Today, Wednesday June 08
A Breath of Fresh Air
Revelation 14:4-7
“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. And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God.
Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth--to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people-- saying with a loud voice, "Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water."
I woke up very early this morning thinking about Revelation 14 and how it is a like a breath of fresh air. In chapter 13, the Antichrist and the False Prophet have been revealed as beasts, taking full control of the world with their one world government, their one world economic system, and now are requiring everyone to worship the image of the beast!
Remember this happens right in the middle of the Seven-Year Tribulation. Already in the first three and half years of it, the seven angels have sounded their trumpets of judgments and the three woes have taken place (Rev. 6-9). Terrible demons from the pit have been released to plague mankind. An army of two hundred million demons, under the authority of four demonic angels, have also been released from the River Euphrates in the East with orders to kill a third of mankind (Rev. 9:13). Literally all hell has broken loose on the earth. Over two billion people have been killed!
You would think it couldn’t get much worse, but really it has only just begun! The Great Tribulation that Jesus talked about is just around the corner! The worse it yet to come, but before it does, we have this breath of fresh air in Revelation 14 when John sees the Lamb standing on Mount Zion with the 144,000. They are singing a new song with the harps of heaven playing in the background!
We are told that these 144,000 are redeemed, “being the firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.” The term firstfruits means "the very finest." But it also carries the idea of an expected harvest. On the Feast of Firstfruits, the priest waved the sheaf before the Lord as a sign that the entire harvest belonged to Him (Lev. 23:9-14). The 144,000 may be the firstfruits of the harvest yet to come in the next three and half years as they continue to preach the Gospel to the nations. And they may also be the nucleus of the coming kingdom when Jesus comes back to the earth to reign for a thousand years. They will enter the millennium in mortal bodies and be able to marry and have children that will repopulate the earth with worshipers of Jesus!
I also woke up this morning thinking about how near we must be getting to the end times. In Matthew 24:37-39 Jesus said: “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”
What was it like in the days of Noah? Genesis 6:5-12 tells us: “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually…. The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.” The people and all the governments of the nations were corrupt. There was violence everywhere! And no one would listen to Noah’s message of coming judgment! They kept on living as usual, eating, drinking, marrying and giving in marriage.
We live in a day of corruption even in the highest places of our own government, in our businesses, in our churches and in our culture. It is everywhere! And violence is increasing on every hand!
Yes, I woke up this morning, thinking today could be the day that Jesus comes again to rapture His bride the church! And these first verses of Revelation 14 were like a breath of fresh air with all the stench of corruption all around us!
God bless!
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