Spoiler Alert: Revelation 14:1-5

One of the things that I have listed far down on the description of myself on social media is “cinephile” which is just a fancy way of saying that I enjoy movies. Not only do I enjoy watching movies, I like to learn how directors use color, camera angles, costumes, cinematography, and cast to tell their stories. There are a couple of fascinating YouTube channels that feature such explanations that I’ll watch from time to time. However, often in order to explain a film and its success, these videos will often be made to reveal the end of the movie. In an effort to keep from spoiling the ending for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet, a caption will appear on the screen that reads “SPOILER ALERT.” This means that something important is about to be revealed that might end up spoiling the ending of the movie and if you don’t want to know the ending yet, you might want to turn the video off. Something similar happens in the Book of Revelation (in fact, it happens several times). The apostle John ends up spoiling the ending for readers before getting around to describing that ending later in his work. Unfortunately, he doesn’t insert the helpful caption “SPOILER ALERT!” before divulging this material and yet, this is probably not a bad thing. After all, in knowing the end, the people of God are able to anticipate a great hope which is especially helpful as they endure the world around them. Let’s turn in our Bible’s to Revelation 14:1-5 and witness three elements of one of these apocalyptic “spoilers” and walk away encouraged by what is to come for those who are found in Christ.

a. ELEMENT #1: What is Seen-14:1

In an effort to ease us back onto the on-ramp in our journey through Revelation, I must remind us all about the unique genre(s) that John is utilizing in this work. The Book of Revelation is both prophetic (1:3), apocalyptic (1:1), and epistolary (letter-like) (2-3) in both its style and contents. It is prophetic in that it predicts what will occur in the future, apocalyptic in its record of cosmic conflict that unveils the person and plan of God, and epistolary in its appeal to specific audiences and how it is structured. Though these three styles are active throughout the book (often simultaneously), one might become more prominent and/or influential at times depending on what is being revealed, unveiled, or shared.

For instance, in Revelation 2-3 (which gives us the letters to the churches) the epistolary nature of the book is in greater view. In Revelation 4-5 (in the introduction of God and the Lamb in the heavenly throne room with the angels and other creatures) the apocalyptic nature of the book is in greater focus. In the breaking of the seals and the blowing of the trumpets of judgment, the predictive and/or prophetic nature of the book is highlighted. So where are we now? What are we dealing with as we reenter this book in chapter 14?

In Revelation 14, the reader finds herself in the latter part of one of John’s famous pauses that breaks up the chronological action of future events. Now that the reader has witnessed the seals and the trumpets (different judgments upon the earth), John takes time to describe other phenomena before he returns to the plotline of the prophecy. These pauses are primarily apocalyptic inasmuch as they reveal/unveil something about who God is, involve other-worldly beings, and often accentuate the cosmic conflict that happens when heaven and earth collide. So far, in this apocalyptic pause, the reader has been introduced to several characters that will play an important role during the coming tribulation: the woman (Israel), the dragon (Satan), Michael (the archangel), the beast from the sea (the Antichrist), and the beast from the land (the false prophet). As this literary pause moves from the character introductions of chapters 12-13 into chapters 14-15, John describes several scenes that look forward to the end of the evil world system. Eventually, in chapter 16, the apostle will return to the chronological action with the final set of judgments (the bowls of wrath that will lead to the final battle of Armageddon). That said, before these events even take place, John provides previews of what can be expected (spoilers if you will). This he is able to do under the control of the Holy Spirit because, from his vantage point, he is not limited to time and is seeing things, at least for now, from a higher perspective.

The first of these scenes that John describes for his readers is a preview primarily for God’s people. From the get go, a theme of victory comes into sharp focus—“Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion” (14:1a). This introduction contrasts an introduction made in chapter 13:1ff. There, the dragon (Satan) was standing on the shore of the sea awaiting the emergence of the beast (the Antichrist). Here the Lamb (Christ) is standing on Mount Zion awaiting the victorious saints. The symbol of the “standing” Lamb is an important theme. First seen in the Revelation 5:6-10 (the “Lamb standing as if slain”) the standing Lamb highlights the victory, power, and prestige of the risen Christ who will return for his people, judge the world, and create a new heavens and a new earth. These connotations of victory and power ascribed to the Lamb are reiterated by his location in this passage—“on Mount Zion.” In the prophetic Jewish tradition, Zion came to signify not just the Temple Mount, but the location where the Messiah would deliver his people and gather them to himself. It also points to the new Jerusalem of the future—a hope shared by nearly all ancient Jews, who longed for the restoration of their city and its sanctuary (remember, by the time this was written, Jerusalem and the temple had been destroyed). With this single opening phrase, the reader sees the most victorious figure standing in the place of final victory. Not a bad way to begin a preview.

However, as the camera zooms out and reveals what surrounds the Lamb and Mount Zion, the viewer sees “with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having his name and the name of the Father written on their foreheads” (14:1). This group, introduced first in Revelation 7, includes those Jews whom Jesus saved and sealed during the tribulation period. Though made to endure the persecution and pressure of this period, the 144000 supernaturally persevere, and, at least here, are promised victory with the Lamb on Mount Zion. These are also marked for God, in contrast to those marked with the beast (see 13:16), demonstrating God’s ownership and security for them (see 7:3; 22:4). What a spectacle to behold: the people of victory in the place of victory with the protagonist who brings the victory in the end!

b. ELEMENT #2: What is Heard-14:2-3

Added to what is seen, the next element of this preview involves what is heard. The first sound that John makes out is “a voice from heaven” (14:2a). The source of the voice being “from heaven” demonstrates another apocalyptic theme that is pervasive in Revelation—divine interference in earthly affairs. Whether through action or word, the heavenly realm intersects the earthly realm again and again and again in Revelation as these two dimensions collide. This is no different here as heaven speaks in a big way.

The sound of the voice is so great that John describes it by means of three powerful similes—“like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing their harps” (14:2b). “Many waters” pictures the roar of the sea crashing against the shore—an image that will be called upon again in 19:6. Another image both 19:6 and 14:2 share is the sound of loud thunder. Both here and there the sea and the loud thunder are used in celebratory hymns of great victory: 14:2 describes the victory at mount Zion of the standing Lamb and 19:6 celebrates the victory of the Lamb at the wedding feast (for other celebratory hymns see 5:9; 14:2-3; 15:2-4; 19:6-7). This victorious motif is solidified by the third descriptive simile used to describe the sound of this voice from heaven—“and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing their harps” (14:2; see also 5:8; 15:2; 18:22). The combination of the loud noises and the harps emphasize the tremendous joy and worship that is transpiring in this vision (Osborne, Revelation, 527).

The victorious and worshipful tone is carried along by the singing that breaks out among those present—“And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders” (14:3a). As in Revelation 4-5, heavenly beings are shown worshipping the Lord in song in the throne room (complete with a reference to the four living creatures and the 24 elders surrounding the throne). However, instead of voicing the same song as before (see 4:8; 11; 5:9, 12, 13), here they sing a new song. This new song is perhaps inspired by the completion of victory that is predicted in this passage.  

Next, John reveals that “no one could learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been purchased from the earth” (14:3b). Only this special remnant is invited to learn and join in this special chorus. Those who persevere the tribulation and are kept form falling prey to the deception of the dragon and his beasts praise the Lord in a special way in the throne room upon the completion of the Lamb’s victory. After all, any victory this remnant has enjoyed only comes because the Lamb has “purchased” them from the earth. The verb is defined as “to cause the release or freedom of someone by a means which proves costly to the individual causing the release.” This no doubt alludes to the redemption purchased by the Lamb on the cross. His sacrifice purchases all believers in general and, as far as the context of this passage is concerned, these 144000 in particular.

Victorious spectacles are met with victorious singing in this apocalyptic preview of final victory in the end. However, John continues in this preview by highlighting who is featured in this vision.

C. ELEMENT #3: Who is Featured-14:4-5

After revealing the spectacle and the chorus of singers, John’s attention focuses on those who are able to learn this new song—the 144000 envisioned with the standing Lamb.  He describes this group in four ways. First, “these are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste” (14:4a). Though at face value this might appear to suggest that these are those who practice abstinence and refrain from sexual impurity, there is a more general idea in view. Throughout the scriptures in general and Revelation in particular, sexual impurity (acts of physical defilement) are often conflated with spiritual adultery (see the concrete metaphor of Hosea and Gomer for an Old Testament example). Consider the following examples from Revelation:

Revelation 2:14- “But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality”

Revelation 2:20-“But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.”

In all of these passages (and the Old Testament passages to which they allude) sexual immorality is juxtaposed with spiritual impurity. Therefore, to speak of these 144,000 and undefiled and chaste is to say as much about their spiritual condition as their sexual purity. Those who are worshipping the Lord in this new song of victory are those who are spiritually pure, and, by proxy, physically chaste.

They are also described as followers of the Lamb—“these are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes” (14:4b). Following after the Lamb is no small endeavor when one considers the context and who is in view. To follow the Lamb for these 144000 meant not following the beast or the dragon during the tribulation. This will led to the kind of extreme persecution and pressure that has never before been realized on the world’s stage. That said, following the Lamb/Christ in precarious and/or uncomfortable situations is nothing new. Many of apostles of Christ and Stephen in the Book of Acts followed Christ to their own executions. Even Jesus’ call to his disciples reads “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.” (Luke 9:23).

On the call to follow Christ (i.e. the Lamb) Dietrich Bonhoeffer (shortly before he was hanged for conspiring the kill Hitler) writes: “The cross is laid on every Christian. The first Christ-suffering which every man must experience is the call to abandon the attachments of this world. It is that dying of the old man which is the result of his encounter with Christ. As we embark upon discipleship we surrender ourselves to Christ in union with his death—we give over our lives to death. Thus it begins; the cross is not the terrible end to an otherwise god-fearing and happy life, but it meets us at the beginning of our communion with Christ. When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die. It may be a death like that of the first disciples who had to leave home and work to follow him, or it may be a death like Luther’s, who had to leave the monastery and go out into the world. But it is the same death every time—death in Jesus Christ, the death of the old man at his call” (The Cost of Discipleship).

Those singing the song of victory are those who have made it their practice to follow the Lamb wherever he goes, even or especially when it requires their lives (see also Matt. 10:38; Luke 17:33; John 12:25-26; 13:36; 1 Pet. 2:21; Rev. 12:11). This means that this same chorus has chosen not to follow after inferior or easier pursuits wherever they might lead.

Not only are these described as pure followers, they are called purchased—“These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb” (14:4c). This idea builds off of Revelation 5:9 and 14:3.

Revelation 5:9-“Worthy are You to take the book and break its seals; for You were slain and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation”

Revelation 14:3-“no one could learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been purchased from the earth,…”

To be purchased means to be redeemed. Payment has been made that transfers ownership from one to another. In the case of the redeemed, transfer of ownership has been made from the lost world of sin and death to the Lord of light and life. The payment given for the transaction is the Lamb who was slain though is now standing. This group of the redeemed are called the “first fruits,” referring to the Old Testament idea of the first and best parts of the harvest offered to God. “In this context, the 144000 are the saints of the tribulation period seen as an offering to God guaranteeing the final harvest of all believers” (see 14:14-16) (Osborne, Revelation, 531). These are offered to God and the Lamb, demonstrated the shared divinity of the Father and the Son.

Finally, John describes this group of victorious worshipers as those who are true—“and no lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless” (14:5). In contrast to all of the false teachers and liars prevalent in the world during the tribulation period (the Nicolatians in 2:2; the Antichrist, and false prophet in chapter 13; their followers, etc.), these are those who are blameless in what they say. While liars will be excluded from the eternal kingdom and thrown into the lake of fire (see Rev. 21:8, 27; 22:15), these truth-tellers will be victoriously worshiping their God in the heavens.

These 144000 are pure followers of Christ who have been purchased by the blood of the Lamb and speak the truth. During this tribulation period these will be known for their total commitment to God in Christ and will be found in the place of victory singing a victor’s song alongside the victor Himself in the end!  

So What?

After taking in the elements of this preview—what is seen, heard, and who is featured—one might wonder why God revealed this to John and had him share this with the church. After all, the implications of what is seen, will be heard, and who will be featured in this passage appears to be limited to the remnant of 144000 who will persevere through this period of tribulation and ultimately be found victorious. Such a preview might prove helpful to them in the future as they come to know that regardless of what they might be made to go through, they have the hope of victory waiting for them in the end. However, is not this true for all of God’s people regardless of what age they are made to endure? Has not God promised victory for anyone who is found in Christ?

I Corinthians 15:57-“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ”

Romans 8:37-“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us”

2 Corinthians 2:14-“But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere”

The hope promised to the 144000 in the end is similar to the victory God has promised all believers. God has not left us without something to look forward to—a hope to which we ought to fix our gaze.

However, how might we know if we are to enjoy this promised victory in the end in the midst of the world we are made to endure at present? Perhaps this passage helps us by sharing the characteristics of these future saints and encourages us to see whether or not the same might be said of us. Are you spiritually pure—committed to the one true God and his Christ? Are you following after Christ with all of yourself, having forsaken inferior pursuits? Have you been purchased out of your desperate plight where sin and death rule? Do you love and speak truth? These are the characteristics of the people of God—those who will know strength for each day and can cling to the bright hope for tomorrow. SPOILER ALERT: God’s people win in the end! Praise the Lord for the comfort that brings even now!