Truth Matters Weekend 12 18 21: Introduction to Chapter 14

Welcome to the weekend edition of Truth Matters with Dr. Cheryl Davis, heard daily on this station at 820 AM and 520 PM. Truth Matters is a ministry of the Truth Project whose mission is to empower men and women in the Christian faith to teach biblical truth in the culture and marketplace of ideas, using the Bible as a sacred trust of truth and sharing the message of Jesus. Learn more about the ministry of the Truth Project at www.projecttruthmatters.com.

And let's join Dr. Cheryl Davis for this week's extended edition of Truth Matters. It's a form of control to mark those who are loyal to the beast. Those without the mark will be deemed traitors and boycotted by the commercial system that the beast controls. Those without the mark will die from exposure or starvation or illness as a result of not being able to purchase what they need. We tend to think that only those without the mark will suffer, but really those with the mark will suffer as well. We can see that in Revelation chapter 14 verses 9 through 11. People really are going to face a choice. One, to reject the mark and suffer at the hands of the beast, or to accept the mark and suffer at the hands of God.

I'm all about getting the temporary suffering here on earth so that I can spend an eternity of peace and prosperity with God. In verse 18, this really presents the most complex issue regarding the beast and his mark as found in verse 18 where we are told that the number of the beast is 666. We know that 6 is the number of man.

The Bible tells us that. If you remember Goliath was 6 cubits tall. His spear's head weighed 6 shekels and he had 6 pieces of armor. Nebuchadnezzar's statue in Daniel was 60 cubits tall, 6 cubits wide and 6 musical instruments surrounded the worshippers.

All observations, I'm not saying that they mean anything, but there is a correlation. We do not know what 666 means or how it will be used, but we know that this is the number of man and that it will be calculated for the false prophet. Remember when we began studying Revelation, I taught about when reading prophetic portions of the Bible, every prophetic event casts its shadow. That means while the event itself happens in a moment of time, there are shadows of that event which touch those who live prior to the event.

Think about it. While the church will not be on earth to experience the difficult days of the tribulation, the storm clouds of that period will gather long before. What I'm trying to say is I believe that storm is brewing on the horizon.

And this is really how I know. Now I was around a group of people recently when they asked, you know, what is the most pressing issue in the world today? And these group of people answered, that is the pandemic. This conversation was about mandating vaccination as a condition of employment.

And I think not that the vaccine is wrong, as I have, I'm a physician myself, was vaccinated myself. But I think this concept will be very similar to the concepts of how the Antichrist and the false prophet will be able to control people. If we can take a vulnerable situation and unite people around solving this vulnerability, which is what the Antichrist will do, he will come up with creative solutions to solve massive national problems. The mark of the beast will be the same concept.

He will say, get this mark, we can nationalize, we can order everything to ensure that we can all solve these issues and bring about peace. And if you see now we're using vaccination in order to attend school as a condition of employment to get on cruise ships, France and Italy are offering proof of vaccination for social activities. And as we see this, it will go faster in other countries.

It's not going so fast in the US. I'm not saying that the vaccination is wrong because I believe that the vaccination is basic science and it has proven to save lives in this pandemic. What I'm saying is that this type of concept will be similar as to how the Antichrist will work. And I think we are getting to see how people can change their opinions and they change their convictions when certain vulnerabilities happen and they don't have access to certain things. Where I've seen some people who are anti-vaccine who realize, gosh, I can't travel, I can't go on a cruise. And all of a sudden they change their view of the vaccine in order to go do certain things. And again, I'm not saying that the vaccine is wrong as I am a proponent of vaccination.

I believe that this is to help develop immunity to save people's lives and those that are chronically ill. Especially I have pushed vaccination from my professional standpoint and from being that of a physician. But all I'm saying is that this type of concept in solving a problem, this nation's vulnerability and pushing vaccination to get us back to some point of normalcy will be a similar platform in which the Antichrist will use in the end times. I just think we're getting a view of that before the tribulation. You know, if you ever listen to John Hagee's sermon about dress rehearsal for the New World Order, it's a very similar concept to that. He actually said in that sermon that he thinks that the Antichrist will come to power very quickly, much similar to how this nation was shut up in fear in 40 days. He believes the Antichrist will come to power in 40 days.

And it's very plausible, you know, when you see the number of rules and quick decisions and how quick we've had to pivot during the pandemic, you can see how quickly people will surrender certain rights in order to solve big problems and what they perceive as being the greater good. I hope you've learned a lot in this chapter in looking at the Antichrist and really the last chapters and see how horrible the tribulation is going to be and that you really agree with me in an urgency to evangelism now and in the last days before the rapture as coming to Christ will be much more difficult and terrible in the tribulation. We've been in Revelation for a long time, so I just want to thank everyone for listening as we continue through the book.

We covered the Antichrist and the false prophet with the mark of the beast. And I talked about how these tribulation events cast shadows before them. And I talked about how using current situations to solve world problems, much like vaccination. And some of you have reached out to me about vaccination, so I welcome those inquiries.

So if you would like to contact me at Cheryl Davis at ProjectTruthMatters.com, I'm willing to help you to get through this issue. But the concept of solving a global problem is the platform for urgency in which I think the Antichrist will use in the last days. By limiting travel and commerce related to solving the global problem is the concept. We already see that at play in our society some today. But really it's not about vaccination. I don't want to make this subject about vaccination, but really you can substitute anything for vaccination. You can say using a cashless society. Actually I went to a gas station last week to get a drink and the cashier refused to cash my $10 bill for a $2 drink.

She asked for the exact change of her credit card. So really we can put certain things in society to direct behavior. And what I'm trying to say is that the Antichrist will use this concept in the last days to change the behavior of society to become more dependent on the government. But when we get into chapter 14, chapter 14 is a contrast to chapter 13. Chapter 13 mainly was about the beast and the false prophet. Where chapter 14 verses 1-5 talk about the lamb and the 144,000.

So let's just read the first 5 verses of Revelation chapter 14. 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 first fruits to the god and to the lamb.

And in their mouth was found no deceit for they are without fault. Like I said before there's a contrast between chapter 13 and chapter 14. If you look at chapter 13 we have Satan's lamb who is the false prophet. But in chapter 14 we have God's lamb who is Jesus Christ. In chapter 13 the beast and the false prophet spew a false religion. But in chapter 14 we see a true religion.

In chapter 13 we see idolatry everywhere. But in chapter 14 we're going to see worship everywhere. In chapter 13 we see the mark of the beast. And in chapter 14 we see God's mark which is the mark on the foreheads of the 144,000. In chapter 13 we know the number of man is 666.

Where in chapter 14 the number of those that are redeemed from the earth are 144,000. But the major distinguishing feature of Revelation chapter 14 is its 7 visions. But the first vision is the vision of the 144,000 which we just read in verses 1 through 5. So let's look at the person of the vision first. The Lamb of God is the central figure in the book of Revelation.

It is a major theme. The Lamb is slain in Revelation chapter 5 verse 6. The Lamb is worshipped in Revelation chapter 5 verse 8 also 12 and 13. The Lamb is feared in Revelation chapter 6 verse 1. The Lamb is glorified in Revelation chapter 7 9 through 10.

But in chapter 14 the Lamb is vindicated. Jesus Christ the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world is the central person of the vision of the first 5 verses of Revelation chapter 14. He stands on Mount Zion in Jerusalem with 144,000 saints who have his Father's name written on their foreheads. So that is the person of the vision. The person of the vision is the Lamb of God and he is vindicated in this vision.

But let's look at the place of the vision. Notice in verse 1 of chapter 14 it says a Lamb standing on Mount Zion. So the place of the vision is Mount Zion which Mount Zion is an important place in prophetic truth.

The majority of references to Mount Zion refer to the mountaintop that is part of Jerusalem. And we find that in Psalms 2 verse 6. Yet I have set my king on my holy hill of Zion. It declares that God has set his king upon his holy hill. This is a messianic psalm which places the center of control during the millennium on Mount Zion. There are many other biblical references about Mount Zion.

You can find those in Psalms 48 1-3 also 11-14 and Psalms 132 verse 13. But really a key verse about Mount Zion can be found in Isaiah chapter 2 verses 1-4 and I'm just going to read that. The word that Isaiah the son of Amos saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains and shall be exalted above the hills and all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways and we shall walk in his paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. We shall judge between the nations and rebuke many people. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.

Nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. Actually Mount Zion is the high hill on which David built a citadel which was the southeastern side of the city. But Isaiah is talking about the future house of God. Mount Zion was the capital city of King David. Isaiah 2 refers to a time in the future during the millennial reign from Mount Zion.

The 144,000 are being rewarded by God for their faithfulness from the most significant place on earth. And that is Mount Zion. So we've covered the person of the vision, we've covered the place of the vision. The person of the vision was the Lamb of God.

The place of the vision is Mount Zion. Let's look at the people of the vision. They are the 144,000.

That is in chapter 14. These are the same people that we covered back in chapter 7. But let's talk about who they are not. Some people think and in reading this that these people represent the church. This group does not represent the church. The 144,000 are not the body of Christ. The church is in heaven at this time.

But let's talk about who they are. The 144,000 are Jews representing the 12 tribes of Israel. There are 12,000 from each tribe.

If you multiply that times 12 that's how you get 144,000. In chapter 7 the 144,000 were evangelizing the world. They will be sealed with the mark of God on their foreheads. Chapter 14 focuses on their rewards not necessarily their labor. Let's talk about the characteristics of the 144,000. They are preserved in their ministry.

The 144,000 are different. If you look in chapter 13 the people that are living in the time of the tribulation have to receive the mark of the beast. Here they don't just avoid the mark of the beast. They take a proactive position by taking the mark of God on their foreheads.

I've talked about this before. Doing nothing is not necessarily doing nothing. You can not take the mark of the beast but not take anything. But in being proactive they actually take the mark of God on their foreheads which is a more aggressive position in evangelism than not taking any mark. There is no doubt to whom they belong. They are all preserved through the tribulation. Chapter 14 is the vision of their reward after the tribulation. I learned this from Dr. David Jeremiah years ago. He made this statement and it has stuck with me for a long time. When you are God's person doing God's will you are immortal until God is finished with you.

This means that you are under God's protection and his control until your job is finished. So I want to say to those of you out there and understanding what goes on in the tribulation to know that God often works in remnants and he has preserved a remnant of the 144,000 through the tribulation to accomplish his will and to evangelize. You've been listening to the weekend edition of Truth Matters with Dr. Cheryl Davis. Truth Matters is a ministry of The Truth Project, a North Carolina-based ministry dedicated to teaching biblical truth and sound theology to those inside and outside of the church. If you'd like to listen to these messages on demand go to projecttruthmatters.com and click on the podcast link. Dr. Davis is also available to speak to your ministry group or church function. She can be reached by email at CherylDavis at projecttruthmatters.com or if you'd like to send a letter the address is Project Truth Matters Post Office Box 159 St. Paul's, North Carolina 28384. You can hear Truth Matters devotionals on weekdays at 8 20 a.m. and 5 20 p.m. Until next time let's all work together to teach of biblical truth to assist, equip, edify, and encourage one another and bring the gospel to the world because truth matters.