Revelation 14

CHAPTER 14THEME: Looking to the end of the Great TribulationThis chapter contains several events. It is an interlude in which we see the Lamb on Mount Zion, hear the proclamation of the everlasting gospel, the pronouncement of judgment upon Babylon and on those who receive the mark of the Beast, then the praise for those who die in the Lord, and the preview of Armageddon. The chapter before us constitutes an hiatus in the series of seven performers. It is obvious that this interlude could not be fitted in between the sixth and seventh performers who are the two wild Beasts. Of course, they had to be considered together, as they are like Siamese twins, and the continuity between them could not be broken. Therefore, this interlude follows the seventh performer in recognition of the logical sequence of this book, which is not a hodgepodge of visions but unfolds in a logical, chronological, and mathematical order. There are certain performers called to our attention in this chapter (others beside the seven whom we have seen previously) in order to give us a full-orbed view of the spectacular events of the previous two chapters. As we have seen, this is the darkest day and the most horrible hour in the history of the world. It is truly hell’s holiday. Every thoughtful mind must inevitably ask the question, “How did God’s people fare during this period? Could they remain faithful to the Lord through to the end with the overwhelming odds against them?” The answer is found in this chapter before us. The Shepherd who began with 144,000 sheep is now identified with them as the Lamb. And notice that He doesn’t have 143,999 sheep; He has 144,000 sheepHe did not lose one! He redeemed them, He sealed them, and He kept them, for He is the Great Shepherd of the sheep. These sheep are of a different fold from the one we are in today, and the Good Shepherd brought them through the Great Tribulation. That is the picture before us as we open this chapter. It is encouraging to know that the Lambnot the two Beastsis going to have the last word.

And He is not a lamb that speaks like a dragon; He is the Lord Jesus Himself. And since He is going to have the final word, Babylon will fallthe great political capital, the great commercial capital, and the great religious capital of the world during the Great Tribulation period. And the followers of the Beast will be judged. Although many of Christ’s own will become martyrs during the Tribulation, they will not lose; they will win! Again I say with Calvin that I would rather be on the side that seems to be losing today but will win finally than to be on the side that seems to be winning today but is going to lose eternally. I’m glad to be on the winning side. Christ will reward those who will be martyred for Him. In chapter 19 we will see the Lamb returning to the earth. The morning is coming. The darkness will fade away, and the Sun of Righteousness will arise with healing in His wings.

Revelation 14:1

PICTURE OF THE LAMB WITH 144,000"I saw" indicates that John is still the spectator to these events. The reel continues to roll, and the story continues to unfold. The “Lamb” is the Lord Jesus Christ, as we have seen in chapters 5-7 and 12-13. “Mount Sion” is at Jerusalem. There is no use trying to locate this at any other place than at Jerusalem in the land of Israel. This verse pictures a placid, pastoral scene which opens the millennial kingdom here upon this earth. The Lord Jesus is going to reign from Jerusalem. God Himself called it the city of the great King. And in Psa_2:6 He says this: “Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.” It is the Father’s intention to place the Lord Jesus upon the throne of David in Jerusalem, and specifically at Mount Sion. “An hundred forty and four thousand” I believe to be the ones who were sealed back in chapter 7, although I recognize that there are some problems connected with this view. They came through the Great Tribulation like the three Hebrew children came through the fiery furnace. Notice that the Lamb is standing with them on Mount Sion. Although He is in His person the Lamb, He is also the Shepherd. Remember that He started out with 144,000 and that He came through the Great Tribulation with 144,000. He didn’t lose one. My friend, in our day when the pressures of Satan bear us down, the living, victorious Christ is available to us. Oh, that you and I might come to know Him better and that He might occupy a greater place in our lives day by day. I am convinced in my own experience that the Lord Jesus Christ in person is the answer. When I see plaques with the motto: “Jesus is the Answer,” I always say that it depends on what the question is. But certainly He is the answer to problems for which men are trying to work out solutions by some little method. They will tell you that if you follow their little legal system, you can solve the problems of your personal life, your home, your work, and your church.

I doubt that there ever was a day in which there was so much teaching in all of these areas, and yet there is less victorious living in the daily experience of believers. What is the real problem today? We don’t need a method; we need Christ. We need to know Him in a meaningful way. We need to draw closer to Him. By the way, when was the last time that you told Him that you loved Him?

He has said that He loves you, and you ought to tell Him that in return.

Revelation 14:2

“I heard.” John is not only a spectator but is also an auditor to this scene. The 144,000 join the heavenly chorus in the Millennium. My friend, have you ever heard a choir of 144,000 voices? Well, up to this time earth has been out of tune with heaven, but here the rule of Satan is over, and the earth and heaven are in tune. What Browning said about God’s being in His heaven and all’s right with the world is going to be true when we get to the Millennium. All’s wrong with the world right now, but in that day all will be right. The 144,000 learn the new song and join the harmony of heaven. “I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps.” God has put His harpers in heaven while the 144,000 are on earth, on Mount Sion (that is a long way from the instruments). Having been a pastor for many years, I have heard many harpersharping about this or that, but these are a different kind of harper. The harpers I have listened to were not musical, I can assure you. But these heavenly harpers are going to make beautiful music. “The hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth” means that they have been purchased to enter the Millennium on earth. They are not taken to heaven. Remember that this is a picture of the Millennium on earth, and these will live on the earth. The unsaved are not going to live on the earth. “And no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.” No one can sing praises to God but the redeemed. I wish that truth could be gotten over to a great many song leaders in this day in which we live. I understand their desire to hear everybody in the congregation sing, but when they have a mixed audience of saved and unsaved people, they should not ask the unsaved to sing the songs of redemption. Don’t ask them to sing: Amazing grace! how sweet the sound, That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found, Was blind, but now I see. “Amazing Grace” John Newton If an unsaved person sings that, you have made him a liar. Just let the redeemed sing. The psalmist wrote: “O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy” (Psa_107:1-2). My friend, no one but the redeemed are going to say God is good. This is the reason we need a say-so Christianity in our day. We need to say that God is good. But in this millennial scene, heaven and earth are brought into marvelous harmony. What a contrast this is to chapter 13 where earth is in rebellion against heaven under the Beasts. Here all is tranquility under the Lamb.

Revelation 14:4

These are they that were not defiled (besmirched) with women; for they are virgins [Gr.: parthenoi]. 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 was found no lie: they are without blemish.“Were not defiled with women; for they are virgins.” What does that mean? To be frank with you, it used to puzzle me. It can have a literal or spiritual meaning, and I think it includes both.

The Great Tribulation is a period of unparalleled suffering. The 144,000 have been through that period. The abnormal times demanded an abnormal state. That was the reason they were unmarried. When I was a boy, I remember a young fellow who went to war during World War I. He was engaged to a girl, but he never came home.

I know other boys who married right before they left, and they fathered children that they never saw. That was wartime. And many girls said that they wished they had not married during that time. Well, during the Tribulation period the times are going to be so frightful that it will be wise not to get married. You may remember that the prophet Jeremiah also lived in a critical period, the time of the Babylonian captivity. Because of the dark days, God forbade him to marry: “The word of the LORD came also unto me, saying, Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place.

For thus saith the LORD concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bare them, and concerning their fathers that begat them in this land; They shall die of grievous deaths; they shall not be lamented; neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth: and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their carcasses shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth” (Jer_16:1-4). Our Lord Jesus mentioned those who would be mothers during the Great Tribulation: “And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!” (Mat_24:19). You and I are living in a day when marriage is honorable and even encouraged. However, God’s injunction to Noah to multiply and replenish the earth is hardly the Scripture to apply to a world faced with a population explosion and at a time when believers can see the approach of the end of the age. During the Great Tribulation there will be an exaggerated emphasis upon sex, and obviously immorality will prevail. The 144,000 will have kept themselves aloof from the sins of the Great Tribulation. Now, considering adultery in the spiritual sense, in the Old Testament idolatry was classified as spiritual fornication. The classic example is in Ezekiel 16 where we find God’s severe indictment against Israel for fornication and adulterywhich was idolatry. The 144,000 will also have kept themselves from the worship of the Beast and his image during the Great Tribulation. Therefore, the comment, “These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins,” is probably referring to chastity in both the literal sense and the spiritual sense. And this makes good sense, by the way. “Firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb” has definite reference to the nation Israel. “For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead? For if the firstfruits be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches” (Rom_11:15-16). So Israel is described as the firstfruits, especially the 144,000. I believe that they will occupy a unique place in the millennial kingdom. They evidently will be the vanguard with the Lamb when He returns to set up the Kingdom, as we will see in chapter 19. “In their mouth was found no lie” means that they did not participate in the big lie of the Beast when he used lying wonders. They didn’t fall for his lie. Remember that the Lord Jesus said that if it were possible to deceive the very elect, they would be deceived. But they will not be deceived. “They are without blemish.” Are they without blemish because they have been purified by the Great Tribulation? No. They are without blemish because they are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. And, friend, that’s the way I am going to heaven, also. I’m not going to heaven because I think I am good, because I know that I am not good. And don’t look down your nose at me, because you are not good either. Both of us are sinners saved by the grace of God.

Revelation 14:6

PROCLAMATION OF THE EVERLASTING GOSPEL And I saw another angel flying in mid heaven, having an eternal gospel (good tidings) to proclaim unto (over) them that dwell (sit) on the earth, and unto (over) every nation and tribe and tongue and people; and he saith with a great voice, Fear God and give Him glory, for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made the heaven and the earth and sea and fountains of water. “Another angel” denotes another radical change in protocol of God’s communication with the earth. This angel is the first in a parade of six “another” angels mentioned in verses Rev_14:8-9, Rev_14:15, and Rev_14:17-18. During our age the gospel has been committed to men, and they alone are the messengers of it. Angels would like to give the message of the gospel, but they have not been permitted to do so. At the beginning of the Great Tribulation men are the messengers of God, as the 144,000 reveal. Even the two witnesses with supernatural power could not stand up against Satan, but were removed from the satanic scene of earth. Angels as well as men were the messengers of the Old Testament"…the word spoken by angels was stedfast …" (Heb_2:2). The times are so intense in the Great Tribulation period that only angels can get the messages of God through to the world. Angels are indestructible. “Flying in mid heaven” was a ridiculous statement a few years ago, and some of the critics of the Bible laughed at such a thing. It is no longer a ridiculous statement to a generation that has been treated to television via satellite. Worldwide television is a practical reality so that we don’t have to wait for the evening news to learn what is happening in Israel or England or Japan, we can see it just as it is happening. And the angel whom John mentions “flying mid heaven” will serve as a broadcasting station to the entire world. “An eternal gospel.” The question naturally arises, How is this the gospel, since the word gospel means “good news”? Is this angel bringing good news? Yes, it is good news to those who are God’s children, but it is bad news for the unbelievers. “Fear God” is the message of this “eternal gospel.” That is the message. The writer of the Proverbs said that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. In effect, the angel is saying to God’s people, “Get wise, get smart, because you need to fear God. God saved you by His grace, but He is going to judge this earth.” This is God’s final call before the return of Christ in judgment.

Revelation 14:8

PRONOUNCEMENT OF JUDGMENT ON BABYLONIn this chapter God is bringing before us those who will appear again in the Book of Revelation, but He is giving us now more or less of a program which He is going to follow. And another angel, a second, followed saying, Fell, fell is Babylon the great, that hath made all the nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. There is a book entitled The Two Babylons, by Alexander Hislop, which you ought to read. It is especially pertinent in these days in which you and I live. It reveals that Babylon has been Satan’s headquarters from the very beginning. Babylon is the place where idolatry began. Semiramis was the wife of Nimrod; some scholars think that she was his mother and that she married her own son.

She was queen of Babel, which later became Babylon, and she devised a nice little story (beginning a whole system of idolatry) in which she came out of an egg in the Euphrates Rivershe cracked the shell and stepped out fully grown. The worship of Semiramis introduced the female principle in the deity. This reveals that Babylon was the fountainhead of false religions. “Fell, fell is Babylon.” This second angel runs ahead and announces that which is yet to come as though it had already taken place. In the original Greek, “fell” is in the prophetic aorist tense. In other words, God’s prophetic word is so sure that He speaks as though the event had already taken place. It is just as sure as if it were history already. The city of Babylon will evidently be rebuilt during the Great Tribulation period. If you have my book on Isaiah, you will see that I deal with the probability in chapter 13. I believe that ancient Babylon will be rebuilt, though not at the same location, and that judgment upon it, which is predicted in the Book of Isaiah, is yet to come. The idolatry of Babylon is a divine intoxication which will fascinate the entire world. This is the reason we are seeing so much experimentation in our day with Satan worship, exorcism, and all the cults which are definitely satanic. Notice what the Old Testament prophets have said about it: “Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD’S hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad” (Jer_51:7). If you could get away far enough and look back at this earth, I am of the opinion that you would be disappointed in mankind and in the nations of the world. Then in the prophecy of Isaiah we read: “And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible” (Isa_13:11). This brings down the wrath of God upon the world (see Jer_25:15-26). “And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah” (Isa_13:19). This is a judgment on Babylon that we are going to see: judgment upon religious Babylon in chapter 17 of Revelation and upon commercial Babylon in chapter 18.

Revelation 14:9

PRONOUNCEMENT OF JUDGMENT ON THOSE WHO RECEIVE THE MARK OF THE BEASTIt is probably true that those who live through all or most of the Great Tribulation do so because they had received the mark of the Beast. However, part of the Great Tribulation is not caused by Satan’s being released but by Christ’s judgment upon this earth. He will move personally and directly in putting down the rebellion against Him here on this earth. And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a great voice, If any man worshipeth the beast and his image, and receiveth a mark on his forehead, or upon his hand, he also shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mingled unmixed in the cup of His anger; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb; and the smoke of their torment goeth up for ever and ever (unto the ages of the ages); and they have no rest day and night, they that worship the wild beast and his image, and whoso receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints, who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. He is speaking to a group of people who “keep the commandments of God,” the Old Testament law. Scripture tells us that sacrifices will be brought during the Great Tribulation and even into the Millennium. This section makes it crystal clear that no one can assume a neutral position during this intense period under the Beast. Even today we see Christian businessmen who are capitulating to the ethics of the hour. In chapter 13 we saw that the awful alternative for refusing to receive the mark of the Beast was starvation. On the other hand, the person who receives the mark brings down upon his head the wrath of God. “He also shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God.” If you believe that the church is going through the Great Tribulation, you also believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is going to subject His own to the mingled, unmixed cup of His anger. I simply cannot believe that Christ would do this to the church which He has redeemed. “The wine of the wrath of God” is a figure adopted from the Old Testament. In Psa_75:8 we read: “For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them.” The Old Testament prophets picked up that theme. They saw the cup of wrath filling up to the brim. God was patient and let man go on and on in his sin, but when the cup of wrath was filled, then God would press it to the lips of a godless society. Rebellious men kept building this thing up until judgment had to break. “Tormented with fire and brimstone.” Now let me say that if this is not literal fire and brimstone, whatever it is must be worse than fire and brimstone. If it is a symbol, remember that a symbol is used to give a faint representation of the real. It is rather like the essence of something. There is the essence of pepper and the essence of perfume. Essence is the faint odor that is left in the bottle after the substance is gone. A symbol is an essence or just a faint copy of the real thing, and the reality can be much worse than the symbol indicates. But remember, the brimstone of Sodom was quite literal. That is a fact you should mull over in your mind if you want to reject a literal hell. You will notice in this passage that hell is visible to Christ and the holy angels. It does not say that hell is visible to the twenty-four elders. Are we to assume from that that the church does not know what is taking place on the earth? I am inclined to believe that the church will not see what is taking place on the earth during the Great Tribulation period, but certainly Christ and the holy angels will see it. All that God’s own can do during this period is to be patient and wait for the coming of Christ. Our Lord said: “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved” (Mat_24:13). Why will he endure? He will endure because he has been sealed by the Spirit of God, and he is clothed in the righteousness of Christ. He is able to overcome by the blood of the Lamb. Our Lord said, “In your patience possess ye your souls” (Luk_21:19). All they can do is wait out the storm, and that is what they will do during the Great Tribulation.

Revelation 14:13

PRAISE FOR THOSE WHO DIE IN THE LORDHere again is a verse that is taken to a funeral in our day, and certainly to use it at a funeral completely robs it of its application. This verse refers only to the Great Tribulation period: And I heard a voice from heaven saying, Write, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth: yea, said the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors (sorrows), for their works follow with them. Apparently many of God’s tribulation saints, both of the 144,000 and of the untold number of Gentiles that will be saved during that time, are going to lay down their lives for Christ. They will be martyred. During the time of the Great Tribulation, it will be better to die than to live. At that time this verse will give comfort and assurance. They will have rest from their sorrows, and their works will follow them, and the Lord will reward them. As I have said, this is not a verse for God’s saints in comfortable, affluent America, as I see it. For most of us it is unnatural to want to die. I feel as Paul expressed it: “For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith; that your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again” (Php_1:23-26). Personally, I would like to stay down here for quite a few more years and teach the Word of God. I am in no hurry to get to heaven. This old story illustrates my viewpoint: A black boy in my southland years ago went to church on a Sunday night. The preacher asked, “How many of you want to go to heaven?” Everybody but this boy put up his hand. The preacher looked at him and asked, “Son, don’t you want to go to heaven?” “Sure,” the boy answered, “but I thought you were getting up a load for tonight!” Well, I don’t want to be on that load leaving tonight either. I’m going there ultimately, but I would like to live and serve as long as possible. For me it would be unnatural to want to die, but in the Great Tribulation it will be a different story. They will just be waiting in patience and in sorrow. If they are martyred, it will be a wonderful thing. “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord.” He is going to reward them for their faithfulness to Himself. You can see that this verse is not appropriate for a funeral, especially for a wealthy man who has been living in clover all of his life. In Texas I heard it used at a rich man’s funeral, a man who had been brought up in a home of wealth. He had never known what it was to lift his little finger in actual work. He just toyed around with a ranch and lost money on ithe had so much money, he had to get rid of it some way. Yet the preacher applied this verse to him! That is a terrible abuse of the Word of God. Death is going to be precious to the people in the Great Tribulation but not for the saints of our society in which everything is geared to comfort. “For their works follow with them” reveals that they will be rewarded for their faithfulness, patience, and works in this period. God does not save anyone for his works, but He does reward us for our works. Our works (good or bad) are like tin cans tied to a dog’s tail; we cannot get away from them. They will follow us to the bema seat of Christ.

Revelation 14:14

PREVIEW OF ARMAGEDDON"I looked, and behold" emphasizes the fact that John is not only a hearer but a spectator. “A white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man” is evidently the Lord Jesus Christ. The cloud is a mark of identification: “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Mat_24:30). I think that the “clouds” are the shekinah cloud, which is “the sign” in heaven. “On his head a golden crown” further confirms this One as the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the hero of the Book of Revelation, my friend, and you need this book to get a true picture of Him. He is seen as Kingnot as Prophet or Priest. His office as King is always connected with His return to the earth. “A sharp sickle” establishes this and speaks of the judgment of the wicked. Dr. Newell calls attention to something that is quite interesting: he notes that the word sickle occurs only twelve times in the Scriptures, of which seven are in the verses of this section. Also, the word sharp occurs seven times in the Revelation, and four times in this chapter.

Revelation 14:15

And another angel came out of the temple, crying in a great voice to the One seated on the cloud. Send forth thy sickle, and reap; for the hour is come to reap; for the harvest of the earth was dried. And He that sat on the cloud cast his sickle upon the earth; and the earth was reaped. “Send forth thy sickle, and reap” refers to the judgment of men on the earth. “As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth” (Mat_13:40-42). In Matthew the “harvest” has so long been identified with Christian witnessing, and believers have been urged to pray for laborers for the harvest, that it is difficult for the average Christian to fit this scene into the true context of Scripture. Actually, believers are not urged to harvest today; they are urged to sow, to sow the Word of God. “…a sower went forth to sow” (Mat_13:3) is a picture of Christendom today. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of Man. He is the sower and the seed is the Word of God and the field is the world. He is flinging out the seed into the world. There is going to be a harvest someday, but that will come at the end of the age. You and I are not in the harvesting business today.

Our business is to sow the seed. That is the reason I do not worry about results. I worry a great deal about the source. I want to do my best in giving out the Word of God. Why? Because sowing seed is my business.

I am not really concerned about the number of folk who claim to have been converted through my ministry. I just sow the seed. Christ is the One who is going to have the harvest, and the harvest is the judgment at the end of the age. This is the picture given to us here in the Revelation. Note God’s instructions to His Son in the Old Testament: “I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel” (Psa_2:7-9). Did this take place at the Lord’s first coming? No. This is no missionary text. When, then, will it take place? It will take place at Christ’s second coming to earth. At that time He will come in judgment. “For the hour is come to reap” is in conformity to the words of Jesus, “…the harvest is the end of the world …” (Mat_13:39). The time will come to reap, so let’s sow the seed today, and let’s not be so everlastingly busy trying to get somebody’s hand up and have that one come forward to receive Christ as Savior. Let’s make sure that we give out the Word of God, and the Spirit of God will take care of the results. The time of harvest is set before us in the Old Testament: “Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the vats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision” (Joe_3:13-14).

Revelation 14:17

And another angel came out from the sanctuary which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, he that hath (having) power over the fire, and he called with a great voice to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Send forth thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. “The sanctuary which is in heaven” identifies this with the Old Testament, not with the church. The “sharp sickle” indicates judgment. “Her grapes are fully ripe” conveys the thought of their being dry like raisins. This is a change of metaphor for the War of Armageddon, and this is the picture Isaiah gives: “Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winevat? I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.

And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me. And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth” (Isa_63:1-6). This vivid picture is not of Christ at His first coming but of Christ when He returns in judgment. In Isaiah’s day men would get into the winepress barefooted to tread out the grapes. The red juice would spurt out of the ripe grapes and stain their garments. The picture in this verse is of spectators seeing that there is blood on our Lord’s beautiful garments as though He had trodden the winepress. When Christ came the first time, He shed His blood for them, but they have rejected it. Now He is trodding down the wicked, and it is their blood that is shed. He will gather them, as we will see in Rev_16:16, “into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.” It is not a single battle but a warthe War of Armageddon (Heb.: Har-Megiddon). Notice in this passage from Isaiah’s prophecy that He is seen treading the winepress alone. It is positively terrifying. Little wonder that the men of this earth will cry to the rocks to fall upon them and hide them from the wrath of the Lamb. This will be the sad end of that civilization which at the Tower of Babel demonstrated an active rebellion against God, a rebellion which has been mounting like a mighty crescendo ever since and will break in all of its fury during the Great Tribulation period. As we will see when we come to chapter 19, when Christ comes He will put down that rebellion against God in order to establish His Kingdom here upon the earth. He will (in the language of Psalm 2) “break them with a rod of iron” and “dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” You see, the “gentle Jesus” who wouldn’t swat a fly, whom we have heard so much about, is just not the Jesus of the Word of God. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, but He is also the Judge of all the world. If you do not accept His blood shed for you, then if the Great Tribulation period comes during your lifetime, your blood will be shed. My feeling is that no careful study of the Word of God would lead any person of reasonable intelligence to believe that the church is going through this awful period. Folk who want to push the church into the Great Tribulation seem to think that it will be no more unpleasant than a trip to the dentist to get a tooth pulled. Such a trip is not pleasant; no one enjoys having a tooth pulled, but it can be endured. My friend, if that is in your thinking, you just haven’t seen what the Tribulation really will be. Isaiah gives us another picture of it: “Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it. For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter.

Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood…. The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea” (Isa_34:1-3, Isa_34:6). What a picture this is! The precious blood of the Lamb having been rejected, the blood of those who defied God and followed and worshiped the Beast bathes the earth. It is frightful. As a ripe grape is mashed and the juice flies in every direction, so will little man fall into the vat of God’s judgment. This is Armageddonthe mount of slaughter.

Revelation 14:19

And the angel cast his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the winepress, the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and there came out blood from the winepress, even unto the bridles of the horses, as far as a thousand and six hundred furlongs. “Without the city” means outside of Jerusalem. “Unto the bridles of the horses” means about four feet deep. “A thousand and six hundred furlongs” is about 185 miles, and that is the distance from Dan to Beer-sheba. All of Palestine is the scene of this final war which ends in what is called Armageddon. It is a campaign beginning about the middle of the Great Tribulation and is concluded by the personal return of Christ to the earth. Psa_45:3-7 is an Old Testament prediction of this: “Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty. And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things. Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies; whereby the people fall under thee.

Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest rightousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” Psalms 45 is a messianic psalm. Let me make it clear that I make no apology for these scenes of judgment. God has not asked me to apologize for His Word. He has told me to give it out. We need to face up to the facts:

1. Sin is an awful thing.
2. Sin is in the world.
3. You and I are sinners. The only remedy for sin is the redemption Christ offered when He shed His blood on the cross and paid the penalty for our sins.
4. You and I merit the judgment of God. Our only escape is to accept the work of Christ for us on Calvary’s cross. The Bible asks a question that even God cannot answer: “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation? …” (Heb_2:3). Escape what? Escape judgmentthe Tribulation is judgment.

The way out is to accept Christ. Call it an escape mechanism if you want to; but, my friend, when the house is on fire, I’ll go out a window or any other way that is an escape. This judgment must inevitably come on Christ-rejectors. Mankind has rejected Him, trodden under foot the Son of God, and counted the blood of the covenant as an unholy thing. If God is just (and He is) there will be judgment. The generation of today needs to hear this.

Instead of being given this, they are offered endless little methods of living the Christian life. My friend, there is nothing that will straighten out your life like knowing that our God is a holy God, that the Lord Jesus Christ is righteous, and that He is not going to tolerate sin in your life. And this same concept should be taught to our children. I am heartened to see that some psychologists are returning to this position. My friend, the problem with your little Willie is that he is a mean little brat and should be turned across your knee and spanked instead of being treated as a cross between a piece of Dresden china and an orchid. As someone has well said, the board of education should be applied to the seat of learning. Before we leave this chapter, I would like to draw your attention again to the viewpoint which is abroad concerning the church’s going through the Great Tribulation period. I have an article from a magazine that presents this viewpoint. The author of the article is a layman, and yet he has the audacity to write the following: There is a shallow Christianity moving across our land. Those who do not have deep roots in Christ shrink from the idea that God would test His people with the Tribulation, or that He would use suffering to help the church make herself ready as a Bride for Christ. Very clearly, though, suffering is the pathway to glory. We are called to it. Why? “Because Christ also suffered, leaving us an example that we should follow in His steps.” As a result of this thinking, I no longer teach Christians they will not have to go through the Tribulation. Maybe they won’t, but I can do more for them by preparing them to face testing in His name than by teaching them that the Lord is going to rapture them out of the hour of trial. In his article this layman also says, “There is a tremendous growth in that person who puts on the whole armor of God, that he may be able to withstand in the evil day.” My friend, I want you to know that the Great Tribulation is not called the “evil day.” It is called the great day of God’s wrath. That is how the Tribulation is described in the Bible. I don’t know how anyone could read and study the Book of Revelation and believe that going through the Great Tribulation would purify the church or that the bride has to make herself ready! What do you think Christ did when He died on the cross? He made us ready there. We can never become worthy to enter into the presence of God.

We are going to enter His presence “in Christ,” and you can’t add anything to that. You can’t equate the hour of trial with the great day of the wrath of God that is going to come on this earth. The church will be delivered from that. The Book of Revelation has made that clear. The 144,000 have already been identified for us as Israelites, and even the tribes are identified for us, so there is no way in the world of saying that this group is the church; nor is that great company “which no man could number” the church, the bride of Christ (see Rev_7:9). We have seen that God was able to keep the 144,000 during the Great Tribulation. So it is not a question of whether God can keep the church in the Great Tribulation period. Of course, He can keep the church if that is His will and plan. But, according to the Word of God, this is not His will and plan. The Lord Jesus said, “I am going to keep you from that hour that is coming on this earth,” from that terrible time of testing that is coming. I would like to put it like this: The church is not going through the Great Tribulation period, but we are going through the little tribulation.

All of us have troubles and trials, and I don’t know of a Christian who doesn’t have problems and difficulties. It seems like the more spiritually mature the saint of God is, the more he suffers. This is the method God uses to develop his children. We never become wonderful saints of God. We are just His little children, immature and undeveloped. When we come into His presence, we will be accepted because of what Christ has done for us, not because we have endured the Great Tribulation. Another point to consider is that most of the church has already missed the Great Tribulation. For over nineteen hundred years believers have been going into the presence of Christ through the doorway of death. I hope you don’t believe that God is going to send them back to earth so they can go through the Great Tribulation period! At best there will be only a small percentage of believers who are still alive when the time of tribulation comes upon the earth. The great majority of the church has already missed the Great Tribulation. I have always had the impression that the folk who believe that the church will go through the Great Tribulation feel that our crowd needs it, and specifically that I need it, that I deserve to go through it. Well, I agree that I do deserve it, and I also deserve hell. But I’m not going to hell because Christ bore it for me, and I have trusted in Him. Neither am I going through the Great Tribulation. Why? Because Christ died for me, and He saves me by His grace. Isn’t the One who says that He is rich in grace able to deliver me out of the Great Tribulation? It is true that God allows us to go through the little tribulation of this life. After having cancer and several major operations, I feel as if I have been through the little tribulation period. And it is by this method that God refines us and purifies us. A preacher friend said to me recently, “I can tell a difference in your ministry since you have gone through those illnesses.” I trust that he is correct in that. I know God allowed it for a purpose. When I read the article by the brother who thinks the church should go through the Great Tribulation, I wondered if he had ever really suffered for Christ. A preacher friend of mine who holds this view was discussing it as we were having lunch together one day. As he was eating a T-bone steak, he talked as nonchalantly about the Great Tribulation as if it would not be any worse than the church wading through a river or enduring a very hot summer or experiencing an energy shortage. He apparently did not think of it as being the terrible time which is depicted in the Book of Revelation. Is God misrepresenting the facts to us? Is He just trying to scare us? Well, my friend, there are places in this book where God uses symbols. Do you know why He uses symbols? He doesn’t do it in order to evaporate the facts so that we can dismiss them, but because the reality which the symbol represents is lots worse than the symbol. Many of the things which John tries to describe to us beggar description. Even God cannot communicate some of them to usnot because He is not able, but because we are dull of hearing, as He has told us. We don’t always understand.

I am afraid that a great many folk just do not realize that the Great Tribulation is a terrible thing, and it is miraculous that the 144,000 will come through it. He won’t lose one of them. Why? Because they will be big, strong, robust fellows? No. They will overcome by the blood of the Lamb.

That’s how they will do it.