14.1.1. A Heavenly Scene

Notes

¹ “The Vision is in heaven; for the singers stand before the Throne, and they are with the Lamb. He is not yet descended to the Earth. This decides the point that it is the heavenly Zion which is here referred to. The Temple on Earth was close to Mount Zion; so the Temple in heaven is correspondingly near to the heavenly Zion.”—E. W. Bullinger, Commentary On Revelation (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1984, 1935), Rev. 14:1. “Some writers take it as the earthly site of a millennial reign, but the entire scene is one of praise before the throne in heaven.”—Robert H. Mounce, The Book of Revelation (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1977), Rev. 14:1.

² The phrase “before the throne of God” in Rev. Rev. 14:5+ does not appear in the NU or MT texts, but appears only in the TR text.

³ Thomas holds to an unusual interpretation: he takes the 144,000 to be on earth, but also has them slain. The entire problem with having them in heaven is because their seal would not have protected them. Most who take them to be on the earth do so partly out of deference to the effectiveness of their sealing—they survive the Tribulation.

⁴ Robert L. Thomas, Revelation 8-22 (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1995), Rev. 14:1.