Will you please turn to the last book of the Bible, Revelation? Revelation Chapter 14. We will read from Verse 1 through Verse 5.
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 upon 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 as it were 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.
May we pray.
Dear Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for giving us another opportunity that we may come together in Thy presence to hear Thy Word and allow Thy Holy Spirit to reveal Thy heart to us.
Oh, dear Lord, our prayer is that we may respond to Thee. We may be those who will follow Thee whithersoever Thou goest. We commit this time into Thy hand. We look to Thee to speak and to bring us all into the very good of Thy Word, that Thou mayest be glorified and Thy purpose may be fulfilled. We ask in Thy name. Amen.
Yes, brothers and sisters, we have just read one of the most beautiful scenes in the Scripture. We saw the Lamb standing upon Mount Zion.
Now, this Mount Zion is not Zion on earth. Instead, it is Mount Zion in heaven. Our Lord is there because He has overcome while He was on this earth.
But thank God, standing with Him will be a hundred and forty-four thousand people. Who are they? They are the overcomers throughout the ages, from the beginning of the first century to the coming of our Lord Jesus.
Even though we realize that few have been in the number of overcomers, yet thank God, there will be a fullness of overcomers. So the hundred and forty-four thousand represent the overcomers throughout the ages, from the first century to the coming of the Lord.
Century after century, God has His overcomers—those who, by the grace of God, overcome the world, overcome Satan, overcome themselves, and are faithful to the Lord.
It is sad to say that few have been overcomers. Most of God’s people have been overcome by the world and overcome by Satan, instead of being overcomers for the Lord. But thank God, even so, throughout the centuries God has had His overcomers.
Here we find a number: a hundred and forty-four thousand. Brothers and sisters, I believe this is not a complete number. In other words, it does not mean there will be only a hundred and forty-four thousand overcomers throughout the centuries.
I believe it is a perfect number. It is a multiple of twelve. That is to say, throughout the centuries, in every century, thank God, God has His overcomers.
And we who are living at the end of the twentieth century, there will also be those who, by the grace of God, overcome.
So I believe the hundred and forty-four thousand is not a complete number; it is a perfect number. It means that, throughout the centuries, difficult as it has been, God has finally gained His overcomers. And that includes us here.
We are living at the end of the twentieth century. Most likely, the Lord will come very soon. He has waited long.
You remember when our Lord left His disciples, He told them, “I will come back to receive you to Myself. Where I am, there you will be.” This promise of our Lord Jesus has been unfulfilled for twenty centuries, and in a sense, He is still waiting.
The question is: Is the Lord waiting for us, or are we waiting for the Lord? Why is it that the Lord has delayed His return?
I believe when the Lord said, “I will come back to receive you to Myself,” His heart was so anxious to return to receive them. But unfortunately, twenty centuries have passed and the Lord has not yet come.
So the question is, why is it that the Lord has delayed His return? Is it because He does not want to return? I believe we all know He is most anxious to return, most anxious to come back to receive His own to Himself, to be with Him forever. That is the heart of our Lord Jesus.
The reason why He has not yet returned is not in Him; it is in us. It is because His people have not been ready.
Oh, brothers and sisters, if we try to see the heart of our Lord Jesus when He said, “I will come back to receive you to Myself,” how anxious must be His heart. How anxious He wants to come back as soon as possible to receive His people to Himself. That is the very heart of our Lord Jesus.
But brothers and sisters, unfortunately, He could not—not that He would not, but He could not. It is because His people have not been ready. His people have delayed Him.
Not that the Lord has delayed His return; it is His people who have delayed His return.
But then, brothers and sisters, do you have the sense that after twenty centuries, coming to our time, very likely the Lord will come in our time?
Deep in my heart there is a cry: “Come, Lord Jesus, come.” I believe this is the prayer of the saints in our days.
The Lord is coming. He may come at any moment, because all the prophecies that precede the coming of the Lord have been fulfilled. The next prophecy to be fulfilled is the coming of the Lord.
So I have a deep sense that our Lord Jesus may come back in our time. Because of this, I feel we are living at a very crucial, exciting time.
We find here in the vision the Lamb standing upon Mount Zion. As I have said, this is not Mount Zion on earth, but it is Mount Zion in heaven. It represents the place of victory.
Our Lord Jesus has come into this world and gave Himself for the sins of this world. He has overcome Satan, the world, and death. He is now in Mount Zion, in heaven. He is worthy to be there.
But thank God, by His grace, there will be a hundred and forty-four thousand worthy to stand with Him on Mount Zion. Now, who are these hundred and forty-four thousand?
As I have said, I do not believe it is a complete number, but it is a perfect number. It is a multiple of twelve. That is to say, throughout the centuries, God is looking for overcomers.
You would say He is disappointed because few have been in the number of overcomers. But you have to know the purpose of God will be done. So throughout the centuries, we find that there have been overcomers—those who, by the grace of God, have followed the Lord Jesus faithfully, overcoming the world, overcoming Satan, overcoming sin, and glorifying God in their lives.
So we have this hundred and forty-four thousand with the Lamb on Mount Zion. Again I say, this is not a complete number; this is a perfect number. It is a multiple of twelve. It means completion.
Century after century, by the grace of God, He has obtained overcomers—those who are faithful to Him, those who overcome the world, Satan, and death. And they shall stand with the Lord on Mount Zion in heaven.
Hopefully, by the grace of God, we are among their rank.
The Bible tells us the hundred and forty-four thousand have His name and the name of His Father written upon their foreheads. These are not secret Christians.
You know, even at the time when our Lord was on earth, there were secret Christians. There were people who believed in the Lord Jesus, but because they were afraid of the Pharisees, afraid of the Sadducees, and afraid of the judgment of the world, they did not confess openly the Lord Jesus. Yet they believed secretly in their hearts.
But this is not the Lord’s desire. He wants us to be open Christians. If we believe in the Lord Jesus, we need to confess His name.
So here you find the hundred and forty-four thousand. They have the name of God and of Christ written upon their foreheads. Now, when anything is written upon your forehead, it means that it can be seen by everybody. It is a public confession.
Thank God, throughout the centuries there have been people who openly confessed the Lord Jesus, having His name and His Father’s name written upon their foreheads. They are not hidden Christians. They are not those who are afraid to be known as Christians. They stand up and stand out as Christians for the testimony of God and of Jesus Christ.
How I hope that, by the grace of God, we are among their rank.
There have been secret Christians throughout all centuries, even at the time when our Lord was on earth. You remember there were even priests who had believed in the Lord Jesus, but they kept it secret. They were afraid to lose their position. They were afraid to lose the pleasures of the world.
But these hundred and forty-four thousand are different. They openly confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
Now, brothers and sisters, if you openly confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you are exposed to the attack of Satan, to the attack of the world, and to the displeasure of this world, which is under the rule of Satan.
Therefore, throughout the centuries, those who have openly confessed Jesus Christ as Lord have suffered. Many became martyrs for the Lord. If you have read the book of martyrs, you find how men and women, and even children, dared to confess the Lord Jesus in the face of great opposition and death. But by the grace of God, they have overcome.
Hopefully, brothers and sisters, we who are at the end of the twentieth century and at the beginning of the twenty-first century are those who have the name of the Lord Jesus and of God written upon our foreheads. We are not hidden Christians; we are open Christians. We openly declare that Jesus is our Lord and our Savior.
And sure enough, in this wicked world under the domain of Satan, we will suffer even unto death. But they loved not their lives even unto death.
When you read the book of martyrs, it touches you deeply. How men and women, and even children, dared to confess the name of the Lord and be put into all kinds of sufferings, dying for Christ. Oh, how glorious it is.
You cannot read the book of martyrs without a cry. But the Lord is worthy. He is worthy to be openly confessed. Even if it should mean death and sufferings, yet He is worthy.
So the hundred and forty-four thousand represent God’s people throughout the centuries who have openly confessed the Lord Jesus. They have His name and the name of His Father upon their foreheads.
Then John said, “I heard a great voice. It is like the voice of harpers harping with their harps.” Now, we all know the harp is a musical instrument of the heart. When you play the harp, you play it with your heart.
And these harpers were also singing. They sang a song, a new song, that nobody could learn except themselves, because they learned it through experience. They learned it by living it.
Harp-playing is the playing of the heart. From the very bottom of the heart, they play out what is inside. And they openly declare Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
They sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn this song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were purchased from the earth.
This is a song from the heart. They sing from their hearts. They sing from their experience. So nobody can learn it. They learned it by bearing the cross. They learned it by openly confessing the Lord Jesus. They learned it through all kinds of troubles and difficulties, even unto death.
But thank God, these have been the overcomers throughout the ages.
The Bible says these are people who have not been defiled with women. Now, in 2 Corinthians, Paul tells us that he has presented the Corinthian believers as virgins to the Lord.
It means that we who were once adulterers, adulterous in sin with the world and under the dominion of Satan, by the grace of God, are able to sing a new song.
It is a song not learned by anybody, but it is learned from their sufferings. It is a song from the heart. It is harp-singing. And they are the only ones able to sing this song. Nobody can learn it except those who have gone through for the Lord’s glory.
They have not been defiled with women. As I have said, Paul has offered the Corinthian believers as virgins to God—pure, holy for the Lord. And this is what we ought to be.
We who were once adulterers and adulteresses in sin and transgressions, in the world and under the dominion of Satan, by the grace of God He has delivered us and enabled us to be as virgins unto God.
To a virgin, her heart is only to the one whom she is to marry. She has no other desire. She is preparing herself just for that day. And this is what we ought to be, dear brothers and sisters.
In the sight of God, we ought to be virgins. We ought to give ourselves so totally over to Him. We must be those who are preparing ourselves for the Lord Jesus. That is the heart of the virgin.
Do we have a virgin heart? The Lord is looking for such people.
And they are the only ones who learn the song that they will sing, because this is a song they learn through their life experience.
By the grace of God, they have gone through a lot. They suffered a lot. They gave up a lot. They yielded to the Lord in all their lives. And out of such a devoted life, they learn a new song. They are the only ones who could sing such a song.
The Bible says they are virgins. They are completely given to the Lord. In the heart of a virgin, there is only the Lord and no one else.
Do we have such a virgin heart? Are we still secretly wanting something in this world?
Is there such a wicked heart in us? We have not seen the world yet. We have not enjoyed the things in the world yet. Let us enjoy it until we have done it; then we will repent and turn to the Lord.
Brothers and sisters, it seems to be wise thinking. But do you have the time? What if the Lord should return now and you are still enjoying yourself in the world? What will happen to you?
The Bible tells us you will be cast into outer darkness. You will not be qualified to enter into the marriage feast of the Lamb. You will not be qualified to partake with the Lord in His millennial kingdom, to rule and reign for a thousand years. You will be cast into outer darkness.
Now, what is outer darkness? Wherever I go, I have people asking me, “What is outer darkness?” But I never try to tell them what I know about outer darkness.
But the very term “outer darkness” surely tells us something.
As the Bible says in Matthew 25, there were ten virgins. They all had their torches with them. They went out to meet the Lord, for the Lord can return at any moment. But because the Lord had been delayed, they all fell asleep.
And according to the right interpretation, these ten virgins represent the saints throughout the centuries who have died because the Lord has not yet returned.
But suddenly a voice came: “The Lord cometh.” And they all rose up. That is resurrection. All who believe in the Lord Jesus will be resurrected.
But when they are raised from sleep, they begin to trim their torches. Those who are wise have extra oil in a vessel, so they just pour the oil into the torch.
But those who seemed to be wise in themselves somehow had other things in the vessel, thinking that these were more important than oil. So when they woke up and found that their torch was going out, they asked those who had oil to share with them.
Now, it is not because those who had oil were stingy and did not want to share, but it was impossible, because the extra oil was only enough for those who were ready.
So unfortunately, they had to tell them to go and buy it.
Brothers and sisters, this is the time we are buying extra oil. This is the time that we are paying the extra price. This is the time to take up the cross and follow the Lord.
But if you do not do it now, when you go to buy the oil, the Lord may come. So the five wise virgins went into the kingdom, and the door was closed.
When the five foolish virgins came back, I wonder if they had obtained the extra oil. Most likely they did not. The door was closed.
And the word to them was, “I do not know you.” That means, “I do not approve of you. What you have done ought not to be.” So they were shut out of the kingdom. They will be cast into outer darkness.
You know, people are curious about outer darkness. I wonder why we are always more curious about something negative than curious about something positive.
I have been asked by many people, especially young people, “What is outer darkness? Where is it? What does it represent?” I often tell them, “I will not tell you. You have to find out yourself.”
In all the books that I have read, I found there is only one book that tries to explain outer darkness. It is by Robert Govett. You know, he is a literal person. Everything to him is literal. So he tries to explain what outer darkness is.
He said when the Lord is traveling, there is darkness outside of Him. Within is the glory of God, but outside is darkness. So he said outer darkness is the darkness that He sheds away, and it becomes the outer darkness.
Now, that is Robert Govett’s explanation. Whether it is correct or not, I do not know.
But anyway, what is outer darkness? Outer darkness represents the place where you are shut off from the kingdom—the millennial kingdom—to reign with Christ for a thousand years.
And they are outside of the kingdom, in outer darkness, where you gnash your teeth and repent that you have not been faithful to the Lord while you were living.
But even so, thank God, in outer darkness, through repenting, the Lord is able to restore. Oh, that we may all be kings in the eternal kingdom. That is the mercy of God.
Whom He has foreknown, He has chosen. Whom He has chosen, He has called. Whom He has called, He has saved. Whom He has saved, He has sanctified. So eventually, only by the grace of God, all will be completed.
When God’s grace comes upon you, you may give up, but He will never give up. He will continue to work. Even in outer darkness, through repentance, you will be completed. So eternally, all who believe in the Lord Jesus will be there.
Now, you will say, “If that is the case, I will be content to be in outer darkness.” But think of that: it is a thousand years.
So, brothers and sisters, here you find this hundred and forty-four thousand, the overcomers throughout the ages. They follow the Lord whithersoever He goes.
Our Lord Jesus, when He was on earth, went to Calvary. He went to the cross. He died for our sins. This is where He goes.
So those overcomers will be those who follow the Lord. Those who want to be faithful to the Lord will not find it easy to live in this wretched world, because this is a world under the domain of the enemy. He is ruling over it.
And if you want to follow the Lord, you will meet all kinds of opposition, all kinds of difficulties. You have to pay a great cost. Are you willing?
Are you willing to bear the cross and follow the Lord wherever He goes? If you are among those, you are the overcomers.
So they have been the firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. Now, firstfruits are always the best fruits.
When the sun shines upon a field, those firstfruits are those able to receive all the heat of the sun, so they ripen first. And the firstfruits are always the best of the field.
So the overcomers are the best among the Christians because they are willing to bear the cross and suffer for the name of the Lord Jesus.
In their mouth there was no lie found. They are truthful to the Lord. In the sight of God, they are blameless.
Brothers and sisters, these will be the hundred and forty-four thousand reigning with Christ through the millennium until eternity.
Now, if you are familiar with the teachings of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, what is their teaching? They teach that the hundred and forty-four thousand have already been fulfilled.
So if you should believe in the Jehovah’s Witnesses, you will be a second-class citizen, because that number has been fulfilled. Now, that is the teaching of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. It is a false teaching.
The Bible teaches that before the Lord’s return, the door is wide open for you to be an overcomer.
So by the grace of God, brothers and sisters, we who are here this morning have the blessed hope. We have the hope that, by the grace of God, we may be among the rank of the overcomers.
When He shall come, we will respond, and we will reign with Him—not only through the millennial kingdom, but even for eternity. That is the glorious plan of God.
So may the Lord have mercy upon every one of us here this morning. Shall we pray?
Dear Lord, we want to thank Thee, because all is grace; all is mercy. We thank Thee it is not because we are better than other people. It is because Thou hast provided salvation to all who repent and believe in Thee.
So, dear brothers and sisters, as we go from here this morning having heard this message from the Word of God, let us repent. Let us return to Thee, willing to take up the cross and follow Thee.
So when Thou shalt return, oh dear Lord, we may be among the rank of those who rule with Thee for eternity. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.