May 11, 2017
The Lamb and the 144,000
1 Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. 3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4 These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they remained virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among mankind and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. 5 No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.
Here is one of the most enjoyable sights that can been seen – Jesus at the head of his faithful. Notice at this time he is described as the lamb, meaning his humble sacrificial nature is evident. He stands on Mount Zion and his church is with him. This shows that he is the true lamb, not the counterfeit we saw described in the last chapter. That lamb was a dragon in disguise. The people with him are described as having his name on their foreheads. This is not a physical thing, like a tattoo, it is their distinguishing badge of honor – that they made a bold and open profession of their faith in God and Christ. They have been found faithful and pure. (note: in some texts it is written that the name of God is written IN their foreheads.) This gives a better understanding that the name is not something that can be seen with the natural eyes, but a brand upon their minds that speaks of their dedication and faithfulness to their God.
Their singing is a new song – speaking of the new covenant, and they sang it accompanied by music from heaven. These 144,000, remember, were under the old covenant – this is why the song is new to them and cannot be learned by others. This is speaking of the particular spirit of their song, not necessarily the words. The new covenant is new to them and they are expressing the joy in their spirits in song. Their character is described here, they did not defile themselves either physically or spiritually and they follow Jesus wherever he goes. These are described as the first fruits of mankind. First fruits are always the cleanest, best, most perfect of all offerings, in addition to being the first portion. They were found to be without fault of any kind.
The Three Angels
6 Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. 7 He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
Here we have the first of three messengers. This one has the job of making sure that every nation, tribe, and people have the opportunity to hear the eternal gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ. If you have ever wondered if everyone will get the chance to accept Christ, this is proof that our God makes certain that not one person misses their chance to repent and accept Jesus. This angel tells them to fear God meaning to give him honor, and to give him glory, and to worship him because this is the hour of judgement and it is the very last chance they will receive. He tells them to worship the God who made the heavens and the earth, and the sea -because there are many who worship these things rather than the creator of those things and of course that is idolatry.
8 A second angel followed and said, “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,’[a] which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”
The second angel proclaims that Babylon has fallen. This follows the declaration of the eternal gospel, revealing that the gospel obtained it’s intended goal – the salvation of those who had fallen into anti-christianity. Babylon is used to describe a society that has given in to sin, idolatry, wickedness, and cruelty so far that it is immersed in it, such as Rome, Sodom, Egypt, etc. The wickedness of Babylon is so great that it infected all those around her, but nevertheless has fallen with the simple proclamation of the gospel. It lost it’s followers and so it fell.
9 A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, 10 they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.” 12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.
13 Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”
Those who remain faithful will receive their reward, even if they die during the persecution. They will be included with those who preceded them into glory. It appears that these are those who repented during the proclamation of the first angel. The fact that they are encouraged to persevere and reassured that they will receive the reward of heaven speaks of new believers who are faced with great temptation to fall back into old ways, especially since they are faced with persecution and death. In this way, they can find comfort in death, the end of their troubles and the beginning of their reward.
Harvesting the Earth and Trampling the Winepress
14 I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man[b] with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” 16 So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.
On the cloud was seated one “like” a son of man – meaning it is obviously not a mere man, and it is likely that this figure is Jesus, being described with a crown of gold on his head. – the crown speaking of authority. He has a tool for harvesting in his hand. This is the harvest that has been spoken of throughout the bible. An angel announces that the time has come, the time that has been prophesied has finally arrived. Harvest cannot take place until the produce is ripe. This means that not only is the church of God ripe for harvest, but that the wicked are ripe for destruction. Remember that the word tells us a parable in Matthew 13 of the harvest in which the tares (weeds) are removed and burned in the fire so that the harvest of the fields can take place. It seems to follow that this is that harvest as described, first the weeds for destruction and then the produce of the fields. It is debated among the scholars whether this harvest and the one following are taking place at the same time, or whether they are two different events.
17 Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, “Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine, because its grapes are ripe.” 19 The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. 20 They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.[c]
At first it would seem that grapes are a good thing, a part of the harvest. Yet these grapes are shown only God’s wrath and are trampled outside the city speaking of exclusion. These grapes are fruit – not weeds, so they are not burned in the fire, but they are shown great anger from the Lord. The blood flows in large amounts from the trampling. The clue to this lies in the words “the clusters of grapes from the EARTH’S vine are ripe”. These are the fruit of the world – not of God., but yet not included specifically in the wicked who are burned. Why is this particular fruit shown such great anger?
The clues to the identity of this portion are:
1 – they are fruit – not weeds, so they are not counted among the wicked to be burned.
2 – they are ripe for harvest – if they are not God’s fruit, what are they?
3 – they are excluded from the city – so they are not righteous.
4 – they are trampled in the winepress of God’s anger until their blood runs in a huge sea-sized amount as deep as a horses bridle is high. Who could have made God this angry?
5 – the final and seemingly most indicative clue. (1,600 stadia/180 miles/300 kilometers) The size of the sea of blood is thought to be the measure of the holy land. It would seem from these clues that God has a special punishment for those who proclaim to be his but refuse to accept the sacrifice of his son. But again, all will be revealed when the time is right. We can only apply our meager human knowledge to these clues – and as humans we can most certainly be completely wrong.
Footnotes:
a Revelation 14:8 Isaiah 21:9
b Revelation 14:14 See Daniel 7:13.
c Revelation 14:20 That is, about 180 miles or about 300 kilometers
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