What does Revelation 14:1 mean?
John saw the Lamb—Jesus—standing on Mount Zion. The event pictures Jesus as having returned to Jerusalem at the end of the tribulation. He is ready to inaugurate His kingdom on earth. With Him on Mount Zion are the 144,000 sealed Jewish believers who have survived the tribulation. They have triumphed over all its turmoil and persecution.This is the same group of saved Jews we read about in Revelation chapter 7. In that chapter, these saved Jews received the seal of the living God on their foreheads (Revelation 7:4). This verse describes the 144,000 as having the name of the Lamb and His Father on their foreheads. This seal marks them as belonging to God as His servants. This is a stark contrast to unbelieving Jews (and Gentiles) who received the mark of the beast. In Greek, the contrast between the words for "seal" and "mark" is especially drastic. One means a signature or signet, the other means a "brand," like that put on an animal.
The 144,000 ministered faithfully during the first half of the tribulation and probably fled to a place of safety for the second half of the tribulation (Matthew 24:16–21).