Belonging to the Lamb
(Rev 14:1~14:5)
We are often named according to our name givers wish that we would live out the name. So I wish I could fulfill my name of being right, good, and truthful, which calls for an altruistic mindset. No matter how great a name we have, we can hardly fulfill its meaning. However, we could do that by belonging to the Lamb. Lets see the people who belong to the Lamb.
1. They are those who look toward Mount Zion, the place of holiness. Revelation, composed of seven minor revelations, seems to have different stories, yet it occurs simultaneously in different aspects. So it calls for our multi-dimensional perspective. As chapter 6 depicts, on one side there are people who cant stand the wrath of the Lamb while on the other, there are 144,00 who are saved. So it is with chapter 14. In the east, there is the mark of beast, 666, tempting people while in the west, on Zion, theres the Lamb and 144,000 who have the name of Jesus on their foreheads. Here Zion refers to the kingdom of the Messiah on earth, where the sovereignty of the Lord reigns. It shows us that Gods people will finally stand with the Lamb in the heavenly kingdom even though they are now suffering in their earthly catacomb. 144,000 is not an actual number. Its the perfect number 12, the sum of Gods number 3, multiplied by 4, the number of the earth and cubed by 10, the number of fullness. It stands for a great multitude who will stand on Zion without exemption. Yet, tempted by the number of the beast, people chase its mark in order to gain worldly recognition and prosperity. Notice that God drives us to face our low lives in order to have the seal of God on our foreheads by receiving Jesus, who was crucified for us. Everything on earth passes away whether success or suffering. Yet to those who hold on to their faith in God and his values, everything is eternal. By being united with the Redeemers personality, they can throw away all their worldly boasting and overcome the persecution of the world. Therefore, we need to focus on how to live today, thinking What would Jesus do? rather than wondering what will happen tomorrow. This is a godly life and the life of fullness.
2. They are those who sing the new song of Gods redemption. They sing the song that the world can never learn. While on one side of the world, people are persecuted and restricted from buying and selling without the mark of the beast, some people who overcame the world stand on Mount Zion, hearing a sound from heaven. It is the angels song praising the victory of Gods people. The song is made of heavenly language and values, which only the 144,000 people can understand. Gods people need to sing with a sweet and triumphant melody like the roar of rushing waters or a peal of thunder. We need to share Gods truth not only with authority but also in a beautiful and soft way. On Mount Zion, the sound was from heaven. Standing on Zion refers to overcoming Satans persecution with Jesus. Zion itself is not the heavenly kingdom. What we need is our Zion community. It is our heavenly community where people pray, cry, and repent together even in extreme trials. Its like the underground church of North Korea, where I heard a senior deaconesss earnest intercessory prayer. Worshiping there, worse than in Rome, the Christians of the church sang a new song of salvation, standing on Zion with the Lamb, with which they have endured the persecution for more than half a century.
3. They are the people living a consecrated life. Those who belong to the Lamb singing with the new song are the people of physical and spiritual chastity. We cant follow the Lord in our Roman prison without faith in Jesus, our bridegroom. How can we follow Jesus without keeping our chastity? Thats the way we can follow the Lamb no matter where he leads us. Its not our boasting or success or power but our obedience that enables us to follow the Lamb. We need to transcend our time and space because Gods perspective is totally different from ours. Theres no crucifixion that looks nice. No one can talk about the way of Christians without experiencing a miserable situation. By following the Lamb, we will be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation as Gods first fruit (Ex19:6). Watching our faith in Jesus, God will give us leadership. The feature of a mortal man is telling lies and having flaws. Gods selected people are not those who dont tell a lie or have no faults but those who lament over their lies and faults. Telling a lie is an action that stands against God, like all our self-centered actions such as accusation and temptation. A man of faith is not a hero. Just as Gideon was called a great warrior in the book of Judges even when he was spiritually immature, we sinners are also called Christians, those who belong to the Lamb by God. Pastor Ju, Gi-cheol, the foreseer of the Korean church, said that hed like to have just a bowl of rice tea and cucumber pickle, his last words after his tortures. He was just an ordinary man rather than a hero, who walked with the Lamb step by step. What a comforting story! We are all waging extreme battles on our own. We are weak, unable to do anything on our own. But because we belong to the Lamb, God will carry us on his back and raise us up when we trust in Him.
Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Fathers name written on their foreheads. (Rev 14:1)
