THE 144,000 ON MOUNT ZION WITH THE LAMB (VERSES 1-5)

“Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s Name written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps. 3 They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth. 4 These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. 5 And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God.”

The 144,000 Standing With the Lamb (verse 1)

“Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s Name written on their foreheads.”

So now, John has a vision, and he has a vision of a Lamb, or, the Lamb, as some translations have it, [verse 1]. This image, this depiction of a “Lamb,” is found throughout the book of Revelation. In fact, some 23 times in the book of Revelation, there is made mention of a “Lamb” and most of the mentions are a depiction of Christ, of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. That is certainly the depiction that we see here. What John is seeing is the Lamb, and He is in the midst of a number of people; this is similar to what we saw back in chapter 1, where John sees the Lamb standing in the midst of the lampstands, and those lampstands represented the seven churches of Asia [“Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. 14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire…‘The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches,’” Revelation 1:12-14, 20]. In that depiction in Revelation, chapter 1, the Lamb, the Lord, is in the midst of His churches, in the midst of His people, that group of people, if you will. Here in chapter 14, He is in the midst of this 144,000.

To emphasize again, this vision that John sees is a stark contrast between what has been dealt with in the two preceding chapters, chapters 12 and 13. There we saw the dragon and the two beasts, and evil, and fear, and condemnation, and all those kinds of things. Here in this vision, verse 1, “Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s Name written on their foreheads.” Well, this is a view, then, of the 144,000 that were first identified in chapter 7, the redeemed of God of every age, and here this view that John has, not of a beast rising up out of the sea, or a beast rising up out of the earth, but rather, in contrast, John’s view is of a Lamb. This would be the same Lamb, the Lamb that, back in chapter 5, was worthy…worthy is the Lamb to take the scroll from Him Who sat on the throne [Revelation 5:9-10: “And they sang a new song, saying: ‘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.’”]. We understand the Lamb to be, of course, Jesus Christ.

Think again about the contrast—no, not the ugly dragon with the seven heads, ten horns and seven crowns, and no, not those beasts that would appear to be so ferocious and so mean and so powerful that they could conquer, that they could overwhelm, anything. But in contrast, here’s the Lamb, with His people, and the Message is and will be victory! The Lamb prevails and His people prevail.

Where is this vision seen? It is described, it is stated, as being “Mount Zion.” Well, what is that? What does the Holy Spirit have in view here? Clearly, Mount Zion is a reference, or can be understood as being a reference, to the city of Jerusalem. The temple mount in the city of Jerusalem, where the temple was built, was referred to as “Mount Zion.” Is it literally the city of Jerusalem? Well, no. We know that “Mount Zion,” or, the city of Jerusalem, was the citadel of David, it was the place where Solomon built the temple, it was the central point in much of the history of the children of Israel, and if we believe the children of Israel are a “type” of those who are redeemed of every age (and we believe that to be the case, going back to Revelation, chapter 7, where the twelve thousand from each of the twelve tribes is mentioned there, making up the 144,000), then this is a place that would be familiar, that would be a place representing security and victory, and so on.

However, there were a number of different uses for the term, “Mount Zion,” in Scriptures. “Zion” is referred to as “the city of David,” 2 Samuel 5:6-7 [“And the king [Saul] and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who spoke to David, saying, ‘You shall not come in here; but the blind and the lame will repel you,’ thinking, ‘David cannot come in here.’ 7 Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion (that is, the City of David).”]. That is a reference, of course, to Jerusalem.

Speaking of the Messiah’s triumph and kingdom, God says in Psalm 2:1-6 that Zion is “My holy hill” [“Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, 3 ‘Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us.’ 4 He Who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The LORD shall hold them in derision. 5 Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, And distress them in His deep displeasure: 6 ‘Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion.’”].