Will you please turn to the last book of the Bible, Revelation?
And I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing upon Mount Zion, and with Him a hundred and forty and four thousand, having His name, and the name of His Father, written on their foreheads.
And I heard a voice out of heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of great thunder: and the voice which I heard was as the voice of harpers harping with their harps:
and they sing a new song before the throne, and before the four living creatures and the elders: and no man could learn the song save the hundred and forty and four thousand, even they that had been purchased out of the earth.
These are they that were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they that follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. These were purchased from among men, to be the firstfruits unto God and unto the Lamb.
And in their mouth was found no lie: they are without blemish.
Dear Lord, our hearts bow in worship. How we praise and thank Thee that, for us sinners, Thou didst die on the cross for us. We thank Thee for Thy marvelous salvation that has saved us to the uttermost.
As we continue in Thy presence, we pray that Thy Spirit will breathe upon Thy words and make them living, full of life to us, that we who listen may hear Thy voice calling us unto Thyself.
Lord, we pray that Thou wilt prepare our hearts, that we may respond to Thy calling; that we may be those in the last days who will be ready to meet Thee, to see Thee face to face.
Lord, our hearts long to see Thee, and may our prayer ascend to Thee, to touch Thy heart, and to return.
Lord, we want to give ourselves totally over to Thee. Thou hast bought us with Thyself. We are no longer our own; we are Thine, Lord. Pray that Thou wilt bless the word, that it may reach the depths of our hearts and give Thee glory. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.
Brothers and sisters, even before the foundation of the world, the Son of God offered Himself to be a Lamb, to bear the sins of the world, to die for us. What love God has bestowed upon us. We are forever thankful.
This morning, we had the Lord’s Table. This is the summit of our conference. We have been brought to His very presence to remember His love for us, His dying for us, His resurrection for us, and His ascension for us. And He has promised that He is coming back for us. What love God has for us.
As we read the Bible, when you come to the book of Revelation, you hear the last call of God to us.
What is the last call of God? We who are living in the last days, what have you heard from the Lord? What is the message that He wants all of us to be aware of?
It is the message of the overcomers.
As you turn to Revelation 2 and 3, to the seven churches in Asia, it was toward the end of the first century that the apostle John was exiled to the island of Patmos because of the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus.
He was put into hard labor, and most likely on Sunday he was free. So we find that he was probably sitting on a stone, facing across the Aegean to the other side of Asia, where he labored before he was exiled.
He must have been thinking very much about these churches in Asia that he ministered to before he was exiled. And as he looked and meditated, he heard a voice behind him. He turned back, and he saw a vision.
It is a vision of the seven churches in Asia. Now, this is Asia Minor, and even at that time we knew there were more than seven churches in Asia Minor. But the Spirit of God purposely picked these seven churches because they represented all the conditions of the churches during the end of the first century.
And he heard a voice: “Write to these seven churches.”
Now, we know when we read the Bible that of the seven churches, one was perfect—the church in Philadelphia. It was all praise. One was almost perfect—the church in Smyrna, the suffering church. But the other five had much to be blamed.
However, if you choose the end of each letter, the call of God was the call of overcomers.
So, brothers and sisters, no matter where you are, no matter what association you may be in, the call is the same. What is the last call of God to His church? The last call is the call to overcome.
Our Lord Jesus, while He was on earth, overcame. He overcame Satan, death, and sin. And because of this, He is calling us, who are living at this last moment, to overcome.
Of course, this overcoming is more than overcoming our environment. It is basically an overcoming of ourselves.
Our Lord Jesus overcame Himself. He never thought of Himself. He lived for His Father. He accomplished the work that the Father had called Him to do. And in like manner, He is calling His followers to do the same.
We are to overcome—not only our environment, but ourselves.
Probably, brothers and sisters, the hardest thing to overcome is not the world; it is ourselves. If we can overcome ourselves, we can overcome the world, Satan, and sin.
So, brothers and sisters, remember: the last call of God to His church is the call to overcome. He wants all who are His to overcome as He has overcome. And we all know the hardest thing to overcome is ourselves.
Are we willing to give ourselves to Him in such a way that we will not go after our own ways, but will allow Him to rule over us and to use us, to make us overcomers?
No matter what church you may be in, like you find in the seven churches in Asia, they are all varied. One is perfect, one is almost perfect, and the other five had lots of problems. But, brothers and sisters, the calling is the same.
God is calling us to be overcomers: to overcome not only the world, sin, and Satan, but to overcome ourselves; to give ourselves to the Lord in such a way that His will may be done in us, as it is in heaven.
Toward the end of the first century, He was calling for overcomers. And now, brothers and sisters, we are in the twenty-first century, and the calling is the same. He is calling us to overcome.
You find the calling of overcomers throughout the church age. Not only in Revelation 2 and 3, at the end of the first century, was there the call; but as you read through Revelation, you find that throughout the time the same call is put before us.
In Revelation 7, the latter part of the chapter, you find a numberless multitude. And these people have the name of God and of His Son upon their foreheads.
Now, what does it mean? It means they openly confess the Lord Jesus. No matter how the environment may be, they publicly testify for the Lord Jesus.
They are a people clothed in white. They are a people with the name of God and of His Son upon their foreheads. They are not hidden Christians; they are out-and-out Christians.
They have palm branches in their hands, and that is a sign of overcoming. They have the name of the Father and of the Son upon their foreheads. They openly confess the Lord Jesus and are willing to suffer for it.
Even though we know true Christians are rare, yet thank God, throughout the centuries there are numberless people. There are many who openly confess the Lord Jesus. They are the overcomers throughout the ages.
Then, when you come to Revelation 12, you see the vision of a woman and a man-child, which represents the end-time overcomers. In other words, it refers to us.
Brothers and sisters, we are living at the end time. All the prophecies that precede the coming of the Lord have been fulfilled. What is yet to be fulfilled belongs to the coming of the Lord and afterwards.
So, dear brothers and sisters, you know that we are living close to the end. The Lord may come at any moment.
And the reason why He has not yet come is not because He is not anxious to come. Is it not that even in the first century, before He left the world, He told His disciples that He was coming to receive them to Himself? Where He is, there they will be.
But now we are in the twenty-first century. For twenty centuries He has been waiting. I sometimes think: is He waiting for us, or are we waiting for Him?
I believe, brothers and sisters, we all know that with the Lord there is no problem. He must be very anxious to come back and receive us. But it is we who delay His return. It is not we who are waiting for the Lord; it is the Lord waiting for us.
So, brothers and sisters, are we ready to see Him?
Suppose—and this is highly possible—suppose while we are meeting here, sitting here, listening to the word, suddenly the Lord came. What will happen?
Will it be that this auditorium will be emptied? Everyone will be raptured to the throne of God to welcome our Lord Jesus?
Oh, if there should be some remaining behind, brothers and sisters, have you thought of that? If that should happen to you, how regretful you must be that you have not faithfully followed the Lord.
So, brothers and sisters, we are truly living in a very thrilling time. The Lord is coming. Are you ready?
Here in Revelation 14, we find that the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion. Now, this Mount Zion is not the Mount Zion on earth. You remember David set up his kingdom on Mount Zion, but this Mount Zion is the Mount Zion in heaven, where the throne of God is.
And standing with Him were a hundred and forty-four thousand.
You know, Jehovah’s Witnesses say that the 144,000 have already been fulfilled. If you become a Jehovah’s Witness, you are a second-class citizen because the first class has already been filled. Quite a disappointment this will be.
But thank God, we believe that 144,000 is not a fixed number. One hundred and forty-four thousand is a multiple of twelve, and twelve is a number of perfection. So, in other words, throughout the centuries God will have His overcomers.
And how blessed it will be if we are among that number.
These people have the name of the Father and of the Son written upon their foreheads. In other words, they are not secret Christians.
You know, there are many secret Christians today. In their heart they believe, but they fail to testify with their mouth. They love the world. They do not want to give up the world, so they hesitate to confess the name of the Lord Jesus openly.
Because the world today is still under the domain of God’s enemy, if you confess the Lord openly, you will be persecuted. But in order to escape persecution, you become secret Christians.
During the time of our Lord Jesus, you find there had been secret Christians. Secretly they believed, but outwardly they did not confess.
Brothers and sisters, which are you? Who are you? Are you a secret Christian, or are you an out-and-out Christian? Do you confess the Lord Jesus openly?
If you know that you will be persecuted, but you are willing to confess the Lord and be persecuted, then you are among these people. I believe this is not a fixed number because they represent the overcomers throughout the ages.
Thank God, even though overcomers may be limited, yet you find this huge number of overcomers. Hopefully, all of us will be among that number.
And then John heard a voice—a voice as many thunders—but it was a voice of singing, harpers singing with their harps.
Now, brothers and sisters, harps in the Bible always represent the sound of something that comes out of the heart. So when you are harping, it is not just outward music; it is something that comes out of your heart.
And they sing a new song, a song that nobody can learn except the 144,000. In other words, in their life experience they learn the song, and they are singing praises unto God.
And who are these people? In Revelation 14:3, these people were bought from the earth. Thank God, we have been bought from the earth. We have been bought with a price, even the death of our Lord Jesus.
But nevertheless, by the grace of God, we who are here this morning have all been bought with a price. Now, what a price our Lord Jesus has paid.
He paid this price by emptying Himself of all the glory and honor and place of His Godhead. Though He could not forsake His Godhead, because that is what He is—He is God—even when He was on earth, inwardly He was still God; but outwardly He was just a man.
He refused to do anything out of Himself. If we read the four Gospels, we find that He often said, “I cannot do anything by Myself. I do it because I have seen My Father do it. I cannot go anywhere by Myself. I go because I have seen My Father go. I cannot think of anything of Myself. I think because My Father thinks.”
In other words, our Lord Jesus never did anything on His own.
And these people, who were singing a new song learned in their lifetime, are like the harpers, singing out of their hearts.
And who are these people? The Bible says, “These are they that were not defiled with women; for they are virgins.” Now, that does not mean because you are a woman, you will not be included. Here you have to take the spiritual meaning.
In other words, they have kept themselves as chaste virgins to God. As Paul said to the Corinthians, “I have presented you as a chaste virgin to Christ,” and hopefully you will not be defiled.
Brothers and sisters, are we chaste virgins before God? Examine yourselves to see if that chastity is there. Is our heart wholly for the Lord, or is our heart divided?
We love the Lord, but we also love the world. We cannot let the world go. We love it so much.
Oh, if we are standing on two boats, as it were, and the two boats are sailing apart, unless you get into one boat, you will be dropping into the water. So, brothers and sisters, if that is our condition, we need to wake up.
And they follow the Lamb whithersoever He goes. Now, it is easy to read it, but if you have read the four Gospels, you will find that to follow the Lamb is not so simple.
You remember, some would come to the Lord and say, “I will follow You.” And the Lord said, “The Son of man hath not where to lay His head.” Are you willing to live a life like that?
But these people follow the Lamb whithersoever He goes. They have been bought from the earth as firstfruits to God.
Now, firstfruits are always the best. You go to a field: the firstfruits ripen first. Why? Because they suffer more sunlight. So they are ripened earlier than the rest. And the firstfruits will be taken up first, and they are always the best.
So you find among the 144,000, they were the firstfruits of the crop.
Brothers and sisters, are you satisfied just because you have been saved, just because you are among the fruits of God? But remember, only the firstfruits that ripen first will be harvested first, and the firstfruits are always the best of the fruit.
So, dear brothers and sisters, where are we? We are living at the end of the end time. It is quite possible that there will be the first picking in our time.
The Bible tells us that one day, all over this world, some people will suddenly disappear. Because the earth is round, in some places it is morning, and the women are grinding at the mill. At the same time, people in another zone may be working in the field; it is daytime. And on the same earth, in another zone, people may be sleeping in bed.
Then suddenly, it happens. Those who are grinding at the mill, outwardly, will be doing the same thing. You cannot see the difference, but the Lord knows who are His. One is taken, and one is left.
Two may be working in the field at noontime: one is taken, one is left. Two are sleeping in the night: one is taken, one is left.
So I often say to brothers and sisters, in view of the coming of the Lord, He expects us to go on living as usual—not like some people that I know. They leave their homes, they go to the desert, and there they are waiting for the coming of the Lord.
For some people that I know, they went there, but finally they had to come back to make a living—not only for themselves, but for those people who were with them. They are still here.
But these 144,000, they were the firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth there was no lie. You know the word: they are honest, straightforward, open. They do not hide anything. They openly testify for the Lord, and they are blameless.
Not because they are perfect, brothers and sisters. No one is perfect. But how can we be blameless? What is the secret of it? They know the secret of the cleansing blood.
Do not think that because you have grown spiritually, you do not need the blood anymore. Those who really know the Lord know that they need the blood of the Lamb every moment of their life. It is by the blood of the Lamb that they have been kept clean.
I suppose you know the story. One day Martin Luther dreamed a dream, and he saw Satan coming to him with a book full of words, both inside and outside. And the name of the book was The Sins of Martin Luther.
And Satan looked at Martin Luther and said, “Dare you do the work of reformation? Look at your sins.”
Now, brothers and sisters, if this should happen to you, what will you do? But Martin Luther knew the Lord. He took out a red pen and he wrote over it, “The blood of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, cleanseth us from all sin.” And Satan disappeared.
Brothers and sisters, we are sinful, but thank God, the blood of the Lamb is able to wash us clean as white.
If you read Revelation 12, you find the qualifications of these overcomers. Their qualification is not because they are perfect. On the contrary, the first qualification is because they know the blood of the Lamb.
They are sinful as we are. As a matter of fact, the more close you are to God, the more you feel yourself sinful. But thank God, the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.
And they are people before God who are blameless. God has nothing to blame—not because they are blameless in themselves, but because they treasure the blood of the Lord Jesus. Only, they love not their lives even unto death.
And these are the overcomers of the last days. Brothers and sisters, this should be the description of ourselves. We should be among that number, because if we are not and are left behind, the Bible says that, as the five foolish virgins, they will be shut out of the door of the kingdom.
And there in darkness there will be gnashing of teeth. You know, the words “gnashing of teeth” mean regret. There will be great regret at that time.
But thank God, He is merciful. He calls them to repent, that they still may have a chance to enter into eternity. You see how gracious our God is. But, brothers and sisters, they will be shut out from the thousand years’ rule with Christ.
A thousand years is a thousand years. Today, how long do we live? You can live maybe to over a hundred, but of course, a hundred compared to a thousand, that is nothing. And it is living as kings with our Lord Jesus. What a glory that must be.
So, brothers and sisters, in Revelation 14, these are the overcomers throughout the ages. At the coming of the Lord, they will be with Christ in heaven. And by the grace of God, brothers and sisters, we will be there.
But are you sure you will be there? If you are not there, you will be in outer darkness.
You know, people are very curious. Everywhere I go, people ask me, “Where is outer darkness?”
I have read many books, but there is only one book that tells me what the writer thinks is outer darkness. But I will not tell you.
But one thing is sure: in outer darkness there will be gnashing of teeth. In other words, deep repentance.
Brothers and sisters, for the sake of a short period of time in the world, are you willing to sacrifice your life for a thousand years in repentance? Which will you choose?
Thank God, we are still here this morning. Who knows what will happen this afternoon? If the Lord should return this afternoon, will you go with Him, or will you be left behind?
I think this is a very serious question for us to consider. So thank God for this opportunity. The Lord has brought us together these few days, and thank God for warning us that there is no more time.
This is the time: be ready, be prepared to be with the Lord together. And that is the glorious hope.
So this morning, I just want to place this before you. If any of you feel you have not been ready, quickly get yourself right with God, because there is no more time. He may come at any moment.
Dear Lord, how we praise and thank Thee that Thou hast brought us to this critical moment. Lord, we rejoice, knowing that Thou wilt not delay any longer, but Thou wilt be coming for Thy people.
But God, on the other hand, we humble ourselves before Thee and ask Thee to search our hearts, to see if we are really ready for Thee. Lord, we know that it can happen at any moment.
So, Lord, do not allow any one of us here to miss the opportunity. Oh, dear Lord, prepare each and every one of us to be ready to go with Thee as Thou comest back. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.