No chapters in the original! This is another key point where this warning is very relevant. What we read of in this chapter follows on immediately after the stuff about the mark of the beast and the number of the beast.
Having just seen all this demonic stuff, this anti-God evil we see the Lamb standing on Mount Zion. With Him are 144 000 who had not received the mark of the beast, instead they had the Lamb's Name and the Father's Name on their foreheads. It is so important to see how this stands in apposition to the mark of the beast. I really do think that all talk of computer chips (or anything else along those lines) is completely missing the point. The fundamental division is a heart devoted to Christ, or a heart not devoted to Christ. That is the distinguishing mark and the Lord knows those who are His.
The 144 000 does not need to be taken literally. It represents perfection and signifies that the Lord looks after those who trust Him, even in the darkest times.
A new song was sung before the Lord. The events of the great tribulation do not herald the triumph of evil, but the defeat of evil and the inauguration of God's kingdom. Only the 144 000 knew this new song. It is vital that we stand firm in the midst of all attacks and pressures to give up. To be someone who is totally devoted to the Lord is the greatest prize anyone can have.
Note that the 144 000 have gone through the tribulation, they have endured. As I have said before, pre-tribulation rapture teaching is just so much nonsense, is unbiblical, is utterly defeatist, and does not prepare God's people for what might lie ahead.
The reference to the 144 000 being virgins is difficult. The Bible does not teach that marital sexual relations defile a person. Indeed Paul explicitly warns against those who teach such rubbish (1 Tim 4:1-4). So what are we to make of this? An answer which seems reasonable is to take it symbolically. The church is the bride of Christ and the 144 000 are those who have not defiled themselves by worshipping the world system. Worshipping other gods is frequently portrayed as adultery in the Old Testament.
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