Morning Sermon

December 2, 2007

One Hundred Forty-Four Thousand

Text

Rev. 6:12 "I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. 13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. 14 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. 15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, 16 and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 "For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?"

That's where we are in our study of this great book. The day of God's judgment is announced, and the question is posed so pointedly and so personally, "Who is able to stand?"

So great would be the judgment of God that the people who would flee Jerusalem during the day of their destruction would cry out with the prophets to the stones and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!" Hide us from that judgment, for we cannot stand. Indeed, who is able to stand?

I. WHO CAN STAND BEFORE GOD? Let me tell you this morning, there is an answer to that question. There is a clear and definitive answer that I am able to declare to you, and in the symbolism of the book of Revelation, it isn't that hard to understand. Who can stand before God? Verse 4. The number of those who were sealed. The one hundred forty-four thousand. Those sealed are those claimed by God, those identified by God with his stamp of ownership upon them.

Look at the context. The winds of judgment are blowing, but the winds are restrained. Restrained by God himself, by the four angels of God, v.1

They are following the orders of God himself, v.2-3

The judgment will not come until God redeems all his people. In the language of symbolism, all 144,000. v.4

Quite literally, they are all of the remnant of his faithful people Israel. All Israel was comprised of twelve tribes. The full and complete nation. And all of God's people within those tribes are summarized by that number of fullness and completion, 1000. The number one-thousand means every last one. When the Bible says the Lord owns the cattle on a thousand hills, it means it owns every single cattle on every single hill. All of them. The cattle on a thousand hills.

But here it has a multiple of 12. There are 12,000 from each tribe. Fullness upon fullness. Completion upon completion. From all twelve tribes. Twelve times twelve. Times a thousand. The symbolism of the number just screams at you. The 144,000 are the fullness of the people of God. And in the context of the New Testament writing, that means they represent,

A. The whole church of Jesus Christ. Isn't it a tragedy to think there are people fearful of whether or not they are counted within this number, as if the entrance into heaven was a lottery, and if they didn't get in line soon enough, God would run out of tickets. Woe to the man who slept in a little bit and stood in line at 144,000 and 1! Just a little too late. Too bad. You're out of luck. Try again another time. But here, there is no other time.

There is nothing is this numbering system that would give any implication whatsoever to a limitation. Nothing here at all that would give John's readers any indication that the number of those who would escape the wrath and judgment of God was limited. Just the opposite. The emphasis falls upon the fullness of the numbers. And just to be sure you don't get stuck upon some literal reference of these numbers to the Old Testament nation of Israel, John immediately brings it into the context of the New Testament, by saying essentially the same thing but in universal language rather than in the language of the tribes of Israel, v.9a

Who are the 144,000? Actually, they are,

B. A great multitude of all nations. Now, the number is without a label, "a great multitude which no one could number." That has always been the focus of God in identifying his covenant people, right from time of Abraham, as God had declared to him,

Gen. 15:5 "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be."

Gen. 22:16 "By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son-- 17 "blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."

So when the Bible uses a number like 144,000, there is no sense of it being a limitation. 144,000 and no more, but rather that number expresses the absolute fullness and uncountable measure of God's covenant people. And that great multitude is international, universal, "of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues."

That's how we know this isn't merely a reference to a Jewish national fulfillment, 144,000 Jews of Israel. It is the whole body of those whom God has sealed, the whole body of those who will escape the terrible judgment of God, thus they are described as those who are "standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands."

And what is it that this great multitude is doing? What are the 144,000 actually saying? v.10

And so to ask the question, "Who can stand before God in the day of judgment" is to ask,

II. WHO CAN CLAIM SALVATION? Who can be saved? That's what this is all about. The multitude is singing about salvation. This unmeasurable multitude, these 144,000 who are sealed, are those who are saved! They understand the doctrine of salvation every bit as much as we do, in exactly the same way. These are the songs of Christians. "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"

So, who can claim salvation? Who is it that make up this multitude? First and foremost, they are

A. Those who are cleansed of their sin. Go back to verse 9, they are "clothed with white robes."

We saw that in, Rev. 4:4 "Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads."

Also, Rev. 6:11 "Then a white robe was given to each of them"

For further explanation of that white robe, skip down to, v.13-14

Who can stand before God? Those who are wearing the white robes, who have been cleansed, forgiven of their sin. And how does that happen? How can you be cleansed? How can you be made clean to stand before God as pure and innocent? Well, your own filthiness and the guilt of your own sin has to be cleansed. You have to be washed.

And how are you washed? Oh, I hope you are following this logic. How are you washed? By blood. By the blood of the lamb. And what does that mean? First, in the context of the Old Covenant, the palm branches in the hands have reverence to the glorious day of atonement. This is what we read,

Lev. 16:14 "He shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east side; and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times. 15 "Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people, bring its blood inside the veil, do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat. 16 "So he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, for all their sins; and so he shall do for the tabernacle of meeting which remains among them in the midst of their uncleanness."

Lev. 23:39 'Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep the feast of the LORD for seven days; on the first day there shall be a sabbath-rest, and on the eighth day a sabbath-rest. 40 'And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days."

What a glorious day that was. The atonement of sin through the blood of the scapegoat. But that was only symbolic. It was only a shadow to point toward the reality of what we have in Christ.

Heb 9:13 "For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, 14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 15 And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance."

That's what salvation is all about, cleansing. And so we read this,

1 Pet. 1:18 "...knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot."

And this, Titus 3:4 "But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

He saved us by washing us! That's what the blood of the covenant does, not only pouring out of the blood as the symbol of death as the curse of the covenant, but the sprinkling of the blood as the symbol of the forgiveness of sins. That's what salvation is all about, and so those who can stand before God are represented by this multitude of those who washed, arrayed in white robes. They are described with reference to the church in Sardis,

Rev. 3:4 "You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. 5 "He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels."

And so the gospel promise is this,

Isa 1:18 "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool."

We come to a repeated refrain, a refrain I will continue to emphasize and point out clear. It is the refrain of worship. What is it that this multitude is doing? What do those who have been cleaned do? They worship the God who cleansed them!

And so those who can stand before God, those who rightly claim to be the covenant people of God, those who rightly believe their sins are forgiven are,

B. Those who are true worshipers of God. As we've seen before in this book of Revelation, what we have is a song of worship. Don't miss that in, v.10

Look what happens next, v.11-12

And what are they doing, those who are dressed in their white robes? v.15 "Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. "

What is it that you before the throne of God? Well, that's obvious. You worship God! What do you do, day and night in the temple of God? You worship him. What do you do as you stand before God? You worship him. You acknowledge his glory and his honor. "Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever. Amen."

That's what worship is. That's what it is all about. Ascribing to God the glory that is due to his name.

Rev. 5:9 "You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, 10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth...12 Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!" 13 ..."Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!"

Who can stand before God? Worshipers, worshipers who are clothed in white robes, cleansed by the blood of the lamb.

But then there is something else here. It gets even better. I would describe the next verses as the benefits of salvation.

III. WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF SALVATION? What is it that we are able to enjoy as those who are redeemed? What are the privileges of those who are sealed? It is easy to miss one of those privileges in the midst of this passage. Just look at, v.15

"They are before the throne of God." That's great. They "serve Him day and night in His temple." That's great. But it's still little more than the benefit of being a servant. And while that is a benefit, for surely, "I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness," still there a great benefit, a more glorious benefit described and defined for us here.

"He who sits on the throne will dwell among them." That's it.

A. The presence of God among us. The idea is repeated in verse 17, with reference to "the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them." He is present with this great multitude as a shepherd is present with his sheep. He lives with them, he dwells with them and among them.

And that is the personally expression of the essential promise of the covenant. It surely is the expression of its final fulfillment,

Rev. 21:3 "And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God."

"I will be your God and you will be my people." That's the essence of the covenant. But it is made personal. I will live with you.

When two people get married, they make promises to one another, they enter the covenant of marriage. I will be your husband. I will be your wife. But just think of how foolish and empty those promises would be if they were not fulfilled by the commitment to live together! So in practical terms, in terms of daily life, the marriage relationship is defined by the willingness to live together.

Ex. 29:45 "I will dwell among the children of Israel and will be their God. 46 "And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them up out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them. I am the LORD their God."

That's what the covenant is all about. That's what being a Christian is all about. God will dwell with us as his people. God will live with us as his people. Let me tell you how that promise is already, right now, being fulfilled. In the church.

Eph. 2:19 "Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit."

And how is it that that church is established? Jesus came to dwell among us, in the flesh. God came to dwell among men, in the flesh of a man

John 1:14 "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."

Now, think a little deeper? What was it that Adam and Eve lost after they sinned? A lot of things. But the most evident and outward expression of what they lost was the presence of God.

Gen. 3:1 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. 8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?" 10 So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself."

They lost fellowship with God, for with the knowledge of good and evil, they gained guilt. But they lost more than the fellowship of God. That loss was expressed by their expulsion from the garden. They lost the privilege of the very presence of God.

Gen. 3:23 "...therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life."

So this picture of redemption in Revelation 7 is a reversal of the condemnation of the curse. "He who sits on the throne will dwell among them." And in that same context of reversing what the curse put into effect, notice in these words that the blessing of God, the benefit of salvation is,

B. An end to the curse of death. That's what God has promised. That's what Christ has accomplished. That's what the covenant establishes. And end to death. In other words, LIFE! v.16-17

Life in all its fullness. Life not just as the absence of death, but life as the ending of hunger. Life as the elimination of thirst. Life as the removal of the pain of the sun's heat. Life as the complete obliteration of pain and suffering that would serve as the precursors of death. Not only is the curse of death ended with the promise of life, it is life abundant. It is life without pain. Life without tears. "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

Again, let this remind you of that final, glory so marvelously described in,

Rev. 21:1 "Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." 5 Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful." 6 And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts."

We have the very same image and picture here. v.17

Beloved, that is nothing less than the gospel. In Jesus' own words,

John 7:37 "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."

So who can stand before God? Who of you could dare to stand before God, and even more so, who of you would dare to come before God in his presence so clearly represented before us at this table? Who of you can eat and drink of the body and blood of Jesus, enjoying his communion in that most spiritually intimate of all ways? Who of you can appear before a holy God of wrath and judgment and be able to stand?

In yourself, by yourself, not one of you. So you must be sealed. You must have the mark of Jesus upon you. You must have Jesus himself, and you must be clothed in his robes, white robes cleansed by his blood. And so you cry out with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"

Who is able to stand? Why, all of you, all of you who are sealed by the blood of the lamb. All of you who belong to Jesus. All of you are able to stand, all those whom God had saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. All those whom he has redeemed "with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot."

And all of you whom he has redeemed, go back to the song of the Elders before the throne, and start singing!

Rev. 5:12 "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!" 13 ...Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!"

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