1Then I saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him were 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of mighty ocean waves or the rolling of loud thunder. It was like the sound of many harpists playing together. 3This great choir sang a wonderful new song in front of the throne of God and before the four living beings and the twenty-four elders. No one could learn this song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4They have kept themselves as pure as virgins, following the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been purchased from among the people on the earth as a special offering to God and to the Lamb. 5They have told no lies; they are without blame.
Revelation 14:1-5
This one verse in our current focus passage begs to be investigated. From the start of reading this opening paragraph of Revelation 14, this verse struck me as being pregnant with meaning. It brought immediately to mind John’s truth theme, with pithy statements regarding Jesus and Truth liberally placed throughout his Gospel. Take note of the following references.
The Word became flesh and lived among us. We gazed on his glory, the kind of glory that belongs to the Father’s unique Son, who is full of grace and truth.
John 1:14
Yet the time is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. Indeed, the Father is looking for people like that to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.
John 4:23-24
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14:6
Sanctify them by the truth. Your word is truth.
John 17:17
It is for their sakes that I sanctify myself, so that they, too, may be sanctified by the truth.
John 17:19
Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. I was born for this, and I came into the world for this: to testify to the truth. Everyone who is committed to the truth listens to my voice.”
Pilate asked him, “What is ‘truth’?” After he said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, “I find no basis for a charge against him.
John 18:37-38
The thought struck me that this one liner at the end of the opening paragraph of Revelation 14 is not a throw-away line. John is not just saying they didn’t tell lies, even little white lies or fibs. This statement is far more impactful than that. The literal Greek reads as follows:
καὶ οὐχ εὑρέθη ψεῦδος ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτῶν· ἄμωμοι γὰρ εἰσιν.
and not {was found} {a lie} in the mouth {of them} unblemished for {they are}
In their mouth, not so much as a [single] lie was found. They were [ἄμωμοι] ‘faultless’, ‘without blame’, ‘unblemished’. That my friends is a telling statement, written by John who penned the above verses and wrote the Gospel filled with 27 ‘Truth statements’ found in 23 verses of his Gospel. In other words, truth is an important word to John, resulting in Pilate asking that leading question: What is truth?
That question alone is so relevant and necessary for us to ask in this day and age, when Truth seems no longer relevant. The adage of the day currently is “There is no absolute truth, truth is relative; you have your truth and I have mine.” Nothing could be further from the Truth! What struck me even more is that Jesus is TRUTH. He didn’t just speak some truths; He embodied TRUTH in all that He did. He was and is and evermore will be the walking and talking TRUTH.
Given that as the background and the fact that John was the one who wrote so much about Truth and Christ being the Way to God, the Truth and Life Eternal, John has to be meaning something DEEPER by his comment “and no lie was found in their mouth.” The context has to be the ultimate lie of satan that he is the one all should be worshiping and bowing before. If that were the case, and we submitted, do you see how big the lie would be? Denying Christ in the face of death when we have been urged to trust Him at that time? Fearing death while knowing Him who has the power to resurrect us from the dead would be a rejection of mega proportions and therefore the ultimate lie. John then declares THESE MARTYRS are blameless because they didn’t shrink back under the threat of death. These are the ones who earlier sang “Worthy is the Lamb who had been slain for the sins of the world.” and “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the lamb!”
To raise John’s final statement on this matter to this new level seemed a little too bold. So I checked whether I was on the right track again and had a look at what Gordon Fee had to say about Revelation 14:5. He too focuses on the song they sang and here is his statement:
“In John’s view to deny Christ is the ultimate lie, just as confession of Christ as Lord is the ultimate truth. Thus to reduce this final clause to merely petty fibbing (as though any such lie is either petty or a mere fib) is to miss John by several miles. They [these martyrs] are “blameless” and thus offered as “firstfruits”, because in the context of his book they have not told the “lie” about the Lamb, as to who he really is.”
Gordon D Fee, Revelation p 193
Gordon Fee goes on to say ‘this remarkable paragraph has to occur without numbers‘, which means don’t print it with verse numbers and chapter breaks, dividing it off from the background John intended to preface these amazing statements. Sectioning off Revelation 13 from 14 can cause us to neglect the fact this all belongs together. The shock of the horror depicted in Chapter 13 is needful to show us all, no matter how bad it gets, God still has his faithful ones under His protection. We were reminded of that in Chapter 7 when the 144,000 were sealed:
“Who are these people wearing white robes,” one of the elders asked me, “and where did they come from?”
I told him, “Sir, you know.” Then he told me, “These are the people who are coming out of the terrible suffering. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. That is why: “They are in front of the throne of God and worship him night and day in his Temple. The one who sits on the throne will shelter them.
Revelation 7:13-15
We were told that in Chapter 7 after the extreme trauma of chapter 6 ending with the people crying out for the rocks and mountains to fall on them. That was the case then and it has not changed now. God’s mark of ownership is still upon them and now even more personally. The message to the Seven Churches of Revelation [in reality to all true churches of God] is “You are mine, I have bought you with a price and I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.”
Listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches and don’t shrink back under the threat of death. It is worth repeating, isn’t it? That is why the same message is given to all churches of Revelation and they are encouraged to endure to the end.
Don’t fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Matthew 10:28
Those who sing the Revelation songs ought to remember the words when they are forced to deny Christ and worship the beast. Be encouraged, stand firm and sing to the Lord in the face of death.
Ian
Pontius Pilate asked “What is truth?” And though the man of whom he asked it did not utter a single word in reply, no man ever received a more complete and articulate answer. In that moment to utter a single truth would have obscured the living truth that He was.
Art Katz
We are prone to giving ‘our Pilates’ a very impressive, quite scripturally correct statement, and in so doing mask the truth with spurious words.
Ian
God is not a man, that he should lie, Neither the son of man, that he should repent: Has he not said, and will he not do it? Has he not spoken, and will he not make it good?
Numbers 23:19
Then he said, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up.” [11] So he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. And for your sakes, I’m glad I wasn’t there, for now you will really believe. Come, let’s go see him.” [14-15] “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?” [25-26] “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” [40]
John 11:11, 14-15, 25-26, 40
Confession: I woke early this morning with the above two quotes from the Word of God strongly impressed on my mind. I knew when I got up I had to exchange the last two quotes I had added to this Gem with this verse from Numbers and this collection of verses from John 11. This is for all the Thomases and Marthas among you. Don’t forget that John, who was physically present to hear Jesus say these words before He raised Lazarus from the dead, is one and the same John who is writing this letter to the churches, and even for us. Let that sink into your thoughts and encourage you to believe and wait to see the Glory! The One who spoke these Words is both God and the Son of Man. Allow that to have its impact on you. Go therefore and believe!
In fact I would challenge you to go back and read this Gem again. It is worth it for what I believe God the Holy Spirit put together as I was writing it. Talk about a hupomimnesko, this is one.
Hint: Just type the word hupomimnesko into the search engine at the top of any page in the Gems and it will bring up a series of Gems and Nuggets which explain the meaning of the Greek word hupomimnesko. Believe me, it will be worth your while. But if you don’t believe me, that’s alright, I am a man. More to the point believe God and Jesus and be strengthened in your faith to trust Him at His Word.
Hint Number Two: You can switch back and forth between the Gems and Nuggets your search brings up by going back to the page which lists the related Gems and Nuggets the search finds. Or open up two windows and jump back and forth between the two. Have fun precious Reader, Ian.
Very perceptive thank u
Thanks for the comment David, much appreciated.
I like to explore the angles and when I have a radical idea I like to check it out against the experts.