May the mumbling commence!
Times are hard. Times are hard for Christians – and everyone for that matter. There is plenty of cause to despair and to be depressed. Just pay attention to the local newspaper and the nightly news.
What are we to do? What stand do we make as Christians in this dark time? Will our Christian stand be ridiculed and persecuted? It most likely will. Then what? There is a simple statement at the end of Revelation chapter thirteen verse nine: “This calls for patient endurance.” What calls for patient endurance? Being forced into captivity or suffering a violent death.
How are we forced today into captivity? We are forced into captivity by the notion of scarcity. We are forced into captivity through our fear, our greed, our need to succeed above all else and all others.
It is a hard road to buck the trends – to march to the beat of a different drummer. But that is exactly what Christ calls us to do. Doing what Christ calls us to do call for patient endurance.
How do we fuel ourselves for such a trial of endurance? Well, there it is again – worship. Read from Revelation chapter fourteen:
Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless. (Verses 1-5)
The 144,000 were worshipping. They were singing a new song – one that only they could learn. Who are these 144,000? Revelation tells us that the 144,000 are from the tribes of Israel (7:4ff). What does that mean? Scholars seem to disagree. They could literally come from the Jewish heritage – each of the twelve tribes mentioned where sons of Israel/Jacob. Joseph is included and his sons Manasseh and Ephraim are not.
OR, they could come from the children of the promise – those of faith. Hmm… Faithful and patient endurance are what we are called to… I seem to think the 144,000 have more to do with children of faith rather than biological descendants of Israel. And I think that the 144,000 are not a literal count. It would be too round a number. 144,000, 12,000 are from each tribe. They are meant to be complete numbers.
And these faithful, patient and enduring ones are singing a new song that those not in their group could not possibly learn. Have you ever heard that prayer and singing songs to God are fundamentally linked? It is true. The faithful ones are able to learn the new song because of their active and vibrant prayer lives. The song is an extension of their prayer.
These faithful ones also do not defile themselves with the witticisms of the world. They are virgins to the world’s pleasures – inexperienced and ignorant. The world scoffs at such people.
Yet even these faithful ones needed to be purchased – even though no lie was found in their mouths. Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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