With the Lamb

John sees the Lamb surrounded by the 144,000 that were sealed on the forehead (Revelation 14:1).

The company of the Lamb stands in contrast to the company of the beast. The worshipers of the beast were marked on the hand and the forehead, and the 144,000 are sealed on the forehead. That indicates a contrast between the two companies, but also suggests that the mark has something to do with liturgical engagement. If the mark of the beast gives those who are marked the right to buy and sell, we might say that the seal of the 144,000 also gives them the right to buy and sell. 

Buying and selling is linked with the temple courts, with access to the goods of temple worship. The 144,000 are sealed so that they too have access to a marketplace, the marketplace of the Lamb, who offers goods for free back at the end of chapter 3. These 144,000 are marked as worshipers, who have the right to engage in exchanges with the Lab.

That is consistent with the fact that they are sealed on the forehead, which is the location for the name of God in the garb of the high priest. He wore a golden crown with the name of Yahweh over his forehead. The Lamb is in a priestly position of standing, and He is surrounded by a priestly company.

We can combine these themes with the fact that the 144,000 have literally been marked out for death. They are sealed to become the firstfruits of the martyr church, sealed for death. They wear, after all, the name of the slain Lamb. To put it more liturgically and Levitically, they are sealed for sacrifice, to offer themselves as the ultimate sacrifice, as martyrs dying with and in Christ. They are sealed in order to be the special firstfruits offering to God.

The 144,000 have a specific role in the early church, but their sealing and experience contributes to our understanding of baptism. We are all sealed on the forehead with the name of the Lamb and of His Father. Because we are so sealed, we are in the joyful priestly assembly of the Lamb on Mount Zion. The 144,000 are sealed as sacrifices, as offerings to God. So also are all the baptized, priests called to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, which is our reasonable act of worship.