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 Sermon > Lecture Messages |
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Title |
Revelation Lectures(65) |
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Speaker |
Rev. Jaerock Lee |
Bible |
Revelation 14:1-5 |
Date |
2008-06-06 |
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Revelation 14:1-5
[1] 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.
[2] 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.
[3] 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.
[4] 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.
[5] And no lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
Tonight's scripture is talking about the 144,000 bond-servants of God that were previously mentioned in Chapter 7.
Let's briefly review Chapter 7 of Revelation.
These 144,000 bond-servants of God who work during the 7 Year Great Tribulation are actually those who were not caught into the air but fell (to remain) in the earth.
However, they are far from those who didn't accept the Lord out of their hardened hearts.
They are also not like those chaff-like believers who befriended the world even after accepting the Lord.
The bond-servants are those who didn't know the Lord well, and therefore they didn't have a chance to have faith.
Some of them have never heard of Jesus at all.
They are people who would surely have believed in Jesus if they had only known Jesus properly.
Indeed, they would have become very passionate Christians.
Since they didn't have such a chance, they fell in the 7 Year Great Tribulation.
However, they completely changed at the time of the Rapture.
Witnessing the Rapture, and struggling in the 7 Year Great Tribulation, out of their good conscience, they will come to realize that the word of God is the truth.
They come to know what they heard about Jesus Christ is the truth.
Even though they didn't know Jesus Christ before, seeing the reality occur before them, they finally accept the Lord.
By the way, these 144,000 bond-servants don't stop at accepting the Lord for just themselves.
They risk their lives to preach the gospel to those who were not caught in the air but were left on the earth.
It means that they have truly great goodness of heart.
They are not satisfied with just their own salvation.
They know their lives will be at stake if they preach the gospel, but they are eager to lead just one more soul to salvation.
God chooses the people with such hearts and minds from all the people of the world, and assigns them as servants to preach the gospel.
And the number of them is 144,000.
As these 144,000 bond-servants preach the gospel, countless people receive salvation.
During the time given to them, most of the 144,000 bond-servants of God lose their lives while preaching the gospel.
Some are killed by evil people, and some others die in the various disasters of the 7 Year Great Tribulation.
However, they keep their faith and manage their duties while risking their own lives until the end.
They are faithful until death for the gospel.
For this, God acknowledges their deaths as martyrdom, and gives them the glory of the 3rd heavenly kingdom.
It is 'these 144,000 bond servants of God' that are mentioned again in tonight's scripture.
Revelation 14:1 says, "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."
The 144,000 servants are no longer on the earth subject to the 7 Year Great Tribulation.
The scripture says that they are standing on Mount Zion with the Lamb.
In other words, they have already been martyred and they stand with the Lord on the Holy Place.
The fact that the Lamb was standing with 144,000 implies how great the glory is that the 144,000 receive for their martyrdom in the name of the Lord.
It means that the Lord Himself welcomes them, and that He is with them.
Verse 1 continues to say 'the 144,000 have His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads.'
Most of the survivors during the 7 Year Great Tribulation receive the mark of the beast on their hand or forehead.
They are the ones who can't receive salvation in the end.
But, the 144,000 bond-servants of God are sealed by the Lamb, the Lord Almighty; and by God.
They are sealed with the authority and grace in the name of the Lord and God so that they can be faithful to their duty on the earth.
However, there is another meaning in the fact that they have the name of the Lord and God written on their foreheads.
In the era of the Holy Spirit, when we believe in the Lord, we are sealed on our hearts by the Holy Spirit.
But, the Holy Spirit is taken away in the 7 Year Great Tribulation. People now have to acquire salvation through their own will and perseverance through God's special concern.
Since they receive salvation through the evidence of their acts, they are not sealed on their hearts, but on their foreheads.
Moreover, they can reach salvation only by the special grace of God. That's why the name of God is written along with the name of the Lord together on them.
Now, Revelation 14:2 says, "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."
Revelation 1:15 says, "His (the Lord's) voice was like the sound of many waters."
Depending on the heart of a listener, the voice from heaven is heard differently.
If a man who doesn't live by the word listens to the voice from heaven, he will feel such great fear that he will tremble.
On the other hand, if a person is sanctified in his heart and loves God to the utmost degree, he will not be surprised at the voice from heaven. He will not be afraid of it, either.
To him, the sound of the voice will be a resounding, yet warm, gentle, clean, and beautiful sound.
Then, how does the voice from heaven sound to you?
It doesn't need only to be the voice from heaven. Depending on your heart, the word proclaimed from this altar may sound differently to different people.
If you hear the word of God from this altar to be burdensome and difficult, then you must look back upon yourself.
After disobeying the word of God, what did Adam and Eve say when they heard the voice of God?
Genesis 3:10 says, "He (Adam) said, "I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.""
I hope that in a similar situation when God the Father calls to you saying, "My son, or My daughter," you will say, "Amen, I am here!" with joy and courage.
By the way, the voice from heaven in tonight's scripture is the sound of a song the 144,000 bond-servants sing.
Their song is like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder.
We can find from this description how much their hearts resemble the heart of the Lord.
Their hearts are clean in the truth to the extent that they can die in martyrdom for the Lord.
Since they have such clean and beautiful hearts, their song also sounds clean, resounding, and elegant.
Also, their voice is like the sound of loud thunder. It symbolizes their authority.
Since they keep their hearts in goodness and truth, and accomplish the providence of God until they die in martyrdom, their authority in heaven is great.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
I explained that the 144,000 bond-servants who die martyrdom during the 7 Year Great Tribulation enter the 3rd kingdom of heaven.
They meet the same qualification of reaching the 4th level of faith as of those who are well cultivated and accomplish sanctification.
However, there is a difference in the hearts between those who are qualified to enter the 3rd kingdom by cultivating their heart into spirit before the Rapture and those 144,000 who are qualified by dying in martyrdom during the 7 Year Great Tribulation.
Let me give you an example.
There are two students; Tom and Jack.
Tom received his education in New York; from elementary to high school.
Jack, on the other hand, lived in an isolated island where there was no school.
Jack had to study and learn the things that are taught from elementary to high school all by himself.
Furthermore, Jack did not attend a 'regular' home school yet he still completed everything in a very short period of time.
Now, both of them are fully qualified to graduate from high school, but they are very different from one another.
Jack didn't have any of the additional experiences he could also have learned from, apart from just the knowledge of an ordinary school education.
He didn't have classmates. He didn't have any chances to experience a group social-life that are learned in school.
Therefore, when comparing Tom and Jack, they are different in several ways such as in life experiences, emotions, and matters of the heart.
Even though it's not exactly the same with this example, the case of the 144,000 servants is somewhat similar.
They are different from those who enter the 3rd kingdom of heaven being those who accomplished sanctification through human cultivation.
Even though they may have the same qualification to enter the 3rd kingdom, the fragrance from them may be different.
I'll give you another example.
When you pray today, you can keep your composure while looking back at your heart, and you can carefully pray to God step by step.
You can give prayers to God as if a little child talked to his father, or you can give a confession of your love to God as a woman may confesses her love for the person she loves.
Through these everyday prayers, you can build love and trust in your relationship with God, the Lord, and the Holy Spirit.
When you go to heaven in the future, you can talk with the Lord about these happy memories.
However, the bond-servants of God during the 7 Year Great Tribulation may have slightly different prayers from yours.
After the Holy Spirit is already taken away, they manage their lives in a tense situation where they have no idea when they will be arrested or when they may die in martyrdom.
Since the time that is given to them is limited, they are passionate and fervent to preach the gospel in the time allotted to them.
In such a situation, it's not easy for them to make happy memories or confess their love for the Lord peacefully.
Of course, God seals the 144,000 bond-servants with special grace and power.
And thus, they can be faithful to their duty till the last moment in martyrdom without losing fullness and fervor.
Even if it is so, in such a tense life-threatening situation, it's not easy to live a peaceful believing life as it is today.
"My Lord, I'm so happy to feel Your love and to praise you. Soon we will dance in the banquet in heaven, and what wonderful conversations we will have!"
They are not in a situation to have presence of mind to give prayers like this.
Whenever they hear the news of disasters and persecution, they have to press on even more resolutely.
They live in the reality of a situation where they can do nothing else but offer up desperate prayers to keep their faith no matter what happens and to save just one more soul.
I made an example of the prayers. The believing life before the Rapture and after the Rapture is so different.
Therefore, even if they are equally qualified for the 3rd kingdom of heaven, since they are qualified in a different situation and environment, the fragrance from them is also different.
I'm not weighing whether one is better than the other.
Even though the 144,000 bond-servants accept the Lord during the 7 Year Great tribulation, they are qualified to enter the 3rd kingdom by managing a believing life no worse than anybody before them.
They didn't have an opportunity to accept the Lord before, but once they accept the Lord, they fix their eyes only on the Lord; they keep their faith and preach the gospel until death.
Even though time is a short until they die in martyrdom, since they have such a good and upright hearts, they can change themselves in the truth in that very short period of time.
Moreover, how hard they try to live in the goodness and the truth until they die martyrdom!
When you face a trial or persecution, you will also try hard to pray and keep your heart.
You will be extra careful about what you say and what you do.
You will try to please God, and you will be very careful not to be accused by the enemy devil and Satan.
It is the same with the 144,000 bond-servants.
From the moment they accept the Lord till they die in martyrdom, their lives are an endless chain of dangerous moments.
Even a situation like that, they try hard to live in the truth with all their mind, will, and strength.
Without goodness and truth in their hearts, it is impossible to be faithful to their duty confronting the darkness that rules the world.
Even though it's a very short period of time, they do their best during the given time, and they finally become qualified for the 3rd kingdom of heaven.
Even though some of them lack in some facets, the fact that they die in martyrdom proves their hearts.
If only more time were to be given, their hearts would be good enough to accomplish sanctification.
Therefore, God recognizes the death of the 144,000 bond-servants as martyrdom.
Since they are qualified for the 3rd kingdom of heaven, their praise contains the heart of the truth.
A praise that contains the heart of the truth sounds like many waters; they are clean, resounding, and beautiful.
It is like the beautiful sound of harps.
This praise can touch the heart of God, and it has power and authority to break the forces of the darkness.
I hope that your praises to God can sound beautiful, powerful, and majestic, and also contain the heart of truth.
Now, what is the song of the 144,000 like?
Even though they are not caught up in the air but fall into the Tribulation because they didn't know the Lord, they eventually receive salvation at the mercy of God.
They believe in the Lord during the days of affliction, and they are faithful until death in order to save just one more soul.
They sing praises to God, confessing the grace they received during the process, and they glorify the love of God in their praises.
They also offer praise to God, confessing how the love of God was revealed to the souls who were left in the miserable disasters of the 7 Year Great Tribulation.
When they sing with a clean heart a song that contains their emotions and their gratitude after they accomplish the providence of God until death, how beautiful will the fragrance of their song be?
It becomes strong incense before God. The Apostle John is touched listening to the song.
Revelation 14:3 says, "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."
The song that the 144,000 bond-servants sing is distinguished from other saints.
Of course, the fragrance of praise from the heart of those who are saved before the 7 Year Great Tribulation is also different from each other.
The fragrance of the praise of Mary Magdalene is different from that of Virgin Mary. The fragrances of Apostle Paul and Abraham are also different.
How can the fragrance of the song of Enoch who walked with God in peace be the same as that of Moses who lived a difficult life in the wilderness leading countless souls.
Each person has a different heart and mind, and their duty and experiences are also different. That's why the fragrance of the praise from their song is also different.
The song of the 144,000 bond-servants is especially distinguished from others.
As I explained, they go through very special processes among those who enter the 3rd kingdom of heaven.
Since they receive salvation after the door of salvation is shut, the heart of gratitude and emotion is contained in the strong, and rich fragrance comes from their praise.
Who can guess the heart of those who preach the gospel at the threat of their life in the miserable situation during the 7 Year Great Tribulation?
Only those who experience the situation can!
That's why the scripture says that no one could learn the song except the 144,000 bond-servants.
Revelation 14:4 says, "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."
Here, 'women' in this verse spiritually refers to the world.
When it says, "not being defiled with women, and keeping themselves chaste," it means that they don't learn from the dark world.
They are not afraid of the threat before their eyes, and they don't lose heart to the lust or the physical easiness.
They just run with all their strength and all their life to be faithful to their duty.
Just as the scripture says that they follow the Lamb wherever He goes, they become martyrs only following the will of the Lord.
The scripture also says, "These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb."
Here, "among men" doesn't mean "among all the men after Adam."
It means that they are their first fruits among those who are in the 7 Year Great Tribulation.
Even though they were not caught up in the air because they didn't know the gospel, after they witness the 7 Year Great Tribulation unfold, they quickly repent and accept the Lord.
And they preach the gospel to others.
They don't die in martyrdom reluctantly, but they become martyrs in God's providence following the will of God.
They have hearts that are capable of joyfully accomplishing their duties.
Since God knows their hearts, God chooses them as His bond-servants so that they can lead many souls into salvation who had fallen into the Tribulation.
They are the ones who accept the Lord before any others who are left on the earth, and they accomplish their duty in the providence of God.
That's why they are called "the first fruits to God and to the Lamb."
By the way, even after the 144,000 bond-servants die in martyrdom, there are still believers left in the earth.
They have to stand against the antichrist, die as martyrs, and reach salvation through their own will.
However, those who are led to accept the Lord by the bond-servants and those chaff-like believers who later repent can go to no other place but to Paradise, even if they die in martyrdom.
And among those who go to Paradise by becoming martyrs, some become martyrs relatively early, but others suffer from persecution and finally die in martyrdom at the end.
Those who have to endure not receiving the mark of the beast have to withstand unbearable sufferings and then die in martyrdom.
It is a blessing to die in martyrdom early rather than to keep their lives longer.
Now, why do some of them become martyrs so easily and so early, but others survive and suffer from terrible persecution?
It is the result of the precise law of justice according to the justice of God.
According to the level of goodness and evil, and the level of doubt, the time of entering into martyrdom is also different.
If someone receives grace to become a martyr quite early, it means that he has piled up goodness and truth before God to some extent.
On the contrary, the more they pile up evil, the more they have to pay.
Revelation 14:5 says regarding the 144,000 bond-servants, "And no lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless."
This is the verse that confirms again how much truth they live.
James 3:2 says, "For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well."
Just as written, if no lie is found in their mouth, it means their heart is true.
And, if they are blameless, it means they are sanctified.
If they become blameless in just a few years after accepting the Lord and die in martyrdom, how proper are their hearts?
We can see that they themselves pursue goodness and truth, and that they live by their own conscience.
That's why God chooses 144,000 people. And use them to accomplish another providence of salvation during the 7 Year Great Tribulation.
The 144,000 bond-servants and the two witnesses are the love of God who opens the last and final door to salvation in the land of despair.
And those who become the instruments with truthful hearts and love for God to accomplish the last providence of God; they will enjoy such a glory in heaven.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
How long do you think it will take to become sanctified and come into spirit after accepting the Lord?
It takes no longer than 7 years for the 144,000 bond-servants of God to be sanctified and to become martyrs after accepting the Lord.
Actually, most of them finish their duty and die in martyrdom before the terrible persecutions of the antichrist starts.
It means that they are sanctified and come into spirit even in a shorter period of time.
Of course, it cannot be done only by their effort.
For example, all the materials regarding sanctification that this church leaves behind will be handed to the bond-servants.
And these materials will play a role of great guidance to lead them to sanctification.
After I accepted the Lord, I obeyed what I read , heard, and learned from the Word.
Then, it took exactly 3 years to cast off every form of evil and become sanctified.
It didn't take that long to cast off the deeds of the body.
All I had to do was just obey; do what I was told to do, don't do what I was told not to do, and keep and throw away what I was told to keep and throw away.
However, to cast off the unseen sinful attributes, which are the works of flesh in heart, it took me 3 years.
By that time, however, I didn't have anyone who could teach me about the Truth and lead me to Spirit.
There was no teacher who could teach me the spiritual meaning of the words expressing such things as "the spirit, soul, and body," "the measure of faith," and "the levels of goodness."
With the help of the Holy Spirit, I had to pray and fast all by myself to learn and understand, and to reach sanctification.
Now, what about you who manage believing lives in this church?
You have the wonderful Word of the Truth, and you are taught of the way of sanctification, its process, and the things you have to be careful.
I solved the deep spiritual secret. I have made the spiritual realm visible to your eyes and tangible to your touch.
There is Daniel Prayer Meeting where you can pray fervently, and there are many fellow members who run the race together.
What if this situation is compared with that of the 144,000 bond-servants?
You cannot make any excuse or give any reason.
The important thing now is your longing heart for spirit, and how well you guard your heart.
May you not hesitate, but accomplish sanctification quickly to become a vessel that is ready to accomplish the end time of the world. In the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, I pray!
Amen |
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