Revelation 14: A heavenly overview

• v.1-5 The Lamb and the 144,000
• v.6-13 The Three Angels proclaiming truths
• v.14-20 Harvesting the Earth

v.1-5 The Lamb and the 144,000

v.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.

v.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.

v.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.

v.4,5 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 first-fruits to God and the Lamb.  No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.

[Note: We now see Jesus with the redeemed, and loud thunder and music pours forth, and there is a song unique to this group. However, this is taken to mean, they are pure before God.]

v.6-13 The Three Angels proclaiming Truths

v.6-8 The Gospel and a repentance

v.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.

v.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.”

v.8 A second angel followed and said, “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,’ which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”

[Note: Then comes an angel proclaiming the gospel and warning of judgment to come [on those who have not believed], then a second angel proclaiming Babylon’s fall – see ch.17 & 18.]

v.9-13 A warning and a call to endurance

v.9-11 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, 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. 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.”

v.12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.

v.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.”

[Note: A third angel warns against following the beast, and a reminder of a call to the saints to remain faithful for death is about to come on all, but saints need not fear.]

v.14-20 Harvesting the Earth

v.14-16 First Harvest

v.14 I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.

v.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.”

v.16 So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

[Note: The Son of God comes (see ch.19) and heaven calls him to reap, so he does.]

v.17-20 Second Harvest

v.17 Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle.

v.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.”

v.19 The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath.

v.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.

[Note: A second harvester comes, an angel overseeing death, again another calls for him to reap, so he does and these are destroyed.]

[Comment/Summary: This chapter again has a feel of an overview chapter. Unlike the previous chapter, it doesn’t deal with the enemy activities, only those of heaven. 

• First, there is simply a view of a redeemed group singing their own unique song (v.1-5).
• Second, there is a threefold warning.
  • The first warning (implied) is a call to heed the gospel (there will be no excuses, it will have gone around the world) for all (v.6-7).
  • The second warning is simply that Babylon (which will be seen in later chapters 17 & 18) will be destroyed (v.8) and so,
  • the third warning is to all who go along with Babylon, the dragon and the beast, that their rebellion and unbelief is the reason they will be judged and destroyed, yet all who persevere and remain faithful, when they die, they will be secure (v.9-13). 
• Third, comes the harvest. The fact that it comes in two parts and the Son of God harvests the first group, and the second group are harvested by another angel and this latter harvest is destroyed, suggests the first harvest is of the remaining saints who will be taken to heaven and the second harvest all unbelievers who will go to hell to be destroyed.  

The fact that the following chapters revert to specific judgments confirms the idea that Chapter 14 is an ‘interlude chapter’ providing a further overview or warning of what is to follow.

OVERVIEW: Because Revelation is not the easiest of books to make sense of, we will regularly provide an overview to try to catch the structure that is here:

• Revelation 10: The Prophetic Scroll
  • an Interlude chapter confirming John’s role of prophesying these things
• Revelation 11: The Two Witnesses & The Seventh Trumpet
  • the record of activities on earth continues
  • this chapter reveals that the truth from heaven is revealed and rejected
  • the last Trumpet appears to herald the End.
• Revelation 12: The Woman and the Dragon
  • this central overview chapter recaps on what has happened in the past
  • the Son of God came and returned to heaven, Satan fell to earth to expose the state of the earth’s population by his activities
• Revelation 13: Activities of the Enemy on the Earth
  • continuing activities on earth: Satan and two beasts run amok
• Revelation 14: A Heavenly Overview
  • another ‘interlude/concluding chapter’ predominantly about warnings and then the twofold harvesting of the earth, i.e. the End
• Revelation 15: A Heavenly Overview
  • here we are shown seven angels coming with seven plagues
• Revelation 16: The Seven Bowls of God’s Wrath
  • now we see what these ‘plagues’ are, in the activities of the earth, the last one appearing to wind up everything, i.e. the End

The fact that in these chapters there are two indications of the end (which we have sought to highlight), this suggests that rather than a continuing ongoing account in chronological order, a better suggestion may be that the book rolls out in a series of waves (as on the seashore when the tide is coming in), each one coming in further to deepen our knowledge and understanding.] 

For those who may wish to make a study of this chapter, to perhaps think some more about what you have been reading, use the link below: