Revelation 14:4

These are they that were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they that follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were purchased from among men, to be the firstfruits unto God and unto the Lamb. And in their mouth there was found no lie: they are without blemish.

These are they that were not defiled with women ... More nonsense has been written about this than about anything else in Revelation, with the possible exception of Revelation 22:2! We shall start with Barclay: "If we are to treat it honestly, we cannot avoid the conclusion that it praises celibacy and virginity and belittles marriage."[16] We should have expected this from a scholar who thought that when Jesus said, "The maiden is not dead, but sleepeth," he thought they were about to bury the daughter of Jairus alive. For all his "honesty" in taking this place literally he spiritualized virgins to include celibacy! How so? If the passage is taken literally, it is impossible to explain it, for virgins is not literally those who "have not defiled themselves with women," unless it is construed as meaning virgins who are not Lesbians! Are we then to conclude that no one will be in heaven except non-Lesbian females? Literalism here could hardly mean anything else: therefore, the true spiritual meaning of the passage must be sought. For a discussion of "Fundamentalism among Modernists," see my Commentary on James, 1,2 Peter 1,2, and 3John, and Jude, pp. 289,290.

Before observing what other learned men have written about this, let it be observed that John here categorically stated exactly who the "virgins" of this passage are:

They are they that follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were purchased from among men, to be the firstfruits unto God and unto the Lamb.

It would be impossible for the Scriptures to declare any more plainly than in these words that the "virgins" are the redeemed of earth, the true Christians who at last shall enter heaven. How strange it is that people should seek any other definition than that which is so clearly stated here by the inspired apostle himself.

The 144,000 virgins are undefiled in the sense that they have refused to defile themselves by participating in the fornication of worshipping the beast.[17]

That the word "virgins" is used in a spiritual sense in the New Testament is proved by the letter Ignatius wrote to the Smyrneans, "To the brethren, their wives and children, and the virgins that are called widows."[18] In such usage, "virgins" has no reference whatever to sexual experience. "Being a chaste virgin" means being a faithful Christian; and all of the ancient Christians understood this perfectly. Scholars overwhelmingly accept this:

This means that the Christians have resisted the seductions of the great harlot Rome with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication (Revelation 17:2)[19] These anticipatory passages al ways relate to the people of God as a whole.[20] The whole church is in view. Therefore the passage must be interpreted symbolically.[21] A literal interpretation would contradict the gospel.[22] These were virgin souls who had not bowed to the beast or his image. They were not guilty of spiritual fornication."[23] Virgins was a natural symbol for moral purity from the seductions of the great whore of Babylon and from that fornication which is idolatry.[24] It is not possible that these words should be understood literally.[25]

Firstfruits unto God and unto the Lamb ... This expression is made to mean that the salvation of the church is only "first" chronologically in God's purpose of saving the entire human race, good and bad alike, as for example:

The church's experience is also the sign of what the experience of mankind is to be. Put these words into the collection of John's universalistic references."[26]

Such views are due to a misunderstanding of the true meaning of "firstfruits" as used here.

"Firstfruits" can be used of a total group regarding their total consecration to God. All Christians are "firstfruits" (James 1:18). Jeremiah also referred to all of Israel as "the firstfruits of his harvest" (Jeremiah 2:3).[27]

There is absolutely nothing here that indicates the salvation of any who are not "in Christ." "The view that makes the 144,000 the firstfruits of all believers instead of all men is unacceptable."[28] The contrast is not between the 144,000 and others yet to be saved, but between them and the rest who are lost. Chronology is not in this. "Firstfruits is a description of the perfect character of the 144,000."[29]

And in their mouth there was found no lie ... Beyond the truth and integrity of speech which are the dominant qualities of every Christian life, "the lie" probably in the back of John's mind here is the lie that "Caesar is god," that man is his own Saviour, that people may forgive each other's sins, or that God's religion may be tailored by people to suit their own purposes. "Not the least lie of this kind was found in the 144,000."[30]

[16] William Barclay, op. cit., p. 107.

[17] George Eldon Ladd, op. cit., p. 191.

[18] Ignatius, Epistle to the Smyrnaeans, Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. I (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), p. 92.

[19] Robert H. Mounce, Commentary on the New Testament, Revelation (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1977), p. 270.

[20] Isbon T. Beckwith, op. cit., p. 650.

[21] G. R. Beasley-Murray, op. cit., p. 203.

[22] Vernard Eller, The Most Revealing Book of the Bible (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1974), p. 136.

[23] Frank L. Cox, Revelation in 26 Lessons (Nashville: Gospel Advocate Company, 1956), p. 90.

[24] G. B. Caird, The Revelation of St. John the Divine (New York: Harper and Row, 1966), p. 179.

[25] Charles H. Roberson, Studies in Revelation (Tyler, Texas: P. D. Wilmeth, P.O. Box 3305,1957), p. 106.

[26] Vernard Eller, op. cit., p. 136.

[27] George Eldon Ladd, op. cit., p. 192.

[28] R. C. H. Lenski, op. cit., p. 425.

[29] Isbon T. Beckwith, op. cit., p. 653.

[30] Ibid.