And the door is shut.

[MEE]

Now is the day of salvation , ..................... but it is up to us to seek seek and seek zepheniah 2;2-3

[John146]

How else would they live and reign, if they had not been resurrected from the dead?

John saw their souls. Are their souls lifeless or can someone be conscious apart from their body? I don't believe in soul sleep, do you? I believe they can live and reign with Christ in heaven without bodies as I believe people are still conscious even after bodily death.

The tares and the wicked will be burned up, at the end of the age.

The tares are the wicked. With the wicked all being burned up and believers being changed bodily from mortal to immortal what mortals would be left to populate an earthly millennial kingdom? None.

Mat 24:40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. So, not all were taken away as in the days of Noah.

In Noah's day the wicked were all killed by the flood and Noah and his family survived. At Christ's return the wicked will all be killed and the righteous will all be changed and taken up to meet Christ in the air. So, the one's taken are believers being taken up to meet Christ. The ones left will be those who are left on the earth and destroyed just like in Noah's day.

He divides his sheep from the goats.

Does that include all people?

Yes.

Matt 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

The Greek word "ethnos" is translated as "nations" here but can also refer to people in general. Why would anyone be excluded from this gathering? It's a clear description of judgment day.

The goats are those who could have done something but didn't.
What about the children, the infirm, the poor and oppressed? What of those who were unable or unavailable to do anything?

I would say those would be who Jesus called "the least of these my brethren".

All in Christ shall be made alive at His coming. Then the end shall come where He will reign until He has put all things under His feet. After the last enemy (death) has been destroyed, He shall then subject Himself to God the Father.

But He reigns now so why are you speaking of Him only beginning to reign at His coming?

Matt 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

Eph 1:19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, 20Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, 21Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: 22And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,

He reigns now and will continue to reign until His coming, which is when the last enemy will be defeated, as Paul indicates here:

1 Cor 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

Once "death is swallowed up in victory" it will be defeated and 1 Cor 15:26 will be fulfilled. That will occur "at the last trump" which will sound at His second coming.

2Th 1:8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:

Those who have heard the gospel and hardened their hearts, are those who have not obeyed the gospel. You can only obey or disobey the gospel, if you have heard His voice.

So, what do you think will happen to everyone else then? What mortals would survive His coming without being changed bodily from mortal to immortal?

The elements, being the orderly arrangement of things, shall be burnt up.

Gal 4:3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:

Gal 4:9 But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?

Col 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ

Col 2:20 Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,

Heb 5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.

And what about the part about the earth being burned up then? Can't forget about that.

2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

Notice that "the earth also and the works that are therein" are differentiated from "the elements".

This is the GWT after the millennium, when the 'rest of the dead' will be judged according to their works of good and evil.

Who are the goats in Matt 25:31-46 then? Looks like they will be judged according to their works and it looks like they will be cast into the fire. How is that any different than what is described in Rev 20:11-15?

"and I will raise him up at the last day" (the end of this age) They will be raised up to reign with Christ a thousand years.
After the last day of this age, begins the day of the Lord (thousand year reign with the saints)

No, after the last day of this temporal age will begin the eternal age of the new heavens and new earth. The same last day that believers are bodily resurrected from the dead is the day that unbelievers will be judged (John 12:48), and we know they will be judged after the thousand years. So, it must be that believers will be resurrected after the thousand years as well.

Saved by grace through faith ends on the last day, after that then all will be judged according to their works.

But this passage was for those who saw Him and heard Him.

Rom 11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
Rom 11:27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
Rom 11:28 As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes.
Rom 11:29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

Though we have not seen Him, we believe that He is.

I believe much of this is to do with ethnic Israel, who will be judged at the coming of the Lord according to 'birth right'

All people will be judged at the coming of the Lord, not just ethnic Israel.

Rev 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

[John146]

Then you would have to ask "how are they beheaded" and "what is the meaning of beheaded?"

As these spoken of are beheaded for their witness to Jesus Christ and the Word of God. So they are prior to the beheading...saints. They are beheaded for that very reason of being saints, so you have to ask then "how can a saint be beheaded?" The only act of seperation a saint can recieve is physical death as they are already alive through Christ spiritually and given the physical resurrection promise through that very spiritual life of being a witness for Jesus Christ and living for the Word of God.

I'm not sure what your point was here. I'm not saying the souls John saw were not physically dead.

You also say there is no mention of coming back to life but the following verses very much say "this is the first resurrection" If they were beheaded for thier witness of Jesus Christ and the word of God, then they already spiritually resurrected prior to the beheading because they were beheaded for that very reason, so what other form of resurrection follows spiritual resurrection?
What can this first resurrection they take part in be if they had already taken part in spiritual resurrection by being witnesses of Jesus Christ and for the Word of God?

You are assuming that it's saying they do not have part in the first resurrection until after they physically died. I don't agree with that. I believe it's saying "they lived and reigned with Christ", not "they came to life and reigned with Christ". The Greek word zaō means "to live" and not "to be resurrected from the dead". So, I believe it's indicating that John sees the souls living and reigning with Christ in heaven. Also, in Rev 20:6 it indicates that anyone who has part in the first resurrection reigns with Christ. I see "the first resurrection" itself as being Christ's resurrection and scripture teaches that all believers spiritually have part in His resurrection (Eph 2:1-6, Rom 6, etc.).

Acts 26:23 That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles.

Bodily. Which scripture describes quite vividly, specifically the Holy Spirit through Paul when he speaks of his soon coming physical death. Also Corinthians and many others.

I don't deny the future bodily resurrection of believers, I just don't believe that is the first resurrection. Christ's resurrection was the first resurrection (Acts 26:23, 1 Cor 15:20) and it's not necessary to be bodily resurrected in order to have part in His resurrection.

What is your understanding of Rev 20:6? Doesn't it indicate that only those who have part in the first resurrection reign with Christ? If so, what about those who are alive and remain unto His coming? If the first resurrection referred to the bodily resurrection of the dead in Christ then it seems that only the dead in Christ would reign with Christ and those who are alive and remain would not. Only a view that includes all believers as having part in the first resurrection makes sense, IMO.

[Caleb]

John saw their souls. Are their souls lifeless or can someone be conscious apart from their body? I don't believe in soul sleep, do you? I believe they can live and reign with Christ in heaven without bodies as I believe people are still conscious even after bodily death.

I would believe that John spoke of, seeing the ‘souls’ in the vision as the best way to describe them, because it is a future event and not only had they not physically died yet, but they hadn’t even been born yet.

I am not going to discuss all the other points here, because you simply asked what do we do with them verses. I gave my reply understanding that there was little or no chance that you would agree with them.

[warfrog]

I'm not sure what your point was here. I'm not saying the souls John saw were not physically dead.

Ok i know you typed alot more in your reply but lets just take this slower cause you wandered off on the reply from what i was trying to ask you, so lets just focus on one thing at a time.

So if they are physically dead, and they are physically dead because they were witnesses to Jesus Christ and for the word of God which they are beheaded for that reason (His cannot be spiritually beheaded from Him by others means/actions). In other words they physically died due to that specific reason..which is being a saint.
Then what possible resurrection can they recieve if they already "resurrected" in Christ spiritually and were beheaded (which i take as seperation) for tht very "spiritual resurrected" reason?

See these individuals are described following this beheadment as resurrecting or taking part in the first resurrection, so if they already recieved Christ and were beheaded for recieving Christ and the Word of God then what is this first resurrection they then take part in?

They already took part in receiveing Christ and the Word of God and are beheaded for that, so what then is this first resurrection they then take part in?

Would it not then be physical resurrection if they had already recieved spiritual resurrection through Christ?

Ahhh phhhshh on me i'll reply a little more to answer yor question you asked me at the end regarding what happens at His coming and what relates with that to what you asked.

For those who are alive and remain at His coming that are called in His name, they will from this current body we have, die. In the twinkling of an eye they will die and change, from corruption to incorruption, from mortality to immortality through Him. All of His will be collected into the barn in likewise manner, albiet if you were in the grave or not, first those who are in the grave will recieve and following those who are alive and remain will join them in the same manner of resurrection.
"As in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order"

(now this is speaking physically due to the knowledge God has given determining that indeed not all men shall be made alive spiritually through Christ or else no man would go to the lake of fire. God is saying all men are destined to die physically just like Adam was, but in Christ all men will be made alive from this death but in thier own orders. Resurrection of the Saints, resurrection of the wicked....now im not going to discuss the orders now because we would be all over the place, lol. Just thought i could answer your last question easily without it taking us off discussion or adding more.)

[John146]

I would believe that John spoke of, seeing the ‘souls’ in the vision as the best way to describe them, because it is a future event and not only had they not physically died yet, but they hadn’t even been born yet.

I'm not sure what you're saying here. They clearly were physically dead when he saw them or else he wouldn't have referred to them as having been beheaded and wouldn't have referred to "the rest of the dead". So, he saw the souls of the dead in Christ. Do you believe in soul sleep? It seems like you're not comfortable with the idea of him having seen the souls of people who were physically dead.

[John146]

Ok i know you typed alot more in your reply but lets just take this slower cause you wandered off on the reply from what i was trying to ask you, so lets just focus on one thing at a time.

So if they are physically dead, and they are physically dead because they were witnesses to Jesus Christ and for the word of God which they are beheaded for that reason (His cannot be spiritually beheaded from Him by others means/actions). In other words they physically died due to that specific reason..which is being a saint.
Then what possible resurrection can they recieve if they already "resurrected" in Christ spiritually and were beheaded (which i take as seperation) for tht very "spiritual resurrected" reason?

This is the problem. You are assuming that they are resurrected after John saw them. I don't agree with that. I believe they already had part in Christ's resurrection spiritually at the time John saw them. So, in order for your premise to be correct you'd have to show that they are not resurrected until after John saw them. Can you do that?

See these individuals are described following this beheadment as resurrecting or taking part in the first resurrection, so if they already recieved Christ and were beheaded for recieving Christ and the Word of God then what is this first resurrection they then take part in?

Having part in Christ's resurrection by way of being saved (going from being dead in sins to spiritually alive in Christ).

They already took part in receiveing Christ and the Word of God and are beheaded for that, so what then is this first resurrection they then take part in?

That is the first resurrection. Taking part in Christ's resurrection. His resurrection is the first resurrection (Acts 26:23, 1 Cor 15:20) and the way to take part in it is to be saved and establish a personal relationship with Him.

Ahhh phhhshh on me i'll reply a little more to answer yor question you asked me at the end regarding what happens at His coming and what relates with that to what you asked.

For those who are alive and remain at His coming that are called in His name, they will from this current body we have, die. In the twinkling of an eye they will die and change, from corruption to incorruption, from mortality to immortality through Him.

That is not what Paul said. He did not say those who are alive and remain at Christ's coming will die first and then be changed. He only said they will be changed. So, I believe you are adding something to scripture that isn't taught. Only the dead in Christ will need to be resurrected. Those who are alive and remain will not. All of them (dead and alive) will be changed but not all of them will need to be resurrected since only the dead need to be resurrected.

All of His will be collected into the barn in likewise manner, albiet if you were in the grave or not, first those who are in the grave will recieve and following those who are alive and remain will join them in the same manner of resurrection.
"As in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order"

(now this is speaking physically due to the knowledge God has given determining that indeed not all men shall be made alive spiritually through Christ or else no man would go to the lake of fire. God is saying all men are destined to die physically just like Adam was, but in Christ all men will be made alive from this death but in thier own orders. Resurrection of the Saints, resurrection of the wicked....now im not going to discuss the orders now because we would be all over the place, lol. Just thought i could answer your last question easily without it taking us off discussion or adding more.)

1 Cor 15:22-23 only applies to the dead in Christ, not those who are alive and remain. When scripture says that all men are appointed to die once you have to be careful about how literally you take that. For example, Lazarus died twice. Does that make Heb 9:27 false? No. It's generally true that all men are appointed to physically die once but that doesn't mean there can't be exceptions. Some, like Lazarus, died more than once and some will not die at all, as in the case of those who are alive and remain until Christ's second coming.

[warfrog]

For some reason and i dont know what it is, your missing the point of the reason those john sees are beheaded.

John is describing saints, already saints who have recieved Christ as you spoke of and are described as being beheaded for that very reason.
Then John describes another group who will not live again and calls them the rest of the dead.

If the second group is "the rest of" then that meas the first group is also in relation to the second group in some manner.
So what is the manner of relation?

The first group are described as "souls" and in short form "saints" (from the multiple descriptions we know they are Christ's)
The second group is simply described as "the rest of the dead" "who do not live agai until the thousand years are finished"

So from that information what can we conclude about group 1 and group 2 simularities?

That group one is also "dead" in some form if group 2 is "the rest of the dead"

Now group 1 "who had been" beheaded for being saints, past tense, in other words they previously from johns veiw were beheaded from the point in time John is seeing them and John in the same view says they "lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years"
Group 2 is then followed in the same veiw john is having with this definition "But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished."
This is 2 groups veiwed from the same time of johns vision yet one lives a thousand years and one does not until the thousand years are finished, yet John clearly defines group 2 as being the "rest of the dead" meaning group 1 is the first part of the dead John is speaking of that group 2 is "the rest of"

So if both groups at that point in time are considered dead, yet group 1 who had already been alive in Christ and were called "beheaded" for that very reason (are resurrected previously as you speak of resurrection, yet are beheaded for that reason and considered a part of the dead)
yet live now for a thousand years while their counterpart group who are the "rest of the dead" do not live until the thousad years are finished.

What is this living? if group 1 already lived in Christ and were called "beheaded" and grouped with "the dead" they cant recieve spiritual life in Christ twice so what must group 1 who had Christ, got beheaded, grouped with dead who had to wait for a thousand years to finish, lived for this thousand years while thier counterpart dead waited for a thousand years to ed...what do they live from? and what do the dead stay dead from?

Physical life.

Thier both dead, group 1 are dead saints, group 2 are not saints who are dead, group 1 lives a thousand years, while group 2 waits it out.

As for the dieing, yes they do die, it clear as in adam all die. It doesnt say all die once as you said, it simply says all die. Which it follows with even so in Christ all shall be made alive. Are you going to tell me every single person from Adam to whenever are saved? We know through scripture thats not the case, not all will accept Christ and be made alive in Him, so in what manner will all be made alive in Christ?
physical resurrection. Which it then says, but each in his own order.

The change that occurs in the twinkling of the eye is the death that will occur, the change = death, which the change occurs "in the twinkiling of an eye" twinkle your eye that how long they experience physical death, thats how fast it is, from corruption to incorruption, from mortality to immortality, its that fast, you could consider it not even dieing, but it is death and change that fast due to what God said above regarding as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. (not spiritually all must die as in Adam, but physically all must die as i Adam, even so in Christ all shall be made alive, not spiritually because we know all will not be made alive in Christ spiritually, or there would be none going to the lake of fire, but physically all shall be made alive in Christ, resurrection of the saints, resurrection of the wicked, all shall be resurrected in thier order.

[ross3421]

As always I would like to go a bit deeper. The closed door also parallels the Messiah being "cut off" in Daniel and the word of the Lord vanishing in Amos.

John 10:7 “Then Jesus said unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep”.

Luke 13:25,28 “When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: V28 There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.”

Matt 25:10 “And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterwards came also the other virgins, saying Lord Lord, open to us. But he answered and said , Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh”.

Daniel Messiah Cut off = Signifies door being shut

Da 9:26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

I know most will disagree which is fine, but when one understands that these are one in the same then we can unlock the true understanding of the passage. That this speaks of an end time events which culminates in a future 70 literal week period prior to Christ return.

Amos Famine of the word = Signifies door being shut

Am 8:8 Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.
Am 8:9 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day:
Am 8:10 And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.
Am 8:11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:
Am 8:12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.


Notice we see the same references of, flood, darkness, to and fro, ect.....as seen in Daniel, Revelation and others.

[LightofTabor]

I seem to recall the Book of Revelation saying that the gates of the New Jerusalem will never be shut. I also recall scriptures that declare the mercy of God to be unending.

[DurbanDude]

　
　
If so, then what would be the point of a future millenial reign if the door is shut, and those who are shut out find themselves in a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth at his coming?
[/SIZE]　
Christ comes, the court sits, verdicts are handed down and the door is shut.
　
If this scenario makes you uncomfortable, i do not apologise, for today is the day where you must be ready. In a twinkling of an eye that open door will be slammed shut.
God is patient now, not wanting anyone to perish, but all to come to repentance.....before Christ appears and closes the door.
　
　
[/FONT]Ps
I was compelled about an hour ago to write this, as i felt the Lord was saying to me that i could be better prepared.　

I am a premill and agree with you that the door will be shut at the second coming. Additionally I am not sure of the motivation for the millenium.
I believe that 2 Thessalonians 1 is clear that those who do not know God at the second coming, are seperated forever from the glory of God.

However reading the various views on Revelation 20, Ezekiel 38-48, Zechariah 14, Joel 2/3, Daniel 7 , verses throughout Isaiah, Rev 19:15, Rev 2 it seems clear to me that there will be a period of strict rule over mortals after the second coming (I equate the second coming with the OT "day of the Lord"). I prefer the literal interpretation in each case, believing that symbolism is normally obvious, and believing that the bible has a history of literal fulfilments. The fact that these are "surviving nations" and "mortals" emphasizes to me that these are the unsaved who never had the privelege of receiving a resurrection body at the second coming and therefore fall under the category of 2 Thess 1, forever seperated from god's glory which does imply no eternal salvation. This does not mean that there are no mortal benefits for them, they can live long disease free, relatively sinless lives under this period where they do not have Jesus' eternal sacrifice available to them any more because that door is closed. That is why I see the re-introduction of the temporary sacrifices as per Ezekiel/Zechariah absolutely necessary for these for whom the door of salvation through Christ is closed, and yet are required to be cleansed under the rituals of the millenium.

As to the motivation behind this:
Training for the saints to learn to rule?
Vindication of Christ?
Vindication of the saints?
Vindication of Israel?
Completion of the authority of Christ?

Maybe none of the above, maybe all of the above.

[jeffweeder]

Durbandude....none of the above.
God is patient today, while it is called today....today is the day of salvation. Tomorrow people will perish if Christ comes again ..,it will be a new day...all things become new.
The human race has a window of opportunity for repentance before Christ comes with his eternal reward.

At his coming.....,
The door is shut,
Those who reject the gospel are eternally seperated.
Those who recieve..inherit.

No need to train the saints on how to rule from that point, as there are none to rule over.
If your name is in the book of life, the whole of creation will know that your one of the Sons of God to be revealed...and the rest are thrown into the lake.
What the Church has been given to do, we must do today.
I feel it is a mistake for us to allude to an open door of repentance ,once the second coming takes place.

[DurbanDude]

Durbandude....none of the above.
God is patient today, while it is called today....today is the day of salvation. Tomorrow people will perish if Christ comes again ..,it will be a new day...all things become new.
The human race has a window of opportunity for repentance before Christ comes with his eternal reward.

At his coming.....,
The door is shut,
Those who reject the gospel are eternally seperated.
Those who recieve..inherit.

No need to train the saints on how to rule from that point, as there are none to rule over.
If your name is in the book of life, the whole of creation will know that your one of the Sons of God to be revealed...and the rest are thrown into the lake.
What the Church has been given to do, we must do today.
I feel it is a mistake for us to allude to an open door of repentance ,once the second coming takes place.

I think you misunderstood my post, I was always agreeing with you that there is no open door from the second coming onwards, even if from my premill perspective.

As for your point about none to rule over, I listed many verses that indicate some to rule over. The normal verses used to "prove" that there is universal death at the second coming, Rev 19, 2 Peter 3, and the flood comparison of Matthew 24 have been dealt with in other current threads, so there is no conclusive biblical evidence for universal death, and yet many verses that show continued existence of nations/lands.

[Caleb]

I'm not sure what you're saying here. They clearly were physically dead when he saw them or else he wouldn't have referred to them as having been beheaded and wouldn't have referred to "the rest of the dead". So, he saw the souls of the dead in Christ. Do you believe in soul sleep? It seems like you're not comfortable with the idea of him having seen the souls of people who were physically dead.

Then are you saying that the beast and false prophet were before John had the vision?

If these beheaded and martyred because they did not take the mark or worship the beast, are actually physically dead, then it must have been before the vision.

And please don’t start this bull about what I may be comfortable with or not comfortable with. This is not about me, but about the scripture

[T W Taylor]

Hello Jeffweeder, and all, The door is shut on any more virgins coming in, after they are sealed and become servants. There will still be other virgins that were not ready that will be a part of God’s household, and there will still be the Elect that is a part of God’s household. There will still be a multitude converted during the great tribulation.

Mat 25:10 "And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.

Rev 14:3 They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth.

Rev 14:4 These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.

Rev 7:14 And I said to him, "Sir, you know." So he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.