14:1 "And I looked"(Gr. kai eidon) introduces three scenes in chapter 14 (vv. 1, 6, 14), as this phrase did twice in chapter 13 (vv. 1, 11). "Behold"(Gr. idou, cf. v. 14) calls special attention to the greatness of the sight that John saw here.
John saw in this scene the time yet future at the end of the Great Tribulation when Jesus Christ will return to the earth. His second coming does not take place here but in 19:11-21. John only saw it as happening in his vision here. He saw the Lamb standing on earth, specifically on Mt. Zion, with the 144,000 Jewish witnesses that God had sealed for the Tribulation (7:3; cf. Zech. 14:4-5). The contrast of the gentle Lamb standing and the fierce dragon pursuing (12:13-17) and the evil beasts arising (13:1, 11) is particularly striking.
Amillennialists and some dispensationalists457take Mt. Zion (cf. 11:1, 18; 12:5) to refer to the heavenly Jerusalem (cf. Heb. 12:22). Some interpreters take it as the new Jerusalem that God will bring down to earth from heaven (21:1-22:5).458
"To interpret this as a heavenly city . . . involves numerous problems . . . . If this group is the same as the 144,000 of chapter 7, they are specifically said to be sealed and kept safely through the tribulation. In this case, they move on into the millennial earth without going to the third heaven [God's abode], since this is the meaning of the seal (cf. 7:3)."459
Others take Mt. Zion as a figure for strength (cf. Ps. 2:6; 48:2; 78:68; 87:2; 125:1; Isa. 28:16; 59:20; Obad. 17, 21; Mic. 4:7).460However Zion, as that name occurs elsewhere in Scripture, usually refers to earthly Jerusalem (cf. 2 Sam. 5:7; Ps. 48:1; Isa. 2:3; 24:23; Joel 2:32; Obad. 17, 21; Mic. 4:1, 7; Zech. 14:10).461I think it probably does here too.
"Further, the argument that the 144,000 must be in heaven as they hear the song before the throne may be disputed. There is no statement to the effect that they hear the song, only the declaration that they alone can learn it [v. 3]."462
Apparently their sealing (7:3) protects them from God's wrath but not from the wrath of the dragon and the beasts (cf. 12:12, 17). Some of them will evidently die as martyrs (13:15).463The seal is the earnest of their ultimate victory (cf. 22:4).
14:2 John did not identify the person who spoke from heaven. This could be the voice of Christ (cf. 1:15; Ezek. 1:24; 43:2), the Tribulation martyrs (7:10), an angel (cf. 6:1; Dan. 10:6), or many angels (5:8, 11; 7:11; 19:6). Perhaps the last option is best in view of how John described it here and in the next verse (pl. "they sang"). These angels do not include the four living creatures and the 24 elders, however (v. 3).
14:3 These angels sang a new song. A new song in the Old Testament was a song of praise to God for new mercies (cf. Ps. 33:3; 40:3; 96:1; 144:9; 149:1; Isa. 42:10).
"A new song' is one which, in consequence of some new mighty deeds of God, comes from a new impulse of gratitude in the heart, xl. 13, and frequently in the Psalms, Isa. xlii. 10, Judith vi. 13, Apoc. v. 9."464
The song this group sang in heaven is one that only the 144,000 of all God's creatures could learn. Probably they were the only ones who could learn it in the sense that they were the only ones who could appreciate what it expressed (cf. 15:2). God had purchased them from the earth for their special ministry in the Great Tribulation (cf. v. 4), not just for salvation.
14:4 Three occurrences of "these"(Gr. houtoi) in this verse identify the 144,000 as worthy of special honor. First, with women (emphatic in the Greek text) they had not been defiled because they were celibates (Gr. parthenoi, virgins). Should we understand this word literally or figuratively? Literally the text would mean that these males had no sexual relations with women.
"One of the special criteria for these slaves of God was that they have no intercourse with women. . . . So in the future Great Tribulation, virginity will be requisite for this special group."465
Figuratively it would mean that they had remained faithful to the Lord, as the NIV translation "they kept themselves pure"suggests (cf. 2 Kings 19:21; Isa. 37:22; Jer. 18:13; 31:4, 21; Lam. 2:13; Amos 5:2; 2 Cor. 11:2).
"It is better . . . to relate the reference to purity to the defilement of idolatry. In fact, John seems to use molyno[defile] this way elsewhere of cult prostitution (3:4; cf. 2:14, 20, 22)."466
I think the balance of evidence is slightly in favor of the literal interpretation. If this seems too severe, it may be helpful to remember that Paul advised the Corinthians to remain unmarried because of the nature of the distressing times in which they lived (1 Cor. 7:26; cf. Matt. 19:12). A figurative interpretation of "celebates"could be the correct one, however. Of course, both may be true; they may be unmarried and faithful spiritually.467
Second, the 144,000 receive special commendation because they followed the Lamb faithfully during their lives. This was especially difficult due to the time in which they lived, the Great Tribulation.
Third, they receive honor because they not only experienced purchase by God but because they were firstfruits to God. Some view this as expressing the idea that they are the first of others who will follow, specifically believers who will enter the Millennium as living believers.468However there will be no others who follow that are just like the 144,000; they are unique. Probably the firstfruits figure represents them as a special gift to God. This is the idea behind two-thirds of the references to firstfruits in the Old Testament.469
14:5 Furthermore, they spoke the truth even though deception abounded (13:14; cf. Isa. 53:9; Zeph. 3:13; John 8:44; 1 Pet. 2:22). In short, they were blameless, that is, perfectly acceptable to God as firstfruit sacrifices (cf. Phil. 2:15; Heb. 9:14; 1 Pet. 1:19; Jude 24).
