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Revelation
Chapter 14:
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Overview: -
Following the description of the 144,000 on Mount Zion with the Lamb,
the events in this Chapter are concurrent with the last three
Trumpets, and can be mentally placed in the text where the Three Woes
are announced.
The narration is
still the continuance of the Seventh Trumpet story of the Church
of Laodicea begun towards the end of Chapter
Eleven. The Church of Laodicea began with the Apostles, and so
its history is parallel to all of the other six Churches.
Here in Chapter
Fourteen we are given further information about the 144,000. The messages
of the Three Angels are given (the three last Churches, Sardis,
Philadelphia, and Laodicea).
And we are shown the results of each Angel's, or Church's, message. |
The Sealed 144,000 Shown With The Lamb:
"And
I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an
hundred forty and four thousand, having his 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
and four thousand, which were 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 to
the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are
without fault before the throne of God." (Revelation
14:1-5 KJV)
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Having his
Father's name written upon their foreheads: The redeemed that make up
the symbolic number of the 144,000 are the 'members' of Jesus' Church
of Philadelphia, His scattered sheep around the world (the
Sixth Trumpet). Having His Father's name upon their foreheads
means that the 144,000 seen here with the Lamb have now been sealed.
The sealing is shown as beginning in Chapter
Seven.
In His message to
the Church of Philadelphia Jesus promises to write God's name upon
those who overcome:
"Him
that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he
shall go no more out: and I will write
upon him the name of my God, and the
name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down
out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name." (Revelation
3:12 KJV)
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Not
defiled with women; for
they are virgins: The 144,000 from the Church of
Philadelphia have put on Jesus
Christ's
Robe of Righteousness, and no longer follow doctrines written by
men, they now follow only the Lamb. This type of 'virginity' is
illustrated by Paul in Corinthians:
"For
I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you
to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ."
(2 Corinthians 11:2 KJV)
The fact that
these virgins are no defiled with women refers to the Seven Churches,
for the 144,000 are followers of Jesus, not doctrine. The following
prophecy of Isaiah also uses the metaphor of 'women' to represent the
Seven Churches:
"And
in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying,
We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us
be called by thy name, to take away our reproach. In that day
shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit
of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are
escaped of Israel." (Isaiah
4:1-2 KJV)
People from around
the world of various races and tongues represented by the Seven
Churches will take the hand of Jesus.
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These
were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to
the Lamb: The 144,000 are sealed. Once sealed their
conversion is irreversible. In Jesus' message to the Church
of Philadelphia, Jesus says, "Him
that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he
shall go no more out". These are the first people who
that will be changed from within by fire,
these are God's watchmen outside of organized religion who
can see the state of the world clearly.
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Without
fault before the throne of God: The 144,000 accept Jesus
as their mediator, and do not rely on their own self-righteousness or
ego. They recognize that Jesus is their Righteousness, for only He is
without fault before God:
"Jesus
answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth
sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house
for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall
make you free, ye shall be free indeed." (John
8:34-36 KJV)
 The
First Angel's Message:
"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, 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 waters." (Revelation
14:6-7 KJV)
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Historically, this
angel is represented by evangelical work of the Church
of Sardis since the year 1844. That Church's mission was to
spread the Gospel world-wide before Jesus' return, and once again
bring the Ten Commandment Law of God into remembrance before
the world.
The
Second Angel's Message:
"And
there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is
fallen, that great city, because she made all nations
drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication."
(Revelation 14:8 KJV)
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The
First Job of Philadelphia: This Angel is represented by
the efforts of the Church of Philadelphia,
whose work in His Temple consists of studying the Bible through
the Holy Spirit to understand the Truths of God therein.
Here in Revelation
Jesus has recorded the truth about the religious history of the last
nearly 2,000 years. He has also given us the cause of the problem -
turning from God and not following His Commandments.
We must get the
Christians of Laodicea to understand these Truths,
and let them know that Babylon, the apostate Church of the world,
has indeed fallen.
We must point out
the apostasies of modern Christianity within Laodicea, and provide
their members with eyesalve. Organized Christianity has
largely abandoned the true teachings of Jesus in favor of convenient
and comfortable living - and as a result of moral and legal
persecution by the justice system.
His Two Witnesses,
containing the Ten Commandment Law of God, will be the sword used to
remind all of Laodicea of why the society they have developed has
brought the world so near to destruction: They have backslidden
and ignored God's Law and the teachings of Jesus Christ.
The
Second Job of Philadelphia: The Church of Philadelphia is
made up of the 144,000 - we are Jesus' elect. We are only elect
temporarily because we are aware of a world situation in which
suffering will continue from now on. There is no human way out except
genocide and oppression. We also know that the earth itself is in
trouble because of bad environmental policies.
We know this, but
most people in the Churches have lost faith. They are relying on
governments to solve the world's problems.
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Jesus' ELECT
must ask the Father to send Jesus to us.
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WE must invite
Him back:
"For
I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till
ye shall say, Blessed is he that
cometh in the name of the Lord." (Matthew
23:39 KJV)
"...Before
the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms
in their hands;"
(Revelation 7:9 KJV)
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WE must want
Him back and actively PRAY for His return:
"And
except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be
saved: but for the elect's sake
those days shall be shortened."
(Matthew 24:22 KJV)
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Hear His parable
of the Unjust Judge!
We must pray to God for His return:
"And
he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to
pray, and not to faint; Saying, There was in a city a judge, which
feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that
city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.
"And
he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself,
Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow
troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she
weary me.
"And
the Lord said, 'Hear what the unjust judge saith'. And shall not God avenge
his own elect,
which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I
tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless
when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?"
(Luke 18:1-8 KJV)
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We must act in
faith, knowing our Shepherd will return. Listen to His warning, and
the Apostle Paul's admonishment to step out in faith:
"But
as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son
of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were
eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until
the day that Noah entered into the ark,
And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall
also the coming of the Son of man be."
(Matthew 24:37-39 KJV)
"By
faith Noah, being warned of
God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to
the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world,
and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith." (Hebrews
11:7 KJV)
He must find our
faith when He comes!
He death on the
cross erased our sins and after being chosen and going
through His refining process and being born again, we
know this to be true.
It has fallen
to us to revive the Christians of Laodicea, and get them to join
us because they still think they must be perfect of themselves to be
accepted by Jesus.
While these people
were responsible for persecuting and scattering us, they did it out
of love for Jesus and they thought they were doing the right thing.
These sheep of Jesus have stuck it out in churches while most of us
doubted and rebelled. They think we had more fun than they did
(little do they know), so we must pay our dues by forgiving them
and persevering to bring them back to Jesus.
The
Third Angel's Message:
"And
the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any
man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his
forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the
wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his
indignation; and he shall 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 ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have
no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and
whosoever receiveth the mark of his name." (Revelation
14:9-11 KJV)
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If
any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his
forehead, or in his hand:
The Third Angel represents the command given to the Church
of Laodicea. Though worded as a warning, this command to
denounce to the Beast rather than worship him, and to abandon use of
his mark and the number of his name, is meant to affirm the
commitment Christians must make to following the teachings of Jesus.
Jesus gives
this command. We are to follow His instructions in Luke Chapter Twelve:
"Fear
not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you
the kingdom. Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide
yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that
faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. For
where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Let
your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And
ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he
will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh,
they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants,
whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto
you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat,
and will come forth and serve them." (Luke 12:32-37 KJV)
It is important
to see the connections between this command to His flock in the book
of Luke, and His message in Revelation to the Church of Laodicea:
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His message "Sell
that ye have... For where your treasure is, there will your
heart be also" is linked to His advice for Laodicea: "I
counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou
mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed..."
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His message "That
when He cometh and knocketh, they may open unto Him immediately"
is linked to His advice for Laodicea
also: "Behold, I stand at the door,
and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will
come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."
When the message
of the Third Angel is given after the sounding of the Seventh
Trumpet, Jesus is giving Christians instructions for liberating ourselves
from the Beast and the apostasy of the Harlot of Babylon, and
witnessing His teachings before the world prior to His return.
He has forgiven
our apostasies, but we must sanctify the Name of the Father before
the world, a Name that we have defiled with up to now. This
pro-active role that Christians must take is made clear throughout
the Bible:
"And
I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which
ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall
know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified
in you before their eyes." (Ezekiel
36:23 KJV)
Both Martin
Luther King and Mahatma
Gandhi understood the strategy behind the metaphor of the Beast
and His mark, and both used the non-violent economic means of protest
described in Revelation successfully. Both were also assassinated.
See Revelation
Chapter Seventeen for how the Third Angel's message affects the
Harlot of Babylon when it that message issued.
By Christians
finally sanctifying His name and witnessing Jesus teachings, the rest
of world will follow Him also.
The
People of the First Angel's Message:
"Here
is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the
commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. And I heard a voice from
heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the
Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from
their labours; and their works do follow them." (Revelation
14:12-13 KJV)
The
Church of Sardis: To those who have worked so hard in His faith
spreading the Gospel over the last nearly two centuries... Their
works follow them as the seeds they planted establish themselves in
the people of the Church of Philadelphia, during the last days. These
people are among the 144,000 through the work they did during their
life time. Also, if the current members of churches that are part of Sardis
will use Jesus' eyesalve, they may join the 144,000 elect also.
The result of
Sardis work is the fruit of the Church of Philadelphia, below.
The
People of the Second Angel's Message:
"And
I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like
unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his
hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying
with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle,
and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of
the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle
on the earth; and the earth was reaped."
(Revelation 14:14-16 KJV)
The
Church of Philadelphia: Jesus is shown in metaphor reaping the
144,000 described in verses 1-5. In verse four of this Chapter shown
above, these are described as being the "redeemed
from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb".
Since they are also described as those who "follow
the Lamb whithersoever he goeth" it is Jesus who is
shown as reaping them for God and their work in His Temple.
These people know
that Jesus' has been their King since His Ascension to Heaven, so He
is shown wearing a crown.
The Angel that
initiates this reaping significantly comes out of God's Temple,
which is where the 144,000 will be working for Jesus as described
previously in Revelation Seven, verse 15:
"Therefore
are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in
his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them." (Revelation
7:15 KJV)
The result of
Philadelphia's work is the actual return of Jesus to call His people
out of Laodicea (the Harlot of Babylon) |
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The
People of the Third Angel's Message:
"And
another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also
having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar,
which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had
the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the
clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And
the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine
of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of
God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came
out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a
thousand and six hundred furlongs."
(Revelation 14:17-20 KJV)
The
Church of Laodicea: These verses describe the "reaping"
of the lukewarm Laodiceans. This church has become Spiritual
Babylon, and in His message to this church He spews them from His mouth:
"I
know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou
wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold
nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou
sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of
nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and
poor, and blind, and naked:" (Revelation
3:15-17 KJV)
The angel
initiating this reaping comes out of the altar, which represents the
earth. This is also the angel that has power over fire.
This fire will purify the people of Laodicea according to Jesus'
description in His message to this church:
"I
counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou
mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and
that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine
eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see." (Revelation
3:18 KJV)
These are also the
people who make up the Harlot Babylon, so their consummation by fire
is the same as the consummation of that Harlot. The people of these
churches believe in the doctrines of men and women who founded the
churches they attend, rather than relying on Jesus' teachings.
These founders
were moved by the Holy Spirit, and have built on the foundation of
Jesus Christ, using the best 'building materials' available at
the time.
This building
process is described by the Apostle Paul in First Corinthians Chapter Three:
"According
to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I
have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon.
But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other
foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver,
precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made
manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be
revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of
what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built
thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned,
he shall suffer loss: but he
himself shall be saved; yet so as
by fire." (1
Corinthians 3:10-15 KJV)
All people on
the earth will have to be purified into gold by submitting to God
the Father. It will be a painful process for many, because they will
need to recognize their sins which they believed to be righteousness,
as well as those sins they know they are committing. They will need
to repent and ask forgiveness. They will need to be born again of His Spirit.
"Look
unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for
I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself,
the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not
return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue
shall swear. Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I
righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that
are incensed against him shall be ashamed. In the LORD shall all
the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory."
(Isaiah 45:22-25 KJV)
I know what it's
like, I've been through it. While it is a little painful, it is also
the most wonderful experience anyone will ever have, as they realize
the LOVE that their God has for them, as well as for all of His creations.
Oh... the blood
coming out of the winepress after these people are reaped? Unto the
horses bridles that is the blood of Jesus Christ, who died for the
sins of the entire world.
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