Let us turn to God's Word once
again, and I want to direct you this evening to words that we
find in the book of Revelation. In Revelation chapter 14, and
I'll read verses 3 and 4. Revelation 14, 3 and 4, And they sung, as it were, a
new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the
elders. And no man could learn that song
but the hundred and forty and four thousand which were redeemed
from the earth. These are they which were not
defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are they which
follow the Lamb with us wherever He goeth. These were redeemed
from among men, being the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb. And the words that I really want
to take as a text are those words that we have at the end of verse
3 and then in the middle of verse 4, which were redeemed from the
earth. These were redeemed from among
men. The words there at the end of
the third verse and in the middle of verse 4, which were redeemed
from the earth, these were redeemed from among men. To consider then something with
regards to the redeemed. The redeemed. To whom is the
ransom price paid is the question I suppose that we have to address. Redemption involves the paying
of a price, a ransom price. And to whom is it that that payment
is made? Well, it's certainly not to Satan. Of course, he's the usurper.
He has no rights at all. He's a rebel against God. He's a fallen angel. He's the wicked tempter and the
accuser of the brethren. He has no rights. There's no
price to be paid to Satan. But the ransom price is to be
paid to God Himself because His law demands it. His justice must be satisfied. He is a holy God and a righteous
and and a just God. And He has declared that the
consequence of sin and rebellion will be death. The soul that
sinneth it shall die. That's the wages of transgressing
God's holy law. There's a certainty of death.
And we're reminded of that of course in many ways in Scripture. The Law reveals to us God in
all His justice and holiness. We know that what things soever
the Law saith, it saith to them who are under the Law, that every
mouth may be stopped, and all the world become guilty before
God. Men are debtors. They are debtors
to do the whole of the Law of God. And as many as are of the
works of the Lord are therefore those who are under the curse. It's to be kept in every part,
every precept is to be honored, not only in the deed but in the
words and also in the thoughts. That's what God requires of men,
whosoever transgresses in. will receive the just punishment
of their sins. But we see how God has made provision
for the sinner in the person of the Son, the only Saviour. The familiar words of Galatians
4, when the fullness of the time was come, God sends forth His
Son, made of a woman, made under the law to redeem. Oh, to redeem,
to redeem them that were under the law. Christ has redeemed
us, says Paul, from the curse of the law being made a curse
for us, for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a
tree. How remarkable is that and the
price. We read it just now in the familiar
words of that opening chapter of 1 Peter. For as much as ye
know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver
and gold from your vain conversation received by tradition from your
fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb
without blemish and without spots. And so here we read in the middle
of this fourth verse of those who are the redeemed. These are
they, or these were redeemed from among men. It's interesting, the three sentences that make
up that fourth verse. Each of the sentences begins
with the word these. These are they which were not
defiled with women, for they are virgins, These are they which
follow the Lamb with us, whoever He goeth. These were redeemed
from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in particular, of course,
what we have there at the end of that verse, they were redeemed,
it says, from among men. And we can think of language
that we have previously in chapter 5 and verse 9, where we read
of those whom God has redeemed, redeemed us to God by thy blood,
it says, out of every kindred, tongue, people and nation. And we observe, of course, they
are redeemed out of, out of every kindred, out of every tongue,
out of every people, out of every nation. They are redeemed from
among men. It indicates quite clearly that
there is a separation between men. There are some men amongst
all the nations of the earth who are the redeemed. And again
it confirms that great truth of redemption being for a particular
people. Particular redemption, or we
might use the term limited atonement, it's limited to some, it doesn't
belong to all this great redemption that God has provided. And, of course, here in this
chapter we're told quite specifically who they are. In verse 1 John
says, And I looked, and lo! a lamb stood on the mount Zion
and with him, and hundred and forty and four thousand, having
his father's name written in their foreheads. And then again
in verse 3, We're told how they sung, as
it were, a new song, before the throne and before the four beasts
and the elders, and no man could learn that song but the 144,000
which were redeemed from the earth. That 144,000, 12,000 times
12, 12 times 12. And it's the whole company, really,
of the election of grace. This book is full of sign and
symbol. All these things were signified
unto the apostle John, as we're told in the opening verse of
the epistle. And so the numbers are symbolic
numbers. And we can think in terms of
Old and New Testament. We think of all the saints of
the Old Testament, all the saints of the New Testament, There,
of course, we have the twelve patriarchs, the twelve tribes
of Israel, and when we come to the New Testament we have the
twelve apostles. It's a whole company then of
the election of Christ. And aren't they spoken of also
in chapter 7, and there at verse 4, John says, I heard the number
of them which were sealed, and there were sealed a hundred,
and forty, and four thousand, of all the tribes of the children
of Israel. But then, in verse 9 there, After
this I beheld, and lo, a great multitude which no man could
number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood
before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white
robes and palms in their hands. They are such a multitude, an
innumerable multitude, a vast amount of people who are the
redeemed of the Lord. It's more than 144,000, but that
number suggests to us the perfection of that number. It's as many
as the Lord God himself had chosen and appointed for salvation. And they are spoken of here,
aren't they, as being the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb. the firstfruits unto God and
to the Lamb. And again, there in the Old Testament,
in Jeremiah 2.3, Israel was holiness unto the Lord and the firstfruits
of His increase. That's a name given to God's
people, the firstfruits. And as in the Old Testament,
so in the New, in James 1.18, of His own will, begat he us
with the word of truth that we should be a kind of firstfruits
of all creatures. Oh, this is the redeemed. This
is those for whom the Lord Jesus Christ shed that precious blood. They are redeemed from among
men. Oh, they're those which were
redeemed from the earth. And as we consider the redeemed
for a while tonight, I want to speak of three aspects, really,
of their redemption. First of all, they are those
who are redeemed from this profane, sinful world. The whole world,
of course, lies in wickedness. It's under the curse of gods,
because of the transgression of our first parents. But here
we're told of these that they are redeemed from the earth,
from the earth, and all that the earth suggests. The apostle says to the Corinthians,
as if the earthly so, are they also that are earthly. Who are
the earthly? Well, doesn't the apostle speak
of these characters? When he writes in Philippians
3.19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, whose
glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things? Those who
mind the things of this fallen world. Men make idols and they
make idols of the things of this world. They are so earthbound
in their thoughts and in all their affections. All their time
is taken up with the transient things of this life. And how
solemnly God comes to address the world, in that language that
we have in Jeremiah 22, 29. Oh, earth, earth, earth, hear
the word of the Lord. Oh, we're those who by our natural
birth are so taken with the things of time and of sense. We're so
earthbound, we make idols here in this world. We fail to understand
the truth that is declared here in Holy Scripture. We're not
to look at the things which are seen, because the things which
are seen are the temple. We're to be mindful of those
things that are the unseen things, the eternal things. We're to
live our lives, aren't we, as God's children? We're to live
the life of faith. We are to live as seeing that
God who is the invisible God. What does the Lord Jesus say
to his own disciples? If you were of the world, the
world would love you. But because I have chosen you
out of the world, the world hateth you. That's God's people. They are those who are redeemed
from the earth. They are those who are redeemed
from amongst all the men of this present world. Well, the exhortation
that John gives again, remember the language of the apostle there
in his first epistle, chapter 2 at verse 15, love not the world,
he says, neither the things that are in the world. If any man
love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. All that
is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is
of the world. There are so many scriptures
that remind us that this is but a passing world Paul in the familiar words that
open chapter 12 of the Roman Epistle I beseech you therefore
by the mercies of God he says that ye present your bodies a
living sacrifice wholly acceptable unto God which is your reasonable
service and be not conformed to this world but be ye transformed
by the renewing of your mind that ye might prove that good
and acceptable and perfect will of God. That's the calling of
God's people, the redeemed. We are to set our affections
on those things above. If ye be risen with Christ, set
your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. Christ is in heaven, he has risen
from the dead, he's ascended on high. Oh, they redeem these
people there, out of every kindred, out of every tongue, out of every
people, out of every nation, redeemed from the earth. They have nothing to do then
with this profane, wicked world. But then also, there's a sense
in which We might say they're redeemed from those who are mere
professors of religion. They're those who have a religion
that's real. They're those then who have been separated from
what we might say is the false church, but separated also from
the formal church. And the language here indicates
something of that. in verse 4 these are they which
were not defiled with women for they are virgins now remember
the language is symbolic we have to interpret the book
of Revelation for what it is it's apocalyptic and as we said
just now all these things are signified unto John The language is highly figurative.
What are we to understand then by these words at the beginning
of verse 4? Well, we can turn to other scriptures. We are to do that. That's how
we're to interpret the Bible. We want the Bible to interpret
itself, and so when we come to passages that we might feel to
be somewhat dark and difficult, we turn to other portions of
God's Word. Well, look at the language there
in 2 Corinthians 11 Paul writing to this church at
Corinth a church highly gifted and yet a church in many ways
so disordered and he says to them there in chapter 11 of the
2nd epistle and verse 2 I am jealous over you with godly jealousy,
for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you
as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear lest by any means
as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your mind should
be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." And how significant is that expression,
he speaks of the simplicity that is in Christ. And now they're
being corrupted from that simplicity. It's a false church, you see.
In the false church there's much confusion because there's so
much false doctrine. And the great apostasy, of course,
the real false church is the Church of Rome. And I'm sure
you're aware that we see the awful apostasy of Rome even in
this epistle in Revelation 17, where we read of Mystery Babylon,
the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth. Now, the Reformers
and the Puritans, almost to a man, recognize that that is a prophecy
concerning the false church, the apostate church of Rome. What does John say here in chapter
17? He carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness, and
I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet-covered beast, full of names of blasphemy,
having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in
purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious
stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand. Nothing of simplicity,
nothing of the simplicity of Christ here. Oh, she's decked,
purple and scarlet color, gold, precious stones and pearls, having
a golden cup in her hand, full of abominations and filthiness
of her fornication. And upon her forehead was the
name written, Mystery Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots
and abominations of the earth. And I saw the woman drunken with
the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.
And when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration." You can
understand why the Reformers and the Puritans understood this
in terms of the persecuting Church of Rome and the multitude of
martyrs at the time of the Protestant Reformation. How papal Rome slaughtered
more Christians than ever pagan Rome did. Or there was persecution,
of course, in the early church. Many martyrs in the early church.
But there were also a multitude of martyrs then at the time of
the Protestant Reformation. And look at the context here,
in this 14th chapter. Verse 8, John says, He followed
another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen. He's fallen, that
great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine
of the wrath of her fornication. Oh, but these, you see, the redeemed,
they are redeemed from false professors. They're redeemed,
they're brought out of a false church. Well, it's easy for us
to point the finger, as it were, at Rome and say, there's apostasy. But doesn't God's word come closer
home, really? Because these who are the redeemed
are redeemed also out of a merely formal religion. We read of some who have a form
of godliness, but they deny the power thereof. They only have
the externals. When Paul writes to the Thessalonians,
he reminds them of the manner in which the Gospel had come
to them. Our Gospel came unto you, he
says, not in word only, but in power, and in the Holy Ghost,
and much assurance, or something wrought in the soul, or the formalism that's so evident
in many places, the mere notion of religion, just ascending to
the truth, just making a commitment, making a decision. Where is that
blessed work of the Spirit in the soul of the sinner, the life
of God that must come into a man's heart? All that conviction of
sin, those cries for mercy. These who are the redeemed, you
see, don't know something of that. It's not just a form of
godliness that they have. We're told here, aren't we? Further,
with regards to this people, the redeemed, verse 5, in their
mouth was found no guile. In their mouth was found no guile.
They're not hypocrites, these people. Remember the words of the Lord
Jesus concerning Nathanael. Behold an Israelite indeed, in
whom there is no guile. Ought to be those who are truly
guileless. What do they do? They follow
the Lamb. That's what we're told here with
regard to these people. In verse 4, these are they which
follow the Lamb, withersoever he goeth. And of course it's
in that 10th chapter of John's Gospel that we read of Christ
as the Lamb of God. those great I Am statements that
the Lord is repeatedly making. And amongst others, of course,
He is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. And He speaks of the the Good Shepherd. He's the Good
Shepherd as well as the Lamb of God. The Good Shepherd who
giveth His life for the sheep. And there He speaks of the Good
Shepherd there in that 10th chapter of John. Verse 4, When he put
forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow
him, for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not
follow, but will flee from him, for they know not the voice of
strangers. Or they know the voice of the
Good Shepherd. Again he says Verse 27, My sheep
hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me, and I give
unto them eternal life. And they shall never perish,
neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. My Father which
gave them Me is greater than all, for no man is able to pluck
them out of My Father's hands. As He is the Lamb that takes
away the sin of the world, as He is the Good Shepherd, who
gives his life for the sheep, so also, of course, he is the
door. And he says in verse 9, I am
the door and by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved and
shall go in and out and find pasture. In the very opening
words of that chapter, Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that
entereth not by the door into the sheepfold but climbeth up
some other way, The same is a thief and a robber. Well, these who
are the redeemed, they don't seek to climb up some other way.
They only enter by him who is the door of the sheep. There
are people then who are separated from mere professors. They're not part and parcel with
anything to do with the false church or a merely formal religion,
is something real wrought in their souls and they are much
despised. They are often outcasts, the outcasts of Israel, Lord
pity outcasts, vile and base, the poor dependents on thy grace,
whom men disturb as gore, by sinner and by saint withstood,
for these too bad, for those too good, condemned and shunned
by all. are those who are redeemed then,
redeemed from the earth, redeemed from among men. Not only separated
from this world in all its profanity, in all its sin, and separated
from all false Christianity, there's also a separation that
they experience in their own soul, strangely. Oh, they are
a redeemed people, redeemed from among men. They know something
of separation even in themselves, in their own hearts. This is the people, you see,
redeemed from the earth. What does the Lord say in that
third chapter of John when He speaks so much of the necessity
of the new birth? you must be born again or that
which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born
of the spirit is spirit and how the flesh lusteth against
the spirit and the spirit against the flesh and Paul says he cannot
do the thing that he would and how these people feel it there's a certain separation
then even in their own souls the separation from sinful self.
If a man will come after me, Christ says, let him deny himself
and take up his cross and follow me. Or they know something of
the conflict between the old nature, the new nature, the necessity
of the mortifying the deeds of the body. If ye through the Spirit
do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. says the Apostle. If she live after the flesh,
she shall die. There is that conflict then,
that they are so much conscious of, and how hard it is, the denial
of self, the denial of sinful self. Remember that little incident
that's recorded in the life of James Hervey. one of those men
much used in the 18th century in the time of great awakening,
great blessing through the means of the word. And Hervey was a
most gracious man, a learned man. He was the vicar at Havel. I can't remember the name of
the place now, up in Northamptonshire. and he was friendly with some
dissenting ministers also. Weston Fable, that's where he
was the vicar, Weston Fable just outside Northampton and he liked to take fresh air and
he would often go out early in the day and sometimes he would
follow the ploughman as he was ploughing in the field so he
could breathe in the freshly ploughed earth as it were. And
there was a godly old ploughman who attended the ministry of
Philip Doddridge, the independent minister in Northampton. And
sometimes Harvey would walk with that ploughman and they'd try
to engage him in profitable spiritual conversation. And on one occasion
we're told he asked the ploughman what was the most difficult thing,
what would you say is the most difficult thing in the life of
a true Christian. And the old ploughman was a wise
man, and he said, well, Mr. Harvey, you're the educated man. You're the minister of the gospel. What would you say is the most
difficult thing in the life of a Christian? And Harvey said,
the most difficult thing is the denial of sinful self. the all nature that we have to
be separated from, redeemed from as it were, freed from to mortify
the deeds of the body sin well then the old ploughman was very
wise because he dared to challenge what the clergyman had said and
he said I think there's something even more difficult than that
he said how difficult it is for us to deny righteous self how
difficult it is more difficult to deny righteous self than it
is to deny sinful self we are such proud creatures by nature
and how true it is we have to be redeemed even from our own
righteousnesses and to see that all our righteousness then is
only in the Lord Jesus Christ and what we read of these the
redeemed spoken of here in the text We're told, aren't we, at
the end of verse 5, they are without faults before the throne
of God. In their mouths was found no
guile and they are without faults before the throne of God. How so? Well again, comparing
scripture with scripture, we're told, aren't we, later in chapter
19 verse 8 concerning The Church, the Bride of Christ, to her was
granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white,
for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. That righteousness
is the Lord Jesus. To be found in Him, Paul says,
not having mine own righteousness which is of the Lord, but that
which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness
which is of God. by faith, by faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ. And it's all what the Lord Jesus
Christ has accomplished and purchased of Him, i.e., in Christ Jesus,
who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification,
and redemption. It's all there in the Lord Jesus
Christ, righteousness and redemption. And these are those that are
spoken of here in these verses. And they sung as it were a new
song before the throne and before the four beasts and the elders.
And no man could learn that song but the 144,000 which were redeemed
from the earth. These are they which were not
defiled with women for their virgins. These are they which
follow the Lamb. whithersoever he goeth. These
were redeemed from among men, being the first roots unto God
and to the Lamb." Oh, the Lord then grant that we might know
that we are numbered amongst this blessed people, the redeemed
of the Lord. Well, the Lord bless His Word
to us. Let us, before we turn to prayer
again, sing The Hymn 101, the tune is A Bridge, 86. Does
conscience lay a guilty charge, and Moses much condemn, and bring
in bills exceeding large? Let Jesus answer them. He paid
thy ransom with his hand, and every score did quit. And Moses
never can demand two payments, of One Debt, 101, Tune 86. May a guilty judge, and Moses
much condemned, Can bring in bills exceeding large, Let Jesus
answer them. He paid thy ransom with his hand,
and every scorn it quits. And Moses never can demand to
payment all wanted.