WEBVTT

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 Open your Bibles, please, to the last book of the Bible, Revelation.

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 And if you don't have a Bible, raise your hand.

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 We'd love to bring you a copy that you can use, you could have, and take home with you.

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 We're in Revelation chapter 14, verses 1 to 5.

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 Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.

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 Heavenly Father, we gather in your name once again this week.

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 And we humble ourselves and incline our ears to you again, to your Word.

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 Because you are our Lord, our King.

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 And we want to be where you are.

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 We want to go where you go.

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 We want to imitate your character.

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 We want to be representatives and witnesses of Jesus.

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 So, Lord, to that end, now speak to us and by your powerful Word, transform us.

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 In Jesus' name we pray.

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 Amen.

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 Amen.

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 If you are willing and able, please stand for the reading of God's Word from Revelation chapter 14, verses 1 through 5.

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 Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb.

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 And with him, 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads.

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 And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder.

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 The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps.

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 And they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders.

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 No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.

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 It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins.

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 It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes.

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 These have been redeemed from mankind as first fruits for God and the Lamb.

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 And in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.

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 This is God's holy and authoritative Word.

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 Please be seated.

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 When I was a student at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary,

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 I think some of you guys were just there this weekend to see some of our church members run a race in that area.

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 There was an older gentleman there named Mark Horvath who worked in campus security.

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 And he's now retired, but he was one of the people that I respected the most at seminary

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 because despite being pretty much unknown and unheralded for decades of his service and work there,

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 he did so so faithfully and joyfully.

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 And even though his work wasn't directly related to Christian ministry,

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 he considered it an honor to serve a seminary campus.

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 And whenever he got the chance to speak one-on-one with a seminary student,

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 he would take the opportunity to exhort them, and this is what he would say.

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 He told me this several times throughout my time in seminary.

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 Sean, when you become a pastor, please take two Sundays to preach one sermon on heaven and one sermon on hell.

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 It was a simple but profound counsel.

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 I think he was sensing a drift in people's understanding of these topics

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 and noticing the consequent loss of an eternal perspective that should govern our lives.

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 In his book, The Eclipse of Heaven, theologian A.J. Conyers concurs with Mark.

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 He says,

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 These are not prominent considerations in our modern discourse

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 about the important matters of life,

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 but they once were.

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 Keeping heaven and hell in view keeps our perspectives and our priorities aligned.

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 It motivates us to press on in faith and obedience

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 and to share urgently the saving news of Jesus Christ with others.

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 It holds out both the reward of heaven and the punishment of hell,

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 calling believers to perseverance and unbelievers to repentance.

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 That's precisely what Revelation 14 does for us as well,

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 and we're going to talk primarily about heaven today and about hell next week.

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 Whenever the Bible speaks of heaven,

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 it focuses on two most important aspects about heaven,

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 which is namely the presence of God and the people of God who dwell there with him.

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 Heaven is in essence the place where God dwells with his redeemed people

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 in the fullness of his glory.

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 We'll get the definitive biblical treatment of heaven in the later chapters of Revelation,

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 chapters 21 and 22,

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 but here we still get a glimpse of what the redeemed people of God in heaven are like.

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 And they are those who maintain their undivided devotion to Christ

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 despite the persecution of the beast.

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 That's the main point of that passage.

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 We see four specific details about the redeemed,

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 and they are that they are soldiers,

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 second, that they are singers,

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 third, they are virgins,

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 and fourth, they are first fruits.

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 And we're going to talk about each of those in turn.

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 But before we see the army of the redeemed,

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 we see first the Lamb of God in verse 1.

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 It says,

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 Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb.

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 The Lamb of chapter 14 is set in stark contrast with the dragon and the beasts

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 that we saw in chapter 13.

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 Sorry, did I say chapter 14 earlier?

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 Chapter 14 is where we see the Lamb.

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 Chapter 13 is where we see the dragon and the beasts.

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 The second beast in Revelation 13, 11 had two horns like a lamb,

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 but spoke like a dragon.

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 All the false messiahs and the pretenders out there,

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 they all try to look like Jesus.

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 They try to look like the Lamb.

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 But we know what they are by what they say,

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 by their words, and we've talked about that.

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 The dragon in chapter 12, verse 17, stood on the sand of the sea,

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 but here the Lamb stood on Mount Zion.

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 The sand of the sea is a symbol of impermanence and instability.

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 You can write messages on the sand.

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 I'm sure you guys have done this all you want.

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 Draw little hearts on the sand and build sand castles on the sand.

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 And momentarily, they're all gone, washed away by the incoming tide.

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 In contrast, a mountain is a symbol of permanence and stability.

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 Whenever I visit Seattle to see my parents,

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 I notice that much of the landscape and the cityscape has changed.

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 There are new buildings.

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 There are new roads where there weren't roads before.

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 There are new trees planted or trees raised.

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 There's all kinds of changes,

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 but there's one thing that's always there that doesn't change,

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 and that's Mount Rainier in the backdrop of the city.

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 It's stable, immovable, permanent.

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 This contrast between the dragon that is standing on the sands of the sea

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 and the Lord, the Lamb of God that's standing on Mount Zion,

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 it evokes what Jesus says in Matthew 7, 24 to 27.

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 Because those who follow the dragon are like the people

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 who build their house on shifting sand,

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 which will surely come crashing down.

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 But those who build on the rock,

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 those who follow the Lamb are like those who build on the rock,

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 those who build on a mountain

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 that will withstand all the floods and the winds.

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 With the final battle between the Lamb and the dragon and the beasts

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 soon to be described in Revelation 19, 20,

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 it's also hard not to notice the strategic advantage of the Lamb's position.

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 Military manuals for thousands of years have written and taught that in war,

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 you should take the high ground and force your enemy to attack from the low ground.

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 Why? Because the high ground gives you an elevated vantage point from which you can see wider and further.

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 And also because gravity is on your side and it's much more wearying to charge uphill.

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 And because gravity is on your side, your projectiles also travel much further when you're shooting from uphill.

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 So this final battle is already decided.

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 The Lamb is going to win.

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 And these people who are with Him are going to be part of that victory and triumph and celebration.

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 Mount Zion is symbolically significant because, as Scripture repeatedly says,

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 the Lord of hosts reigns on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem.

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 And in Psalm 2, there was a prophecy that God says,

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 where God says, I have set my king on Mount Zion, on my holy hill.

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 And that's Him speaking of the Messianic king that will come, which is Jesus.

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 And of Him, God says, you are my son.

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 Today I have begotten you.

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 I will make the nations your heritage and the ends of the earth your possession.

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 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.

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 That's being fulfilled in this heavenly vision.

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 Jesus, the King, the Lamb of God, standing on Mount Zion to bring vengeance upon the enemies of God

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 and to deliver His people forever.

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 But it doesn't necessarily mean that Jesus will literally and physically come and stand on Mount Zion

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 in Jerusalem in the Middle East one day.

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 Because Mount Zion is also used symbolically throughout Scripture.

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 Hebrews 12, 22 says, Mount Zion is the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.

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 Galatians 4, 26 likewise calls it the Jerusalem above, not here on the earth, but above.

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 So Mount Zion is figuratively describing the spiritual abode of God's people.

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 That's why, even though the 144,000 are standing on Mount Zion, it says,

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 their voice, in verse 2, is heard from heaven.

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 And they are singing before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders,

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 which we all know from chapter 4, are in the throne room of God in heaven.

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 So John's vision is depicting a heavenly reality that will soon come to bear upon the earth.

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 And in heaven, the Lamb is not alone.

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 He's surrounded by His heavenly army.

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 It says in verse 1,

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 Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb,

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 and with Him 144,000 who had His name and His Father's name written on their foreheads.

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 John mentions the 144,000 here without any further explanation

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 because He already gave us a detailed explanation of who they are earlier in chapter 7.

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 There, the angels sealed the servants of God on their foreheads,

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 and those who were sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel numbered 144,000,

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 12,000 from each tribe.

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 I preached on that chapter, chapter 7, in December,

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 and I explained to you that the 144,000 do not represent the Jewish Christians only

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 or only some special class of elite Christians,

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 but that it represents all of God's redeemed people throughout the ages.

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 And if you want more detailed explanations of that,

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 I encourage you to listen to that sermon

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 because I'm going to go through that briefly here.

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 The number 144,000 is a symbolic representation of all of God's people

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 from all nations, Jews and Gentiles.

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 The number 12 often throughout Scripture represents the people of God.

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 Why?

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 Because of the 12 tribes of Israel and 12 apostles of the Lamb,

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 apostles of Jesus Christ who formed the foundation of the church of God.

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 And the number 1,000 is a figurative number in the same way we use it,

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 representing a multitude.

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 And when you multiply 12 by 1,000, you get 12,000,

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 which is the number of the sealed from each of the tribes of the redeemed,

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 of the redeemed Israel.

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 And when you add that up, you get 144,000.

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 In Revelation 21, we see the new Jerusalem,

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 which we are told explicitly is the bride, the wife of the Lamb,

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 which is an allusion to the people of God, the church of Christ.

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 And this new Jerusalem has 12 gates

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 with the names of the 12 tribes of the sons of Israel inscribed on them.

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 And it has 12 foundations,

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 which have the 12 names of the 12 apostles of the Lamb written on them.

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 And so this is very consistently used symbols here.

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 When you multiply 12 tribes of Israel, 12 apostles of the Lamb,

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 and then that's 144, and then you multiply that by 1,000,

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 you get 144,000, which symbolically represents the fullness of all of God's people.

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 I mentioned all of these things to you earlier,

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 but what I didn't mention to you when I preached in chapter 7

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 is that the 144,000 also represent the redeemed people of God as soldiers,

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 as the heavenly army.

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 There are several clues for this.

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 First, Revelation 7, 5 to 8,

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 which first described the 144,000,

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 is intentionally stylized like an Old Testament census.

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 It gives the tribe, it says,

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 12,000 from the tribe of Judah,

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 12,000 from the tribe of Reuben, and so on.

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 And in the Old Testament,

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 the census is always taken

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 to determine the military might of the nation.

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 And this is confirmed later by Revelation 19, 14,

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 where John sees a vision of Jesus riding on a white horse in heaven,

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 and he notes that the, quote,

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 the armies of heaven,

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 arrayed in fine linen,

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 white horses,

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 following him on white horses.

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 So that's confirmation,

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 that this is the armies of heaven.

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 And here in chapter 14, verse 4,

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 we are told that the 144,000 likewise follow the lamb wherever he goes.

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 It's the same group of people.

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 Their identity as soldiers, I think,

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 is partly why they are described in verse 4

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 as not having defiled themselves with women,

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 for they are virgins.

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 This is not because all of the 144,000

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 are literally male virgins,

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 but because they represent God's holy army.

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 Because the Israelite army in the Old Testament

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 is engaged in holy war,

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 they were commanded in Deuteronomy 23, 9-11

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 that the sisters are to keep themselves from becoming unclean.

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 And specifically,

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 they had to remain ritually clean while at war

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 by abstaining from sexual intercourse

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 because even accidental nocturnal emission of semen

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 made them ritually unclean,

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 according to the specific commands there.

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 This was not because sex is evil in and of itself,

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 but because it was intended to teach the Israelites

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 the meaning of consecration,

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 what it means to be set apart for God,

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 to be different from the other nations.

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 To give you an example,

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 in Leviticus 11,

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 you see an extensive set of dietary laws

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 that the Israelites had to observe.

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 They're forbidden from eating various kinds of animals,

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 not because those animals are evil or bad in and of themselves,

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 but because,

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 as God says in Leviticus 11, 14,

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 for,

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 this is the reason,

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 for I am the Lord your God.

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 Consecrate yourselves,

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 therefore,

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 and be holy,

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 for I am holy.

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 That's the reason why they had to observe those laws.

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 To be holy means to be set apart,

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 to be uncommon,

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 because Israelites didn't eat those animals,

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 they were unlike all the other nations surrounding them.

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 It set them apart.

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 It made them different,

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 and it reminded them.

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 That was precisely the point.

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 It reminded them,

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 we are not like the other nations,

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 because we belong to God.

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 God has set us apart,

00:17:52.880 --> 00:17:54.359
 especially for himself.

00:17:56.240 --> 00:17:56.700
 Similarly,

00:17:57.099 --> 00:17:58.019
 for the Israelites,

00:17:58.680 --> 00:18:00.599
 who are the soldiers that are at war,

00:18:01.140 --> 00:18:03.579
 there could be no emission of semen

00:18:03.579 --> 00:18:04.940
 among the Israelites' soldiers.

00:18:05.980 --> 00:18:08.480
 Enemy soldiers would visit prostitutes.

00:18:08.480 --> 00:18:10.960
 They would masturbate.

00:18:11.039 --> 00:18:12.960
 They would rape their female captives,

00:18:13.019 --> 00:18:15.779
 as soldiers have done for millennia,

00:18:16.319 --> 00:18:17.460
 all throughout the world,

00:18:18.000 --> 00:18:21.200
 but not the soldiers of God.

00:18:23.779 --> 00:18:25.700
 They were not even allowed to sleep

00:18:25.700 --> 00:18:26.920
 with their own wives.

00:18:28.500 --> 00:18:29.019
 Why?

00:18:29.120 --> 00:18:30.140
 Because they were holy,

00:18:31.079 --> 00:18:32.339
 set apart for God,

00:18:32.620 --> 00:18:34.620
 not like their enemy soldiers.

00:18:36.660 --> 00:18:38.160
 In 1 Samuel 21,

00:18:38.160 --> 00:18:40.540
 we see an example of this principle at work.

00:18:40.660 --> 00:18:42.779
 When David and his soldiers are fleeing from Saul,

00:18:43.200 --> 00:18:45.120
 they take refuge with Ahimelech,

00:18:45.180 --> 00:18:45.600
 the priest,

00:18:45.700 --> 00:18:47.680
 briefly and ask him for some bread.

00:18:48.460 --> 00:18:49.200
 But Ahimelech,

00:18:49.259 --> 00:18:49.680
 the priest,

00:18:49.820 --> 00:18:50.420
 informs them,

00:18:50.560 --> 00:18:52.980
 there is no common bread on hand,

00:18:53.519 --> 00:18:54.980
 but only holy bread.

00:18:56.480 --> 00:18:58.740
 And because there's only holy bread

00:18:58.740 --> 00:19:00.759
 that's been consecrated to God,

00:19:00.900 --> 00:19:02.640
 he tells David and the young men,

00:19:03.060 --> 00:19:04.759
 if they can help themselves to the bread,

00:19:04.759 --> 00:19:08.240
 if the young men have kept themselves from women.

00:19:09.420 --> 00:19:10.519
 And David answers him,

00:19:10.980 --> 00:19:12.900
 truly women have been kept from us,

00:19:12.940 --> 00:19:13.680
 as always,

00:19:13.779 --> 00:19:15.339
 when I go on an expedition.

00:19:16.619 --> 00:19:18.539
 This is how they always fought in war.

00:19:19.259 --> 00:19:21.339
 God's soldiers were to keep themselves from women

00:19:21.339 --> 00:19:22.059
 while at war.

00:19:22.599 --> 00:19:25.160
 Let's see this law at work in 2 Samuel 11,

00:19:25.519 --> 00:19:27.039
 when David commits adultery

00:19:27.039 --> 00:19:28.440
 with Uriah's wife,

00:19:28.700 --> 00:19:29.200
 Bathsheba.

00:19:30.299 --> 00:19:30.480
 Right?

00:19:30.920 --> 00:19:32.460
 David commits adultery with her

00:19:32.460 --> 00:19:33.420
 and impregnates her

00:19:33.420 --> 00:19:35.140
 and he's trying to cover his tracks.

00:19:35.200 --> 00:19:36.019
 He's trying to hide it.

00:19:36.880 --> 00:19:39.460
 And so he commands Uriah,

00:19:39.599 --> 00:19:41.839
 who is a valiant man,

00:19:41.960 --> 00:19:43.440
 fighting in the battles of the Lord,

00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:45.720
 he recalls his home.

00:19:45.839 --> 00:19:46.759
 He tells him to come home.

00:19:47.259 --> 00:19:49.099
 And then he throws Uriah a party,

00:19:49.519 --> 00:19:50.220
 feasts him,

00:19:50.440 --> 00:19:51.279
 feeds him full,

00:19:51.420 --> 00:19:52.660
 and makes him drunk,

00:19:52.779 --> 00:19:53.920
 gives him all this choice wine,

00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:54.660
 gets him drunk,

00:19:54.900 --> 00:19:55.819
 and then he tells him,

00:19:55.819 --> 00:19:58.079
 hey, go to your house and rest.

00:19:58.079 --> 00:20:01.939
 He wants Uriah to sleep with Bathsheba

00:20:01.939 --> 00:20:05.179
 so that he can pass off his kid as Uriah's

00:20:05.179 --> 00:20:06.539
 and act like nothing happened.

00:20:08.399 --> 00:20:11.899
 Isn't it amazing how Bible really doesn't hold up

00:20:11.899 --> 00:20:14.960
 these heroes as real heroes,

00:20:15.079 --> 00:20:17.960
 but tells us exactly what kind of sordid life they had?

00:20:18.419 --> 00:20:20.779
 This is what David is trying to do.

00:20:21.339 --> 00:20:23.439
 But this is what Uriah says to him.

00:20:23.639 --> 00:20:27.759
 The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths.

00:20:28.079 --> 00:20:29.899
 Meaning they're out on campaigns.

00:20:30.699 --> 00:20:32.759
 And my lord Joab, his general,

00:20:32.899 --> 00:20:34.000
 and the servants of my lord

00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:35.759
 are camping in the open field.

00:20:36.079 --> 00:20:36.879
 Meaning they're at war.

00:20:37.799 --> 00:20:40.359
 Shall I then go to my house

00:20:40.359 --> 00:20:42.859
 to eat and drink and to lie with my wife?

00:20:43.480 --> 00:20:46.379
 As you live and as your soul lives,

00:20:46.500 --> 00:20:48.019
 I will not do this thing.

00:20:49.220 --> 00:20:49.659
 Amazing.

00:20:49.660 --> 00:20:53.960
 Because they're in the middle of war,

00:20:54.060 --> 00:20:56.240
 Uriah refuses to sleep with his own wife

00:20:56.240 --> 00:20:57.980
 while he is drunk.

00:20:59.060 --> 00:21:00.960
 Uriah refuses to do

00:21:00.960 --> 00:21:03.019
 while he is drunk

00:21:03.019 --> 00:21:04.900
 with his own wife

00:21:04.900 --> 00:21:06.820
 what David does

00:21:06.820 --> 00:21:08.300
 while he is totally sober

00:21:08.300 --> 00:21:10.120
 with someone else's wife.

00:21:10.259 --> 00:21:11.019
 I mean, that's crazy.

00:21:12.400 --> 00:21:13.660
 We need more men named Uriah.

00:21:13.660 --> 00:21:14.220
 Uriah.

00:21:18.800 --> 00:21:19.660
 Anyway, that's...

00:21:21.060 --> 00:21:22.800
 I mean, David's redeemed later on,

00:21:22.880 --> 00:21:23.660
 so I know there's...

00:21:24.220 --> 00:21:25.100
 David's a good name too.

00:21:25.920 --> 00:21:27.340
 God has mercy on us.

00:21:27.400 --> 00:21:27.960
 We're all sinners.

00:21:33.320 --> 00:21:35.620
 So that's one reason why

00:21:35.620 --> 00:21:37.740
 the 144,000 ark is described

00:21:37.740 --> 00:21:39.779
 specifically as not having

00:21:39.779 --> 00:21:41.180
 defiled themselves with women.

00:21:41.700 --> 00:21:43.899
 They are soldiers at war

00:21:43.899 --> 00:21:46.099
 following the commander-in-chief,

00:21:46.500 --> 00:21:47.299
 the Lamb of God.

00:21:49.000 --> 00:21:50.740
 Remember also that this chapter

00:21:50.740 --> 00:21:52.559
 follows on the heels of chapter 13

00:21:52.559 --> 00:21:54.220
 where the beast,

00:21:54.500 --> 00:21:56.019
 which represents the worldly kingdoms

00:21:56.019 --> 00:21:56.639
 and rulers

00:21:56.639 --> 00:21:58.579
 that oppose Christ and his church,

00:21:59.200 --> 00:22:01.819
 they put there the beast's name

00:22:01.819 --> 00:22:02.940
 and the number of his name,

00:22:03.039 --> 00:22:04.059
 the mark of the beast,

00:22:04.059 --> 00:22:05.299
 on the foreheads

00:22:05.299 --> 00:22:06.220
 of all of his followers.

00:22:06.220 --> 00:22:10.480
 And those who refused

00:22:10.480 --> 00:22:11.360
 to take his mark

00:22:11.360 --> 00:22:12.360
 on their foreheads

00:22:12.360 --> 00:22:13.339
 were embargoed

00:22:13.339 --> 00:22:14.400
 from buying and selling

00:22:14.400 --> 00:22:15.799
 and some of them were slain.

00:22:17.000 --> 00:22:20.000
 The 144,000 are those people

00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:22.019
 who refused to take

00:22:22.019 --> 00:22:23.339
 the mark of the beast

00:22:23.339 --> 00:22:24.360
 because they had

00:22:24.360 --> 00:22:25.360
 the seal of God

00:22:25.360 --> 00:22:26.200
 on their foreheads,

00:22:26.440 --> 00:22:27.279
 the name of the Lamb

00:22:27.279 --> 00:22:28.420
 and the name of his Father

00:22:28.420 --> 00:22:29.660
 written on their foreheads.

00:22:30.839 --> 00:22:31.559
 And ironically,

00:22:31.819 --> 00:22:33.079
 this army of the redeemed,

00:22:33.259 --> 00:22:34.980
 they conquered the dragon

00:22:34.980 --> 00:22:36.920
 not by killing,

00:22:37.559 --> 00:22:38.680
 but by dying.

00:22:40.319 --> 00:22:42.039
 As it says in Revelation 12, 11,

00:22:42.660 --> 00:22:43.799
 they have conquered him

00:22:43.799 --> 00:22:45.440
 by the blood of the Lamb

00:22:45.440 --> 00:22:46.360
 and by the word

00:22:46.360 --> 00:22:47.380
 of their testimony,

00:22:48.259 --> 00:22:49.779
 for they love not their lives

00:22:49.779 --> 00:22:51.079
 even unto death.

00:22:52.940 --> 00:22:54.720
 The 144,000

00:22:54.720 --> 00:22:56.000
 are those who follow

00:22:56.000 --> 00:22:56.700
 in the footsteps

00:22:56.700 --> 00:22:57.880
 of the Lamb of God,

00:22:57.880 --> 00:22:58.920
 who, as we saw

00:22:58.920 --> 00:23:00.559
 in Revelation 5, 5-6,

00:23:00.680 --> 00:23:03.079
 conquered by being slain.

00:23:03.079 --> 00:23:06.399
 The Lamb defeated

00:23:06.399 --> 00:23:07.359
 the dragon

00:23:07.359 --> 00:23:09.480
 and redeemed his people

00:23:09.480 --> 00:23:11.179
 by dying on the cross

00:23:11.179 --> 00:23:12.439
 and pouring out his blood.

00:23:12.939 --> 00:23:13.939
 And we also,

00:23:14.159 --> 00:23:14.759
 as his people,

00:23:14.919 --> 00:23:15.259
 likewise,

00:23:15.480 --> 00:23:16.779
 are to defeat the dragon

00:23:16.779 --> 00:23:19.759
 in this life

00:23:19.759 --> 00:23:22.099
 by dying on the cross

00:23:22.099 --> 00:23:22.679
 and pouring,

00:23:23.720 --> 00:23:25.579
 carrying our own cross,

00:23:26.699 --> 00:23:27.619
 dying to ourselves,

00:23:28.460 --> 00:23:29.460
 bearing witness to Jesus.

00:23:29.460 --> 00:23:29.900
 Jesus,

00:23:30.519 --> 00:23:33.360
 even when we are persecuted

00:23:33.360 --> 00:23:34.039
 and killed

00:23:34.039 --> 00:23:34.660
 by the dragon

00:23:34.660 --> 00:23:35.160
 and the beast.

00:23:36.860 --> 00:23:38.039
 That's what the soldiers

00:23:38.039 --> 00:23:38.600
 of the Lamb

00:23:38.600 --> 00:23:39.420
 are meant to do.

00:23:41.120 --> 00:23:42.480
 It says in 2 Timothy 2,

00:23:42.559 --> 00:23:43.059
 3-4,

00:23:43.180 --> 00:23:44.180
 share in suffering

00:23:44.180 --> 00:23:45.319
 as a good soldier

00:23:45.319 --> 00:23:46.220
 of Christ Jesus.

00:23:47.220 --> 00:23:48.079
 No soldier

00:23:48.079 --> 00:23:49.039
 gets entangled

00:23:49.039 --> 00:23:50.299
 in civilian pursuits

00:23:50.299 --> 00:23:51.420
 since his aim

00:23:51.420 --> 00:23:52.059
 is to please

00:23:52.059 --> 00:23:53.640
 the one who enlisted him.

00:23:53.640 --> 00:23:55.180
 A soldier

00:23:55.180 --> 00:23:57.240
 ought to be focused

00:23:57.240 --> 00:23:58.380
 and disciplined

00:23:58.380 --> 00:23:59.820
 for the sake

00:23:59.820 --> 00:24:01.280
 of the war at hand

00:24:01.280 --> 00:24:03.220
 and not entangled

00:24:03.220 --> 00:24:05.180
 in civilian affairs.

00:24:07.340 --> 00:24:08.840
 Do your purposes,

00:24:09.580 --> 00:24:11.460
 people of God,

00:24:12.320 --> 00:24:13.580
 do your purposes

00:24:13.580 --> 00:24:15.560
 and priorities in life

00:24:15.560 --> 00:24:18.200
 reflect the spiritual reality

00:24:18.200 --> 00:24:19.400
 that the dragon,

00:24:19.560 --> 00:24:20.060
 the beast,

00:24:20.140 --> 00:24:21.140
 and the false prophet

00:24:21.140 --> 00:24:22.140
 are at large

00:24:22.140 --> 00:24:23.580
 and after us?

00:24:26.000 --> 00:24:27.140
 Are you sharing

00:24:27.140 --> 00:24:28.160
 in the sufferings

00:24:28.160 --> 00:24:28.759
 of Christ

00:24:28.759 --> 00:24:29.980
 by bearing witness

00:24:29.980 --> 00:24:30.500
 to him

00:24:30.500 --> 00:24:32.380
 or are you

00:24:32.380 --> 00:24:33.740
 shirking your responsibility

00:24:33.740 --> 00:24:34.600
 as witness

00:24:34.600 --> 00:24:36.720
 in search of the comforts

00:24:36.720 --> 00:24:38.200
 and the distractions

00:24:38.200 --> 00:24:40.520
 of civilian pursuits?

00:24:43.800 --> 00:24:45.480
 Is your aim in life

00:24:45.480 --> 00:24:46.800
 to please the one

00:24:46.800 --> 00:24:47.680
 who enlisted you,

00:24:47.780 --> 00:24:48.480
 your general,

00:24:49.020 --> 00:24:49.600
 your king,

00:24:50.400 --> 00:24:51.220
 Jesus Christ?

00:24:51.220 --> 00:24:53.200
 or are you living

00:24:53.200 --> 00:24:54.539
 to please someone else

00:24:54.539 --> 00:24:57.400
 who wields,

00:24:57.400 --> 00:24:58.660
 who wields in your life

00:24:58.660 --> 00:25:00.279
 controlling influence

00:25:00.279 --> 00:25:01.100
 upon your thoughts

00:25:01.100 --> 00:25:01.680
 and behaviors?

00:25:03.440 --> 00:25:04.440
 Is it Jesus

00:25:04.440 --> 00:25:05.480
 or is it someone else?

00:25:06.860 --> 00:25:07.420
 Are you,

00:25:07.519 --> 00:25:08.519
 as verse four says,

00:25:09.019 --> 00:25:09.500
 soldiers

00:25:09.500 --> 00:25:10.940
 who follow the lamb

00:25:10.940 --> 00:25:12.200
 wherever he goes

00:25:12.200 --> 00:25:15.000
 or are you straying

00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:15.539
 and following

00:25:15.539 --> 00:25:16.220
 your own way?

00:25:16.220 --> 00:25:19.200
 our country

00:25:19.200 --> 00:25:21.140
 cherishes

00:25:21.140 --> 00:25:22.339
 one of our greatest

00:25:22.339 --> 00:25:23.440
 strengths as a nation

00:25:23.440 --> 00:25:24.539
 that we cherish

00:25:24.539 --> 00:25:25.420
 the values

00:25:25.420 --> 00:25:26.480
 of individual freedom.

00:25:28.480 --> 00:25:29.700
 But even here

00:25:29.700 --> 00:25:31.860
 in the military,

00:25:32.960 --> 00:25:33.680
 submission,

00:25:34.539 --> 00:25:35.500
 following orders

00:25:35.500 --> 00:25:36.339
 immediately

00:25:36.339 --> 00:25:37.660
 and completely

00:25:37.660 --> 00:25:38.519
 is considered

00:25:38.519 --> 00:25:39.980
 of utmost importance.

00:25:39.980 --> 00:25:41.980
 why?

00:25:43.039 --> 00:25:43.599
 Because

00:25:43.599 --> 00:25:44.960
 the chain of command

00:25:44.960 --> 00:25:45.900
 is not respected

00:25:45.900 --> 00:25:46.880
 in the military,

00:25:47.200 --> 00:25:47.860
 it's impossible

00:25:47.860 --> 00:25:49.500
 to maintain order,

00:25:49.940 --> 00:25:50.319
 discipline,

00:25:50.519 --> 00:25:51.039
 and unity

00:25:51.039 --> 00:25:51.500
 in the army.

00:25:53.640 --> 00:25:54.680
 Because soldiers

00:25:54.680 --> 00:25:55.440
 often work

00:25:55.440 --> 00:25:56.440
 in high stakes

00:25:56.440 --> 00:25:56.960
 environment

00:25:56.960 --> 00:25:58.079
 where following orders

00:25:58.079 --> 00:25:58.960
 can be a matter

00:25:58.960 --> 00:25:59.839
 of life and death,

00:26:00.500 --> 00:26:01.720
 not only for themselves

00:26:01.720 --> 00:26:02.720
 but for many others.

00:26:03.720 --> 00:26:04.299
 A habit

00:26:04.299 --> 00:26:05.319
 of questioning orders

00:26:05.319 --> 00:26:06.140
 and delaying

00:26:06.140 --> 00:26:06.660
 obeisance

00:26:06.660 --> 00:26:07.759
 can prove deadly

00:26:07.759 --> 00:26:08.460
 and imperil

00:26:08.460 --> 00:26:09.400
 the entire mission.

00:26:09.980 --> 00:26:16.299
 are we

00:26:16.299 --> 00:26:18.380
 ready to follow

00:26:18.380 --> 00:26:20.420
 our king,

00:26:21.759 --> 00:26:22.660
 our general Jesus

00:26:22.660 --> 00:26:23.759
 wherever he goes?

00:26:27.759 --> 00:26:29.099
 Come what may be.

00:26:30.019 --> 00:26:31.240
 Come fire or water.

00:26:32.680 --> 00:26:33.640
 Go wherever

00:26:33.640 --> 00:26:34.740
 he goes.

00:26:34.740 --> 00:26:40.559
 the redeemed

00:26:40.559 --> 00:26:41.519
 are soldiers.

00:26:43.120 --> 00:26:44.339
 They're also singers.

00:26:45.460 --> 00:26:46.099
 It says

00:26:46.099 --> 00:26:47.160
 in verses 2-3,

00:26:47.579 --> 00:26:48.160
 and I heard

00:26:48.160 --> 00:26:49.160
 a voice from heaven

00:26:49.160 --> 00:26:50.039
 like the roar

00:26:50.039 --> 00:26:51.220
 of many waters

00:26:51.220 --> 00:26:52.460
 and like the sound

00:26:52.460 --> 00:26:53.680
 of loud thunder.

00:26:54.559 --> 00:26:55.539
 The voice I heard

00:26:55.539 --> 00:26:56.339
 was like the sound

00:26:56.339 --> 00:26:56.980
 of harpists

00:26:56.980 --> 00:26:58.279
 playing on their harps

00:26:58.279 --> 00:26:59.019
 and they were singing

00:26:59.019 --> 00:26:59.779
 a new song

00:26:59.779 --> 00:27:00.660
 before the throne

00:27:00.660 --> 00:27:01.940
 and before the four

00:27:01.940 --> 00:27:02.579
 living creatures

00:27:02.579 --> 00:27:03.740
 and before the elders.

00:27:03.740 --> 00:27:06.059
 No one could learn

00:27:06.059 --> 00:27:06.599
 that song

00:27:06.599 --> 00:27:08.620
 except the 144,000

00:27:08.620 --> 00:27:09.720
 who had been redeemed

00:27:09.720 --> 00:27:10.559
 from the earth.

00:27:11.839 --> 00:27:13.680
 The voice of the saints

00:27:13.680 --> 00:27:14.980
 here is compared

00:27:14.980 --> 00:27:15.920
 to the roar

00:27:15.920 --> 00:27:16.900
 of many waters

00:27:16.900 --> 00:27:17.839
 and the sound

00:27:17.839 --> 00:27:18.980
 of loud thunder.

00:27:19.980 --> 00:27:21.539
 Earlier in Revelation 1-15

00:27:21.539 --> 00:27:23.539
 in John's exalted vision

00:27:23.539 --> 00:27:24.440
 of Jesus,

00:27:24.559 --> 00:27:25.440
 the risen Christ,

00:27:25.920 --> 00:27:26.519
 it said that

00:27:26.519 --> 00:27:27.620
 Jesus' voice

00:27:27.620 --> 00:27:28.779
 was like the roar

00:27:28.779 --> 00:27:29.740
 of many waters.

00:27:29.740 --> 00:27:30.500
 many waters.

00:27:31.620 --> 00:27:33.120
 The redeemed of Christ

00:27:33.120 --> 00:27:34.180
 follow him

00:27:34.180 --> 00:27:35.140
 wherever he goes

00:27:35.140 --> 00:27:36.120
 and obeys

00:27:36.120 --> 00:27:37.660
 whatever he says

00:27:37.660 --> 00:27:38.720
 and now they even

00:27:38.720 --> 00:27:39.740
 sound like him

00:27:39.740 --> 00:27:41.240
 as they worship him.

00:27:42.460 --> 00:27:43.440
 Ezekiel 1-24

00:27:43.440 --> 00:27:44.539
 gives us more details

00:27:44.539 --> 00:27:46.200
 about what the sound

00:27:46.200 --> 00:27:46.859
 of the roar

00:27:46.859 --> 00:27:47.720
 of many waters

00:27:47.720 --> 00:27:48.559
 sounds like.

00:27:48.660 --> 00:27:48.940
 It says,

00:27:49.319 --> 00:27:50.140
 I heard the sound

00:27:50.140 --> 00:27:50.700
 of their wings

00:27:50.700 --> 00:27:51.480
 like the sound

00:27:51.480 --> 00:27:52.620
 of many waters,

00:27:52.900 --> 00:27:53.839
 like the sound

00:27:53.839 --> 00:27:55.000
 of the almighty,

00:27:55.519 --> 00:27:56.960
 a sound of tumult

00:27:56.960 --> 00:27:57.860
 like the sound

00:27:57.860 --> 00:27:59.079
 of an army.

00:28:01.000 --> 00:28:01.799
 This sound,

00:28:01.960 --> 00:28:02.620
 which is a sound

00:28:02.620 --> 00:28:03.319
 of tumult

00:28:03.319 --> 00:28:04.059
 like the sound

00:28:04.059 --> 00:28:04.840
 of an army

00:28:04.840 --> 00:28:06.299
 fits well again

00:28:06.299 --> 00:28:07.120
 with the vision

00:28:07.120 --> 00:28:08.079
 of that heavenly army.

00:28:08.940 --> 00:28:09.940
 Imagine the sounds

00:28:09.940 --> 00:28:11.000
 of a mighty host

00:28:11.000 --> 00:28:11.640
 marching

00:28:11.640 --> 00:28:12.759
 and you feel

00:28:12.759 --> 00:28:13.440
 the rumbling

00:28:13.440 --> 00:28:14.319
 of the ground

00:28:14.319 --> 00:28:15.019
 like a roar

00:28:15.019 --> 00:28:15.980
 of mighty waters

00:28:15.980 --> 00:28:17.120
 like the Niagara Falls

00:28:17.120 --> 00:28:17.720
 falling

00:28:17.720 --> 00:28:20.440
 and as you draw nearer

00:28:20.440 --> 00:28:22.519
 that deafening sound,

00:28:23.200 --> 00:28:24.120
 you can make out

00:28:24.120 --> 00:28:25.220
 what they're saying

00:28:25.220 --> 00:28:27.120
 and they're singing

00:28:27.120 --> 00:28:30.400
 like the sound

00:28:30.400 --> 00:28:31.140
 of harpists.

00:28:33.500 --> 00:28:34.339
 It's passages

00:28:34.339 --> 00:28:35.240
 like this

00:28:35.240 --> 00:28:36.660
 and Revelation 15-2

00:28:36.660 --> 00:28:37.279
 where those who

00:28:37.279 --> 00:28:37.819
 have conquered

00:28:37.819 --> 00:28:38.299
 the beast

00:28:38.299 --> 00:28:39.100
 and its image

00:28:39.100 --> 00:28:39.480
 and the number

00:28:39.480 --> 00:28:39.880
 of its name

00:28:39.880 --> 00:28:40.559
 have harps

00:28:40.559 --> 00:28:40.940
 of God

00:28:40.940 --> 00:28:41.460
 in their hands.

00:28:41.839 --> 00:28:42.299
 It's passages

00:28:42.299 --> 00:28:42.880
 like this

00:28:42.880 --> 00:28:43.680
 that have been

00:28:43.680 --> 00:28:45.160
 frequently misused

00:28:45.160 --> 00:28:46.240
 to create

00:28:46.240 --> 00:28:46.980
 the impression

00:28:46.980 --> 00:28:48.259
 that heaven

00:28:48.259 --> 00:28:49.259
 is boring

00:28:49.259 --> 00:28:50.980
 and unexciting.

00:28:53.500 --> 00:28:54.559
 In his book,

00:28:54.559 --> 00:28:55.440
 Heaven,

00:28:56.359 --> 00:28:57.139
 Randy Alcorn

00:28:57.139 --> 00:28:57.940
 writes about

00:28:57.940 --> 00:28:59.339
 how a friend

00:28:59.339 --> 00:28:59.740
 of his

00:28:59.740 --> 00:29:01.200
 once honestly

00:29:01.200 --> 00:29:02.039
 confessed to him,

00:29:03.240 --> 00:29:04.200
 whenever I think

00:29:04.200 --> 00:29:04.700
 about heaven,

00:29:04.839 --> 00:29:05.919
 it makes me depressed.

00:29:07.779 --> 00:29:08.819
 I'd rather just

00:29:08.819 --> 00:29:09.679
 cease to exist

00:29:09.679 --> 00:29:10.240
 when I die.

00:29:11.339 --> 00:29:11.940
 And Alcorn

00:29:11.940 --> 00:29:12.599
 asked him,

00:29:13.099 --> 00:29:13.399
 why?

00:29:14.919 --> 00:29:15.559
 And he answered,

00:29:15.940 --> 00:29:16.980
 I can't stand

00:29:16.980 --> 00:29:17.419
 the thought

00:29:17.419 --> 00:29:18.019
 of that endless

00:29:18.019 --> 00:29:18.480
 tedium

00:29:18.480 --> 00:29:20.039
 to float around

00:29:20.039 --> 00:29:20.639
 the clouds

00:29:20.639 --> 00:29:21.159
 with nothing

00:29:21.159 --> 00:29:21.619
 to do

00:29:21.619 --> 00:29:22.279
 but strum

00:29:22.279 --> 00:29:22.799
 a harp.

00:29:22.799 --> 00:29:23.980
 it's all

00:29:23.980 --> 00:29:24.960
 so terribly

00:29:24.960 --> 00:29:25.619
 boring.

00:29:26.919 --> 00:29:27.139
 Heaven

00:29:27.139 --> 00:29:27.720
 doesn't sound

00:29:27.720 --> 00:29:28.159
 much better

00:29:28.159 --> 00:29:28.539
 than hell.

00:29:29.779 --> 00:29:30.399
 I'd rather

00:29:30.399 --> 00:29:31.200
 be annihilated

00:29:31.200 --> 00:29:31.680
 than spend

00:29:31.680 --> 00:29:32.139
 eternity

00:29:32.139 --> 00:29:32.740
 in a place

00:29:32.740 --> 00:29:33.379
 like that.

00:29:36.379 --> 00:29:37.079
 That's a

00:29:37.079 --> 00:29:37.740
 disastrous

00:29:37.740 --> 00:29:38.599
 misconception.

00:29:43.480 --> 00:29:44.159
 And he's

00:29:44.159 --> 00:29:44.599
 completely

00:29:44.599 --> 00:29:45.139
 missing the

00:29:45.139 --> 00:29:45.919
 point of the

00:29:45.919 --> 00:29:46.200
 singing

00:29:46.200 --> 00:29:47.500
 that's intended

00:29:47.500 --> 00:29:47.980
 to convey.

00:29:49.279 --> 00:29:49.759
 First,

00:29:49.960 --> 00:29:50.480
 singing is not

00:29:50.480 --> 00:29:51.200
 the only thing

00:29:51.200 --> 00:29:51.579
 that we'll be

00:29:51.579 --> 00:29:52.480
 doing in heaven.

00:29:53.759 --> 00:29:54.220
 I think that's

00:29:54.220 --> 00:29:54.859
 obvious in many

00:29:54.859 --> 00:29:55.220
 passages.

00:29:55.419 --> 00:29:56.399
 2 Timothy 2.12

00:29:56.399 --> 00:29:56.879
 says we're

00:29:56.879 --> 00:29:58.039
 promised if we

00:29:58.039 --> 00:29:59.119
 endure that we

00:29:59.119 --> 00:30:00.079
 will also reign

00:30:00.079 --> 00:30:00.859
 with Christ.

00:30:02.339 --> 00:30:03.099
 And then in

00:30:03.099 --> 00:30:03.939
 the parable of

00:30:03.939 --> 00:30:04.960
 the minus in

00:30:04.960 --> 00:30:05.720
 Luke 19,

00:30:05.879 --> 00:30:06.399
 Jesus says that

00:30:06.399 --> 00:30:06.879
 the servant who

00:30:06.879 --> 00:30:07.659
 is faithful with

00:30:07.659 --> 00:30:08.399
 the gospel that

00:30:08.399 --> 00:30:08.960
 has been trusted

00:30:08.960 --> 00:30:09.919
 to him and

00:30:09.919 --> 00:30:10.899
 bears much fruit

00:30:10.899 --> 00:30:12.799
 and it brings

00:30:12.799 --> 00:30:13.859
 back ten minus

00:30:13.859 --> 00:30:14.939
 more will be

00:30:14.939 --> 00:30:15.539
 given authority

00:30:15.539 --> 00:30:16.779
 over ten cities.

00:30:17.460 --> 00:30:18.319
 So we will have

00:30:18.319 --> 00:30:19.039
 things to do

00:30:19.039 --> 00:30:19.439
 in heaven.

00:30:19.759 --> 00:30:20.139
 We will be

00:30:20.139 --> 00:30:20.919
 involved in the

00:30:20.920 --> 00:30:21.500
 governing of

00:30:21.500 --> 00:30:21.860
 the kingdom

00:30:21.860 --> 00:30:22.300
 of heaven,

00:30:22.480 --> 00:30:23.100
 reigning with

00:30:23.100 --> 00:30:23.539
 Christ.

00:30:24.340 --> 00:30:24.740
 But the

00:30:24.740 --> 00:30:25.720
 description of

00:30:25.720 --> 00:30:26.259
 heaven in

00:30:26.259 --> 00:30:27.240
 scripture often

00:30:27.240 --> 00:30:28.259
 features singing

00:30:28.259 --> 00:30:29.700
 because there's

00:30:29.700 --> 00:30:30.680
 something about

00:30:30.680 --> 00:30:31.820
 music and about

00:30:31.820 --> 00:30:32.560
 singing that

00:30:32.560 --> 00:30:33.519
 captures the

00:30:33.519 --> 00:30:34.640
 transcendent joy

00:30:34.640 --> 00:30:35.140
 of heaven.

00:30:37.820 --> 00:30:38.860
 In his book,

00:30:39.140 --> 00:30:39.740
 The Joy of

00:30:39.740 --> 00:30:40.140
 Music,

00:30:40.519 --> 00:30:41.220
 renowned American

00:30:41.220 --> 00:30:42.019
 composer and

00:30:42.019 --> 00:30:42.440
 conductor,

00:30:42.700 --> 00:30:43.500
 Leonard Bernstein,

00:30:43.900 --> 00:30:44.460
 recounts the

00:30:44.460 --> 00:30:45.220
 conversation he

00:30:45.220 --> 00:30:45.900
 had on a road

00:30:45.900 --> 00:30:46.420
 trip with a

00:30:46.420 --> 00:30:46.920
 friend of his

00:30:46.920 --> 00:30:47.320
 who was a

00:30:47.320 --> 00:30:47.920
 British poet.

00:30:47.920 --> 00:30:49.140
 And they

00:30:49.140 --> 00:30:49.560
 were driving

00:30:49.560 --> 00:30:50.120
 through the

00:30:50.120 --> 00:30:50.660
 mountainous

00:30:50.660 --> 00:30:51.360
 region of the

00:30:51.360 --> 00:30:52.360
 Picasso Pass of

00:30:52.360 --> 00:30:53.940
 New Mexico and

00:30:53.940 --> 00:30:54.860
 his friend remarks

00:30:54.860 --> 00:30:55.779
 looking at the

00:30:55.779 --> 00:30:56.400
 hills, he says,

00:30:56.680 --> 00:30:58.080
 these hills are

00:30:58.080 --> 00:30:59.820
 pure Beethoven.

00:31:01.259 --> 00:31:02.160
 I don't know what

00:31:02.160 --> 00:31:03.320
 that means but

00:31:03.320 --> 00:31:04.539
 it must have been

00:31:04.539 --> 00:31:04.920
 beautiful.

00:31:07.259 --> 00:31:08.200
 And Bernstein

00:31:08.200 --> 00:31:08.960
 follows up with the

00:31:08.960 --> 00:31:09.840
 question, why

00:31:09.840 --> 00:31:10.360
 Beethoven?

00:31:10.359 --> 00:31:10.459
 Beethoven?

00:31:12.219 --> 00:31:13.419
 Why not Bach,

00:31:14.419 --> 00:31:16.339
 Mozart, Mendelssohn,

00:31:16.500 --> 00:31:17.099
 or Schumann?

00:31:19.479 --> 00:31:20.279
 And then they go

00:31:20.279 --> 00:31:21.039
 back and forth

00:31:21.039 --> 00:31:22.019
 discussing the

00:31:22.019 --> 00:31:22.599
 merits of

00:31:22.599 --> 00:31:23.119
 Beethoven's

00:31:23.119 --> 00:31:24.319
 compositions, why

00:31:24.319 --> 00:31:25.159
 they have such a

00:31:25.159 --> 00:31:26.099
 transcendent and

00:31:26.099 --> 00:31:27.059
 luminary quality.

00:31:27.579 --> 00:31:28.119
 And then this is

00:31:28.119 --> 00:31:28.659
 what Leonard

00:31:28.659 --> 00:31:29.599
 Bernstein concludes.

00:31:30.319 --> 00:31:30.959
 Quote, let me put

00:31:30.959 --> 00:31:31.439
 it this way.

00:31:32.339 --> 00:31:32.959
 Many, many

00:31:32.959 --> 00:31:33.659
 composers have

00:31:33.659 --> 00:31:34.059
 been able to

00:31:34.059 --> 00:31:34.719
 write heavenly

00:31:34.719 --> 00:31:35.219
 tunes and

00:31:35.219 --> 00:31:36.079
 respectable views.

00:31:36.519 --> 00:31:37.199
 Some composers

00:31:37.199 --> 00:31:38.139
 can orchestrate the

00:31:38.139 --> 00:31:39.179
 C major scale so

00:31:39.179 --> 00:31:39.799
 that it sounds like

00:31:39.799 --> 00:31:41.099
 a masterpiece or

00:31:41.099 --> 00:31:42.299
 full with notes so

00:31:42.299 --> 00:31:42.839
 that a harmonic

00:31:42.839 --> 00:31:44.119
 novelty is achieved.

00:31:44.460 --> 00:31:45.419
 But this is all

00:31:45.419 --> 00:31:46.419
 mere dust.

00:31:47.279 --> 00:31:48.579
 Nothing compared

00:31:48.579 --> 00:31:49.419
 to the magic

00:31:49.419 --> 00:31:50.500
 ingredients sought

00:31:50.500 --> 00:31:51.419
 by them all.

00:31:51.819 --> 00:31:53.000
 The inexplicable

00:31:53.000 --> 00:31:54.079
 ability to know

00:31:54.079 --> 00:31:55.259
 what the next

00:31:55.259 --> 00:31:56.899
 note has to be.

00:31:58.839 --> 00:31:59.799
 Beethoven had

00:31:59.799 --> 00:32:00.500
 this gift in the

00:32:00.500 --> 00:32:01.299
 degree that leaves

00:32:01.299 --> 00:32:02.180
 them all panting

00:32:02.180 --> 00:32:02.960
 in the rear guard.

00:32:03.480 --> 00:32:04.220
 When he really

00:32:04.220 --> 00:32:05.779
 did it, as in the

00:32:05.779 --> 00:32:06.680
 funeral march of

00:32:06.680 --> 00:32:07.839
 the Eroica, he

00:32:07.839 --> 00:32:08.720
 produced an entity

00:32:08.720 --> 00:32:09.599
 that always seems

00:32:09.599 --> 00:32:10.379
 to me to have

00:32:10.379 --> 00:32:11.139
 been previously

00:32:11.139 --> 00:32:12.259
 written in heaven

00:32:12.259 --> 00:32:13.899
 and then merely

00:32:13.899 --> 00:32:14.899
 dictated to him.

00:32:16.000 --> 00:32:17.099
 There is a special

00:32:17.099 --> 00:32:18.519
 place carved out

00:32:18.519 --> 00:32:19.379
 in the cosmos

00:32:19.379 --> 00:32:20.279
 into which this

00:32:20.279 --> 00:32:21.179
 movement just

00:32:21.179 --> 00:32:23.419
 fits, predetermined

00:32:23.419 --> 00:32:24.579
 and perfect.

00:32:25.259 --> 00:32:26.439
 Form is only an

00:32:26.439 --> 00:32:27.500
 empty word, a shell,

00:32:27.919 --> 00:32:28.939
 without the gift

00:32:28.939 --> 00:32:30.099
 of inevitability.

00:32:30.939 --> 00:32:31.819
 A composer can

00:32:31.819 --> 00:32:32.619
 write a string of

00:32:32.619 --> 00:32:33.579
 perfectly molded

00:32:33.579 --> 00:32:34.480
 sonata, allegro

00:32:34.480 --> 00:32:35.480
 movements with

00:32:35.480 --> 00:32:36.639
 every rule obeyed

00:32:36.640 --> 00:32:37.800
 and still suffer

00:32:37.800 --> 00:32:38.900
 from bad form.

00:32:39.860 --> 00:32:41.220
 Beethoven broke

00:32:41.220 --> 00:32:42.780
 all the rules and

00:32:42.780 --> 00:32:43.980
 turned out pieces of

00:32:43.980 --> 00:32:44.920
 breathtaking

00:32:44.920 --> 00:32:46.000
 rightness.

00:32:47.420 --> 00:32:49.700
 Rightness, that's

00:32:49.700 --> 00:32:50.080
 the word.

00:32:51.220 --> 00:32:51.980
 When you get the

00:32:51.980 --> 00:32:53.500
 feeling that whatever

00:32:53.500 --> 00:32:54.820
 note succeeds the

00:32:54.820 --> 00:32:56.220
 last is the only

00:32:56.220 --> 00:32:57.660
 possible note that

00:32:57.660 --> 00:32:59.220
 can rightly happen at

00:32:59.220 --> 00:32:59.840
 that instant.

00:33:00.560 --> 00:33:01.860
 In that context,

00:33:01.980 --> 00:33:03.400
 then chances are you're

00:33:03.400 --> 00:33:04.280
 listening to Beethoven.

00:33:05.640 --> 00:33:07.019
 Melodies, fugs,

00:33:07.500 --> 00:33:08.900
 rhythms, leave them

00:33:08.900 --> 00:33:09.940
 to the Tchaikovskis

00:33:09.940 --> 00:33:10.900
 and the Hindemiths

00:33:10.900 --> 00:33:11.759
 and the Ravels.

00:33:12.620 --> 00:33:13.940
 Our boy has the

00:33:13.940 --> 00:33:14.600
 real goods.

00:33:16.300 --> 00:33:17.980
 The stuff from

00:33:17.980 --> 00:33:19.840
 heaven, the power

00:33:19.840 --> 00:33:21.140
 to make you feel

00:33:21.140 --> 00:33:21.880
 at the finish.

00:33:22.500 --> 00:33:23.460
 Something is right

00:33:23.460 --> 00:33:24.120
 in the world.

00:33:24.680 --> 00:33:25.240
 There's something

00:33:25.240 --> 00:33:26.320
 that checks throughout,

00:33:26.700 --> 00:33:28.100
 that follows its own

00:33:28.100 --> 00:33:29.019
 law consistently,

00:33:29.540 --> 00:33:30.180
 something we can

00:33:30.180 --> 00:33:31.680
 trust that will

00:33:31.680 --> 00:33:33.620
 never let us down.

00:33:37.799 --> 00:33:39.259
 We might not

00:33:39.259 --> 00:33:40.580
 appreciate music

00:33:40.580 --> 00:33:41.480
 to the same level

00:33:41.480 --> 00:33:42.100
 that Leonard

00:33:42.100 --> 00:33:42.900
 Bernstein can,

00:33:43.900 --> 00:33:45.200
 at least not in

00:33:45.200 --> 00:33:45.680
 this life,

00:33:46.220 --> 00:33:48.360
 but we do know

00:33:48.360 --> 00:33:49.360
 that the best of

00:33:49.360 --> 00:33:50.360
 music captures

00:33:50.360 --> 00:33:51.100
 something of

00:33:51.100 --> 00:33:51.860
 transcendence.

00:33:54.140 --> 00:33:55.220
 They have a

00:33:55.220 --> 00:33:56.580
 heavenly quality,

00:33:57.799 --> 00:33:58.400
 whispers,

00:33:59.440 --> 00:34:00.880
 rumors of God

00:34:00.880 --> 00:34:01.820
 in them.

00:34:04.240 --> 00:34:05.180
 In heaven,

00:34:05.760 --> 00:34:06.680
 we're going to

00:34:06.680 --> 00:34:07.720
 have the fullness

00:34:07.720 --> 00:34:08.360
 of that.

00:34:13.500 --> 00:34:14.519
 And these songs

00:34:14.519 --> 00:34:14.980
 aren't just

00:34:14.980 --> 00:34:15.980
 generic songs.

00:34:17.660 --> 00:34:18.380
 They'll be

00:34:18.380 --> 00:34:19.460
 worship songs.

00:34:21.119 --> 00:34:21.980
 It says in

00:34:21.980 --> 00:34:22.440
 verse 3,

00:34:22.559 --> 00:34:23.059
 they were singing

00:34:23.059 --> 00:34:24.220
 a new song

00:34:24.220 --> 00:34:25.019
 before the throne

00:34:25.019 --> 00:34:26.000
 and before the

00:34:26.000 --> 00:34:26.880
 four living creatures

00:34:26.880 --> 00:34:27.539
 and before the

00:34:27.539 --> 00:34:27.860
 elders.

00:34:28.260 --> 00:34:29.260
 No one could

00:34:29.260 --> 00:34:30.000
 learn that song

00:34:30.000 --> 00:34:31.639
 except the

00:34:31.639 --> 00:34:33.059
 144,000 who

00:34:33.059 --> 00:34:33.260
 have been

00:34:33.260 --> 00:34:34.260
 redeemed from

00:34:34.260 --> 00:34:34.760
 the earth.

00:34:34.940 --> 00:34:35.420
 Only the

00:34:35.420 --> 00:34:36.119
 redeemed can

00:34:36.119 --> 00:34:37.300
 sing this song

00:34:37.300 --> 00:34:38.420
 because only the

00:34:38.420 --> 00:34:39.579
 redeemed know

00:34:39.579 --> 00:34:43.199
 God in a way

00:34:43.199 --> 00:34:43.900
 that inspires

00:34:43.900 --> 00:34:44.900
 eternal song.

00:34:48.179 --> 00:34:49.420
 The singing of

00:34:49.420 --> 00:34:50.340
 this new song

00:34:50.340 --> 00:34:50.960
 is a recurring

00:34:50.960 --> 00:34:51.800
 theme throughout

00:34:51.800 --> 00:34:52.500
 the Old Testament,

00:34:52.639 --> 00:34:53.360
 especially in the

00:34:53.360 --> 00:34:53.699
 Psalms.

00:34:54.019 --> 00:34:54.739
 It's always in

00:34:54.739 --> 00:34:55.840
 response to God's

00:34:55.840 --> 00:34:56.940
 triumph over the

00:34:56.940 --> 00:34:57.380
 enemies.

00:34:57.380 --> 00:34:58.940
 after his

00:34:58.940 --> 00:34:59.780
 deliverance of

00:34:59.780 --> 00:35:00.320
 his people.

00:35:01.840 --> 00:35:03.599
 Some 3,500 years

00:35:03.599 --> 00:35:04.320
 ago, after God

00:35:04.320 --> 00:35:05.000
 split the Red

00:35:05.000 --> 00:35:05.960
 Sea and delivered

00:35:05.960 --> 00:35:07.240
 Israel from Egypt

00:35:07.240 --> 00:35:08.220
 in Exodus 15,

00:35:08.420 --> 00:35:09.539
 the people sang to

00:35:09.539 --> 00:35:11.220
 him a new song.

00:35:12.039 --> 00:35:12.760
 And the people of

00:35:12.760 --> 00:35:13.599
 God have not

00:35:13.599 --> 00:35:14.880
 stopped singing

00:35:14.880 --> 00:35:15.800
 since then.

00:35:18.320 --> 00:35:19.260
 Christians today

00:35:19.260 --> 00:35:20.460
 still sing songs of

00:35:20.460 --> 00:35:21.180
 worship written

00:35:21.180 --> 00:35:22.480
 centuries ago,

00:35:22.940 --> 00:35:23.599
 ancient times.

00:35:24.180 --> 00:35:25.460
 Churches sing songs

00:35:25.460 --> 00:35:26.240
 like Of the

00:35:26.240 --> 00:35:26.900
 Father's Love

00:35:26.900 --> 00:35:28.199
 Begotten, O

00:35:28.199 --> 00:35:29.139
 Splendor of God's

00:35:29.139 --> 00:35:29.800
 Glory Bright.

00:35:30.099 --> 00:35:30.519
 They're written in

00:35:30.519 --> 00:35:31.659
 the 4th century A.D.

00:35:31.699 --> 00:35:32.599
 by Aurelius Clemens

00:35:32.599 --> 00:35:33.360
 Prudentius and

00:35:33.360 --> 00:35:34.420
 Ambrose, respectively.

00:35:35.280 --> 00:35:36.420
 We still sing as a

00:35:36.420 --> 00:35:37.199
 local church the song

00:35:37.199 --> 00:35:38.179
 Be Thou My Vision

00:35:38.179 --> 00:35:39.460
 written in the 6th

00:35:39.460 --> 00:35:40.159
 century A.D.

00:35:40.260 --> 00:35:42.079
 by Dallin Forgeil.

00:35:42.119 --> 00:35:42.679
 I don't know how to

00:35:42.679 --> 00:35:43.619
 pronounce that Irish

00:35:43.619 --> 00:35:44.460
 name.

00:35:45.400 --> 00:35:46.780
 But we also sing

00:35:46.780 --> 00:35:47.519
 new songs.

00:35:49.320 --> 00:35:50.059
 Our musical history

00:35:50.059 --> 00:35:51.179
 team carefully

00:35:51.179 --> 00:35:53.360
 calls the large,

00:35:53.360 --> 00:35:54.760
 the ever increasingly

00:35:54.760 --> 00:35:56.200
 large body of new

00:35:56.200 --> 00:35:57.019
 worship songs that

00:35:57.019 --> 00:35:57.820
 are added to

00:35:57.820 --> 00:35:59.079
 Christian copyright

00:35:59.079 --> 00:36:00.019
 licensing internationally

00:36:00.019 --> 00:36:00.840
 every single week.

00:36:02.480 --> 00:36:03.480
 And they try to

00:36:03.480 --> 00:36:04.240
 introduce to us the

00:36:04.240 --> 00:36:05.019
 most edifying,

00:36:05.360 --> 00:36:06.320
 most stirring songs.

00:36:07.300 --> 00:36:08.160
 And there will

00:36:08.160 --> 00:36:09.740
 always be new

00:36:09.740 --> 00:36:10.760
 songs to sing

00:36:10.760 --> 00:36:13.180
 because God is

00:36:13.180 --> 00:36:13.740
 infinite.

00:36:14.760 --> 00:36:16.099
 And his glory is

00:36:16.099 --> 00:36:17.340
 inexhaustible.

00:36:19.640 --> 00:36:20.880
 Don't you feel this?

00:36:20.920 --> 00:36:22.019
 I feel this when I

00:36:22.019 --> 00:36:23.000
 worship with you and I

00:36:23.000 --> 00:36:24.739
 sing on Sunday

00:36:24.739 --> 00:36:25.239
 mornings.

00:36:25.860 --> 00:36:26.519
 When you're

00:36:26.519 --> 00:36:27.380
 worshiping God in

00:36:27.380 --> 00:36:27.980
 song and as you

00:36:27.980 --> 00:36:29.579
 think of who God

00:36:29.579 --> 00:36:30.940
 is, as you think of

00:36:30.940 --> 00:36:32.780
 his everlasting love

00:36:32.780 --> 00:36:34.500
 and about what he has

00:36:34.500 --> 00:36:36.119
 done to redeem us as

00:36:36.119 --> 00:36:37.380
 his people, how he

00:36:37.380 --> 00:36:38.800
 sent Jesus, his son,

00:36:38.880 --> 00:36:39.699
 to die on the cross

00:36:39.699 --> 00:36:41.019
 for our sins, how he

00:36:41.019 --> 00:36:41.820
 saved us from our

00:36:41.820 --> 00:36:42.960
 slavery to sin and

00:36:42.960 --> 00:36:43.280
 death.

00:36:43.739 --> 00:36:44.619
 And as you're singing

00:36:44.619 --> 00:36:45.460
 those songs, does it

00:36:45.460 --> 00:36:46.619
 not feel like your

00:36:46.619 --> 00:36:47.920
 heart's going to burst?

00:36:49.920 --> 00:36:51.500
 Does it not feel like

00:36:51.500 --> 00:36:52.920
 you need to shout at

00:36:52.920 --> 00:36:53.980
 the top of your lungs

00:36:53.980 --> 00:36:55.519
 and raise your arms to

00:36:55.519 --> 00:36:55.880
 heaven?

00:36:57.239 --> 00:36:58.440
 And does it not make

00:36:58.440 --> 00:36:59.599
 you want to sing again

00:36:59.599 --> 00:37:01.360
 and again and again?

00:37:01.519 --> 00:37:02.099
 At the end of one of

00:37:02.099 --> 00:37:02.800
 the songs we're singing

00:37:02.800 --> 00:37:03.559
 this morning, I was

00:37:03.559 --> 00:37:04.139
 just like, oh, I just

00:37:04.139 --> 00:37:04.840
 want to sing that chorus

00:37:04.840 --> 00:37:05.280
 again.

00:37:05.960 --> 00:37:06.800
 I just want to sing that

00:37:06.800 --> 00:37:07.559
 chorus again.

00:37:07.559 --> 00:37:15.940
 Because some things are

00:37:15.940 --> 00:37:17.239
 too great to just talk

00:37:17.239 --> 00:37:17.619
 about.

00:37:18.679 --> 00:37:20.000
 Because God is too

00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:21.460
 great to just talk

00:37:21.460 --> 00:37:21.860
 about.

00:37:22.239 --> 00:37:23.679
 You have to sing.

00:37:28.940 --> 00:37:30.579
 Well, in heaven, we'll

00:37:30.579 --> 00:37:31.519
 get to do that.

00:37:31.759 --> 00:37:33.579
 In the fullness of the

00:37:33.579 --> 00:37:35.400
 presence of God, we'll

00:37:35.400 --> 00:37:37.579
 get to sing to him right

00:37:37.579 --> 00:37:39.380
 before his throne.

00:37:43.160 --> 00:37:44.360
 And here in life, we

00:37:44.360 --> 00:37:45.660
 could only sing so much

00:37:45.660 --> 00:37:47.880
 before we get tired, we

00:37:47.880 --> 00:37:48.900
 get emotionally exhausted

00:37:48.900 --> 00:37:49.900
 before we lose our

00:37:49.900 --> 00:37:50.240
 voices.

00:37:51.680 --> 00:37:52.940
 But in heaven, we will

00:37:52.940 --> 00:37:53.579
 never tire.

00:37:55.160 --> 00:37:56.280
 We'll get to sing.

00:37:57.280 --> 00:37:59.539
 Finally, in a way,

00:38:00.139 --> 00:38:00.760
 they'll give him the

00:38:00.760 --> 00:38:01.900
 worship that he deserves,

00:38:01.900 --> 00:38:03.900
 which is ceaseless praise,

00:38:05.139 --> 00:38:06.320
 ceaseless worship.

00:38:06.660 --> 00:38:07.740
 Because that's the kind

00:38:07.740 --> 00:38:08.539
 of worship that he

00:38:08.539 --> 00:38:09.019
 deserves.

00:38:11.079 --> 00:38:12.680
 Any worship that ends at

00:38:12.680 --> 00:38:13.599
 any time is not

00:38:13.599 --> 00:38:15.039
 sufficient for the glory

00:38:15.039 --> 00:38:15.500
 of God.

00:38:19.019 --> 00:38:19.760
 And brothers and

00:38:19.760 --> 00:38:20.480
 sisters, we're going to

00:38:20.480 --> 00:38:21.320
 make a magnificent

00:38:21.320 --> 00:38:21.760
 choir.

00:38:25.059 --> 00:38:26.260
 I look forward to that.

00:38:28.420 --> 00:38:29.480
 Not only that, the

00:38:29.480 --> 00:38:30.579
 redeemed people of God

00:38:30.579 --> 00:38:31.519
 are virgins.

00:38:32.799 --> 00:38:33.960
 Verse 4 has three

00:38:33.960 --> 00:38:35.199
 sentences that describe

00:38:35.199 --> 00:38:36.099
 what the redeemed are

00:38:36.099 --> 00:38:36.380
 like.

00:38:36.460 --> 00:38:37.400
 Each of those clauses

00:38:37.400 --> 00:38:38.460
 begin with these.

00:38:38.739 --> 00:38:40.400
 It is these who have

00:38:40.400 --> 00:38:41.099
 not defiled themselves

00:38:41.099 --> 00:38:42.219
 with women for they

00:38:42.219 --> 00:38:42.719
 are virgins.

00:38:42.960 --> 00:38:44.000
 It is these who follow

00:38:44.000 --> 00:38:44.880
 the lamb wherever he

00:38:44.880 --> 00:38:45.159
 goes.

00:38:45.319 --> 00:38:45.960
 These have been

00:38:45.960 --> 00:38:48.719
 redeemed from mankind

00:38:48.719 --> 00:38:49.679
 as first puts fruits

00:38:49.679 --> 00:38:50.460
 for God and the lamb.

00:38:51.460 --> 00:38:52.360
 I'll be brief here

00:38:52.360 --> 00:38:52.779
 because I've already

00:38:52.779 --> 00:38:53.679
 talked about some of

00:38:53.679 --> 00:38:54.059
 these things.

00:38:55.440 --> 00:38:56.400
 In addition to the

00:38:56.400 --> 00:38:57.639
 idea of soldiers keeping

00:38:57.639 --> 00:38:58.679
 themselves ceremonially

00:38:58.679 --> 00:39:00.480
 clean during war, the

00:39:00.480 --> 00:39:01.079
 fact that they are

00:39:01.079 --> 00:39:02.619
 described as virgins

00:39:02.619 --> 00:39:04.179
 captures the purity of

00:39:04.179 --> 00:39:04.920
 the people of God.

00:39:06.679 --> 00:39:07.820
 This verse is not

00:39:07.820 --> 00:39:08.679
 referring, as I've said

00:39:08.679 --> 00:39:09.960
 before, to literal male

00:39:09.960 --> 00:39:11.820
 virgins, but to all of

00:39:11.820 --> 00:39:13.880
 God's holy people, men

00:39:13.880 --> 00:39:15.940
 and women, married and

00:39:15.940 --> 00:39:17.420
 single, who have

00:39:17.420 --> 00:39:18.380
 maintained their

00:39:18.380 --> 00:39:20.240
 undivided devotion to

00:39:20.240 --> 00:39:21.679
 God and to Jesus

00:39:21.679 --> 00:39:22.780
 despite the persecution

00:39:22.780 --> 00:39:23.579
 of the beast.

00:39:25.219 --> 00:39:26.860
 The description of God's

00:39:26.860 --> 00:39:28.579
 soldiers as virgins is

00:39:28.579 --> 00:39:29.380
 especially appropriate

00:39:29.380 --> 00:39:30.880
 because later on in

00:39:30.880 --> 00:39:32.599
 Revelation 19, 7 to 9

00:39:32.599 --> 00:39:34.039
 and Revelation 21, 2,

00:39:34.679 --> 00:39:35.480
 they will be called

00:39:35.480 --> 00:39:37.619
 collectively the bride

00:39:37.619 --> 00:39:40.219
 of the lamb, clothed

00:39:40.219 --> 00:39:42.199
 with fine linen, bright

00:39:42.199 --> 00:39:44.179
 and pure, prepared as a

00:39:44.179 --> 00:39:45.440
 bride adorned for her

00:39:45.440 --> 00:39:45.900
 husband.

00:39:49.440 --> 00:39:51.019
 We'll be a bride as

00:39:51.019 --> 00:39:52.440
 bride should be.

00:39:52.440 --> 00:39:56.639
 This is why in 2 Corinthians

00:39:56.639 --> 00:39:59.079
 11, 2, Paul describes

00:39:59.079 --> 00:39:59.980
 his ministry to the

00:39:59.980 --> 00:40:00.780
 Corinthian church this

00:40:00.780 --> 00:40:02.880
 way, I feel a divine

00:40:02.880 --> 00:40:04.920
 jealousy for you since I

00:40:04.920 --> 00:40:06.579
 betrothed you to one

00:40:06.579 --> 00:40:09.000
 husband to present you as

00:40:09.000 --> 00:40:11.420
 a pure virgin to Christ.

00:40:14.099 --> 00:40:16.039
 The church is a virgin

00:40:16.039 --> 00:40:18.099
 bride because they have

00:40:18.099 --> 00:40:20.059
 not defiled themselves with

00:40:20.059 --> 00:40:21.799
 the passion of Babylon's

00:40:21.799 --> 00:40:23.119
 sexual immorality as it

00:40:23.119 --> 00:40:23.980
 says in verse 8.

00:40:25.079 --> 00:40:26.739
 They have not succumbed

00:40:26.739 --> 00:40:27.559
 ultimately to the

00:40:27.559 --> 00:40:28.579
 temptation of the great

00:40:28.579 --> 00:40:29.940
 harlot that we see in

00:40:29.940 --> 00:40:31.139
 Revelation chapter 17.

00:40:31.880 --> 00:40:33.019
 This is not speaking of

00:40:33.019 --> 00:40:34.099
 physical virginity but

00:40:34.099 --> 00:40:35.619
 spiritual virginity.

00:40:37.519 --> 00:40:39.340
 Are you a spiritual virgin

00:40:39.340 --> 00:40:40.019
 for Christ?

00:40:42.340 --> 00:40:43.759
 Revelation 21, 8 is

00:40:43.759 --> 00:40:45.659
 crystal clear as for the

00:40:45.659 --> 00:40:46.840
 cowardly, the faithless,

00:40:46.920 --> 00:40:48.299
 the detestable, as for

00:40:48.299 --> 00:40:49.299
 murderers, the sexually

00:40:49.300 --> 00:40:50.519
 immoral, sorcerers,

00:40:50.640 --> 00:40:52.200
 idolaters, and all liars.

00:40:53.300 --> 00:40:54.480
 Their portion will be in

00:40:54.480 --> 00:40:55.519
 the lake that burns with

00:40:55.519 --> 00:40:56.780
 fire and sulfur which is

00:40:56.780 --> 00:40:57.580
 the second death.

00:41:00.760 --> 00:41:02.200
 If there is any

00:41:02.200 --> 00:41:04.840
 unrepentant sin in your

00:41:04.840 --> 00:41:08.680
 life, turn from it today.

00:41:11.360 --> 00:41:12.860
 Confess it to another

00:41:12.860 --> 00:41:13.720
 believer, another brother

00:41:13.720 --> 00:41:14.760
 or sister in Christ in the

00:41:14.760 --> 00:41:15.980
 church this week.

00:41:15.980 --> 00:41:18.159
 find accountability and

00:41:18.159 --> 00:41:19.579
 take decisive steps to

00:41:19.579 --> 00:41:20.940
 cut it out of your life

00:41:20.940 --> 00:41:23.699
 because it's a matter of

00:41:23.699 --> 00:41:24.480
 life and death.

00:41:26.719 --> 00:41:28.079
 Because if you don't, you

00:41:28.079 --> 00:41:29.579
 will not be counted among

00:41:29.579 --> 00:41:31.519
 the 144,000 virgins of

00:41:31.519 --> 00:41:31.860
 Christ.

00:41:31.860 --> 00:41:40.500
 But if you repent and you

00:41:40.500 --> 00:41:42.960
 trust in Jesus, no matter

00:41:42.960 --> 00:41:47.340
 what you have done, maybe

00:41:47.340 --> 00:41:48.420
 you are not only not a

00:41:48.420 --> 00:41:49.920
 virgin but you've been so

00:41:49.920 --> 00:41:50.620
 promiscuous.

00:41:52.720 --> 00:41:54.380
 But no matter what you have

00:41:54.380 --> 00:41:56.059
 done, if you repent and you

00:41:56.059 --> 00:41:57.780
 take hold of Jesus in faith,

00:41:58.440 --> 00:42:00.740
 he will prove to you to be a

00:42:00.739 --> 00:42:01.719
 strong redeemer.

00:42:04.000 --> 00:42:05.099
 And that's what we see in

00:42:05.099 --> 00:42:06.099
 verses 4 and 5.

00:42:06.579 --> 00:42:07.779
 These have been redeemed

00:42:07.779 --> 00:42:09.299
 from mankind as first

00:42:09.299 --> 00:42:10.639
 fruits for God and the

00:42:10.639 --> 00:42:10.879
 lamb.

00:42:11.339 --> 00:42:12.699
 And in their mouth no lie

00:42:12.699 --> 00:42:14.019
 was found for they are

00:42:14.019 --> 00:42:14.639
 blameless.

00:42:16.779 --> 00:42:18.539
 The idea of first fruits

00:42:18.539 --> 00:42:20.039
 comes from one of the

00:42:20.039 --> 00:42:21.199
 three major pilgrimage

00:42:21.199 --> 00:42:22.959
 feasts that the Jews,

00:42:23.099 --> 00:42:24.379
 the Israelites celebrated

00:42:24.379 --> 00:42:25.579
 in the Old Testament

00:42:25.579 --> 00:42:27.259
 called the feast of harvest

00:42:27.259 --> 00:42:29.039
 of the first fruits of your

00:42:29.039 --> 00:42:30.279
 labor, of what you sow in

00:42:30.280 --> 00:42:30.600
 the field.

00:42:30.700 --> 00:42:32.320
 It says in Exodus 23, 16.

00:42:34.140 --> 00:42:35.920
 This feast came at the

00:42:35.920 --> 00:42:36.880
 beginning of the harvest

00:42:36.880 --> 00:42:37.380
 season.

00:42:39.080 --> 00:42:40.120
 And according to more

00:42:40.120 --> 00:42:41.280
 detailed instructions found

00:42:41.280 --> 00:42:43.100
 in Leviticus 23, Numbers 20

00:42:43.100 --> 00:42:45.420
 to 29, Deuteronomy 16, this

00:42:45.420 --> 00:42:48.660
 feast began when the sickle

00:42:48.660 --> 00:42:50.340
 is first put to the standing

00:42:50.340 --> 00:42:50.660
 grain.

00:42:51.760 --> 00:42:54.120
 And after the first fruits of

00:42:54.120 --> 00:42:55.660
 the harvest are harvested,

00:42:56.660 --> 00:42:57.900
 then the sheaf of the first

00:42:57.900 --> 00:42:59.380
 fruits were to be waved before

00:42:59.380 --> 00:43:01.119
 the Lord as an offering.

00:43:07.019 --> 00:43:08.400
 Because of the observance

00:43:08.400 --> 00:43:10.420
 of this feast, the first

00:43:10.420 --> 00:43:12.640
 fruits, first fruit offering

00:43:12.640 --> 00:43:14.280
 comes to represent the

00:43:14.280 --> 00:43:16.460
 portion of the harvest that

00:43:16.460 --> 00:43:18.280
 belongs specially to God.

00:43:18.280 --> 00:43:18.320
 God.

00:43:21.320 --> 00:43:23.560
 This is why I, this is possible.

00:43:23.700 --> 00:43:25.600
 Some people think that the

00:43:25.600 --> 00:43:27.480
 144,000 are called first

00:43:27.480 --> 00:43:28.720
 fruits because it's only the

00:43:28.720 --> 00:43:29.460
 initial harvest.

00:43:30.800 --> 00:43:31.660
 And there will be later

00:43:31.660 --> 00:43:32.820
 harvest of more believers.

00:43:33.080 --> 00:43:34.200
 Some people argue that.

00:43:34.880 --> 00:43:36.400
 I don't think that's the case

00:43:36.400 --> 00:43:39.400
 because these are those who

00:43:39.400 --> 00:43:40.460
 have been redeemed from

00:43:40.460 --> 00:43:43.380
 mankind as first fruits for God

00:43:43.380 --> 00:43:43.820
 and the Lamb.

00:43:43.820 --> 00:43:45.280
 I believe that represents all

00:43:45.280 --> 00:43:46.760
 of God's elect, all of God's

00:43:46.760 --> 00:43:47.640
 people because they are

00:43:47.640 --> 00:43:49.120
 specially set aside for him.

00:43:50.460 --> 00:43:51.800
 And I think the rest of the

00:43:51.800 --> 00:43:53.220
 harvest that is to come is not

00:43:53.220 --> 00:43:54.980
 the more of God's people but

00:43:54.980 --> 00:43:57.160
 of the judgment harvest, the

00:43:57.160 --> 00:43:58.640
 winepress of God's wrath that we

00:43:58.640 --> 00:44:00.000
 see in the rest of chapter 14.

00:44:02.360 --> 00:44:04.039
 This is confirmed by the fact that

00:44:04.039 --> 00:44:05.180
 in the Old Testament, for

00:44:05.180 --> 00:44:06.680
 example, in Jeremiah 2, verses

00:44:06.680 --> 00:44:09.940
 2 to 3, all of God's people at

00:44:09.940 --> 00:44:11.880
 the time are called the first of

00:44:11.880 --> 00:44:14.720
 his harvest, first fruits, in

00:44:14.720 --> 00:44:15.920
 contradistinction to the pagan

00:44:15.920 --> 00:44:16.360
 nations.

00:44:18.039 --> 00:44:19.599
 A related concept is the idea of

00:44:19.599 --> 00:44:21.800
 the firstborn, which is also

00:44:21.800 --> 00:44:23.679
 used to describe all of God's

00:44:23.679 --> 00:44:24.820
 people in the Old Testament, not

00:44:24.820 --> 00:44:26.659
 just a part of them, in

00:44:26.659 --> 00:44:28.920
 contradistinction to all the

00:44:28.920 --> 00:44:29.700
 other pagan nations.

00:44:30.320 --> 00:44:32.139
 The idea of first fruits and

00:44:32.139 --> 00:44:33.679
 firstborns are explicitly

00:44:33.679 --> 00:44:36.360
 connected in Nehemiah 10, 35 to 37,

00:44:36.980 --> 00:44:39.659
 Psalm 78, 51, Psalm 105, 36,

00:44:39.940 --> 00:44:42.019
 they're referring to the same

00:44:42.019 --> 00:44:42.519
 idea.

00:44:43.280 --> 00:44:45.920
 As James 1, 18 says, of all of

00:44:45.920 --> 00:44:48.039
 God's people, once again, of his

00:44:48.039 --> 00:44:50.280
 only will, God brought us forth by

00:44:50.280 --> 00:44:52.200
 the word of truth that we should

00:44:52.200 --> 00:44:55.079
 be a kind of first fruits of his

00:44:55.079 --> 00:44:55.539
 creatures.

00:44:56.480 --> 00:44:59.000
 That's what all of us are and all

00:44:59.000 --> 00:45:00.760
 of God's people are if we belong

00:45:00.760 --> 00:45:04.039
 to Christ, his special set-aside

00:45:04.039 --> 00:45:05.420
 chosen portion.

00:45:05.420 --> 00:45:10.340
 And we are the special first fruits

00:45:10.340 --> 00:45:12.920
 that belong to God, not because of

00:45:12.920 --> 00:45:15.760
 our own merit, but because God has

00:45:15.760 --> 00:45:18.900
 purchased or redeemed us, as it says

00:45:18.900 --> 00:45:20.820
 twice in this passage, in verse 3 and

00:45:20.820 --> 00:45:21.260
 verse 4.

00:45:22.480 --> 00:45:24.360
 The same word, redeem, though

00:45:24.360 --> 00:45:25.740
 translated slightly differently, is

00:45:25.740 --> 00:45:28.119
 used in Revelation 5, 9 to say that

00:45:28.119 --> 00:45:31.639
 the Lamb ransomed people for God by

00:45:31.639 --> 00:45:34.559
 his blood from every tribe and

00:45:34.559 --> 00:45:36.339
 language and people and nation.

00:45:38.599 --> 00:45:40.099
 Once again, this proves that the

00:45:40.099 --> 00:45:43.859
 144,000, the first fruits, refer to

00:45:43.859 --> 00:45:46.239
 all of the redeemed.

00:45:46.239 --> 00:45:52.039
 We are soldiers, singers, virgins, and

00:45:52.659 --> 00:45:54.239
 first fruits that belong especially

00:45:54.239 --> 00:45:54.479
 to the bridge.

00:45:54.579 --> 00:45:55.759
 A copying power is only for everyone

00:45:55.759 --> 00:45:56.859
 but also for all of theSaans.

00:45:56.859 --> 00:45:57.319
 Now, this is the bigger thing.

00:45:57.319 --> 00:45:59.359
 This is the largest gift that you

00:45:59.359 --> 00:46:00.359
 treasured home free from God!

00:46:00.359 --> 00:46:01.459
 Because of your life, it has

00:46:01.459 --> 00:46:02.659
 Has a victory right now.

00:46:02.899 --> 00:46:04.319
 Golden glass and golden glass!

00:46:04.599 --> 00:46:06.599
 Sometimes, again, it is under

00:46:06.599 --> 00:46:07.599
 point of Sermon.

00:46:07.599 --> 00:46:08.699
 Once again!

00:46:08.879 --> 00:46:10.099
 I watnt,しました!

00:46:10.099 --> 00:46:10.719
 But what people do

00:46:10.719 --> 00:46:12.399
 that happen carefully,

00:46:12.399 --> 00:46:13.139
 to anda,

00:46:13.139 --> 00:46:14.219
 to woe-diufeuess does