nation, be instructed ye judges of the earth, serve the

Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling, kiss the son, Aramaic son, lest he be angry and you perish from the way when his wrath is kindled but a little.

In any case, I'll read that again, kiss the son lest he be angry and you perish from the way when his wrath is kindled but a little, blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

Now the second thing seen, 144 ,000 servants. In Revelation chapter 7, the 144 ,000 are seen being sealed at the beginning of the

Great Tribulation. In Revelation, it shows them in triumph at the end.

How many did it show at the beginning, 144 ,000.

How many does it show at the end, 144 ,000, not 139 ,999, 144 ,000.

I think I said that totally wrong, didn't I? Not one less, not a single one is lost, not a single servant is missing.

Now the third thing that John sees is a mark, names written on their forehead.

This mark is different from the counterfeit mark that unbelievers receive from the false prophet in chapter 13.

The very last part of last week's lesson, picking up at Revelation 13 verse 16, this is talking about the false prophet.

And he calls of all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads, that no man might buy or sell save he had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

Well, these 144 ,000 will have a mark, but it will be the mark of God, not the counterfeit mark.

That mark placed on their forehead is not to buy or sell, but for their protection.

We saw that being put on their foreheads in chapter 7 verse 2. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living

God, and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying,

Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in the forehead.

Now the 144 ,000 have been marked. They've been marked as a possession of God.

God will not permit them to be harmed. Throughout the outpouring of God's final judgment and Satan's final fury, the 144 ,000 will be doing the following things.

They'll be preaching the gospel. And there's nothing that Satan can do about it, because they're sealed and protected from him by God.

They will confront the believers about their sin, and the unbelievers can't do a thing about it, because these 144 ,000 are protected.

They're sealed by God. They will call on the unbelievers for repentance and for faith in the

Savior, and some will in fact repent, but some won't. But there's nothing they can do about it.

They will proclaim that the catastrophes taking place are God's righteous judgments.

That these are not just accidental things. These are the judgments of God. And despite Satan's best efforts, all 144 ,000 sealed servants, along with numerous other men and women, will survive to enter the

Millennial Kingdom alive. Not raptured, not with glorified bodies, but human bodies.

Just like they were the last day of the Tribulation period. The 144 ,000 will continue proclaiming the gospel right on through the 1 ,000 year period.

There'll be some children born during the Millennial Kingdom, and some of those children will be saved, and some of them won't.

So we've basically answered every question that we posed in the beginning. I promised myself that I'd put these back in.

Somebody must scroll back and pick them up again. It'll just take a second. I think they will be the greatest human evangelists ever lived, unless you count

Paul. And I don't know if you count Paul whether Paul would be a greater evangelist or not.

But these are certainly great evangelists. I have heard people say, I'm not sure that this is true, but I'm going to repeat it, that more people will be saved during the

Tribulation period than in any other equivalent time event in the world. And that seems reasonable to me.

But they will not just do the three and a half years. They'll do all the way through the 1 ,000 years.

They will continue to minister, to evangelize.

Our questions were these. Do the 144 ,000 servants survive the Tribulation?

Every one of them. If they survive, will they enter the Millennial Kingdom as living people?

Yes. What role will they play? They'll be evangelists. Will there be any

Gentiles saved after the Rapture? We really haven't nailed that one down exactly yet, but the implication is yes, there'll be lots of them.

And that is regardless of when you think the Rapture occurs. If you think it happens before the

Tribulation period, then your question is, are there any saved after that? But the answer is yes,

Gentiles will be saved after the Rapture. And the fourth thing, does the Scripture say anything about salvation after the

Rapture? Well, we know this. It says a lot in Revelation. And it's going to say a lot in some other places, including in Isaiah.

And I'm going to scroll to it. And by the time I get there, you can be in Isaiah.

I think it's 65, Isaiah 65.

I think this has to do with salvation. And salvation in the

Millennial period. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem.

This is picking up in verse 19, Isaiah 65, verse 19,

I hope. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people. And the voice of weeping shall no more be heard in her, nor the voice of crying.

That's an unusual thing for Jerusalem. No weeping, no crying. There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his years.

For a child shall die a hundred years old, but a sinner, being a hundred years old, shall be accursed.

Now, that is a strange statement. And I have thought about that a lot.

I want to ask a question. And understand that this is just me asking the question.

This is nothing scriptural. Do you think that saying, let me tell you what other people say first.

Most people say this, that if a person dies when he is a hundred years old, the other people in the

Millennial Kingdom will look around and say, ah, he must have sinned because he died a hundred years old.

But that's got to be a mark of his sinning.

But I don't see it saying even that the sinner died. Let's look at that again. And this is what

I kind of hope Roger will be here for because Roger can kind of bail me out if I get in trouble. There shall no more thence be an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his ears.

For a child shall die a hundred years old, but a sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed.

Did it say the sinner would die? It said the sinner would be accursed.

It said if a child, if a person dies a hundred years old, we'll say this is just a child because he's going to live to be a thousand years old.

Look, I always thought, most commentators teach this, that if he is a sinner, he will die at a hundred years old.

And you'll recognize he's a sinner because he died so young. But I don't think it said that.

Roger, do you have any idea? I don't think he'll be a weight to be dealt with either.

So you can see him being taken out, okay? But you don't have any, well, it could be, there is a passage in Genesis that might impinge upon this, and that is

Cain and Abel. Cain, the righteous one, died. No, Abel, the righteous one, died.

Cain, the unrighteous one, the murderer, was cursed and continued to live. So, that's just to kind of float out there and consider, it's more for table talk at breakfast than for here.

So I'm going to go on, but I just put that little star in there to say this is something that has concerned me, and I am not clear on what

I even understand. But I can tell you, most commentators speak as if, if a person dies at a hundred years old, we can recognize that there was something wrong with them, and that they were a sinner.

I think that's the way most people view it. But I may be wrong on that, too. Okay, I shouldn't have gone there.

I started not to, and then I did anyhow. I apologize. And they shall build houses and inhabit them, and they shall plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them.

They shall not build and another inhabit. They shall not plant and another eat. For as the days of a tree are the days of my people, they're going to live a long time, and they're going to live a prosperous life, and what they do, they will reap the rewards of.

I won't build and you take. Mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for trouble, for they are the seed of the blessed of the

Lord, and their offspring with them. Now, while only unredeemed people will enter the kingdom, not all of the children born to them will believe, but some of them will.

Isaiah 60, verse 1, Arise and shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the

Lord is risen upon thee. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people, and the

Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee, and the

Gentiles shall come to thy light. Whoops, now there's something. The Gentiles shall come to thy light, and the kings to the brightness of thy rising.

Is that saying that there'll be some Gentiles saved during this period of time? It says the

Gentiles shall come to the light and the brightness of thy rising. If you go...

Yes, sir? Would you start out as you begin that?

There is no more redemption in the millennial kingdom? Okay. Well, I'm not sure you can do that because who paid for the sins for the people that died before Christ?

Who died... Who paid for the sins while Christ was alive?

Who died for the sins after Christ was resurrected,

Christ? I think it's all the time.

I think that if anybody is saved in the millennial kingdom, the price will be paid. They will be redeemed the same way they always were.

So, I can't see that that would be a problem with people being saved in the millennial kingdom.

But I don't know for sure that that's what this is saying. It says the Gentiles shall come to thy light and the kings to the brightness of thy rising.

That's to me an implication that at this time Gentiles will come to the light.

And that's in the millennial kingdom. Micah 4, verse 1, it's again talking about the millennial kingdom.

But in the last days it shall come to pass that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains and it shall be exalted above the hills and people shall flow into it.

And many nations shall come and say, come let us go up into the mountain of the

Lord. That said many. It didn't say all. And many nations shall come and say, come and let us go up to the mountain of the

Lord and to the house of God and to the house of the God of Jacob and he will teach us his ways.

Who is this he that's going to teach them? God. The Lord. And he will teach us his ways and we will walk in his paths for the law shall go forth of Zion and the word of the

Lord from Jerusalem. Again, that sounds to me that these people are coming to the

Lord and will be saved. And he shall judge among many people and rebuke strong nations from afar off, those that didn't come.

And they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.

Nations shall not lift up a sword against a nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.

That sounds good, but I got a question. Do they do that because they want to?

Brother Otis would say everybody does everything because they want to. I'm not speaking in that sense. They're compelled to do it because of a greater force, aren't they?

They're not going to do it, not because they don't want to, but because Jesus won't let them. What did he say in Psalms 2, 10?

Be wise now, there, O kings, be instructed. You judges of the earth, serve the

Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling, kiss the son lest he be angry and you perish from the way when his wrath is kindled but a little.

And then earlier on, it said he will rule with a rod of iron and he will shatter them like a pot of clay.

No, they will not learn war anymore. They will not lift up sword against their neighbors anymore.

They'll beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks because that's what

Jesus will make them do. Because Jesus is control of the whole world now.

They may have rebellion in their hearts, but it won't show yet.

But every man, blessed are they that put their trust in him. But they that sit, but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree and none shall make them afraid for the mouth of the

Lord of hosts has spoken it. Yes, blessed are they that put their trust in him.

None shall make them afraid for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken it.

And then one last verse, Zechariah 8 chapter 20, thus saith the

Lord of hosts, it shall come to pass that there shall come people and inhabitants of many cities and the inhabitants of one city shall go into another saying, let us go speedily to pray before the

Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts. I will go also. Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the

Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and pray before the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts.

In those days it shall come to pass that 10 men shall take hold out of all nations, out of all the languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a

Jew saying, we will go with you for we have heard that God is with you. Now, what's all that saying?

I think that's saying that the 144 ,000 will survive the great tribulation. I think it says they'll enter the millennial kingdom as living people.

They'll proclaim the gospel. So the scripture speaks of salvation, I believe, during the millennial kingdom.

And if it speaks of salvation during the millennial kingdom, certainly it speaks of salvation before the rapture, or after the rapture.

Because the millennial kingdom is entirely after the rapture. No matter when you take the rapture away. Verse 2,

And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and of the voice of great thunder.

And I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps, and they sang 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 earth.

What were they singing about? What were they rejoicing? The accomplishment of God's redemptive work.

I put in a couple of passages from Psalms where it's talking about singing praises to God.

And all the praises to God are for what? For his redemptive work. We don't sing praises to God because he gave us a nice, beautiful Jaguar, or a beat -up

Ford pickup. We don't praise God because he gave us great wealth, or gave us fame and fortune.

We praise God because of his redemptive work. That's the only thing that we really have that we can praise

God for, because that's the only thing we really have that matters, that lasts. Wealth doesn't last.

Our cars don't last. Our houses don't last. Our health doesn't last. But our redemption does, and that's what we praise the

Lord for. These, the 144 ,000, are they which were not defiled with women, for they are virgins.

These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto

God and to the Lamb. Not the only fruit, just the firstfruit. And in their mouth was found no guile, for they are without fault before the throne of God.

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."

Okay. The light in Chapter 14 is a contrast to the darkness of Chapter 15.

But not everything in Chapter 14 is light. We have judgment as well.

In fact, in Chapter 14 we have all of the following. We have the gospel proclaimed.

We have it proclaimed to everyone. We have the gospel rejected by the non -elect.

We have the judgment of the elect and the non -elect, but they're judged differently, and they're judged at different times and in different places.

The non -elect are judged at the great white throne judgments we'll see later on. The elect will be judged in a whole different place.

They'll be judged before the throne of Christ, the Bema seat judgment. The great white throne judgment will determine all those that are not written in the book of life, their destination.

The Bema throne judgment will determine what rewards the elect receive.

Then you'll have the damnation of the non -elect, and the redemption of the elect.

By the time we have gotten here, the world would have heard the gospel. By the time we have gotten to this point, the world will have heard the gospel preached by generations of preachers and teachers prior to, during, and throughout the church age.

They will hear the gospel proclaimed by the 144 sealed Jewish evangelists that Satan and his dominions can do nothing about.

They will have heard the gospel proclaimed by the two witnesses, including seeing their death and the resurrection.

They will have heard the gospel from the redeemed tribulation saints, both those who survive throughout the tribulation, and those that are executed for their witness.

There will be many of those. In fact, Matthew 24 .9 says this,

Then they shall deliver you up to be afflicted, and they shall kill you, and you shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.

So many of the redeemed tribulation saints will be executed, but not all.

If all were executed, there would be nobody left to populate the Millennial Kingdom. But despite all of that, much of the earth's population will reject the gospel.

In Revelation 6 .12, it says, And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake.

And the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood.

And the stars of heaven fell upon the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

And the heaven departed as a scroll when it was rolled together. And every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

And the kings of the earth, and the rich men, and the great men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in dens and in the rocks of the mountains.

You would have thought that they would ask for redemption.

You would have thought they would have called on the name of the Lord. But they didn't. They said to the mountains and to the rocks,

Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the

Lamb. For a great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand?

Well, they're right about that. But you would have thought that they would have called on the

Lord. It's even more clear in Revelation 9. And the rest of the men, which were not killed by these plagues, yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood, which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk.

Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

So, did they repent? No. So what does

God do? In chapter 6, he opened the sixth seal, and rocks fell on them, and there were great earthquakes.

And they hid in rocks and said, Hide us from the Lamb. In 9, he gives them plagues.

And those that weren't killed by the plagues, you'd have thought they'd ask for help. And yet they repented not.

So what does God do? God is a very patient God. And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach.

This is verse 14, chapter 14. Having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, to every nation and kindred, and tongue and people.

He sends his powerful angel to proclaim the gospel one last time.

And yet, we get to chapter 16, here's what happens. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath the power over these plagues.

And they repented not to give him glory. And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast, and his kingdom was full of darkness.

And they gnawed at their tongues for pain. And they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pain and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.

So there's a certain set of men that even with all of the chances that the

Lord has given them will not repent. Now we all know the reason they won't repent.

They won't repent because they can't repent. They can't repent because their names were not written in the

Lamb's book of life from before the foundation of the earth. But it just goes to show how long -suffering and fateful the

Lord is. That through it all, he continuously comes back and back and back and back with opportunity after opportunity after opportunity for people to repent.

So that no one enters hell as a result of what

God did. They all enter hell because of what they did, and because of what they wanted to do.

We've got a few more minutes if anybody has any comments or questions. Yes sir. It points out the total depravity of man.

As bad as you think man is, he's worse. Without his gift you are nothing.

That's why all of the things that we feel like we ought to praise and worship God for and sing praises to him for all those things that he's given us.

There's not a single thing that he has given us that has any value to us except the one thing that he gave us.

Jesus Christ. That's the only thing we really need to praise him for.

And certainly we can condemn him for nothing. Most gracious heavenly father, thank you for this day and thank you for all the many blessings that you've given us.

Protect us and keep us. Go through the rest of the services today. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

It's easy David. It's easy to read things in that's not there. That's one thing you can do.

We've got all the terminology. That's true.

I'm not sure that even if you spend years there will be a time. Issues.

I believe that throughout the millennia these witnesses are preaching the word of Jesus.

And I don't think you can question that. I'm not concerned about that.

That's one of the things that will happen all the way through. Good word. It relates to the message

I'm giving. I'm sorry? This will relate to the message I'm giving. Good word. Good.

Good. Good. Good.

Good. Good. Good. Good.