Little Christs
Revelation
14 begins with the passage that I like to call the “Little Christs.” Of course, I am not meaning to imply that
they serve as the messiah – but rather that they imitate the Messiah. This is at the heart of what it means to be a
disciple of Jesus Christ. We are not to
become Christ, we are to be like Christ.
We
do have the same number – and thus the same symbolic meanings – here with the
144,000 followers as we did when they were first mentioned back in chapter 7 –
so I will let you refer back to that blog for that information. They are marked with the sign of God, and
this is in clear juxtaposition of the mark of the beast that we heard about in
the prior chapter. Remember that
markings can mean any of the following: ownership, devotion, security, loyalty,
dependence, and safety. Taking a mark is
not a bad thing – as Paul says we are either slaves to God or a slave to
sin. The problem comes when we as humans
take a mark that isn’t God’s mark! Also
note that the verb tense of the marking is perfect passive, which is absolutely
significant. John’s point in choosing
that tense is that God is the one who marks his own. God marks us, we don’t mark ourselves with
God.
These
little Christs sing with a very unique voice.
Their voice is like great water, which reminds us of the power of God’s
own voice as described in scripture elsewhere.
Their voice is like a great thunder, which further reminds us of the
easily recognizable nature of God’s voice.
Their voice is like a harpist singing as they play on their harp. In this description we are intended to think
of beauty and melody: many voices coming together to work together to speak as
one flowing – yet possibly also changing voice.
These
martyrs sing a song that only those in the lamb can learn. It is often true that when following God we
must be willing to do certain things in order to learn truths about God. Only those who are humble can learn about God
great provision. Only those who are
generous can truly understand God’s graciousness. Only those who forgive can understand
forgiveness and repentance. Only those
who meet the qualification of being in this group can learn the song of the
lamb.
Of
course, these 144,000 little Christs show us a process of growth. These are people who lived their life
following Jesus and were marked accordingly.
They no doubt sinned – as we all sin – but they followed God and kept
his commandments and grew. Add to this
explanation that the verb tense of the “purchasing” is also perfect
passive. It is God who purchases us and redeems
us. God has been redeeming his people in
the past, present, and will continue to redeem them into the future.
So
what about the “virginity” of these 144,000?
Is this a literal, figurative, or spiritual description? It is possible that this is a metaphor to literal
purity in terms of sexual relations.
After all, there are places in Paul’s writings that tell us that sexual
virginity is preferred but marriage is allowed for the sake of those who would
otherwise be tempted into sin. In this
case, John is calling them people who have not had sexual relations at all,
ever.
The
virginity could be a metaphor for spiritual purity. The Old Testament often describes the Hebrew
people as an adulterous nation, having spiritual affairs with the gods and
beliefs of other nations. The problem
with this line of thinking is that the verse doesn’t read like an analogy, it
reads more like a literal description is intended. In either case, we should certainly be aware
of our relational decisions in life – both literal and spiritual relations.
Also
note that these little Christs are an imitation of Christ in that they are a
sacrifice of first fruits. They are the
cream of the crop, so to speak. This
could mean that they are the best Christians to have ever lived, or it could be
an analogy that a Christian is the best that the world has to offer to God. They told no lies. They are not false people. They spoke what they believe and stood up for
it. They are blameless, without
blemish. This does not mean they never
sinned – for all humans have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. They are now blameless. Again we see a reference to Revelation 7 and
the white robes worn by the 144,000 there.
If nothing else, this passage lifts a high bar and sets high
expectations for Christians. Do we want
to be the “cream of the crop?” If so,
then we can see how that looks when lived out here in this passage.
The Three Angels
So
let’s turn to these angels. The first
angel gives us a message of warning. Remember
the Hebrew belief that God does not act in punishment without first giving a
warning. The message of the angel is
eternal. The angel calls for people to
fear God. Of course, we should fear a
God that can literally smite us at any time if He desires. However, there is more to fear than just the
negative fear of punishment. Fear also
has a quality of awe and amazement to it.
We should be in awe of what God can do – both through love and wrath.
The
angel calls for us to worship the creator.
It is a reminder of who it is that is the source of life. Here is yet another reason to be in fear and
awe of God. It reminds me of the old
joke about the scientist who believes he can create and God tells him, “No,
this is my dirt. Go make your own out of
nothing.” We should fear and love God
for who He is, for what He has done, and for what He can and will do.
The
second angel proclaims the fall of Babylon.
This passage likely derives its inspiration from Isaiah 21:9 and Jeremiah
51:7-8. From a purely historical
perspective, this is a prediction of the fall of the Roman Empire. The book of Revelation enjoys comparing Rome
to Babylon as well as enumerating upon the many ethical, moral, and spiritual faults
of Roman lifestyle. In this passage, the
imagery is like a prostitute luring a man into fornication. Babylon is the great symbol for tempting
God’s people away from God, much like a prostitute makes herself and her
activity more appealing than anything else in a person’s life at the current
time. Humans are full of strong
passions, and John is saying that there are forces in the world that are quite
intentional about luring us away from God.
The
third angel gives us a message about the unfaithful versus the faithful. At stake in this passage is the ultimate
challenge of Joshua 24:15, “Choose this day whom you will serve.” You can only have one mark upon you, and it
is either the mark of the beast and his desires or the mark of God and His
ways. Those who choose the ways of the
beast over God get a cup of wrath that “has been mixed” – yet another perfect
passive verb, thus implying the mixing is being done by God – to the fullest
strength of God’s wrath. God will not ultimately
temper His wrath against those who ultimately choose anything over and above
him.
The
ultimate consequence is that they “will be tormented.” Note the tense of the verb: future. This is a stern warning from John that the
future judgment will be harsh for those who do not choose God. Of course, it is also a message of hope for those
who do choose God, and thus sacrifice, in this life. The torment is said to happen in the presence
of a powerful angel and the lamb himself.
In many respects this echoes the story of the rich man and Lazarus found
in Luke 16:19-31. The torment of the
people who choose the beast will increase even into the time after judgment
(the era of eras). This image is largely
drawn from the image in Isaiah 34:8-10 and it should give us a stern moment of
contemplation to make sure that we have indeed chosen the ways of God and not
the ways of the beast.
We
also have the message to the faithful.
Those who die in Christ are blessed.
We are called to faithful endurance in Christ. Again, note the tense of the verb
soothing/resting (depending on the translation): future. We are promised that our soothing will
continue even after death and that our loyalty and works (IE character) will
follow us into the time of judgment. In
a life where some things are quite intentional about separating us from God and
God’s ways, the promise of loyalty, rest, faithfulness, and life is given to
those who remain in Christ to the end.
Last
we turn to the harvest. The images here likely
have roots in Joel 3:13, Daniel 7:13-14, Lamentations 1:15, and Isaiah 63:3. The winepress is a traditional image for
judgment. The grapes are put into an
upper chamber where force is applied, often in the form of feet. The bottom of the chamber has a trough that
runs into a lower chamber, which is where the juice would go. The fact that the winepress is treaded upon
outside the city likely indicates that it is to be used for the ones who are
still spiritually Gentiles. The Gentiles
were not allowed into the temple, thus they are thought of as the excluded
ones.
As
we look at the harvesting itself, note that the one like the son of man reaps
the harvest, while an angel reaps the grapes to be treaded upon in wrath. This may be that Christ is the one who reaps
those who are in God while an angel reaps those who are to be judged by God. It is neat to think of Christ Himself coming
and personally selecting the ones who have followed Him and endured to the
end. That is an image that will give me
comfort tonight and the nights to come.
God’s
peace to you. Although this an unusual
passage to read Christmas Eve, it fits.
Remember that this is the night that we commemorate the fact that God
put His plan of salvation into action.
Jesus came as an infant to die on the cross for our sake. Choose Christ’s ways and you choose
life. Be marked by God, and Christ will
come and harvest you in the end.
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