Let’s first take a look at the 144,000 people who have not been defiled with women. What does this mean? Why is it necessary to interpret the Bible spiritually at this time? For Christians, not everyone can be in heaven like them. Some Christians will be judged by the great white throne. Some Christians who don’t embark on the path of sanctification cannot even enter New Jerusalem. Second, the scripture talks about the outline of the judgment that will be carried out in the future. This is one way of writing in the Bible. When adequately, the outline is given first before the details are given. The scripture once again emphasizes the patience of the saints. Finally we talked about ministry that lasts forever and how discerning the sheep from the goats actually is actually carried out.
1. The Church and virginity
“Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, 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 on their harps. And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been purchased from the earth. These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb. And no lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless.”(Revelation 14:1-5)
We have shared in detail in “1093 Look at heavens opened, throne and four living creatures – Revelation(4)”, explaining why the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders represent the church, so the fourteen mentioned here The forty-four thousand came from the church, unlike the Israelites who were sealed, also 144,000. “I heard that the number of the Israelites who were sealed was 144,000 from each tribe.” ” (Revelation 7:4) In terms of consistency in what God tells us through the Bible (the consistency of the Bible), doesn’t it also show that God is fair in the Book of Revelation? look! There were as many Israelites who were sealed as there were in the church, and there were equally as many who were sealed among the tribes of Israel, twelve thousand. Since twelve thousand times twelve is one hundred and forty-four thousand, we would say that these numbers are related to the “twelve” of the twelve tribes.
These 144,000 people are definitely different from those people said in this scripture, “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”” (Revelation 7:9-10) We have shared that these people have been judged in front of the seat of Christ and received their reward in heaven, so this scripture is absolutely appropriate for them, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”(2 Corinthians 5:10)
For Christians, not everyone is like those in heaven. We have shared before that some Christians will be judged by the Great White Throne (see Revelation 20:11-13). Being judged before the Great White Throne is also before the seat of of Christ, so for those Christians who will be judged by the Great White Throne, that verse is true for them too. We also discussed in “5. Is it fair that once you are saved you are saved forever?” of “1087 Conforming to the image of Jesus and its practice” that some Christians who don’t
embark on the path of sanctification will not even be able to enter the city of New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth. Those who are interested in this topic can go to the website “https://a-christian-voice.com/“, click “Understanding of Spiritual Life” to find this article.
Someone mentioned the Bible clearly says that those 144,000 people were those who have not been defiled with women. What does this mean? Peter was married, as the scripture says, “Do we not have a right to take along a believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas (Peter)?”(1 Corinthians 9:5) Wasn’t Peter worthy to be among the 144,000? Therefore, the Bible in this case must be interpreted spiritually, if there is no contradiction to the fact that Peter was married. A person who has never been defiled with a woman does not mean a person who has not been married or has had sexual relations with a woman. It refers to a person who is loyal to the Lord and can be eventually separated from the world. The temptation of the world has nothing to do with whether you are married or not. It refers to people like Peter.
It is also said that those who are the first fruits belong to God and the Lamb. Who are the first fruits? It refers to Christ. As the scripture says, “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.”(1 Corinthians 15:20) Christians are to be conformed to the image of Jesus (see Romans 8:29). Of the 144,000, the scripture says, “And no lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless.”(Revelation 14:5) This means that those who are 100% conformed to the image of Jesus will be blameless in the eyes of God, and will be the first fruits attributed to God and the Lamb. Therefore, not every Christian will be among the 144,000. Although some people say that Christians are all involved, it is just human teachings that are inconsistent with the facts of the Bible. It is only comforting people from a human perspective! The scriptures make it very clear, “No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”(1 John 3:9) How could they lie and sin?
Then someone may ask, doesn’t the Bible clearly say, “you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”(1 Peter 2:5) As long as we come to the Lord, aren’t we living stones for building a spiritual house? Yes, Christians must embark on the road to sanctification and be conformed to the image of Jesus. The part that was conformed to the image of Jesus during his lifetime will become the living stone for building the spiritual palace, and the rest will being discarded. God is very fair, “…From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.”(Luke 12:48) Because we don’t know how much God has given us or how much He wants, we can only be like Paul, “…I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14)
It is mentioned here that these 144,000 people can sing “new songs.” Some people say that this is a “song sung by new people.” Aren’t all Christians new people? You see, Christians “…do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”(Romans 12:2) And it is also said, “…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”(2 Corinthians 5:17) By these verses and new song means the song sung by new people, those can thus conclude that every Christian will sing this new song. Such a conclusion violates what the Bible says that the new song can be only sung by the 144,000. Thus, such a thinking is just a comforting thing, not a biblical statement. The Union Version of the New Testament only mentions the new song twice, and the other time is in these verses, “…the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, …And they sang a new song, saying, …”(Revelation 5:8-9), which clearly explains the content of the new song. In here, the new song sung by the 144,000 people is without given the content. As for who can be listed among the 144,000, only God knows. We can only run straight towards the goal like Paul mentioned above.
2. The outline of the judgment to come
“And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters.” And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality.” Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will 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 goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.”(Revelation 14:6-12)
We look at what the first angel announced to the whole world. Even if the time of judgment has come, God will still give the people of the world a chance and is willing to see everyone repent and worship Him. The second angel foretold the fall of the great city of Babylon. Then the third angel warned everyone not to worship the beast or his image, nor to receive the mark of the beast on their foreheads or hands, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous. Finally, the endurance of the saints is once again emphasized, which is consistent with what this scripture says, “If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.”(Revelation 13:10) This is what Jesus said, “You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.”(Matthew 10:22, Mark 13:13)
3. A ministry that lasts forever
“And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write, ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!’” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them.” Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like (G3664) a son of man, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. And another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.” Then He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped. And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. Then another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe.” So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God. And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles.”(Revelation 14:13-20)
‘From now on’ does not mean after that point in time, but after Jesus went to the cross and completed salvation. Only then will the Holy Spirit be given. The Holy Spirit tells us that there are things that can last forever, although the Bible does not clearly say those things. However, the things God wants us to do through the Holy Spirit can last forever since they are started by the Holy Spirit.
The one wearing the golden crown is the Son of Man. It’s not just an appearance. It’s not said that any angel wears a golden crown. This word G3664 appears 47 times, and it appears 22 times in the Book of Revelation. Its meaning can be seen from the typical examples in the Book of Revelation. ” His feet were like (G3664) burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters.” (Revelation 1:15) The color of feet really do look like bronze tempered with light, but it still talks about the feet themselves.
This word G3664 is different from the scripture we talked about last time, “I saw one of his heads as if (G5613) it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. …”(Revelation 13:3) We discussed in detail the word G5613 there, it really says “it seems” and we know that head was never really dead. As for Him being on a white cloud, this is consistent with what is said in the Book of Acts, “…while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. …“Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.””(Acts 1:9 -11)
This scripture refers to the time when He comes again, the crops (true Christians) are mature and it is time to harvest. At this time, there is also an angel coming out of the temple to deliver a message to Him. Why is this necessary? Doesn’t the Son of Man Himself know it, and does He need an angel to tell Him? Yes, He doesn’t know, because this is within time, and there is an order within time. The Father sends the Son, and the Holy Spirit will not come unless the Son goes. Within the time, Jesus made it very clear, ““But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” (Matthew 24:36)
At the same time, another angel came out of the temple also holding a sharp sickle. The other angel was the one in charge of fire (judgment) at the altar. He told the angel with the sharp sickle to collect the fruit of the vines on the ground. The terrible blood flow was two hundred miles. Isn’t the same as this, “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.” (Matthew 25:31-33) At that time, “These (goats) will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous (sheep) into eternal life.”(Matthew 25:46, and see Matthew 25:34-45) God is very fair.
(Verses refer to those in NASB95 unless otherwise specified.)
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