‘Truth for
Truckers’*February 14, 2014* Psalm 14/Revelation 14 “So great salvation”
Psalm 14:7 contains an appeal from David
that looks forward to the coming of the Lord to deliver the nation of Israel: ‘Oh
that the salvation [deliverance] of Israel were come out of Zion! When the LORD
brings back the captivity of His people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall
be glad.’
The Lord appears on Mount Zion in
Revelation 14:1 with the 144 thousand sealed Jews from every tribe. This scene
portrays the prophetic truths found in Isaiah 59:20:
‘And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from
transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord’ and Romans 11: 26, 27: ‘And so all
Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the
Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is My covenant
unto them, when I shall take away their sins.’
David’s hearty appeal was realized in that
day, but his appeal also carried with it the prophetic implications which will
be answered at the end of the Seventieth Week of Daniel when the Lord Jesus
Christ, ‘The Redeemer’ Who ‘Shall come to Zion’ and the nation of
Israel, having been purged and prepared to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as
their Messiah, will be saved, or delivered, in one day.
The result of this great deliverance will
be celebrated by those who are saved:
‘When the Lord brings back the captivity of His people, Jacob shall
rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.’ (Psalm 14:7) This rejoicing and
gladness is also reflected by the actions of those present in heaven when the
Lord Jesus Christ with the 144 thousand stand upon ‘The mount Zion’ on earth: ‘And
I heard a voice [sound] from heaven, as the voice [sound] of many waters, and
as the voice [sound] of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers
harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the
throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that
song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the
earth.’ (Revelation 14:2, 3)
This great company of the redeemed in
heaven will be joined by the 144 thousand sealed Jews, who represent the nation
of Israel, singing ‘A new song’.
Although the lyrics of the song are not revealed, they could well be singing
‘Redeemed how I love to proclaim it, Redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb’ to the
Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, for His great Redemption of the nation of Israel.
This theme of Redemption is underscored
twice in the text that follows which describes the 144 thousand as being ‘Redeemed from the earth’ and ‘Redeemed from among men’ showing the
Blood-bought purchase of the Lord Jesus Christ which emphasizes the price paid
for this ‘So great salvation’.
The Lord underscores the place of their
redemption, ‘The earth’ and the
people ‘From among men’ from whom
they were redeemed, showing that they are not special or supernatural in
origin, but ‘Servants of God’ chosen
to glorify and serve the King of kings in the same way all of His children are
redeemed.
This future redemption of the nation of Israel focuses
upon the theme of Scripture once again showing that the book of the Revelation
also has as its central theme, the end of the ‘Unfolding Drama of Redemption’.
This title for the Scriptures has been utilized by many of God’s servant
through the ages with W. Graham Scroggie utilizing it for the title of one of
his great works written in the twentieth century.
The book of the Revelation supplies the
last act in this great ‘Unfolding Drama of Redemption’ as the Lord Jesus Christ
redeems the saints by rapture, redeems the 144 thousand, redeems the nation of Israel, and
redeems His sheep at the battle of Armageddon. Therefore, it must be concluded
that the grand theme of Scripture which is God’s redemption of mankind, is also
one of the main emphases of this the last book of God’s Holy Word.
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