His Name On Their Foreheads

I saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him were 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. Revelation 14:1

AS WE PREPARE to celebrate the birth of Jesus, we see him as Mary’s little Lamb, weak and needy, lying in a manger. But we know that while he came in weakness the first time, when he comes again, he will arrive in power. He will be the Lamb on the throne, surrounded by all of those who have put their hope in him, all who have been marked by his saving blood, all who have been completely transformed into his likeness.

In the Old Testament priesthood, the priest wore a turban of fine linen with a gold plate affixed to the front that was engraved with the words “Holy to the LORD.” This signified that he and the people he represented were set apart by God and to God to be a holy nation. When we get to the book of Revelation, we see that what God intended all along was for the people of God to be a kingdom of priests, representing and displaying his glory throughout all of his creation. In John’s vision of the future, we see that people “from every tribe and language and people and nation” have been made into “a Kingdom of priests for our God” (Revelation 5:9-10).

Throughout Revelation, all of the people of God, not just a select few, are clothed as priests in white and linen. Their purity is not put on as a garment over an otherwise-sinful self but is a true, inner perfection that is theirs because they have been washed by the blood of the Lamb. These priests do not enter the Most Holy Place only once a year. Instead, the whole earth has become God’s throne room where all “will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads” (Revelation 22:4).

When we enter into the presence of the Lamb, “Holy to the LORD” will not merely be an ornament on a turban that we will put on and take off. Our belonging to him will be written into our very being.

Lord, as we gather around the manger in our thoughts this Christmas, our hearts are stirred with a longing to gather around your throne and to be there with all of those we love. Please write ________’s belonging to you into her very being. Protect ________ from being claimed and marked by the beast that rules this world, and preserve ________ to be a part of the great choir singing a new song before your throne.