Bob Allen

Revelation 14

Questions to ask in Revelation Fourteen:

The Lamb and the 144,000 on Mount Zion

14 Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps. 3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been purchased from the earth. 4 These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb. 5 And no lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless.

Vision of the Angel with the Gospel

6 And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; 7 and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters.” 8 And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality.”

Doom for Worshipers of the Beast

9 Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed fin full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will 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 goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” 12 Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.  13 And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write, ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!’” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them.”

The Reapers

14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like la son of man, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. 15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.” 16 Then He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.  17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. 18 Then another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe.” 19 So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God. 20 And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles.

  1. What does this portion of Scripture reveal about Jesus? – Notice that Jesus stands with His 144,000.  These are the same that were mentioned earlier.  Also, Jesus comes to harvest at this time.
  2. What does this portion of Scripture reveal about the church?  I believe the elders are present in heaven, listening to the unique song of the 144,000.
  3. What does this portion of Scripture reveal about the world? I will side with the opinion that this call is a call just prior to the final end, the final wrath that will be poured out.
  4. What does this portion of Scripture reveal about the Evil One?   His plans will be frustrated and he will lose, he just hasn’t fully realized it yet.
  5. Can you see Christ’s Mercy towards humanity in the passage?  Just before Jesus is about to send in the Reaper, He announces the gospel one final time to humanity.  He wants every person to have no excuse for not submitting to God.
  6. Can you see Christ’s judgment of disobedience? The final part of the passage shows that the wine press of God will bring incredible bloodshed at this time, but to the horse’s bridal for 200 miles.

Thoughts:  It’s getting harder and harder to cover these chapters in a single week.  But I want to keep the class moving forward.
• This section appears to be broken into three different visions or parts.
• Jesus came the first time to sow, He comes at this time to reap.
• I was instructed that chapter 14 gives John a look forward, signified by Jesus being on Mt Zion.  So this chapter actually is a vision of what happens after the battle of Armageddon.  A simple outline was explained like this – chapters 4-5 we are in the heavens, 6-11 shows us visions of the judgments of God, 12-13 goes back over the same time period from Satan’s or earth’s view, chapter 14 is a future view, and chapter 15 and forward goes back to the tribulation view and the completion of the judgments and the final battle.
• John Wesley said “Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not whether they be clergymen or laymen, they alone will shake the gates of Hell and set up the kingdom of Heaven upon Earth.”  During the tribulation, God gives 144,000.
• There is some confusion in my mind about this section.  Appears to be post Jesus’ return but what is the role of the Angels announcing the message they do?

Outline:  The Outline is provided by the Text

  1. The Lamb and the 144,000 on Mount Zion
    1. Why a Lamb? Is an acknowledgement of what role Jesus is highlighting?  The sacrifice.
    2. On Mt Zion – this is a literal place. Ps 2
    3. This 144,000 are a unique group. They get their own identification, they have their own service to the Lord, they are the first fruits, and they get their own song. They are clearly under the Lamb’s care. Chapter 7 shows them sealed.
    4. They are identified by their lives – lives of purity and dedicated service.
    5. They are identified by the markings – the name of the Father and the Son on their foreheads.
    6. They are also identified by a song only they know and can sing.
    7. All of them are kept to the end of the tribulation.
  2. Vision of the Angels and their Messages – notice the world will hear the gospel again.
    1. The First Angel – the Eternal Gospel
      1. “Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters.”
      2. See the scope of the message – having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people
  • Remember who they fear now during this hour, they fear the Anti-Christ. Remember who they want to glorify at this time – the Anti-Christ. They are being called to God, to repentance.
  1. The Angel tells them that they are about to come into God’s judgment time. The time is too close to ignore – this seems as though it is the final alter call.  This is their wake up call, and it’s the last one that is delivered.
  2. Notice the God the angel calls people to worship, not the one who is a deceiver, but the One who made the heaven and earth. The God of Creation.  Jesus believed God made the heaven and earth, why do believers seek other explanations?
  1. The Second Angel – The Elements of judgment in the Gospel
    1. “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality.” Notice the surety of this statement from the future – according to the angel, Babylon is fallen.
    2. Babylon is a picture of the immoral system of any and all false religions, idolatry.
  • What is the passion of the Evil One’s immorality? It is to divert the worship of God towards himself.
  1. At this time, there will be no diversity of religion. You will be in one camp or the other.  You will either worship the Anti-Christ, or worship God.  Doesn’t appear to have any middle ground available.
  1. The Third Angel – the Element of hope in the Gospel.
    1. Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. 13 And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write, ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!’” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them.”
  2. The Reapers – both are actions of judgment.
    1. The One Like a Son of Man
    2. Another Angel with another sickle – this one has power over fire