VERSE 3 “They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth.”
Only the 144,000 will ever sing this “new song” in recognition that they have indeed been numbered among the very elect. To learn the truth (the Divine Plan) and to be proficient in explaining it to others is one thing, but it is God who will determine whether or not one can sing the song correctly. Some may know all the notes and all the words, but if, from the divine standpoint, they are not fully in harmony with Him—if He has not recognized such in this full sense—then they are off-key. The 144,000 will be those who sing this song acceptably as far as the Father is concerned. Only beyond the veil could all the 144,000 sing together at one time and in one place.
This scene takes place with the glorified Church “before the throne” (that is, being in the presence of the Father and the Son), “before the four beasts” or living ones (that is, meeting with the symbolic inspection and governmental approval of the divine attributes), and “[before] the elders” (that is, harmoniously fulfilling the predictions of Holy Writ represented by the twenty-four books of the Old Testament, which are emblematic of the whole testimony of Scripture).
It should be noticed that the singers are not the elders (Verse 3). Some interpret the twenty-four elders of Revelation Chapters 4 and 5 to be the Church, but here the elders are not doing the singing. Moreover, there are only twenty-four elders, not 144,000. This verse is one of the strongest pieces of evidence that the twenty-four elders in the Book of Revelation are not the Church but, instead, represent the testimony of the Word of God, which was spoken of old.
The 144,000 are spoken of as having been “redeemed from the earth.” The thought is that of public purchase, and all the uses of the word agorazo throughout the New Testament support a commercial transaction. Accordingly, the word is translated “to buy” twenty-eight times and “redeemed” three times.
Rev 5:9 stipulates the price of redemption of the 144,000, namely, Christ’s “blood.” The context of Verse 3, under consideration, does not refer to the initial calling out of the redeemed from the world by the preaching of the gospel but, rather, to their purchase or acquisition at the earthly forum as slaves and their return to the Master’s house or home above. The emphasis is on “waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body,” “which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory” (Rom. 8:23; Eph. 1:14; cf. 1 Cor. 1:30; Eph. 4:30).
VERSE 4 “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 God and to the Lamb.”
The statement “These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins” is not to be understood in a literal sense any more than the other symbols described in this chapter. It indicates singleness of purpose in following the Lord. Paul states, “For I have espoused you to one [spiritual] husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ” (2 Cor 11:2).
In the message to the Church of Thyatira, the Master rebuked those who “suffered that woman Jezebel [the Roman Catholic Church], which calls herself a prophetess [teacher], to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication” (Rev. 2:20).
In Rev 17:5 this same religious system, having denominational daughters (the various protestant denominations), is styled the “MOTHER OF HARLOTS.” These are the “women” referred to in Verse 4, i.e., the women who cause defilement.
We continue with Verse 4 in our next post.
