Revelation 14 could be described as a tale of two judgments. This chapter is composed of three acts. It begins with the fate of the 144,000, followed by angelic pronouncements of judgment, and concluded by a brief allegorical account of the harvest of the earth. These declarations of judgments cover everybody who is alive on the planet at this time. The 144,000 represent the righteous, while everyone else is defiled by either the harlot or the beast system.
Who are the 144,000?
Much has been written about who the 144, 000 are. Some commentators interpret them symbolically of the church, while others regard them as literal Jews 12, 000 from each tribe. There are several noteworthy facts concerning these people:
They are marked with the Father’s name on their foreheads as belonging to God. We have such precedent of God marking his people in Ezekiel 9. This passage is exposited in more detail in Week 11, where I show that such marking was done to protect the faithful remnant from judgment. The 144,000 were not to be targets of the wrath that is about to be poured out upon the earth.
They are also granted secret knowledge useful in rendering effectual worship to God. They are enabled to learn a song that the rest of creation is incapable of learning As worship has been revealed through Revelation as a weapon powerful in bringing forth judgments from God, this song stands to be particularly potent in instantiating the Kingdom of God on earth in physical form.
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Rev 14:1-5 NKJV |
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Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads. (2) And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps. (3) They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth. (4) These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. (5) And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God. |
As worship is effectual in allowing God’s people to experience his presence, this sing allow those who can learn it and sing it to experience His Presence in a way not yet seen before in the life of the Church. These believers succeed in attaining the full stature of the fullness of Christ that is written about in Ephesians 4:11-16. These attain perfection and maturity in Christ while upon the earth in the mortal bodies. As such they truly will follow Christ wherever He goes and are truly without fault before the Throne of God.
The condition of maturity among the 144,000 positions them to be the firstfruit unto God. To understand what is meant by firstfruits, one must study the feasts of Israel (Leviticus 23.) After passover on the feast called firstfruits, a sheaf was presented before the Lord (Lev 23:10). Jesus Christ Himself is this firstfruit. He died on the Cross, giving his Body to be broken to redeem humanity and bring forth the Church. Just as a kernel of what will die to bring forth much fruit, so Christ died and then came back to life, giving life to His Church. At Pentecost a variety of offerings were to be made to the Lord (Lev 23:17-21.) The remainder of the firstfruit were to be baked into loaves of bread to be offered. This bread was to be provided with a variety ofbloody animal sacrifices to be offered to the Lord. The bread of the firstfruits was the only sacrifice that did not include the shedding of blood. The 144,000 are the firstfruits in that their sacrifice did not involve shedding their blood, the rest of God’s harvest is represented as the bloody animal sacrifices. The 144,000 escape the shedding of their blood because they do not die, but are raptured into His presence. All other believers pass through death of the mortal body to attain the resurrection body and are thus represented as bloody sacrifices. The 144,000 represent all those who partake in the rapture as the alive in Christ, whether they be only 144,000 or whether the 144,000 are representative of a much larger number. These believers are those whom Christ finds on the earth at His Return who have fulfilled the mandate of Ephesians 4:11-16.
The Judgment of the wicked declared.
Verses 6-13 catalogues the judgments on the wicked. Firstly, the entire creation is commanded to worship God. The age of human decision is coming to a close. Philippians 2:10 promises us that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. The wicked will bow. When will they bow? At the judgment. When is that judgment? From the perspective in this text, that time is now!!!
Immediately following the command to worship God is the declaration of judgments. There are two areas of judgment as there are two theaters of operation of the organized rebellion against God. One is the judgment of the false religious system of Mystery Babylon the harlot, and the other is the judgment of the political system of Babylon the beast. Concerning those who took the mark of the beast, the judgment that declared is the most explicit reference to eternal suffering in the Lake of Fire in the Bible.
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Revelation 14:6-13 NKJV |
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Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people— (7) saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water….” |
Here is the judgment on Mystery Babylon, both on the false religions system and on the nations who followed her
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Revelation 14:6-13 NKJV |
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…(8) And another angel followed, saying, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication…” |
This is the judgment on those who take the Mark of the Beast. They are sentenced to Hell in what is the most graphic and explicit description of Hell in the Bible.
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Revelation 14:6-13 NKJV |
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…(9) Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, (10) he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. (11) And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name….” |
This last section on the judgment of the wicked ends with words of comfort for the saints. The tone of the text abruptly changes from the dire declarations of doom to delicate directives of comfort, saying “Here is the patience of the saints.” What is the patience of the saints? This patience is found in the certainty that God’s judgment against evil and toward reward for righteousness is coming. Our fate does not depend upon our relationship to leaders such as Pharaoh or Trump or Balsonaro, or any other politician. Our fate depends on our relationship with Jesus Christ. He is faithful to keep His promises, whether it is to give us rewards brought by grace or to mete our judgment against all that which is evil.
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Revelation 14:6-13 NKJV |
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…(12) Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. (13) Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.” |
The first two section of Revelation 14 deal separately with the judgment of the righteous and the wicked. The final section covers both of these event together. We see a description of two harvests. The first harvest is a harvest (probably of grain) that was gathered with a sickle. This is the harvest of the righteous. There is also a harvest of grapes done by a different harvester. These grapes represent the wicked as they are trampled in the wine press of God’s wrath.
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Rev 14:14-20 NKJV |
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Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. (15) And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” (16) So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped… …(17) Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. (18) And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.” (19) So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. (20) And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs. |
The commonality underlying both harvests is the commonality underlying every successful harvest: the maturation of the fruit being harvested. Both God’s people and those given to Satan have reached maximum possible maturity possible in their mortal bodies. As the followers of Christ have reached a mature man in Christ according to Ephesian 4:11-16, so the people of the world have matured in every manner of wickedness and abomination. There is one caveat which poses only a minor difference between the two. The final act of maturation of God’s people requires a resurrection body as flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Cor 15:50). Maturing in the ways of sin and Satan has no such requirement. This is reflected in the use of different Greek words that are translated as ‘ripe‘ and ‘fully ripe.’ The ripeness of the righteous crop is described as ξηραίνω (xeraino), meaning dried or not green. God’s people are ripe but not fully ripe as full ripeness requires the resurrection body. The ripeness of the wicked is described as ἀκμάζω (akmazō) – meaning mature or fully ripe. God is waiting for both sin and saintliness to reach their logical conclusions and has timed these precisely for the end times harvest.