Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. And I heard 2 a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, and 3 they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. Revelation 14:1-3
The elders and four living creatures sang a new song that was unique to their redeemed experience! The 24 elders were redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and taken out in the rapture The 144,000 have their own unique redemption experience having been sealed and living through the Great Tribulation, even after having been in the crosshairs of Satan himself.
Chronologically, the song John hears is a hymn of praise in heaven during the time of the great tribulation, but the same song is echoed by the 144,000 who stand triumphantly on Mount Zion after the tribulation. As is true of the rest of the vision in this chapter, the chronological order is not maintained, but rather different subjects are brought into view pertaining to the general theme of God s ultimate triumph.
David Jeremiah suggests that you can organize Chapter 14 around the angels. Verse 6 Verse 8 Verse 9 Verse 15 Verse 17 Verse 18 Then I saw another angel Another angel, a second, followed, And another angel, a third, followed them And another angel Then another angel And another angel Each angel comes to make an announcement of another event in prophecy.
It is these who have not defiled themselves with 4 women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. Revelation 14:4a According to Walvoord, the reference to virginity can refer to abstinence from marriage in the critical days of the tribulation when a normal marital life for a person true to God is impossible, OR to spiritual purity by not being defiled by love of the world or compromise with evil in a morally filthy world!
For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed 2 you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:2 This doesn t mean that all the men in the church at Corinth were unmarried bachelors. The idea in Revelation is not physical virginity, but SPIRITUAL virginity. Paul is saying that the church needs to be presented to Jesus Christ as a chaste virgin. In Revelation 14:4a, it indicates that they are separated from the pollutions and corruptions of the earth.
The 144,000 were separated and sanctified. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. James 4:4
These have been redeemed from mankind as 4 firstfruits for God and the Lamb, Revelation 14:4b Again, according to Walvoord, the term firstfruits seems to refer to the beginning of a great harvest - here to the beginning of the millennial kingdom. The 144,000 are the godly nucleus of Israel that is the token of the redemption of the nation and the glory of Israel that is to unfold in the kingdom.
and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are 5 blameless. Revelation 14:5 They were pure in their ministry. No spiritual adultery. This large number has been kept utterly clean from the false religion of the great tribulation. They are blameless in contrast to apostates who are described as blots or blemishes in 2 Peter 2:13. suffering wrong as the wage for their wrongdoing. 13 They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, while they feast with you.
Verse 6 Verse 8 Verse 9 Verse 15 Verse 17 Verse 18 Then I saw another angel Another angel, a second, followed, And another angel, a third, followed them And another angel Then another angel And another angel
Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, 6 with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. And he said with a loud voice, Fear God and 7 give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water. Revelation 14:6-7 John sees another angel, the first of several in this Chapter, flying overhead, literally in mid-heaven with the eternal Gospel to preach to the world.
worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water. Revelation 14:7b The creative work of God is honored here. For decade upon decade, the creative work of Jesus has been assaulted by teaching on evolution! God was rejected as creator! If Christ is not the creator, He can hardly be the Savior or the coming King! Dr. Henry M. Morris
In the great tribulation, evolution will be taught more profoundly than even today because there will be no Godly churches on earth to refute it!
This eternal gospel is different. It speaks not of salvation, but of the hour of God s judgement and the command to worship Him! This gospel is neither a gospel of grace (no forgiveness, no invitation to salvation), nor the gospel of the good news of the Kingdom of God, but rather the good news that that God at last is about to deal with the world in righteousness and establish His sovereignty over it. This is an ageless and eternal gospel in the sense that God s righteousness is ageless.
Another angel, a second, followed, saying, Fallen, 8 fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the of her sexual passion[a] immorality. Revelation 14:8 The first announcement of the final overthrow of both the city and and the system known as Babylon.
Babylon, founded by Nimrod back in Genesis. Even from the beginning was an adulterous and evil society. Location of the Tower of Babel. Notorious for idol worship. And behold, here come riders, horsemen in pairs! And he answered, Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the carved images of her gods he has shattered to the ground. Isaiah 21:9 A drought against her waters (speaking of Babylon), that they may be dried up! For it is a land of images, and they are mad over idols. Jeremiah 50:38
Babylon is God s name for the world-system of the beast.
And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a 9 loud voice, If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he 10 also will drink the wine of God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke 11 of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name. Revelation 14:9-11 This leaves not doubt as to the fate of those who take the mark of the beast.
Worship the beast, and be damned by God -or- Worship God, and be damned by the beast. - Dr. David Jeremiah
the wine of God's wrath The third angel adds immediately to the pronouncement of the previous angel by proclaiming with a great voice the sad doom of those who worship the beast. Anyone who receives the mark of the beast as required in 13:17 shall also partake of the judgment of God. As he drinks of the wine of spiritual fornication, so he also shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God. It is described in most dramatic terms as wine that is unmixed, that is, untempered by the mercy and grace of God; and these worshipers are declared to be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb. The same Scripture which assures all Christians of the love of God and the grace of God as extended to those who trust in Christ is unequivocal in its absolute statements of judgment upon the wicked. - Walvoord
Anyone disposed to discredit the Biblical teaching on the eternal destiny of the wicked should be reminded that Jesus and His beloved disciple said more in regard to this doctrine than all the remaining contributors to the New Testament record. This is supported by the fact that Jesus referred to hell (gehenna) eleven out of the twelve occurrences, made twelve out of nineteen references to hell fire, and used other similar expressions more than any other person in the New Testament. The righteousness of God is as inexorable as the love of God is infinite. The love of God is not free to express itself to those who have spurned Jesus Christ. Their torment is not a momentary one, for it is described in verse 11 as continuing forever, literally into the ages of ages, the strongest expression of eternity of which the Greek is capable. - J. B. Smith
Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those 12 who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying, Write this: 13 Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Blessed indeed, says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them! Revelation 14:12-13 There will be Christians who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus coming out of the great tribulation into the millennium.
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that 9 no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying 10 out with a loud voice, Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb! Revelation 7:9 There is a special blessing for those who die in the Lord from now on. These saints were too early for the Kingdom and came to Christ too late for the rapture. This announcement was to confirm their blessing!
Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated 14 on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. Revelation 14:14 The Son of man, Jesus, is described here with a sharp sickle. We will discover that the harvest is ripe. This will be descriptive of a grain harvest. This imagery would be very common to anyone living in Israel because the people lived off the land. Many of the Jewish festivals were agrarian in nature. The harvest of wheat was a harvest of SEPARATION! The harvesting of the earth.
This is a time of judgment!
John the Baptist said - I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who 11 is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, 12 and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. Matthew 3:11-13
And another angel came out of the temple, calling 15 with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe. So he who 16 sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped. Revelation 14:15-16 The harvest is personally supervised by Jesus Christ.
This should not come as a surprise - For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, 21 so also the Son gives life to whom he will. For the 22 Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they 23 honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. John 5:21-23
24 He put another parable before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds[c] among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants[d] of the master of the house came and said to him, Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds? 28 He said to them, An enemy has done this. So the servants said to him, Then do you want us to go and gather them? 29 But he said, No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn. Matthew 13:24-30
36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field. 37 He answered, The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. Matthew 13:36-42
Darnel [Lolium temulentum, a.k.a., poison darnel or cockle] usually grows in the same production zones as wheat and is considered a weed. The similarity between these two plants is so extensive that in some regions, cockle is referred to as false wheat. It bears a close resemblance to wheat until the ear appears. The ears on the real wheat are so heavy it makes the entire plant droop downward, but L. temulentum, whose ears are light, stands up straight. The wheat will also appear brown when ripe, whereas the darnel is black. When the Lolium matures, the spikelets turn edgeways to the rachis, where the wheat spikelets remain as they grew previously.
The servants would not have been able to tell the weeds from the wheat. Ripping up the darnel could also damage the wheat because they grew so closely together. But the experienced reapers (harvesters) at the end of the age would be able to distinguish them easily.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was 47 thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and 48 sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will 49 come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place 50 there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 13:47-49 Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.
The first time Jesus came to the earth, He came as a servant. When He returns, He will return as a sovereign King! The first time Jesus came to the earth, He came as one obeying. When He returns, He will return as one commanding! The first time Jesus came to the earth, He came alone to live with a Jewish couple in an obscure town. When He returns, He will return with all the angels of heaven and will rule over all the earth! The first time Jesus came to the earth, He came in humility. When He returns, He will return in glorious majesty!
The first time Jesus came to the earth, He came to seek and save the lost. When He returns, He will return to judge and condemn the lost! The first time Jesus came to the earth, He came as the sower. When He returns, He will return as the reaper! for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe. Revelation 14:15b This is a harvest of separation!
Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, 17 and he too had a sharp sickle. And another angel came 18 out from the altar, the angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe. So the 19 angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was 20 trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse's bridle, for 1,600 stadia. Revelation 14:17-20
This is a harvest of the grapes. This is a harvest of destruction!
The weeds and the wheat have been separated in Verse 16 (Matthew 13:30).. this is Armageddon! The final judgement of the world! The Christians are all gone and all that s left are those that need to be judged by God!
Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves there. Bring down your warriors, O Lord. Let the nations stir themselves up and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations.
Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Go in, tread, for the winepress is full. The vats overflow, for their evil is great. Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.
For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. The Lord roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth quake. But the Lord is a refuge to his people, a stronghold to the people of Israel. Joel 3:12-16
For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time when it is trodden; yet a little while and the time of her harvest will come. Jeremiah 51:33
I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with me; I trod them in my anger and trampled them in my wrath; their lifeblood spattered on my garments, and stained all my apparel For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and my year of redemption had come. Isaiah 63:3-4
11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in[a] blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule[b] them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. Revelation 19:11-16
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword His truth is marching on Glory, Glory, hallelujah! Glory, glory, hallelujah! Glory, glory, hallelujah! His truth is marching on - Battle Hymn of the Republic
And another angel came out from the altar, 18 Revelation 14:18a When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar 9 the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried 10 out with a loud voice, O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? Revelation 6:9-10
When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Then I saw the 2 seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. And another angel came and stood 3 at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, and the smoke of the 4 incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. Then the angel took the 5 censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake. Revelation 8:1-5
Twice a day, morning and evening, in the Old Testament, in the tabernacle and the temple, it was a time for sacrifice. The priest would go to the outer altar, the brass altar where there was always a fire, and he would take fire from the brass altar and put it into the incense censer and let the incense, the prayers of the Saints, rise up. This angel comes out from the altar and has power over fire and declares - Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.
This time of judgement is in answer to the prayers of God s people. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done!
Twice a day, morning and evening, in the Old Testament, in the tabernacle and the temple, it was a time for sacrifice. The priest would go to the outer altar, the brass altar where there was always a fire, and he would take fire from the brass altar and put it into the incense censer and let the incense, the prayers of the Saints, rise up. This angel comes out from the altar and has power over fire and declares - Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.
So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and 19 gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And 20 the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse's bridle, for 1,600 stadia. Revelation 14:19-20 We talk about Armageddon in terms of a battle, but it s not really a battle, it s a winepress.
Josephus, Wars Book VI
Josephus, Wars Book VI, Chapter 8:5 5. So they now left these towers of themselves, or rather they were ejected out of them by God himself, and fled immediately to that valley which was under Siloam, where they again recovered themselves out of the dread they were in for a while, and ran violently against that part of the Roman wall which lay on that side; but as their courage was too much depressed to make their attacks with sufficient force, and their power was now broken with fear and affliction, they were repulsed by the guards, and dispersing themselves at distances from each other, went down into the subterranean caverns. So the Romans being now become masters of the walls, they both placed their ensigns upon the towers, and made joyful acclamations for the victory they had gained, as having found the end of this war much lighter than its beginning; for when they had gotten upon the last wall, without any bloodshed, they could hardly believe what they found to be true; but seeing nobody to oppose them, they stood in doubt what such an unusual solitude could mean. But when they went in numbers into the lanes of the city with their swords drawn, they slew those whom they overtook without and set fire to the houses whither the Jews were fled, and burnt every soul in them, and laid waste a great many of the rest; and when they were come to the houses to plunder them, they found in them entire families of dead men, and the upper rooms full of dead corpses, that is, of such as died by the famine; they then stood in a horror at this sight, and went out without touching any thing. But although they had this commiseration for such as were destroyed in that manner, yet had they not the same for those that were still alive, but they ran every one through whom they met with, and obstructed the very lanes with their dead bodies, and made the whole city run down with blood, to such a degree indeed that the fire of many of the houses was quenched with these men's blood. And truly so it happened, that though the slayers left off at the evening, yet did the fire greatly prevail in the night; and as all was burning, came that eighth day of the month Gorpieus [Elul] upon Jerusalem, a city that had been liable to so many miseries during this siege, that, had it always enjoyed as much happiness from its first foundation, it would certainly have been the envy of the world. Nor did it on any other account so much deserve these sore misfortunes, as by producing such a generation of men as were the occasions of this its overthrow.
Tel Megiddo One of the most important archeological sites in Israel from the time of the bible, Tel (mound) Megiddo is a beautiful and impressive national park near the town of Afula. Megiddo was important in antiquity: it is mentioned in Egyptian writings and is forecast to be the site of Armageddon in the Christian Book of Revelation.