April 23, 2018

Ken Miller

A New Song.

April 23, 2018

Ken Miller

1 Then I looked, 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. 2 And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, 3 and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4 It is these 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 firstfruits for God and the Lamb, 5 and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless. – Revelation 14:1-6 ESV

John is now given a new vision that is meant to stand in stark contrast to all he saw and recorded in the previous chapter. In place of Satan (the dragon) standing on the sand of the sea (Revelation 12:17), John sees the Lamb standing on Mount Zion. And in place of the unbelievers who have received the mark of the beast on their foreheads, John now sees the 144,000, who have received the seal of God on their foreheads (Revelation 7:3). And while everyone on earth worshiped the Antichrist (Revelation 13:8), and blindly followed his leadership, John is shown that not all bowed their knee to the Antichrist or received his mark. The 144,000 worship Jesus Christ and follow Him wherever He goes.

John is being given an assurance that God will still be in the redeeming business during the dark days of the tribulation. Even when Satan, the Antichrist and the false prophet will seem to be gaining the upper hand and having their way with the nations of the earth, God will be doing a work among the peoples of the earth. And not only that, God will bring a great victory over Satan and his forces. John is being given a foretaste of what is to come. He sees the Son of God standing on Mount Zion. This is not meant to be the second coming of Christ, but John is being shown what will happen in the future, at the end of the great tribulation. He is being given a preview of coming attractions. The day is coming when Jesus will return to earth and stand on Mount Zion, along with the 144,000 who will be preserved through the trials and tribulations of the second half of the tribulation. The scene John is shown takes place on earth. It reveals the day when Jesus comes back to earth as the conquering king, determined to take His rightful place on the throne of David in Jerusalem. The prophet Zechariah wrote about that coming day.

On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. – Zechariah 14:4 ESV

Mount Zion is the designation for the entire mountain on which Jerusalem sits, and it includes the Mount of Olives. Jesus Christ will return to the Mount of Olives, the very place where He left the earth when He ascended back into heaven.

9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” – Acts 1:9-11 ESV

The very next verse of Luke’s account tells us that this scene took place on the Mount of Olives. And John’s vision reveals the day when Christ will return to that very same spot in order to begin the final phase of God’s judgments and to accomplish His victory over the forces of evil on the earth.

But John hears a new song, coming out of heaven. The designation, “new song” is important, because in the Old Testament Scriptures it was typically used to celebrate something great that God had done on behalf of His people.

He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord. – Psalm 40:3 ESV

Oh sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth!
Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day. – Psalm 96:1-2 ESV

Oh sing to the Lord a new song,
    for he has done marvelous things!
His right hand and his holy arm
    have worked salvation for him.
The Lord has made known his salvation;
    he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
    to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
    the salvation of our God. – Psalm 98:1-3 ESV

Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise from the end of the earth,
you who go down to the sea, and all that fills it,
the coastlands and their inhabitants. – Isaiah 42:10 ESV

But the new song that John hears has to do with a victory that is yet to come. But it will come, as John’s vision makes clear. And this new song will only be one that the 144,000 can learn. In other words, they alone will be able to appreciate the full meaning behind its words. They will have lived through the great tribulation, and only they will be able to comprehend the incredible nature of God’s deliverance, made possible through His Son’s second coming. Of all people on earth, they alone will be able to rejoice in the victory that is about to take place. For the first time during the bleak days of the tribulation, they will find themselves standing alongside their Savior, ready to mete out justice and enforce righteousness on all those who have persecuted and sought to destroy them.

All the way back in chapter seven, when John was first introduced to the 144,000, he also was given a vision of the myriads of martyred saints standing before the throne of God and singing, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:10 ESV). And he also heard the angels singing, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen” (Revelation 7:12 ESV). We are not told the words of the new song John hears in this vision, but it is doubtless a song of victory and praise for God’s deliverance. It will be something new and unprecedented: The final elimination of all sin and wickedness from the earth and the establishment of justice and righteousness in the form of Christ’s earthly kingdom.

One of the unique aspects of the 144,000 is their corporate virginity. They are all males and not a single one of them will have married or had relations with a woman. They will remain sexually pure and undefiled. This will allow them to dedicate themselves to their primary role as God’s witnesses on earth during the days of the tribulation. With no cares for a wife or family, each of them will be able to concentrate all their time and attention on serving God and spreading the word about Jesus Christ to Jews and Gentiles alike. And there will be many who come to faith in Christ as a result of their efforts. The apostle Paul spoke about the preference of singleness over marriage when considering service to the Lord.

32 I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. 33 But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, 34 and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. 35 I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord. – 1 Corinthians 7:32-35 ESV

These 144,000 Jewish men are described as having been faithful, truthful and blameless. Even during the darkest days of the tribulation, they will have followed the Lamb, faithfully serving Him and telling the world about Him. And they represent the firstfruits, a special offering to God. And while they are a unique group, they will not be the only ones who God redeems from among the people of Israel. There will be many more believing Jews who enter into the millennial Kingdom alongside the Messiah. But these 144,000 are unique in that they were set apart by God during the days of the tribulation and given the task of witnessing to the truth regarding Jesus Christ. And John is now seeing them at the end of the tribulation, as they stand next to their Savior, ready to assist Him in setting up His earthly Kingdom. And they will have met the requirements the apostle Paul describes in his letter to the Philippian believers:

…blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life. – Philippians 2:15-16 ESV

The book of Revelation is full of bleak imagery and foreboding news regarding the last days on earth. But it is a book that is meant to encourage us by reminding us that the outcome has already been determined. The victory is assured. While the enemy may appear to have the upper hand and evil may seem to be increasing in strength, the ending to the story is not up in the air. The battle between God and the forces of Satan is not really a battle at all. It is a last-gasp effort on behalf of an already defeated enemy to try and prolong his power and influence over the earth. But he will fail, because Christ will return. And nothing and no one will be able to stand against Him. All will kneel before Him.

9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. – Philippians 2:9-11 ESV

That days is coming. A new song will be sung. A new work of God will be done on the earth that will bring an end to all sin and the rebellion of mankind – once and for all.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

April 9, 2018

Ken Miller

The Book of Revelation

The 144,000.

April 9, 2018

Ken Miller

The Book of Revelation

1After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, 3 saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” 4 And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

5 12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed,
12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,
12,000 from the tribe of Gad,
6 12,000 from the tribe of Asher,
12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,
12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,
7 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,
12,000 from the tribe of Levi,
12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,
8 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,
12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,
12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed. – Revelation 7:1-8 ESV

Chapter six ended with a statement and question: “…the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” (Revelation 6:17 ESV). Those experiencing the wrath of God as revealed through the first six seals, will attempt to hide from Him, but wish for death. They realize that their suffering is from the hand of God, but there is no sign of repentance on their part. And death appears to be their only option and means of escaping the increasing intensity of God’s anger against them. But chapter seven opens with the answer to their question. There will be those who can and will stand. God’s wrath and judgment will be balanced by His grace and mercy. Chapter seven acts as a brief interlude between the sixth and seventh seal, providing us with a wonderful insight into God’s plan for the people of Israel and for the nations of the earth during the tribulation.

John opens up chapter seven with the Greek words, meta touto, which is typically translated as “after this.” John used this same phrase in chapter four, verse 1, to indicate a change in vision. He is seeing something new. This is not a part of the sixth seal, but a different scene altogether which reveals an aspect of the tribulation to which John was unaware. In the midst of all the death and destruction, God was going to do something significant. In spite of the wickedness of mankind and the ongoing rebellion of His own people, Israel, God was going to extend His undeserved grace and mercy.

It begins with John seeing “four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth” (Revelation 7:1 ESV). The wind is a reference to God’s judgment. There angels had been “given power to harm earth and sea” (Revelation 7:2 ESV), but at the present time they were holding back the full brunt of God’s judgment. There is going to be a time during the tribulation when the earth and sea, and every living creature on the planet will suffer the full impact of God’s righteous wrath. But first, God will redeem a remnant from among the Jews and the nations of the earth. Out of the east, another angel appears, calling to the other four angels to hold off judgment “until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads” (Revelation 7:3 ESV). A seal is a sign of ownership and authenticity. During the tribulation there are going to be some whom God declares to be His own, sealing their future and securing their eternal state by marking them as His possession. The sealing speaks of their God-ordained selection and protection. This does not mean these people will experience no suffering during the days of the tribulation, but that they will not suffer for their unrighteousness. They will belong to God.

And John is not left to guess who these people will be. He is immediately told that they will be made up of 144,000 Jews from every tribe of the nations of Israel. They will be equally represented by each of the 12 tribes, with 12,000 coming from every tribe. It is significant that John is given a very detailed description of who these people are. It is not left up to his imagination. And it is clear that he is not being given a glimpse of the church or “spiritual Israel.” These will be Jews. The church will not be around when the tribulation takes place. Jesus will have already returned for the church, removing it from the planet and preserving it from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10; Romans 5:9).

For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ… – 1 Thessalonians 5:9 ESV

The apostle Paul makes it quite clear that God has plans for His people Israel. As the apostle to the Gentiles, he knew that God had made the gospel available to them because of the hardening of the hearts of the people of Israel. They had refused to accept Jesus as their Messiah and Savior. But their hardening will be partial and temporary.

25 …a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written,

“The Deliverer will come from Zion,
he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;
27 “and this will be my covenant with them
when I take away their sins.”

28 As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. 32 For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.

33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! – Romans 11:25-33 ESV

These people are clearly Jews and, more specifically, in Revelation 14 they are described as “the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins” (Revelation 14:3-4 ESV). And John will be given further insight into their role during the dark days of the tribulation.

It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless. – Revelation 14:4-5 ESV

These ethnic Jews will form a remnant whom God will use for His divine purposes during the tribulation. They will become witnesses to the rest of the world and, as we will see, their testimony will result in people from every tribe, nation and tongue coming to faith in Christ, even during the darkest days of God’s judgment.

One of the things we must understand is that Israel, the chosen people of God, have had their hearts hardened by God. While some Jews have accepted Jesus as their Messiah, the vast majority remain incapable of doing so. Paul points out their dilemma.

7 What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, 8 as it is written,

“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that would not see
and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day.” – Romans 11:7-8 ESV

But why would God do this? Why would He prevent His own chosen people from seeing and hearing so that they might respond to the truth of the gospel and the good news regarding their Messiah? It all goes back to the covenants God made with Israel. In the Abrahamic Covenant, God promised them a land, a seed, and a blessing. This covenant was non-conditional. In other words, God placed no requirements on them. It was a unilateral covenant, binding only Himself to keep the commitments He had made. They would be blessed by God regardless of their actions or attitudes. And God did eventually give them the land as He had promised. He also gave Abraham a seed or many descendants. But God also gave him “a seed” – which Paul explains to be Jesus Himself.

Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ. – Galatians 3:16 NASB

And God went on to promise Abraham that “in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 22:18 NASB) – another reference to Jesus. But there is another covenant that played an important role in God’s dealings with the people of Israel. At Mount Sinai, in the wilderness, God had given them the Mosaic Covenant. This was a bi-lateral covenant, that was conditional in nature. God promised to bless the people of Israel, but they were required to live in obedience to His law. If they refused to obey, they would suffer curses, brought on them as judgment from the hand of God. But God had clearly told His people:

1 “And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, 2 and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, 3 then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you.” – Deuteronomy 30:1-3 ESV

God knew they would disobey. And their disobedience would bring His judgment upon them. Which is why He could not allow them to accept Jesus as their Messiah. He was obligated by His own righteous nature to follow through with His promise to punish them for their sin and rebellion. And the coming days of tribulation will be the final stages of God’s punishment upon the people of Israel. And notice, what God says in the passage above. He tells them that if they and all their children return to Him and obey Him with all their heart and soul, He will restore them. The prophet Ezekiel gives us a glimpse of what God is going to do on behalf of His people Israel. He will do for them what they could never have done on their own. He will extend grace to those who do not deserve it.

22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. 23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. 24 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. 28 You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.” – Ezekiel 36:22-28 ESV

God is not done with Israel. He must punish them for their breaking of the Mosaic Covenant. But He will keep the promises He to them as part of the Abrahamic Covenant. He will restore a remnant. He will give them the capacity to seek and serve Him. They will “follow the Lamb wherever he goes” (Revelation 14:4 ESV). And they will prove to be His witnesses to the nations, even to those suffering the wrath of His divine and well-deserved judgment during the dark days of tribulation.