Die In the Lord
– Revelation
Fourteen –
Revelation Fourteen allows us to take another
look at the Lamb of God and at the righteous judgment of God. These are two
great forces for righteousness. Revelation Thirteen pictured two forces for
evil, the sea beast (the civil persecuting power of
In Revelation
Fourteen the Lamb appears with the 144,000. This number represents the redeemed
of all ages. The angels warn against accepting the mark of the beast through
giving in to
The
Lamb on
The 144,000
represent all the saved. (Revelation 7:1-8) These have left the earthly life
and are with God in Heaven. Satan had put a mark on the forehead of those that
belonged to him. The 144,000 have the "Father's name written in their
foreheads." John hears a voice from heaven with the rhythm of many waters,
the volume of great thunders and the melody of harpers harping with their
harps. The redeemed also sung a new song. (Revelation 5:9-10)
These people are
spiritually pure and faithful to God. (Revelation 14:4-5) They lovingly follow
the Lamb in complete obedience. "These were redeemed from among men, being
the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb." The first fruits belong to God!
The first fruits and the 144,000 are the same people. These are the ones
separated to God for His service. All others will be separated for judgment and
wrath. "In their mouth was found no guile." They are not guilty of
teaching untruths.
The angel and their
messages – Revelation 14:6-11:
Three of God's headline statements are found in
this section. We have already learned that God's people are victorious. Now we
hear it in BOLD headline type statements.
Statement one says
“the faithful win.” It makes sense to worship God and not the beast. Statement
two says, “
The blessedness of those that die in the Lord
– Revelation 14:12-16:
The fourth headline statement has to do with those that
have kept the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. This statement says,
“Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord.” “Blessed
are those who meet death in spiritual union with Jesus Christ.” The faithful
are blessed, they rest and their works follow them.
To be “in Christ,”
is to be in spiritual union with Him. The Bible teaches that we are baptized
into Christ. (Romans 6:3-5, Galatians 3:26-27) No one can die in the Lord who
has not been baptized “into Christ.” To be in Christ is to be in His spiritual
body, the church. Therefore it is false to believe that one could go to heaven
without being a faithful member of the church. We must remember that the same obedience
that puts us in Christ put us in His spiritual body. No one can die in the Lord
without first being in the Lord.
This text provides a
wonderful picture of God's judgment on the righteousness. It is like gathering
ripe grain into the barn. “Going home” for the Christian is a very peaceful
time. There is “a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of
man.” It is like gathering the ripe grain into the barn. It is a time of joy
and victory.
The great winepress
of God's wrath – Revelation 14:17-20: The second picture of God's judgment is
very sad. It is a picture of the judgment of the wicked. This is the same
judgment as the first but we are merely looking at a different group of people.
Look at some of the symbols: (1) Fire, (2) Winepress of the wrath of God, (3)
Trodden without the city, and (4) Blood came out of the winepress.
This judgment
pictured destruction because of iniquity or evil. God used the picture of
grapes being crushed to show His punishment of the wicked. It is outside of
Sion or a judgment on the non-Christians. The extreme amount of blood that was
pictured was not literal but was used to picture the horrible judgment awaiting
the wicked.
Judgment is coming.
“And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth
was reaped.” Are you ready for the righteous, revealing judgment of the
Almighty? At judgment your works will follow you. Christianity must be much
more than talk. It must be marked by our good works done in the name of the
Lord and for His glory.
The wonderful
blessing awaiting the faithful and the horrible punishment awaiting the wicked
should move us to obey the gospel and serve God faithfully. To obey the gospel
one must hear God's truth (Romans