12-16-13. Revelation 14:1-20 THE REDEEMED OF THE LORD-my devotional

Key Verses: 6-7                                                                                              Kevin E. Jesmer

“Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. 7 And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.” (ESV)

    Dear Lord, I want to thank you for the mission that you bring into our lives through the Gospel.  There are days that I feel like I am just surviving, with no real forward momentum in my life. Though I have everything a person may need, there are times I feel like I am in a rut, where joy evades me. But then I realize the secret to getting out of that rut. It is turning to Christ, who is Immanuel, “God with us.” I can come to you in prayer, in the meditation on your word and sharing your truths with others and I can come out of my doldrums and new joy creeps into my heart. Thank you Lord, for revealing the source of peace and joy to me, which is responding to Immanuel, “God with us.” May the people of our land know that the secret to joy is no to be found in anything in this world, but in Christ alone. Teach our people what this means by your Spirit. Please help me to understand your word today. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Part 1: The 144,000 (1-5).

Verses 1-5 reads, “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 first fruits for God and the Lamb, 5 and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.”  (ESV)

The 144,000 (12 x 12 x 1,000) stands for completeness and represents the whole redeemed people of God. I really like this interpretation of the 144,000. The Jehovah Witnesses think that the 144,000 are those Jehovah Witnesses who drink of the cup and decide to give their entire lives, full time, to ministry. They will reign with Christ in heaven while the other believers will live on the earth below. But over the years, there have been more than 144,000 who have drunk from the cup. So much for their teachings. It makes more sense that the 144,000 represents the whole church…the entire redeemed people of God. Who can be the redeemed people of God? Is it those who deny themselves to serve Jesus 20 hours a day and sleep only 4 hours a day, all of their lives? No. It is those who have repented of their sins and accepted Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for their complete forgiveness of sins. The 144,000 are those who are in Christ, by faith. It is a state of being rather than a state of being. In that case any believer is among the 144,000, even though the number of believers are numbered in the billions. It is by grace that we can be part of this great multitude. Thank you Jesus for the wonderful grace including forgiven sinners in the 144,000. I believe I am one through faith in you. May many more billions become part of the 144,000 through faith.

The 144,000 also do not have the mark of the beast on their foreheads; they have there the names of Jesus and the Father. They are redeemed by the blood of Jesus, so they are pure. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. This brings to mind the fact that these people are set apart by God. They have a clear identity. They do not give their hearts to the “System”. They follow Jesus as they live pure and holy lives. They are in the world but not of it. They are just different than the people of the world. It does not mean that they stand there and have no relationship with the people of the world and judge and criticize the world. No. They are loving and serving and engaging their world and making a difference in the world. They are sincere friends with nonbelievers, revealing the love of Jesus with them. But they are different and live separate lives as they follow Jesus. They are called Christians. And by the grace of God I can be counted among them.

Part 2: The Three Angels (6-20).

Verses 6-20 read, “6 Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. 7 And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.” 8 Another angel, a second, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.” 9 And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.” 12 Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. 13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!” 14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” 16 So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped. 17 Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 And another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.” 19 So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse’s bridle, for 1,600 stadia.”

The first angel has the eternal gospel to proclaim to all people – giving people the chance to be saved. Look at verses 6-7, “Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. 7 And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”The angel calls all people to fear God and worship the Creator, for the hour of judgment has come. This is a basic, universal message to all people of all nations. This includes people who are part of recognized nations and also people who are nations within a nation. All nations need to fear God and give him glory if they are to stand and perpetuate as a nation. They need to worship God. Then they will be blessed. Blessed is the nation who God is the Lord God Almighty. A nation needs to be humble enough to acknowledge that maybe they have not feared God and given God the glory. Maybe they failed to worship the Lord, nor came to him for salvation in light of the pending judgment. May our nation be humble enough to come to the Lord.

The second angel announces the fall of the worldly kingdom which had made all nations sick with sin. Verse 8 reads, “Another angel, a second, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.”  We need to think about our influence on other nations. Are we influencing other nations towards Christ and God’s righteousness or away from Jesus? There is judgment for nations who lead the world astray.

The third angel announces the eternal torment prepared for those who worship the beast. Look at verses 9-11 again, “And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”  It will be very tempting to worship something other than God. There may be something appealing to the masses. Maybe there is something that is bringing a momentary pseudo-salvation to the people, that their hearts are drawn to the Beast and want to serve the Beast. It does not take much to capture peoples’ hearts. In the 1960’s the communist promised a cow and some land to the people to serve the communist agenda…a cow and a plot of land! To the poor people communism was their savior and they rallied around it. May God save us from false saviors and give our hearts to the one true God, Jesus Christ.

The third angel also announces the eternal reward prepared for those who obey God and are faithful to Jesus. Look at verse 13, “13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”  They will find rest for their souls. God does not promise them relief from the suffering that they were enduring. But they would definitely have rest for their souls. What does God promise us? There are many promises, but essentially he promises the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. If we are blessed in this world, that is gravy. But there are Christians who are suffering and dying in this world. Some have unbelievable hardships. But they have rest for their souls in the kingdom of God. That is the greatest, sure reward.

Then the reapers will harvest the earth (14-20). But this not the gathering of souls for eternal life. This is the reaping of judgment. It is the time when all the injustices and sins of mankind will be paid for, not by the blood of the Lamb, but by their own punishment and condemnation. Let’s face it, we need to be in Christ. There is no getting around the fact. We need a savior, Jesus who paid the price for our sins.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for helping me to one of the redeemed . Help me to follow the Lamb wherever he goes and worship you alone. May the nations fear you and know that you will judge or save.

One Word: Be one of the redeemed by the grace of Jesus.