Revelation 14:1-5 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

I looked, and, lo, a Lamb, &c.— After the account of the rise and reign of the beast (says Bishop Newton), the Spirit of prophesy delineates, by way of opposition, the state of the true church during the same period, its struggles and contests with the beast, and the judgment of God upon his enemies. Our Saviour is seen, Revelation 14:1 as the true Lamb of God, not only with horns like a lamb, standing on mount Sion, the place of God's true worship, but with him an hundred forty and four thousand, the same number that was mentioned (ch. Revelation 7:4.), the genuine offspring of the twelve apostles apostolically multiplied, and therefore the number of the church, as six hundred and sixty-six is the number of the beast: and as the followers of the beast have the name of the beast, so these have the name of God, and, as some copies add, of Christ, written in their forehead;—being his professed servants, and the same as the witnesses, only represented under different figures. The angels and heavenly choir, Revelation 14:2-3 with loud voices and instruments of music, sing the same new song, or Christian song which they sung, ch. 5. And no man could learn that song but the hundred forty and four thousand; they alone are the worshippers of the one true God through the one true Mediator Jesus Christ: all the rest of mankind offer up their devotions to other objects and through other mediators. These are they which were not defiled with women, for they are virgins; Revelation 14:4. They are pure from all the stains and pollutions of spiritual whoredom or idolatry, with which the other parts of the world are miserably debauched and corrupted. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth; they adhere constantly to the religion of Christ in all conditions and in all places; whether in adversity or prosperity; whether in conventicles and desarts, or in churches and cities. These were redeemed from among men;—rescued from the corruption of the world, and are consecrated as the first-fruits unto God and the Lamb; an earnest and assurance of a more plentiful harvest in succeeding times. And in their mouth was found no guile; Revelation 14:5. They handle not the word of God deceitfully; they preach the sincere doctrine of Christ; they are as free from hypocrisy as from idolatry; for they are without fault before the throne of God: they resemble their blessed Redeemer, who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth; (1 Peter 2:22.) and are, as the apostle requires Christians to be, blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation; Philippians 2:15. But possibly it may be asked, Where did such a church ever exist, especially before the reformation? And it may be replied, that it has existed not in idea only: history demonstrates, that there have, in every age, been some true worshippers of God, and faithful servants of Jesus Christ: and as Elijah did not know the seven thousand men who had never bowed the knee to Baal, so there may have been more true Christians than were always visible.