1. The Book of Revelation Chapters 14
May 18, 2016

2. Revelation 14:1-3 The Lamb and the 144,000
1 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.
2 And I heard a voice from heaven alike 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,
3 and 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.

3. Revelation 14:4-5
6 It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb,
5 and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.

4. Revelation 14:1-5
This first scene answers the question, “How long?” that has been asked of God
The last time John has seen Jesus was in 7:9, he has seen Him sitting on His throne but now He sees Jesus’ return
We seem to be jumping to the end of the tribulation here – notice that of the 144,000 God sealed, not one has been lost
The reference to Mount Zion has several important meanings:
One is to show the solid footing of Jesus on the rock verses the shifting sand where Satan was seen on the beach
Mt. Zion was a standard first-century Christian name for Heaven – it shows Jesus’ authority and His place as the shepherd of all the saints
It is also seen as a reference to Jerusalem where Jesus will rule after the defeat of the Beast and the Dragon

5. Revelation 14:1-5
Also ties to Zechariah 14:3-4, “On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives.”
Taking this literally, we see that Jesus will return physically to Jerusalem and stand on the Mount of Olives
This 144,000 are to live with Jesus through the Millennium on earth
This can reasonably be seen as a vision of Christ’s Millennium here on earth
They have not been taken to Heaven but stay here on earth
Here in the Millennium, Heaven and earth are finally brought into harmony
Notice the contrast between this and chapter 13 where the world was in rebellion against God with the beast and dragon

6. Revelation 14:1-5
The reference to the ones “who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins” is problematic – not only because it shows the 144,000 as all men but also because they have remained virgins
The meaning of this specifically is unclear BUT it does speak to their purity and their heavenly perfection, in their lives, morality, character and faith
The heavenly perfection of the 144,000 is told in four phrases:
They “who had been [purchased] redeemed from the earth” and “These have been redeemed from mankind” – emphasizes God’s choice of them from mankind AND that their perfection is not based on their works but on God’s grace
They are “firstfruits for God and the Lamb” – these are a special offering to God – firstfruits of the entire harvest of believers throughout history

7. Revelation 14:1-5
The heavenly perfection of the 144,000 is told in four phrases: (Cont.)
“in their mouth no lie was found” shows the impact of the sanctification of God on them during their earthly lives – their life practices have been to live in the truth of Jesus Christ and God the Father – these men live in sharp contrast to the beast and the false prophet who are deceivers of the whole world
“They are blameless” shows their perfection of behavior – based on their having been purchased by God through Jesus’ death, they have lived their lives in pursuit of sanctification, holiness, purity of speech and behavior – BUT these traits should not differ from redeemed Christians of any age
Another importance of this scene is to unveil the sealed people of God in all their goodness and commitment to Jesus Christ

8. Revelation 14:6-8 The Messages of the Three Angels
6 Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people.
7 And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and 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.”
8 Another angel, a second, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.”

9. Revelation 14:6-8 This first angel is one John has not seen before
The message is not for John but to those who live on the earth – every nation, tribe, language and people
The “eternal gospel” that is to be proclaimed is not the usual Christian gospel of Christ’s death and resurrection
This is good news of another kind – “the hour of his judgment has come” at last
The saints have been waiting for this
This announcement parallels the announcement in heaven from 11:18 from the praise of the twenty four elders that the time had come for judging of the dead and rewarding the saints
This is one last call for earth’s people to repent – God is still reaching to His creation, even those who have denied Him so long

10. Revelation 14:6-8
At the time of judgement, God will be acknowledged as expressed in three commands:
Fear God – He must be reverenced instead of the monster
Give Him Glory – He must be honored instead of the dragon
Worship Him – They must fall before Him instead of the beast’s image.
The reference to sky, land, salt water, and fresh water is to remind everyone that He who created everything, He who has destroyed a third of these things, is on the verge of completely unmaking all in His terrible judgement
The second angel continues the message of judgement – this foreshadows what we will be shown in greater detail in chapters 17-18
The literal translation is, “the wine of the fury of her adulteries”
This is in contrast to the 144,000 pure virgins, the opposite side is symbolized in prostitution

11. Revelation 14:9-11
9 And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand,
10 he 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.
11 And the smoke 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.”

12. Revelation 14:9-11
The third angel pronounces doom on those who take the mark of the beast
Those who have drank the wine of the prostitute must now drink the wine of God’s fury
The fury of God will greatly exceed the fury of the dragon and the beast
This ties to Jeremiah 25:15-17, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: ‘Take from my hand this cup filled with the wine of my wrath and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. When they drink it, they will stagger and go mad because of the sword I will send among them.’ So I took the cup from the LORD’s hand and made all the nations to whom He sent me drink it.”
It is significant that the wine is poured out “full strength” – the custom of the time was to dilute wine with water, this speaks of the full weight of God’s wrath to be visited on the dragon’s followers

13. Revelation 14:9-11
The torment of “fire and sulfur” was first seen in chapter 9 when the horse demons used it to kill a third of humanity, now it will be used to torment the damned for eternity
This torment of burning sulfur is based on God’s punishment of Sodom and Gomorrah and represents the strongest way John knew how to express what he was shown of the horrendous agony of the damned
When sulfur burns it produces a gas which, in addition to the burning of the flesh by fire, burns the eyes and lungs
This shows that the agony of the damned will be much more than simple physical agony
To further worsen this is that they will suffer “in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.”
They will always be reminded of their horrible choice and selfish refusal of God’s grace and love

14. Revelation 14:9-11
The third horrible element to this punishment is that there is “no rest, day or night”
Imagine the horror of knowing that you will never, ever get rest again! And that is added to the horrific torment earlier described.
The mark of the beast – the same sign used by the beast as a mark of protection and the ability to buy and sell for his followers, to be counted in his evil community – is now the mark of their damnation
It is important to see the contrast between the followers of the beast and the saints – here we know that the damned will get no rest but in verse 13 we see that the saints will get to “rest from their labors”
The followers of the beast will have all eternity to regret their horrible decision, their selfishness and their devotion to sin

15. Revelation 14:12-13
12 Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.
13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: 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!”

16. Revelation 14:12-13
This is a call for the saints to be strong, to persevere, it echoes the similar call from verse 13:10
In 13:10 the faithfulness of the saints was commended
Here we see that faithfulness is modeled on Jesus which He showed during His life on earth
Here John is given a message that must be written – it is the second time there is a special blessing given in this book
This is a special blessing to a specific group – those who die in the Lord
This is the place were we see the special reward given to the saints – they will rest from their labors which is in stark contrast to the followers of the beast who will never rest from their torments

17. Revelation 14:14-16 The Harvest of the Earth
14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand.
15 And another angel came out of the temple, calling 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.”
16 So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped.

18. Revelation 14:14-16
We finally see the great drama come to its grand finale in two short scenes:
The two scenes are closely related as both depict God’s harvest
The first harvest is the return of Jesus to gather His believers as a grain harvest
The second harvest is a grape harvest of unbelievers
The agriculturally driven world of the first century could fully grasp this vision as most had seen harvests done by sickle
Jesus is seen seated on a white cloud – clouds often represent the majesty of God
Jesus is wearing a “golden crown” – the Greek is “stephanos” which is a victor’s wreath – the only time given in Scripture
White, here again, symbolizes purity

19. Revelation 14:14-16
There is a great deal of puzzlement over verse 15 – how is it that Jesus seems to be taking orders from an angel?
The answer comes in seeing where the angel came from: he comes out of the temple in heaven, in the presence of God the Father
Remember that Jesus told us Himself that only the Father knew the time of His return – this angel is a messenger directly from the presence of God, He has now given the command for the hour only He knows
The “harvest of the earth is fully ripe” is the statement that the full number of people who are to be in heaven have responded to the gospel
Jesus harvests His people across the entire earth – notice that it is Jesus who calls His people to heaven
This is one of the references in the Revelation to, quite possibly, the Rapture – yet again, the timing is left unclear as to when it occurs

20. Revelation 14:17-18
17 Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle.
18 And another angel came 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.”

21. Revelation 14:17-18
We see the second harvest here – the most gruesome of all the scenes in this drama
This concludes the great event that began in 12:1
In the world of the first century the grape harvest was VERY distinct from the grain harvest
They occurred at different times of the year – grain in mid-June and grapes in October
By this symbolism the second harvest appears to be distinctly later than the first harvest
This second harvest is conducted by an angel instead of Jesus but it is also world-wide
So now the wicked receive the full measure of their sin and evil, their judgement is come

22. Revelation 14:19-20
19 So the 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.
20 And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as qa horse's bridle, for 1,600 stadia.

23. Revelation 14:19-20
The grape harvest, the “vintage,” is shown in greater detail than the grain harvest
The details are focused on showing the judgment and horror that is to come for unbelievers
In the image of the wine press there are several important points:
It is understood by the Old Testament references to the Wrath of God – Isaiah 63:3, Joel 3:13
In the OT God tramples the grapes in the wine press but here we do not know who does it, BUT in chapter 19 Jesus is shown “dressed in a robe dipped in blood” which continues the illustration of the press
“Outside the city” is true to culture and custom but also illustrates the separation of the wicked from God and His people

24. Revelation 14:19-20
In the image of the wine press there are several important points: (Cont.)
Blood flowing from the press instead of wine is a powerful image of the awful judgement on the wicked
“as high as a horse’s bridle” indicated the enormous amount – much more than any normal wine press could produce – giving a nightmare image for those who reject God
“for 1,600 stadia” equals 180 miles, it was the greatest distance between any two cities in Asia that Jesus addressed in the first 3 chapters – this would have given a solid image of the great distance and size of the judgment
This is the judgement of God expressed in the fullest and completest way possible