Expert: Thurman C. Petty, Jr. - 11/24/2011

Question
Hi, thank you for your time. I had a quick question! I am in the book of Revelations and it's kind of hard for me to understand. My question is Who will be the ones to endure Revelation?

Answer
Dear Anna,

The rewards of those who endure are described in Rev. 2 & 3, connected with the messages to the 7 churches. Here is what they say:

Rev 2:7  "... To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God." '
Rev 2:11  "... He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death." '
Rev 2:17  "... To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it." '

Rev 2:26  And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations—
Rev 2:27  'HE SHALL RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON; THEY SHALL BE DASHED TO PIECES LIKE THE POTTER'S VESSELS'— as I also have received from My Father;
Rev 2:28  and I will give him the morning star.

Rev 3:5  He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.

Rev 3:12  He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.

Rev 3:21  To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

These are all the people who overcome, and a description of the reward they will receive.
But you’re asking, “Who is the overcomer?” John explains that in one of his letters to his churches:

1Jn_5:4  For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
1Jn_5:5  Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

So the ones who endure in Revelation are the ones who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

John presents those who endure in Rev. 7 & 14. I’ll let you read the chapters, but let me make a few remarks.

In Rev. 7, there appear to be two groups: the 144,000, and the “great multitude which no man can number of all nations ....”

In verses 1-8 John explains that the 144,000 are 12,000 from each of the tribes of Israel. But there is no list of the tribes anywhere in the Bible that corresponds with this. This leads me to believe that the number 144,000 is not a real number, but a symbol.

Then in verses 9-17 John sees the great multitude. As he describes them it appears that he’s giving a description of everyone in Chapter 7, including the 144,000.

In Revelation 14:1-5 John again presents the 144,000 and it becomes clear, in this case, that these people are saved by the blood of Jesus. Here it almost seems that they are a special group, but we must also understand them in the light of chapter 7.

Rev 14:4  These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.
Rev 14:5  And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God.

Here are some of the descriptions, and what they mean as compared with other texts in the Bible:

1. They are not defiled with women. Rev. depicts two women in chapters 12 & 17. A woman in Bible prophecy represents a church. In chapter 12, the pure woman in white is God’s true church described in verse 17 as keeping all God’s commandments, and having the faith of Jesus. However, in chapter 17, the harlot would be a church which follows the traditions of men, rather than the faith of Jesus.

So the 144,000 are not defiled by believing in the traditions of men; rather, they believe in the truth as God taught in of all of the Bible.

2. They follow the Lamb—Jesus—wherever He goes. They follow Him no matter what: to pain, suffering, and even unto death. Jesus went through all this: should we expect to be treated any better? But in spite of circumstances, these people follow Jesus—faithfully.

3. They are the firstfruits. Some see, in the Bible, the designation, “first...” as numerical, as with the days of Creation in the beginning of Genesis. They would see the firstfruits as the result of the first swipe of the reaper—whether powered reaper, such as a combine, or of the scythe if the reaping is done by hand—and they would see the firstborn as the first person born on this planet, which would have been Cain.

But the Bible often uses the term “first...” to designate the most important one in the group. We can see an example of this from Col. 1:15, 18.

Col_1:15  He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation....
Col_1:18  And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

Thus the firstfruits would be the best part of the harvest. Jesus is the firstfruits of mankind because He was the Creator of everything. And when Jesus is called the firstborn, Paul refers to the fact that Jesus is the most important human baby that has ever been born, because He came to redeem all others.

4. No deceit. All through Scripture in both Old and New Testaments, the Bible directs scathing rebukes upon deceit of any kind, lies, gossip, tale-bearing, etc. In fact the 9th command is directed against that kind of crime. And in the final tabulation of those who are to be destroyed we find this:

Rev 21:8  But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."

God sees liars as being as bad as all these other criminals. We find out why in John 8:44:  

You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks ... [his own language,] for he is a liar and the father of it.

But the 144,000 haven’t been party to this. Of course, we are talking about a group who have been redeemed, and thus have been forgiven of whatever sins they may have committed before they came to Jesus.

5. Without fault. The only way to be without fault is to follow the Lamb—in this life, and into the next life that takes place at the Second Coming of Christ.

Perhaps this will answer your question.

You can see that in studying the Bible, you’ve found the answer to your question. Reading the Bible is so important to the Christian. It would be very difficult to maintain a saving relationship with God without it. And learning about God and His requirements for us would be nearly impossible without some connection with God’s Holy Word.

Actually, if we watch for Him, we’ll find Jesus Christ in almost every passage of the Old and New Testaments. Sometimes He’s known as the Creator (cf. John 1:1-4, 10, 14); sometimes He’s known as “the Angel of the LORD” (Ex. 3:1-14; cf. John 8:56-58); sometimes He’s known as the “servant” (Isa. 52:13-53:12); and sometimes as the Messiah. Often He’s behind the scenes, working through those who live according to His will.

If you have difficulty understanding the Bible, there are many aids available to help you do this, (see list below). But above all, read your Bible for yourself, and pray that God will help you understand it.

Feel free to come back again with other questions. You may also write me at my personal e-mail address, displayed below my name.

Stay close to Jesus.

Thurman C. Petty, Jr.
PettyPress@gmail.com
www.PettyPress.com (43 Bible lessons; 20 Books; more)

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