Revelation 14

Revelation 14:1

14:1 The Lamb is seen standing on Mount Zion with one hundred and forty-four thousand followers, all of whom were sealed on their foreheads. This looks forward to the time when the Lord Jesus will come back to the earth and stand in Jerusalem with this group of believers from each of the twelve tribes of Israel. The one hundred and forty-four thousand are the same ones mentioned in chapter 7. They are now about to enter the kingdom of Christ. 14:2, 3 John hears music coming from heaven like the voice of many waters, and like the sound of loud thunder, and like harpists playing their harps. Only the hundred and forty-four thousand could learn that song. 14:4, 5 They are described as virgins, those who have not defiled themselves with women. They had kept themselves free from the terrible idolatry and immorality of this period and followed the Lamb in unquestioning obedience and devotion. Pentecost says, They are called the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb, that is, they are the first of the harvest of the tribulation period that will come into the millennium to populate the millennial earth. They did not accept the lie of the Antichristthat a mere man was to be worshiped. They were blameless as far as their steadfast confession of Christ was concerned. 14:6, 7 The angel flying in mid-heaven with the everlasting gospel seems to correspond with Mat_24:14 : And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. The subject of the gospel is given in verse 7. Men are commanded to fear God rather than the beast; to give glory to Him rather than to the idolatrous image; and to worship Him rather than a mere man. Of course, there is only one gospelthe good news of salvation through faith in Christ. But there are different emphases in different dispensations. During the Great Tribulation, the gospel will seek to turn men away from worship of the beast and prepare them for Christ’s kingdom on earth. 14:8 The second angel announces Babylon’s fall. This anticipates chapters 17 and 18. Babylon represents apostate Judaism and apostate Christendom, which will be a vast commercial and religious conglomerate with headquarters in Rome. All nations will have become drunk with the wine of the wrath of her fornication. 14:9, 10 We can fix the time of the third angel’s pronouncement as being at the middle of the Tribulation, which is the same as the beginning of the Great Tribulation. The angel warns that any who agree to beast-worship in any of its forms will suffer God’s wrath now and eternally. The wine of His wrath will be poured out on the earth during the Great Tribulation. But that will be only a foretaste of the pangs of eternal hell, where unbelievers shall be tormented with fire and brimstone. 14:11 This verse reminds us that hell consists of eternal and conscious punishment. The Bible never teaches that the wicked dead will be annihilated. The smoke of their torment ascends perpetually, and there is no relief day or night. 14:12 This will be a time when the saints will be called to endure patiently the savagery of the beast, to obey God by refusing to worship a man or an idol, and to hold fast their confession of faith in Jesus. The eventual doom of the wicked (vv. 9-11) serves to encourage the faithful to endure. 14:13 Believers who die during this period will not miss the blessings of the Millennial Kingdom. Man says, Blessed are the living. God says, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. And, Their works follow them. Everything done for Christ and in His name for others will be richly rewardedevery kindness, sacrificial gift, prayer, tear, word of testimony. 14:14 If we compare this passage with Mat_13:39-43 and Mat_25:31-46, we learn that the harvest of the earth takes place at the Second Advent of our Lord. Here He is said to do the reaping; in Mat_13:39 the angels are the reapers. Both are true; Christ does it through the agency of angels. Christ is here seen descending on a white cloud, … having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. 14:15 An angel from the temple tells Him to thrust in His sickle because the harvest of the earth is ripe. This should not be looked on as an order; angels have no right to command God. Rather it is an entreaty or a message relayed from God the Father. 14:16 There are two ways of understanding this first harvest. First of all, it may picture the gathering of tribulation believers to enter the Millennium. According to this view, it would correspond to the good seeds of Matthew 13, that is, the sons of the kingdom. Or it may be a harvest of judgment. If this is the case, the subjects of the judgment may be Gentiles, since Israel seems to be in view in the next harvest (vv. 17-20). 14:17 Now the record turns to the last terrible judgments that will fall on the unbelieving portion of the nation of Israel, the vine of the earth (see Psa_80:8; Isa_5:1-7; Jer_2:21; Jer_6:9). An angel comes out of the temple which is in heaven, equipped with a sharp sickle. 14:18 Another angel gives the signal to begin reaping. This angel has power over fire, which may symbolize the judgment to follow. 14:19 The mature grapes are gathered and thrown into the great winepress of the wrath of God. The trampling of grapes in the process of making wine is used here as a picture of crushing judgment. 14:20 This vintage takes place outside the city of Jerusalem, perhaps in the Valley of Jehoshaphat. The carnage will be so great that blood will flow in a stream 180 miles long and as deep as the horses’ bridles. This would reach from Jerusalem to the south of Edom.