1And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. 2And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: 3and they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. 4These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. 5And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.
The location of the scene in these verses will help us determine the time frame. The place is Mount Zion. There is an earthly mount Zion and there is a heavenly mount Zion (Hebrews 12:22). John saw the Lamb on mount Zion and with him 144,000 others. And John heard a voice from heaven. (It is also important that the clear majority of Greek manuscripts do not include the phrase “before the throne of God” in verse 5.) Thus, it seems that we are to understand that when John saw the Lamb, he was not in heaven. Rather, the scene was earthly mount Zion. But when? We read in chapter 11 that even the court outside the temple on mount Zion was given to the Gentiles to trample under foot during the last 3½ years of the Tribulation period. It is unlikely that John saw Jesus and the 144,000 on mount Zion while it was being trampled under foot. Thus, it seems most consistent with the text to understand that John saw Jesus and the 144,000 on earthly mount Zion after the end of the seven-year Tribulation.
We first read about the 144,000 Jewish servants of God in 7:1-8. They were sealed before the start of the seven trumpet judgments. In chapter 14 in the verses above we see the 144,000 again, after the Tribulation has ended. We see that they’re all there. They all made it through. Not one was lost.
We also learn more about them. They were never married. All of them were virgins. Why does God say, “These are they which were not defiled with women” ? First, we need to remember that when they were sealed, they were the only servants of God on planet earth (7:3-4). God chose them to proclaim His word during the Tribulation period. Through their witness, others also believed, but at the time they were sealed there were no other believers in the world. In a dark time in Israel’s history, God said to the prophet Jeremiah, 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 carcases shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth (Jeremiah 16:2-4). The Tribulation will be an even darker time than the time of Jeremiah.
None of these 144,000 had been married even before they were sealed. It is likely that all of them will be youths who entered the Tribulation and came to maturity after the Tribulation started. Verse 4 above calls them “firstfruits.” That means the first of a harvest. During the seven-year Tribulation period, God will save 12,000 young men from each of 12 tribes of Israel to serve Him. They are purchased by Jesus with His blood. They will be sealed in their foreheads with a seal brought by an angel that ascends from the east (literally “from the rising of the sun”). Thus, they will be sealed for “the Sun of righteousness” (Malachi 4:2), the coming King, the Lord Jesus Christ. They will have no lies in their mouths. Though the Antichrist will delude the world with lies, these young men will uncompromisingly speak only what is according to the word of God. Paul said concerning 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? (Romans 11:15). The 144,000 will be the first of the restored Israel, all saved after the church age, all faithful witnesses to the rest of the world. During Christ’s future reign on the earth, they will follow Him “whithersoever he goeth.” The world will recognize them as His faithful servants.
The 144,000 will be sealed from harm from the retribution judgments of the seven trumpets. But when John sees them with Jesus on mount Zion in chapter 14, have they been put to death by the false prophet for not bowing to the image of the beast? Or were their physical lives supernaturally protected? We don’t know. The sound John heard from heaven was like the sound of the music of harps along with the sound of thunder and many waters. The harpists sang a new song that only the 144,000 could learn. (Probably “learn” means “discern the meaning of.”) It was a song for them, perhaps to celebrate their victory in Christ in the worst time of persecution in human history.
Verse 1 of this chapter speaks of the Lamb who stood on mount Zion. Then the same verse speaks of the 144,000 who have “his Father's name written in their foreheads.” Clearly, the Lamb is the Son of God!
6And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, 7saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
We don’t know at what point the 144,000 Jewish servants of God will finish their ministry. The two prophets in 11:3-12 will bear witness until near the end of the Tribulation period. But who will speak God’s word to the peoples of the earth when the 144,000 and the 2 are gone? Probably that is the point at which the angel in verses 6-7 above calls those who dwell on the earth to fear, glorify, and worship God the Creator, whose judgment is imminent. Most of the people on earth at that time will be worshipping the beast, the false Christ. The message of the angel is an everlasting good proclamation (the Greek text has no article “the” before “everlasting gospel”). Paul, in describing the fundamental sin of all humanity said, …when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened (Romans 1:21). The fundamental sin of all humanity is the failure to glorify and be thankful to the true God, the Creator of all things. The proclamation of the angel is a call to humanity to come out of that fundamental sin. Yet there is no mention of redemption. Sadly, no one can pull themselves out of the fundamental sin of humanity by their own efforts. The Gospel of Christ’s work will have already been preached. The time of opportunity for people to be forgiven and given new life before Christ’s return will be nearing its end.
8And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
Another angel then announced the fall of Babylon. In chapter 13 we considered multiple references to Babylon, including implications that ancient Babylon in the Middle East will be revived in the future. We will read more about Babylon in chapters 17 and 18.
The prophet Isaiah spoke similar words concerning the fall of ancient Babylon to the Medes: And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground (Isaiah 21:9). The future Babylon will be the commercial center (chapter 18) of the beast that John saw arise out of the sea in chapter 13. God will destroy that city with fire (18:8).
9And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 11and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
The third angel announces clearly that there will be no salvation for anyone who worships the Antichrist and his image and receives his mark on their forehead or hand. Rather, in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb they will be given over to torment which will last forever. This proclamation seems to be a final warning to anyone who has not yet taken the mark of the beast. Those who have drunk the wine of the wrath of the fornication of Babylon (verse 8) will drink of the wine of the wrath of God (verse 10). There will be only two choices: worship God (verse 7) or worship the beast and his image (verse 9). Though we today are not in the Tribulation period, spiritually speaking there are really only the same two choices now.
12Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
There will be only two groups of people in the world: those who keep the commandments of God and those who keep the commandments of the beast. Those who keep the commandments of God are those who keep the faith of Jesus. For them, the proclamations above of the three angels will be comforting and give strength to endure. The true believers in the Lord Jesus will endure in the assurance that those who obey the beast will be judged.
13And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.
The end of the Tribulation period will be near at this point. The final warnings have been given. In the following verses of this chapter we will read of the reaping of the harvest of the earth. The time for service in the Tribulation period is over. It may be of this moment that the Lord Jesus spoke when He said, …the night cometh, when no man can work (John 9:4). The time for rest of the true believers and for judgment of those who do not believe in the Lamb is imminent. In verse 11 we read that those who worship the Antichrist will have no rest from torment day or night. In verse 13 the Holy Spirit says that those who have died in the Lord will have rest from their labors. And God will not forget their labors; “their works do follow them.” Those who die in the Lord are not saved by their works. They are saved through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Their works will bring reward.
14And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. 15And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. 16And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.
In verse 14 is found the second of only two references to Jesus as the Son of Man in the book of Revelation. The other was in 1:13 when John saw Jesus in the midst of the seven candlesticks. In verse 14 above we see the Lord Jesus about to reap the harvest of the earth. The angel who speaks comes out of the temple. The angel is God’s messenger to declare that it is the will of the Father that Jesus reap at that time.
In John 5, Jesus said, For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man (John 5:26-27). The Lord Jesus is the Son of God, and He is the Son of Man. No one will ever accuse Him of not having lived where we live. He was born, lived, died, and rose from the dead as a man. But He did it right. He lived as a human being with no sin. And Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of Adam and all of Adam’s descendants. The Father has given Jesus authority to be the Judge because He is the Son of Man.
There are two reapings in this chapter: the one by the Lord Jesus in verses 14-16 and another reaping by an angel in verses 17-20. The one by the angel is clearly a reaping of unbelievers for judgment. In the parable of the wheat and tares, Jesus said, Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn (Matthew 13:30). The reaping by the Lord Jesus in verses 14-16 appears to be an all-encompassing reaping of the harvest of the earth, both wheat and tares. Not that everyone will suddenly die, but that He judicially declares that the wheat and tares will now be separated. After His judicial harvesting of the whole field in a moment of time, the angel in verses 17-20 comes to gather out the tares.
17And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. 18And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. 19And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.
There are two angels in these verses, one from the temple and one from the altar. It is the one from the temple that will carry out the reaping. The one from the altar tells the one from the temple to reap the clusters of the vine of the earth. Repeatedly in the book of Revelation we have read of judgment from the altar. After the opening of the fifth seal, John saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for their witness for Christ. They cried, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” (6:10). Later, John saw another angel add incense to the prayers of all believers at the golden altar before God’s throne. Then that angel cast fire from the altar to the earth, and the seven trumpet judgments began (8:3-6). At the sounding of the sixth trumpet a single voice from the four horns of the golden altar told the sixth angel to release four angels who would kill one third of the people on earth (9:13-15). Now in 14:18, it is an angel from the altar who has authority over fire that announces that the time has come for the unbelievers of earth to be judged. God will avenge the blood of His people.
The clusters of grapes reaped by the angel symbolize those who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ. The angel cast them into the great winepress of the fury of God. Verse 20 says, “And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.” Like the reaping by the Son of Man in verses 14-16, the reaping by the angel in verses 17-20 is a judicial reaping. That is, the reaping is described in one sentence, but the judgment will be carried out over time. A war will take place.
The prophet Joel said, Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats 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 (Joel 3:12-14).
What is the valley of Jehoshaphat? The name “Jehoshaphat” means “the LORD has judged.” The valley of Jehoshaphat may be metaphorical in that sense. But King Jehoshaphat experienced a great deliverance by God in a battle with Moab, Ammon, and Edom. In that battle those enemies of Israel destroyed one another. Then Jehoshaphat and the people of Israel had a time of joy and worship of the LORD in the valley of Berachah (II Chronicles 20:23-24,26). It may be that the reference to the valley of Jehoshaphat in Joel 3 anticipates a final battle in which the armies of the enemies of God’s people will destroy one another. Daniel 11:40-44 speaks of conflict that will take place among rival powers “at the time of the end.” It is interesting that Moab, Ammon, and Edom are three nations that will escape the domination of Antichrist (Daniel 11:41). Ezekiel also, in speaking of the attack by Gog of Magog, said, And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man's sword shall be against his brother (Ezekiel 38:21). When Christ returns, certainly there will be a time of rejoicing for God’s people like the rejoicing that took place in the valley of Berachah. Ultimately, it will be Christ Himself who “treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God” (19:15).
Thus, when the angel judicially reaped the clusters of the lost of the earth, the beginning, outworking, and end of the final battle was set in place. Verse 20 says that the blood of the armies will flow outside the city of Jerusalem over a distance of about 190 miles. Warfare will take place over much of the land of Israel. Probably in ditches and low areas where it would accumulate, the blood will be as deep as horse bridles.
Note: All Scriptures are quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.