Revelation 14:1–5 (ESV)
The Lamb and the 144,000
14 Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2 And
I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, 3 and they were singing a new song before the throne and
before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4 It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It
is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, 5 and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.
John relates a vision in which those who have been delivered by the Lamb stand gathered around God’s throne, singing a heavenly song of praise. This group, which is described as blameless, differs from the earthly
people of God, who still slip into sin by defiling themselves in countless ways. Yet God remains faithful. He forgives when we fail to remain true to Him, and that gives us every reason to rejoin the saints in praising Him.
I pray: Heavenly Father, remind me that You have chosen me to be Your own child through the death and resurrection of the unblemished Lamb. Grant my heart joy as I join in singing a new song before Your
throne. Amen.
Edward A. Engelbrecht, The Lutheran Study Bible (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2009), 2221.