Revelation 14

CHAPTER 14

The Lamb and the 144,000 (14:1-5)

1 Then John saw the Lamb, Christ, standing on Mount Zion. Mount Zion is the heavenly Zion—that is, the heavenly Jerusalem (see Hebrews 12:22; Revelation 21:2,10). The 144,000³³ who have the name of God and of the Lamb on their foreheads represent all believers of every generation; their number is not limited just to 144,000. They are the ones who have overcome; they are the ones on whom a new name has been written (see Revelation 3:12 and comment).

Many Bible scholars believe that the 144,000 mentioned here and the 144,000 mentioned in Revelation 7:3-4 do not refer to the same group of people. ³⁴ Here the number 144,000 stands for all Christians of every generation. None of those who have been sealed by God will be lost. The 144,000 mentioned here, therefore, corresponds to the great multitude mentioned in Revelation 7:9.

2-3 Only those who have been redeemed by Christ, who have been sealed by Him, will get to sing the new song of victory and salvation in heaven.

4 In this verse, John says three things about this group of 144,000. First, they did not defile themselves with women. This can also mean that they did not defile themselves by worshiping other gods or by worshiping any king or emperor. According to Old Testament teaching, to worship anything other than the one true God was the same as to commit adultery. Whenever the Jews worshiped idols, the Jewish prophets accused them of being adulterers (Jeremiah 3:6,20). The reason was that they had left their true “husband,” God, and had gone off with idols. In Revelation 17:1-2, the city of Rome is called a great prostitute, with whom the men of the earth committed adultery. But these 144,000 kept themselves pure. They were fit to be pure virgin brides of Christ (see 2 Corinthians 11:2; Revelation 21:9). They had not “committed adultery” with idols.

The second thing John says about this 144,000 is that they follow the Lamb wherever he goes; that is, they are Christ’s faithful and obedient disciples.

Third, they were purchased by Christ (see Revelation 5:9 and comment), and they were offered as first fruits ³⁵—that is, as sacrifices—to God (Romans 12:1).

5 The 144,000 were blameless. Through their faith in Christ, they had been declared righteous in God’s sight (see Romans 3:22; 5:2). Their robes had been washed in the blood of the Lamb and had been made white (see Revelation 7:14 and comment).

The Three Angels (14:6-13)

6-7 The first angel then gave a final call to the people of the world to repent and turn to the living God: “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his JUDGMENT has come” (verse 7). This was mankind’s last warning; it was man’s last chance to find salvation. Some scholars believe that this final call to men was a fulfillment of the words spoken by Jesus: “And the gospel must first be preached to all nations” (Mark 13:10).

8 Then a second angel said, “Fallen is Babylon the Great” (Isaiah 21:9). In Old Testament times, Babylon was a famous city known for its wealth and for its evil (see Daniel 4:28-30; 1 Peter 5:13 and comment). Therefore, we can understand that the name “Babylon” signifies any evil city, kingdom, or authority. In John’s time, Rome was called “Babylon.”

All nations had drunk the maddening wine of her (Babylon’s) adulteries; that is, they had all shared in her immorality and idolatry, and had thus brought upon themselves the wrath of God (see Jeremiah 51:7; Revelation 17:1-2).

9-11 The third angel then described the judgment that was about to come upon all those who had the mark of the beast—that is, all those who had not repented and turned to Christ (Revelation 13:16-17).

Those who had the mark of the beast would be made to drink of the wine of God’s fury (Psalm 75:8; Jeremiah 25:1517). The “wine of God’s fury” will be poured full strength into the cup of his wrath; that is, it will not be mixed with water—with mercy. There will be no mercy mixed with God’s final judgment against those who have the mark of the beast. They will be tormented forever with burning sulfur (see Genesis 19:24,28; Mark 9:44; Luke 17:29).

12 Therefore, let those who are Christians remain strong and faithful to the end, lest this judgment fall upon them also.

13 Then, in John’s vision, a voice said from heaven: “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.” In John’s time, many Christians who did not abandon their faith and who did not worship the emperor or other gods were put to death. But they will receive an eternal, an eternal rest (Hebrews 4:1). John writes that their deeds—that is, their deeds of faith and love—will follow them. That means that news of their good works will reach heaven.

The Harvest and the Earth (14:14-20)

14-15 Then John saw one like a son of man (Daniel 7:13-14), in whose hand was a sharp sickle (verse 14). This, of course, is Christ. In the Bible, the sickle is a sign of judgment. The righteous will be gathered into the kingdom of God, and the wicked will be thrown into the fire of hell (Jeremiah 51:33; Matthew 13:30,36-43; Mark 4:26-29).

16 Then Christ, the one “like a son of man,” swung His sickle over the earth. And when He did this, the final judgment sounded by the seventh trumpet began (see Revelation 11:15; 15:1 and comments).

17-18 Then John saw an angel, and this angel was also holding a sharp sickle. And then another angel, who had charge of the fire (Revelation 8:3-5), told the angel with the sickle to gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine. The grapes represent those who have the mark of the beast on them—that is, those who have not repented and turned to God.

19-20 In these verses we see another description of what is going to happen to the wicked. They will not only be cut down and thrown into the fire, but they will also be trampled under God’s feet like grapes³⁶ (Isaiah 63:1-6; Joel 3:12-13; Revelation 19:15). Their blood will flow out and form a lake two meters deep and two hundred miles long!