A pair of phrases garnered my attention as I read this chapter. First came the phrase ‘firstfruits’. These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they remained virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among mankind and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb (4).
The 144,000 preserved for the Lord were firstfruits. This spun an image of harvest. Firstfruits are the initial crop, the first to ripen. They are the indicator of the harvest to come. My wife grew a vegetable garden this summer. The first beans, lettuce and spinach were tasty, but they also filled us with delight because they were a constant (tasty) reminder that more was coming, which she tended. All summer long we enjoy these and many other crops. But those firstfruits are particularly delightful because they signal all that is to come.
These 144,000 signal the full harvest of redeemed who will eventually join the Lord during His conquest and forever-kingdom establishment.
The second phrase sparked a more sobering meditation. It was ‘full strength’ as in the ‘full strength’ of God’s fury. A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb (9-10).
Restraint is over, the end is near. The fury of God will be poured out full strength on those who have been opposed to God and God’s people. Throughout our yard we have poison ivy pop up here and there. I am allergic, so my wife, our prime gardener, keeps a keen eye out for poison ivy when it shows up. Her immediate course of action is to spray it with Roundup a strong root killing poison. We buy it in bulk and according to directions dilute it something like 100:1 before using. It kills within 24 hours. It is strong stuff even diluted.
God’s fury and wrath is strong stuff but no more will it be diluted… the day has come when God will pour it out full strength. His enemy will be vanquished and the days of mercy are over.
‘Full strength’ paints a stark image…
As I sit, these two phrases are the flipside of each other. The joy of salvation is balanced by the punishment of evil and vice versa. In battle there are winners and losers; the victorious and the vanquished. Today God led me to contemplate both… and This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus (12).
So, Lord, I wait, I pray with patience and endurance for Your day. And until then may my life be pleasing in Your sight, my Rock and Redeemer. Amen.
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