Revelation 14:1

King James Version (KJV)

And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.

Adam Clarke
Bible Commentary

A Lamb stood on the mount Sion - This represents Jesus Christ in his sacrificial office; mount Sion was a type of the Christian Church.

And with him a hundred forty and four thousand - Representing those who were converted to Christianity from among the Jews. See Revelation 7:4.

His Father's name written in their foreheads - They were professedly, openly, and practically, the children of God, by faith in Christ Jesus. Different sects of idolaters have the peculiar mark of their god on their foreheads. This is practised in the east to the present day, and the mark is called the sectarial mark. Between eighty and ninety different figures are found on the foreheads of different Hindoo deities and their followers.

Almost every MS. of importance, as well as most of the versions and many of the fathers, read this clause thus: Having His Name and his Father's name written upon their foreheads. This is undoubtedly the true reading, and is properly received by Griesbach into the text.

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Albert Barnes
Notes on the Whole Bible

And I looked - My attention was drawn to a new vision. The eye was turned away from the beast and his image to the heavenly world - the Mount Zion above.

And, lo, a Lamb - See the notes on Revelation 5:6.

Stood on the mount Zion - That is, in heaven. See the notes on Hebrews 12:22. Zion, literally the southern hill in the city of Jerusalem, was a name also given to the whole city; and, as that was the seat of the divine worship on earth, it became an emblem of heaven - the dwelling-place of God. The scene of the vision here is laid in heaven, for it is a vision of the ultimate triumph of the redeemed, designed to sustain the church in view of the trials that had already come upon it, and of those which were yet to come.

And with him an hundred forty and four thousand - These are evidently the same persons that were seen in the vision recorded in Revelation 7:3-8, and the representation is made for the same purpose - to sustain the church in trial, with the certainty of its future glory. See the notes on Revelation 7:4.

Having his Father‘s name written in their foreheads - Showing that they were his. See the notes on Revelation 7:3; Revelation 13:16. In Revelation 7:3, it is merely said that they were “sealed in their foreheads”; the passage here shows how they were sealed. They had the name of God so stamped or marked on their foreheads as to show that they belonged to him. Compare the notes on Revelation 7:3-8.

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Uriah Smith
Daniel and the Revelation, 582

Verse 1

IT is a pleasing feature of the prophetic word that the people of God are never brought into positions of trial and difficulty, and there abandoned. Taking them down into scenes of danger, the voice of prophecy does not there cease, leaving them to guess their fate, in doubt, perhaps despair, as to the final result; but it takes them through to the end, and shows the issue in every conflict. The first five verses of Revelation 14 are an instance of this. The 13th chapter closed with the people of God, a small and apparently weak and defenseless company, in deadly conflict with the mightiest powers of earth which the dragon is able to muster to his service. A decree is passed, backed up by the supreme power of the land, that they shall worship the image and receive the mark, under pain of death if they refuse to comply. What can the people of God do in such a conflict and in such an extremity? What will become of them? Glance forward with the apostle to the very next scene in the program, and what do we behold? â€” The very same company standing on Mount Zion with the Lamb, â€” a victorious company, harping on symphonious harps their triumph in the court of heaven. Thus are we assured that when the time of our conflict with the powers of darkness comes, deliverance is not only certain, but will immediately be given.DAR 582.3

That the 144,000 here seen on Mount Zion are the saints who were just before brought to view as objects of the wrath of the beast and his image, there are the very best of reasons for believing.DAR 583.1

1. They are identical with those sealed in Revelation 7, who have already been shown to be the righteous who are alive at the second coming of Christ.DAR 583.2

2. They are the overcomers in the sixth or Philadelphian state of the church. (See Revelation 3:11, 12.)DAR 583.3

3. They are â€œredeemed from among menâ€ (verse 4), an expression which can be applicable only to those who are translated from among the living. Paul labored, if by any means he might attain to a resurrection out from among the dead. Philippians 3:11. This is the hope of those who sleep in Jesus, â€” a resurrection from the dead. A redemption from among men, from among the living, must mean a different thing, and can mean only one thing, and that is translation. Hence the 144,000 are the living saints, who will be translated at the second coming of Christ. (See on verse 13, note.)DAR 583.4

On what Mount Zion does John see this company standing? â€” The Mount Zion above; for the voice of harpers, which no doubt is uttered by these very ones, is heard from heaven; the same Zion from which the Lord utters his voice when he speaks to his people in close connection with the coming of the Son of man. Joel 3:16; Hebrews 12:26-28; Revelation 16:17. A just consideration of the fact that there is a Mount Zion in heaven, and a Jerusalem above, would be a powerful antidote for the hallucination of the doctrine known as â€œThe Age to Come.â€DAR 583.5

A few more particulars only respecting the 144,000, in addition to those given in chapter 7, will claim notice in these brief remarks.DAR 584.1

1. They have the name of the Lamb's Father in their foreheads. In chapter 7, they are said to have the seal of God in their foreheads. An important key to an understanding of the seal of God is thus furnished us; for we at once perceive that the Father regards his name as his seal. That commandment of the law which contains God's name is therefore the seal of the law. The Sabbath commandment is the only one which has this; that is, that contains the descriptive title which distinguishes the true God from all false gods. Wherever this was placed, there the Father's name was said to be (Deuteronomy 12:5, 14, 18, 21; 14:23; 16:2, 6; etc.); and whoever keeps this commandment has, consequently, the seal of the living God.DAR 584.2

2. They sing a new song which no other company is able to learn. In chapter 15:3, it is called the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. The song of Moses, as may be seen by reference to Exodus 15, was the song of his experience and deliverance. Therefore the song of the 144,000, is the song of their deliverance. No others can join in it; for no other company will have had an experience like theirs.DAR 584.3

3. They were not defiled with women. A woman is in Scripture the symbol of a church, a virtuous woman representing a pure church, a corrupt woman an apostate church. It is, then, a characteristic of this company that at the time of their deliverance they are not defiled with, or have no connection with, the fallen churches of the land. Yet we are not to understand that they never had any connection with these churches; for it is only at a certain time that people become defiled by them. In chapter 18:4, we find a call issued to the people of God while they are in Babylon, to come out, lest they become partakers of her sins. Heeding that call, and leaving her connection, they escape the defilement of her sins. So of the 144,000; though some of them may have once had a connection with corrupt churches, they sever that connection when it would become sin to retain it longer.DAR 584.4

4. They follow the lamb whithersoever he goeth. We understand that this is spoken of them in their redeemed state. They are the special companions of their glorified Lord in the kingdom. Chapter 7:17, speaking of the same company and at the same time, says, â€œFor the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters.â€DAR 585.1

5. They are â€œfirst-fruitsâ€ unto God and the Lamb. This term appears to be applied to different ones to denote especial conditions. Christ is the first-fruits as the antitype of the wave-sheaf. The first receivers of the gospel are called by James (chapter 1:18) a kind of first-fruits. So the 144,000, ripening up for the heavenly garner here on earth during the troublous scenes of the last days, being translated to heaven without seeing death, and occupying a pre-eminent position, are, in this sense, as would seem very consistent, called first-fruits unto God and the Lamb. With this description of the 144,000 triumphant, the line of prophecy commencing with chapter 12 comes to a close.DAR 585.2

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Matthew Henry
Concise Bible Commentary

Mount Sion is the gospel church. Christ is with his church, and in the midst of her in all her troubles, therefore she is not consumed. His presence secures perseverance. His people appear honourably. They have the name of God written in their foreheads; they make a bold and open profession of their faith in God and Christ, and this is followed by suitable actings. There were persons in the darkest times, who ventured and laid down their lives for the worship and truth of the gospel of Christ. They kept themselves clean from the wicked abominations of the followers of antichrist. Their hearts were right with God; and they were freely pardoned in Christ; he is glorified in them, and they in him. May it be our prayer, our endeavour, our ambition, to be found in this honourable company. Those who are really sanctified and justified are meant here, for no hypocrite, however plausible, can be accounted to be without fault before God.

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Ellen G. White
Counsels on Stewardship, 46

Is this the language of your heart? “I am wholly Thine, my Saviour; Thou hast paid the ransom for my soul, and all that I am or ever hope to be is Thine. Help me to acquire means, not to expend foolishly, not to indulge pride, but to use to Thine own name's glory.” CS 46.1

In all you do, let your thought be, “Is this the way of the Lord? Will this please my Saviour? He gave His life for me; what can I give back to God? I can only say, ‘Of Thine own, O lord, I freely give Thee.’” Unless the name of God is written in your forehead,—written there because God is the center of your thoughts,—you will not be meet for the inheritance in light. It is your Creator who has poured out to you all heaven in one wondrous gift,—His only-begotten Son.... CS 46.2

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Ellen G. White
Maranatha, 328.1

I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. Revelation 14:1. Mar 328.1

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Ellen G. White
Selected Messages Book 1, 174

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.... This do, and thou shalt live” (Luke 10:27, 28). All who will conform their lives to the plain requirements of God's Word will inherit eternal life.—Manuscript 28, 1904. 1SM 174.1

In this work there is danger of bringing before the people theories which, while they may be all truth, will create controversy, and will not lead men to the great supper prepared for them. We want the love of God formed within to subdue and soften our human nature and to bring us into conformity to His holy character. Then we shall spread before the people the unsearchable riches of Christ in all their abundance. The invitation is given by Christ Himself, and it is the work of all His followers to call attention to the board of provisions that has been made accessible to all. Then let not subjects difficult to be understood come first. Christ is calling men to the banquet, and let all who will, come.—Letter 89, 1898. 1SM 174.2

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