“And I looked, and lo a Lamb stood on Mount Zion and with Him an hundred and forty and four thousand having His Father ‘s name written in their foreheads…” Rev. 14:1-5.

“STANDING ‘WITH’ THE LAMB ON MOUNT ZION”

“And I looked, and lo a Lamb stood on Mount ZION and with Him an hundred and forty and four thousand having His Father’s name written in their foreheads,” Rev. 14:1. Now we understand what exactly is Mount Zion and who the Lamb is that is standing there and why He is standing.

The next thing that follows immediately is “and with Him an hundred and forty and four thousand…” So who are these people? How many are they truly? Are they literally a hundred and forty and four thousand?

The first thing that comes to mind as you read through the sentence “…and with Him…” shows a state of union. So this speaks of the 144,000 partaking of the same life and glory with Him. It is an indication of fellowship, a realm of companionship, sharing the same vision, hopes and aspirations. Pursuing the same common goal and giving themselves to it, but only that He dictates what takes place and how it is carried out.

Take for instance, if someone should ask you the question. “Are you with me?” What immediately comes to your mind? It is either one of two things: “Do you understand what I am saying? Or do you agree with my opinion? And your answer will be either Yes or No. Are you seeing it? Okay!

On the other hand if someone should ask you this question, “Who are you with? What do you think he is trying to find out? It is simply another way of saying who are you following or supporting? Whose party do you belong to?

So you see, to be with someone is to share of the course, actions, thoughts, opinions, views, etc., of an individual. If you were to ask me such a question as to who I am WITH in relation to religious opinion based on faith, my answer would be, “I am WITH Christ.”

That means I share and believe in the teachings and the course of Christ on the earth for the redemption of mankind, that my life should speak forth of the redeeming power of Christ. That means I will do everything possible to see that the Gospel of Christ to which I believe in is not blasphemed by my character (2Cor. 6:3).

In the same way, it means I must put myself on the path of evangelism which is the medium by which the course of Christ that I believe in is communicated. Let me illustrate what I am trying to say with a Scripture here.

In Mathew 12:22+ when Jesus healed a man that was possessed with a devil, blind and dumb, we are told, “…when the Pharisees heard it, they said, this fellow (Jesus) doth not cast out devils, but by Be-el-ze-bub the prince of the devils” (v 24). In reply, Jesus told them that any kingdom divided against itself cannot stand and so the devil cannot work against itself by casting out other devils.

Now considering this accusation, it simply means they were not in support of His Ministry, either because of outright hatred or jealousy. So they were speaking to ensure that His ministry is discredited and or terminated, because He was not like them.

Now hear what Jesus eventually said with regard to this attitude of theirs towards Him. “He that is NOT WITH ME IS AGAINST ME and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad” (v. 30). It therefore means the Pharisees instead of evangelizing to bring people to the course of Christ, they were scattering the people from HIm by saying blasphemous words against Him; so they were not WITH HIM.

On the other hand, consider when John reported to Jesus the case of a man whom he had rebuked because the man was casting out devils in the Name of Jesus and yet he was not among the identified disciples of Jesus (Mark 9:38-40). In verses 39-40, Jesus replied and said, “…Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me FOR HE THAT IS NOT AGAINST US IS ON OUR PART.”

In other words this said man believes in the course of Christ; and since he is not against Him and His works, he is for Him or with Him. So the 144,000 being WITH the Lamb – Jesus is not just a matter of being in the same physical location up in heaven as we have always been made to believe.

To be continued…