Covered in His Dust: REVELATION: The Blessed and Faithful Fallen

There won’t be a lot of new things found in the following Text, as it will be a continuation and reinforcement of the pictures and ideas we have already studied. Let’s pick right up in the fourteenth chapter of Revelation:

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 remained virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among mankind and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.

And with that, John calls back to numerous images we have already spoken about. Whether we think of it in terms of the Olympic games and the great competition, or an apocalyptic showdown between the kingdoms in the heavens, we have a clear picture of the clash that is taking place. We have the dragon/beast tag team going up against the Lamb and his followers. Having already addressed the slain lamb earlier and spoken about the great multitude of 144,000, John has set the stage for this epic confrontation. On one side will be the intimidating beast and his followers — all wearing his mark; and on the other side, the slain lamb and his followers who are wearing his name on their foreheads. Once we are enabled to see the book of Revelation in its context, the juxtaposition is almost impossible to miss.

When John references the sound from heaven “like the roar of rushing waters” and loud peals of thunder, not only does he pull his material from the Tanakh (the most likely source being Isaiah), but he also ties it contextually into culture, as well. In our previous post about Pergamum, we spoke about the god Asclepius and the “hospital” known as the Asclepion. In the center of the Asclepion is a running spring (still flowing to this day) and the sound of rushing water is connected to the healing and restorative voice of Asclepius. Could the reference to harps be a nod toward the people of God heading into captivity, throwing their harps up into the trees in mourning? Possibly.

Water engineered to run down the stairwell at the entrance of the
Asclepion diagnostic center in Pergamum which created...

...the sound of rushing water that reverberated throughout this acoustically
designed tunnel.

Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

A second angel followed and said, “ ‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,’ which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”

You can feel the anticipation for this great showdown building as you listen to the angels flying around the scene. If one were to think of this scene visually, they would feel like this contest is staggeringly weighted. This seven-headed beast that rises out of the sea and takes his stand on the beach is up against a slain lamb and a bunch of virgin followers. It would seem like this is going to be a massacre.

But the angels give way to a different story. Singing about the glory of the Creator Judge and the fall of the great beast, they seem to be celebrating a bit early, don’t they? But maybe this is the point. Maybe the end of this story is inevitable and we can celebrate.

A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.” This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.

And now, John calls the readers to stay committed to patient endurance. This road will not be an easy one to walk, but its destination is certain and sure. John reminds them we know how this story ends; it’s a story that has been written for a very long time.

To make that point stick, John uses imagery that — once again — has been pulled straight from Tanakh. By suggesting the beast and his followers will be drinking the cup of wrath, filled with God’s fury, John pulls his readers back to passages like Jeremiah 25, Psalm 69, or Psalm 79.

But this will not feel like victory celebrations galore. The walking of this path will be a journey filled with toil, tribulation, and strife — even death.

Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”

“Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”

Yes, this first-century resistance will often lead to death. As we saw earlier in the book of Revelation, John is not afraid to deal with the very stark realities of what faithfulness looks like in the face of this beast. But John insists their deeds and their faithfulness will have eternal ripples.

And indeed they do. I have sat in the shaded ruins of Ephesus and read the words of Revelation to myself and to others. I have heard them read to me, and the ripples of those who gave their lives still impact my heart today. May we believe the deeds we engage in today matter, as well.