Shabbat shalom kol beit Yisra'el and Mishpachah and welcome back to our study of the Book of Revelation and to Part LII (52) after a hiatus of 1½ months. I pray that you were all uplifted and refreshed by the Spring Festivals and are ready to get stuck back into the Omega or Taw revelation of the Bible.

As a quick recap: chapters 6-16 contains three sets of seven judgments, two sets of which we have already studied in detail. The first set is known as the Seven Seals, the second set is known as the Seven Trumpets or Shofars, and the third and final set - which we shall soon study -- is known as the Seven Bowls or Vials. You will also recall that we do not regard these three sets as simply three aspects of a single set but actually three different sets of events that have similarities some like the big earthquakes at the end of each set which progressively get worse and worse.

You will also recall that there are a number of Interludes or brief pauses in which other events are examined. Interlude I was between the 6th and 7th seals of the first set and, importantly for us today, is where first mention is made of the 144,000 which we studied in Part XXIX (29) (Revelation 7) and which we will need to briefly run over again because today's verses are also about the 144,000. Interlude II is to be found between the 6th and 7th shofars of the second set (Revelation 10 & 11) and is all about the malak (angel) with the little scroll and the two end-time witnesses. We are currently in the middle of Interlude III, which is the longest of the three, and ended last time looking at the two end-time Beasts or Antichrist and False Prophet. When we're done today and next week with Part 2 of the 144,000, we will begin the third set of judgments known as the Seven Bowls or Vials, as we head toward the climax of John's Apocalypse.

Today's text consists of the first five verses of chapter 14 of the Book of Revelation and, as usual, we shall be following a messianised form of the New King James Version (NKJV) ground text with modifications that I think are better translations together with numerous alternative readings from other translations. These you can find in the printed text on the website as I am only going to read out two or three of the more important variations. This way I hope you will be able to capture every nuance of meaning. There is one major error of omission in verse 5 of nearly every English translation (the definite article is missing) which I have marked red in the written text and which I wish to emphasise as I read it out to you now because it does change the meaning of the text somewhat. I'll point it out to you when we get there but we'll reserve a full discussion of that to next week. So let's carefully work our way together through today's segment:

"1 Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb (Rev.5:6) standing on Mount ('the mountain of' - HRV) Tsiyon (Zion) (Jerusalem) (Ps.2:6; Heb.12:22), and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand (144,000) (Rev.7:4;), having ['His name and' - NLT, JB, NEB, NRSV, ESV, ISRV, KNT, AENT] His Father's name (Rev.3:12; 22:4) written ('inscribed' - Barclay) on their foreheads ('between their eyes' - HRV) (Ex.13:9,16; Dt.6:8; 11:18; Ezek.9:4; Rev.7:3). 2 And I heard a voice ('sound' - NIV) from heaven ('the sky' - JB), like the voice ('sound' - HRV) of many waters (Rev.1:15) ('waves' - Moff.; 'the ocean' - JB; 'rushing water' - NEB) (Dan.10.6; Ezek.1:24; 43:2), and like the voice ('sound' - NRSV; 'roar' - JB) of loud ('pealing' - JNT; 'the deep roar of' - NEB) thunder (Rev.6:1) ('like the roar of a great waterfall and the heavy rolling of thunder' - JBP; 'like the sound of cataracts of water and like a crashing peal of thunder' - Barclay). And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps (Rev.5:8; 15:2). 3 They sang ('are singing' - JBP) as it were a new ('renewed' - ISRV) song ['of praise' - JBP] ('new hymn' - JB, RNAB) (Ps.33:3; 98:1; 144:9; 149:1; Rev.5:9) before ('in front of' - JB) the throne, before the four Zoa (living creatures; 'living beings' - LB) (Rev.4:6), and the [24] elders ('Presbyters' - Moff.) (Rev.4:4); and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand (144,000) who were redeemed from the earth ('world' - NEB). 4 These are the ones who were not defiled with women ('those who have not committed idolatry with the harlot (Rev.17:5) and her daughters' - AENT) (Rev.2:14-15,20-22; 17:21-6; cp. Ezek.16:1-58; 23:1-49) ('spiritually undefiled, pure as virgins' - NLT), for they are [spiritual] virgins ('celibate' - JBP, KNT; 'kept themselves chaste' - NEB, NASB) (2 Cor.11:2; Rev.3:4). These are the ones who follow ('followed' - HRV) the Lamb wherever He goes ('would go' - HRV) (Rev.7:17). These were redeemed ('ransomed' - JNT, RNAB; 'purchased' - NIV) from among men ('from the earth' - RNAB) (Rev.5:9), being bikkurim (firstfruits) ('a special offering' - NLT; 'consecrated offering' - LB) to Elohim (God) and to the Lamb (Jer.2:2-3; Jas.1:18). 5 And in their mouth was not found the Lie (Bullinger; cp. 2 Thess.2:11) (found no deceit) (Ps.32:2; Zeph.3:13; Jn.1:47; 1 Pet.2:22) ('without defect' - JNT; 'without blemish' - KNT) ('never allowed a lie to pass their lips' - JB), for they are without fault before the throne of Elohim (God) ('no falsehood can be charged against them; they are blameless' - NLT, LB) (Eph.5:27)" (Rev.14:1-5, NKJV).

These are the opening verses of a chapter where Yahweh is shown working behind the scenes of history preparing rewards for His people and punishments for those who disobey Him. For us here today, - and this I have spoken of numerous times to the dismay of those steeped in Martin Luther's Protestant doctrine - this speaks of salvation-future, in other words, this is the time that our final salvation is calculated, not just on the basis of faith-alone (as is true today of the saved, and as was true on the day we were first saved and born-again), but on the basis of faith and works. Indeed, one of the key teachings of the Book of Revelation is that the deeds of our life on the final Day of Judgment, Day of Yahweh or Day of the LORD (which takes place at the final Yim haKippuim) are most definitely taken into account, as the apostle James also testified. Accordingly throughout the Book of Revelation, believers are warned against falling away (thus contradicting Calvinism which denies free agency) and are encouraged to remain faithful, retaining and working out their salvation to the very end, and the final salvation at the Final Judgment when we give an account of our lives.

But before we get into specific details I want us to first of all see if we can discern what the main spiritual thread is going through these five verses. If you were to identify and describe that thread with one word, what do you suppose that one word would be? If I could summarise in one word the key point of this segment it would be the word 'following'. This is all about 'following'. And if we're to understand precisely what's meant by that, then we need to, as always, find out what the historical-cultural context of this passage is.

In my country, the United Kingdom, shepherds move their sheep from one pasture to another using sticks and dogs. I suspect that is pretty common in many, if not all, Western countries. The shepherd carries a stick or 'crook' with a curved hook-like handle (which is what Catholic and old-time Protestant Bishops carry around in formal ceremonies as a symbol of their being called to be the spiritual shepherds of their human flocks) and use well-trained dogs - often Border Collies or Sheepdogs - to expertly move the flock around by whistling signals to the dogs. In Britain sheep trials are very popular and are convened annually to determine which shephered and dog(s) have the best working relationship with each other and the flocks of sheep they manage. They're quite fascinating to watch. So in the British example, the shepherd is standing on a piece of high ground whistling orders to his dog(s) who then dart in and out of the sheep keeping them huddled together, catching strays, and making sure they're moving in the direction the shepherd wants them to go.

That's certainly one way to herd and move sheep but if that's the mental image you bring with you reading the Bible you're not only going to misinterpret the text here but, if you yourself are a spiritual shepherd (like a Pastor or Bishop), you're going to misunderstand your rôle as someone who must always lead by example having the confidence of your flock. You see, in the Middle East, anciently as well as today still, the shepherd goes on ahead and the sheep follow him. Why do they follow him? Because they know his voice, but they also know they can trust him to lead them to pasture, to water and to safety. No sticks or dogs are involved at all. No sheepdogs needed, no secondary agents of control or 'doggie policemen' required.

Rememeber that John the apostle is the author of the Book of Revelation and in the 10th chapter of his account of the life of Messiah in the Gospel of John, he uses the same image of the shepherd, doesn't he? The first 21 verses of that chapter are commonly subtitled, 'The Good Shepherd'. We're going to read the first 18 verses now because I want you to sense and capture the mood - the spirit or phronema - and discern the setting:

"'I tell you the truth (emet), the man who does not enter the sheep pen (sheepfold) by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognise a stranger's voice.' Yah'shua (Jesus) used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what He was telling them.

"Therefore Yah'shua (Jesus) said again, 'I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before Me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life (chayim), and have it to the full.

"'I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

"'I am the good shepherd; I know My sheep and My sheep know Me - just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father - and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen (fold). I must bring them also. They too will listen to My voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves Me is that I lay down my life - only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father'" (John 10:1-18, NIV).

Isn't that beautiful? You see, Yah'shua's (Jesus') call to people to 'follow Him' is one of the most persistent mitzvot or commandments He ever issued. We are to follow Him wherever He goes knowing only that He will take care of us and provide our needs. The shepherd doesn't tell his sheep where he's taking them, does he? 'Oh, sheep, listen up. I'm going to take you over the crest of that hill there, then we'll make a right turn down the lane until we come to the lake and then we'll go through the gate into the miller's field.' No, he doesn't do that. For one thing they wouldn't know what He was talking about. We too, as sheep, are not told where we're going, or by which route; we are simply told to 'follow' Him each day and go where He leads in the full confidence that He will see us right.

That goes for all Yah'shua (Jesus)-followers of whatever denomation they may be currently in - Christian or Messianic or whatever temporary label you choose to use - and, by the by, He will lead them - and is leading them - out of the various denominations and into the true, millennial Messianic Israel. So don't judge people prematurely or presumptuously on the basis of their current understandings (or lack of) - what matters is that they are following Him and that He will lead them out of all error and into all truth by the by. So be patient and tolerant of current differences without compromising or watering down the truth that you have been given and are called at some point to share. Just know that Yah'shua (Jesus) is working in, on, and with, the true followers and it is not our business to interfere with that. Just patiently wait for them until they are ready - and you can only do that by listening carefully to the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) - until they are ready to hear what you have been given. But equally - and this is one of the measures of a true Remnant talmid (disciple) or 144,000-er - you wait for them too because I guarantee they have something to give you that you lack. Indeed, the patience and teachability of the 144,000 is one of the ways I have learned how to discern them.

I think it would be true to say - which is why I am making such a big fuss over this - that in the Gospels 'following Yah'shua (Jesus)' is the basic phrase which describes someone who belongs to the Master and believes in Him - that's what all true, born-again, spiritually regenerated believers do, day in and day out (Mt.4:19; 8:22; 9:9, etc.). It's the same principle in Christian marriage - the true wife follows the husband in exactly the same the true Messianic Community (Church) follows Christ; and the true husband loves his wife in the same way Christ loves the Messianic Community (Church) (Eph.5:22-28; Col.3:18-19). It's such a simple picture; follow it, and you will not go wrong.

But in John's Gospel particularly, we find some very poignant and striking passages on this theme indeed. "Whoever serves Me must follow Me", Yah'shua (Jesus) said (Jn.12:26, KNT). The servant follows - he doesn't lead! If we 'do our own thing', or order Him to do this or that by 'naming it, and claiming it' as many do, we're not following Him. If wives 'do their own thing' they're not following their husband either. Both are supposed to dovetail into each other, hand-in-glove, in their respective rôes. We all know this is true but we either refuse to follow or we refuse to lead when we hand over the control of our lives to the fleshy nature. Peter, you'll remember, insists that he'll follow the Saviour absolutely anywhere, to prison and even to death (Jn.13:37; Lk.22:33), but Yah'shua (Jesus) solemnly warns him that he will, in fact, deny that he even knows Him...to Peter's absolute consternation and initial denial! We're no different to Peter. If we'd only look in the mirror a little more often in personal character assessment, we'd soon discover that we're either not following or not leading as we should. The wife and children must follow their husband and father who must lead them here, and the husband and father must follow his Master so that he can lead righteously and not be like Achan in the story of Jericho when he led both himself and his family to destruction.

It is precisely in this light that we must read the amazingly powerful passage in John 21 where Peter, after the Messiah's resurrection, asks Him three times whether he loves Him. And what is Yah'shua's (Jesus') ultimate response to Peter's 'Yes, you know I do'? "Follow Me"! (Jn.21:19) - 'Feed My sheep', 'Feed My lambs' (Jn.21:15-18). Even then Peter has some questions: 'Master, what about this fellow?' (v.21). Do you remember? 'What about him - John?' Yah'shua's (Jesus's) reply is one of the most famous one-liners in all the Gospel, echoing through the hearts and minds of all who have struggled with vocation and wondered why things were working out the way they did. Come on, be honest, how many of you have been surprised by the direction your life has taken? And what is the Master's reply? "If I want him (John) to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? (What business is that of yours? What's that got to do with you?) You must follow Me" (John 21:22, NIV).

'Don't ask silly questions that are none of your business to ask!' He in effect told Peter - 'Just follow. Don't worry about the others, or what they're called to do, or what they think about you and what you're called to do; you, just follow Me. Don't look back (Lk.9:62); follow Me.' And no regrets, no wanting to 'go back', no living a double life pulled in two different directions. One Life, one Calling, One Direction - follow! Moses, follow Yahweh, Joshua, follow Moses. Miriam and Aaron, follow Moses. Caleb, follow Joshua. Sarah, Hagar and Keturah, follow Abraham. Leah, Rachel, Bilhah and Zilpah, follow Jacob. Asenath, follow Joseph. Rebekah, follow Isaac. Mikal, Akinoam, Abigail, Ma'akah, Haggith, Abital and Eglah, follow David. Mary, follow Joseph. Don't look at each other's different callings. Don't compare. Follow where Yah'shua (Jesus) leads you, and don't look back. Because when you start looking back, that's when you start getting turned to stone and your spiritual life at once stops...sometimes permanently. So look forwards...and follow.

All of this is very much in the background as we read what the definition of the 144,000 is: "They follow the Lamb wherever He goes" (Rev.14:4, KNT), the text says. Wow! (if I might borrow an Americanism). No questions, no doubting, no second thoughts, no comparison with others. There is this very strong sense in today's text in which nothing more needs to be said.

If you're called to lead as a husband, a Pastor over a congregation, a Bible-teacher, a counsellor, a mother, an Eldress over women, or whatever, you need to know what your calling is. I know what mine is. I have been following it for the last 40 years no matter the persecution, no matter the times of inactivity, no matter all the pulls and tugs in different directions by people wanting me to go a different way might be - sometimes with open threats if I don't follow them - because I am following my calling, and my calling comes from Christ. Have I been like Peter? Pretty close at times, I'm ashamed to admit, when others who ought to have been following wanted to change the ministry's direction. I can take you to the first day I arrived in Norway in 1988, for example, and truthfully say that I am still headed in the same direction. Have there been course corrections? Of course, sometimes small and easy ones, sometimes big, painful and hard ones. New things have had to be learned and old baggage thrown out, but the direction Yah'shua (Jesus) takes me in is exactly the same. I have my Five Commissions, as do all those of you who have been called to this work. I have, as my supports, my Joshua's and Caleb's, I have my Tharbis's and Zipporah's, and sometimes I have my Miriam's and Aaron's whom Yahweh has to correct when they veer off course. And you, too, have whoever Yahweh has given to you to guide you, and aid you, on your course. Find yout what your calling is and do it, or you'll make no progress.

So at core - in their very essence - the 144,000 are dedicated, loyal, obedient followers of Messiah who love Him passionately and (if they are women) of their husbands. Now the 144,000 go by a variety of names. Back in August last year when we were studying chapter 7 I borrowed N.T.Wright's term and called them the Lamb's 'élite warriors'. And I have done so again today. Back then we were told where the 144,000 come from; in today's chapter 14, we are being taught what they do. Back then, we were shown the sealing; here, now, we are being shown the end or the purpose to which the 144,000 were sealed. In chapter 7, the object of the 144,000's sealing was that they might pass through the Great Tribulation unscathed; here, in chapter 14, we see that object attained.

They have come through it, they've not been whisked away in some Walt Disney-type 'rapture' fantasy. They're not Peter Pan's. Indeed, ther latest I am hearing from the 'rapturist' crowd is that, given the world situation, they have to raptured within a year. I promise - I guarantee - that unless they die they will still be here...and in a year's time...and indeed until they die because there is no rapture! I make this prophecy every time someone comes out with a date, every time what I say comes true, and almost every time they just keep on inventing new dates. That's called stagnation - spiritual imprisonment, being held captive by a lie.

The result of the testimony of the 144,000, from chapter 7 onwards, will be seen in the formation of that body which will be the nucleus of the new nation of Messianic Israel - a nation, not a 'Church'! Any of those messianic wannabe 'Moses-men' who have been presumptuously 'organising' Israel, as they suppose, in their little groups as self-appointed leaders of the tribes which haven't even started being separated out or gathered yet, rushing ahead of Yahweh's timetable, arrogantly organising Beit Din's or Councils of Judgment, are in serious trouble and must repent, for we have not yet arrived at the the times of chapters 7 and 14 in their fullness. There's purging to be done first. So there are big clues in the Book of Revelation as to the timing of the organisation of the Nation of Messianic Israel with the 12 tribal heads in place, as I will now proceed to show.

Back then, in chapter 7, mention of 144,000, as I've said, was inserted as an Interlude between the 6th and 7th prophetic seals. And the reason is because they have been hidden from the world until this precise time, so that they might be raised in secret in the fullness of Yahweh's ways so as not to be identified and wiped out by the Enemy's own 'watchers' who seriously fear them and want them dead. Because, once awakened and matured, they're on a permanent war-footing until Messiah returns, and they cannot be stopped. Back in chapter 7 we are told that, first, they possess Yahweh's seal on their forehead so that they might be protected when the earth, sea and trees are subject to harming...as is now happening (think of artificial climate modification, chemical spraying, Fukushima, etc.); second, that they are divided into 12 different companies each corresponding to the 12 tribes of Israel, 12,000 members-strong from each. We also learned they were all men though you must be careful of some of the more liberal, progressive, so-called 'gender-inclusive' Bible translations (like NRSV) which mutilate the text and crush certain prophecies by making them out to be men and women. Now don't get me wrong - the women are most certainly a part of them but only through Holy Echad Marriage and family association because the 144,000 are a patriarchal order. The wives are every bit as important, even vital, as the men, because they must function as single echad units to be of the 144,000, but they must be so according to the ways of the ancients and not the modernists and postmodernists whose ideas are wholly destructive and antithetical to the Way of Yahweh.

Most churches totally misidentify the 144,000 even now because they are still prisoners of false teachings about who or what Israel is in the New Covenant. If you have been seduced by Zionism, as so many millions of Evangelicals and Messianics are, you are way off course. You'll find most churches still either think the 144,000 are 'Jews', and particularly 'orthodox Jews' or that they are the 144,000 selected missionaries from the disunited 'Church of God'...as well one might justifiably style all the collective denominations. We saw that neither of these interpretations was correct because the 144,000 are the elect of fully Messianic or Torah-Obedient, commandment-keeping, Messiah-trusting, 12-tribed Israel led by the Tribe of Ephraim and supported by the two Manasseh Tribes and Benjamin (not by Judah whose leadership was in a bygone æon/age and whose prophetic ôle ended with the coming of Messiah). Ask a Messianic Jew where is Israel is, and they will tell you that the 'Jews' are Israel...but effectively all mixed together and indistinguishable from one another with the exception, maybe, of the Levites who have certain characteristic marker-genes. So, no, the Messianic Jews are not Israel even if there may be some biological representatives of the tribes among them, not that that in any case matters as far as the preaching of the Gospel is concerned. It only matters when the Final Gathering gets underway and only then will they be revealed. For now they are hidden.

Now if you have joined this course since we had that original study, you need to go back and read or listen to Part XXIX (29) if you're going to get the most out of today's and next-week's teaching, as that was an extremely long and detailed instruction. You see, it in particular covers a transmission and translation error which, if not corrected, leads to a number of false conclusions as to who, today, the 12 tribes are. (And ithey're not any number of different organisations whom today - again presumptuously - call themselves 'The Twelve Tribes' some of which are fully-blown cults). So I'll leave links for those who would like to follow up after this session, both those who are new to the course and those who want to have their memories refreshed.

So once again, apparently 'out of the blue', the 144,000 reappear in the Book of Revelation as the second part of a later Interlude between the 6th and 7th shofars or trumpets. Why then in particular? Because that is when they are sent into action as an irresistable force doing Yahweh's work at this juncture at the end of the æon (age). And it's at this point in time too that a separation will occur between those who are truly of the 144,000 (the firstborn wheat) and those who are counterfeits (the firstborn tares) claiming to be. Once more, John is working out of Psalm 2 which is being fulfilled completely at this Revelation 14 juncture of time:

"Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against Yahweh and against his Anointed One. 'Let us break their chains,' they say, 'and throw off their fetters.' The One enthroned in heaven laughs; Yahweh scoffs at them. Then He rebukes them in His anger and terrifies them in His wrath, saying, 'I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill (mountain).' I will proclaim the decree of Yahweh: He said to me, 'You are my Son; today I have become your Father. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth Your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter; You will dash them to pieces like pottery.' Therefore, you kings (sovereigns), be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve Yahweh with fear and rejoice with trembling (Phil.2:12). Kiss the Son, lest He be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for His wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him" (Ps.2:1-11, NIV).

This is why, in verse 1 of Revelation 14, mention is clearly made of "the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him were 144,000..." (Rev.14:1a, KNT). We have already seen the Dragon (Satan) becoming furious with the woman and her offspring, the younger brothers of the child who has been snatched up to heaven (Rev.12:5). We have seen two Beasts or Monsters, the great imperial beast who comes from the sea and the local, secondary beast who emerged from the immediate community. (Remember them? Rome and the Provincial Governments). They are the ones who, in Psalm 2, are raging and fuming, threatening and blaspheming. But now Yahweh is revealing His chosen King, and His chosen King is not alone. He is surrounded by his crack troops, His élite 144,000 warriors who follow Him wherever He goes. And there is no doubt of their victory. None whatsoever!

But let's be clear. The Zion here is not the earthly Jerusalem. I repeat, it is not the Jerusalem in the Middle East that is the capital of the modern Israeli Republic which, as we have already been informed by Paul, is the City of Hagar, the city of the bondwoman and not the freedwoman, Sarah, which even in Paul's day had lost its spiritual place and, as Yah'shua (Jesus) had prophesied, would have its temple violently dismantled brick-by-brick and with it the whole city of Jerusalem, representing as it did, and does, the Old Covenant received at Sinai (Gal.4:24-25), which is long gone. (It has not, as many messianics falsely teach, been 'renewed'). That the old Jerusalem, so beloved in the Tanakh (Old Testament) for whom all peoples were commanded to pray - "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: may those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels" (Ps.122:6-7, NIV) - that Jerusalem was forever gone by the beginning ofb the Second Century AD, and the only one that thereafter mattered to believers was the one prophesied by Ezra the Seer, speaking again of Mount Zion, the highest point in Jerusalem, who declared:

"...He (the Messiah) whom the Most High has been keeping for many æons (ages) and through whom He will deliver His creation and will direct those those who are left...[He] shall stand on the top (summit) of Mount Zion. And Zion shall come and be made manifest to all people, prepared and built, as you saw the mountain carved without hands. Then He, My Son, will reprove the assembled nations for their ungodliness..." (4 Ezra 13:26, 35-27, NRSV).

Here, beyond any shadow of a doubt, "Zion" refers to the heavenly Jerusalem, the New Jerusalem which one day will come down to earth, obliterating the current one, as the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews testifies:

"But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living Elohim (God). You have come to thousands upon thousands of malakim (angels) in joyful assembly, to the Assembly (Church) of the Firstborn (the 144,000, th Chavurat Bekorot), whose names are written in heaven. You have come to Elohim (God), the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Yah'shua (Jesus) the Mediator of a New Covenant (B'rit Chadashah), and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel" (Heb.12:22-24, NIV).

So beyond any shadow of doubt the 144,000 are the Chavurat Bekorot or "Church of the Firstborn" (Heb.12:23). Notice the names (in the plural - something not made clear in a number of translations, like the KJV, that use defective manuscripts) - the names of Those to whom they are sealed on their foreheads, who "had His (Christ's) Name, AND the name of His Father (Yahweh), written on their foreheads" (v.1b, KNT). Why both names? Because they have the testimony of both the Father and the Son, and they therefore sing both the "song of Moses" (the Torah) and the "song of the Lamb" (Rev.15:3) which we learned when we studied the previous chapter, chapter 13.

In other words, the 144,000 are both Torah-obedient Messianics and Christ-following, cross-preaching, Evangelicals, singing both songs together in perfect harmonmy. They serve King and His Torah-structured Kingdom and have the Mark of Heaven on their foreheads and on their right hands to prove it...both Names. Possession of this 'double-mark' therefore signifies complete devotion and open profession in proclaiming the Name of the Lamb, Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) and faithfulness in living the Torah way of life of the Father. The Son does not replace the Father - He is the Father's plenipotentiary, His ruling representative, acting under His authority until the time (Protestants please note well) - until the time when He (the Son) returns it to the Father, as Paul clearly explained to the Corinthians:

"Now when it says that 'everything' has been put under Him (Christ), it is clear that this does not include Elohim (God) [the Father] Himself, who [Himself] put everything under Christ. When He (Yahweh the Father) has done this, then the Son (Yah'shua/Jesus) himself will be made subject to Him (Yahweh the Father) who put everything under Him (Christ), so that Elohim (God) [the Father, Yahweh] may be all in all" (1 Cor.15:27-28, NIV).

As I keep reminding you, the Book of Revelation, when read properly, sorts out all the doctrinal controversies of the last 2,000 years. So a clue to the proper interpretation of what follows in the next few verses of chapter 14 is to be found in recalling what is said of those in chapter 13 who choose to surrender to the Antichrist:

"He (the Antichrist) also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name (666)" (Rev.13:15-17, NIV).

We are going to continue with this same segment, verses 1 to 5 of chapter 14, next week, both because I have been too ill to do it proper justice and because there is far more important material here than at first meets the eye. So go back and read our earlier study of the 144,000 in chapter 7 if either you were not here back then at the time, or, if your memories have become dulled owing to the passage of time, before you return next week if you want to get the most out of this study. With so many false interpretations of this amazing Book of Revelation in circulation, and entering as we are critical phases of the events described within its pages, it's important we get this right, and therefore take the needed time to do so. So until next Sabbath, may Yahweh bless you and open your eyes to all truth and minister deeply to your mind, heart and spirit - your whole being - is my prayer in Yah'shua's (Jesus') Name. Amen.

Acknowledgements

[1] Tom Wright, Revelation for Everyone - The New Testament for Everyone Commentary Series, Vol.19 (SPCK, London: 2011)
[2] E.W.Bullinger*, Commentary on Revelation (Kregel Classics, Grand Rapids, Michihan: 1984)
[3] David H. Stern, Jewish New Testament Commentary (JNT Publications, Clarksville, Maryland: 1992)
[4] ESV Study Bible (Crossway, Wheaton, Illinois: 2011)
[5] The NIV Study Bible (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan: 1995)
[6] Ed. J.R.Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (MacMillan, London: 1909)
[7] David Pawson, Unlocking the Bible: A Unique Overview of the Whole Bible (Collins, London: 2007)
[8] David H. Stern, Jewish New Testament Commentary (Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc., Clarksville, Maryland: 1995)
[9] Andrew Gabriel Roth, Aramaic English New Testament (Netzari Press LLC, USA: 2012)

*E.W.Bullinger was a brilliant Anglican clergyman and scholar whose works merit careful study by serious students of the Bible. He was, however, seriously in error in at least three main areas, namely, (1) he believed the 'Church' has been raptured before the Book of Revelation opens, (2) he believed that the 7 churches in Revelation 2-3 are 7, literal Jewish churches or assemblies yet to come, and (3) he believed in a pre-tribulation, pre-millennial rapture.

• 1. White horse - military aggression
• 2. Red horse - bloodshed
• 3. Black horse - famine
• 4. Pale Green/Blanched/Pallid/Sickly-looking horse - disease, epidemics

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• 5. Persecution & prayer
• 6. Tremour & terror

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  INTERLUDE I (Ch.7)
  (The 144,000 Redeemed)

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• 7. Silence in heaven, listening to prayers which are then answered in a final catastrophe: a severe earthquake I

• 1. Scorched earth
• 2. Polluted sea
• 3. Contaminated water
• 4. Reduced sunlight

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• 5. Insects and plague (for five months) (1st Woe)
• 6. Oriental invasion (200 million army) (2nd Woe)

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  INTERLUDE II (Ch.10-11)
  (The Malak with the Little Scroll)
  (The Two Witnesses)

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• 7. The Kingdom comes, the world is taken over by Yahweh & Yah'shua (Jesus) after a severe earthquake II (3rd Woe)

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  INTERLUDE III (Ch.13-14)
  (The First & Second Beasts)
  (The Lamb & the 144,000)
  (The Messages of the Three Malakim)

  ---

• 1. Boils on the skin
• 2. Blood in the sea
• 3. Blood from the springs
• 4. Burning by the sun

  ---

• 5. Darkness
• 6. Armageddon

  ---

• 7. Hailstorm (OB 368:11-12) and severe earthquake III, leading to international collapse