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| Chapter 14 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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1 ¶ And I looked and lo, a Lamb stood on Mount Zion, and with Him a hundred forty and four thousand, having His Father’s name written in their foreheads. 2 And I heard a voice from Heaven as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder, and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps. 3 And they sang, as it were, a new song before the throne, and before the four living beings and the elders; and no man could learn that song, except the hundred and forty and four thousand who were redeemed from the earth. 4 These are they that were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are they that follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb. 5 And in their mouth was found no guile, for they are without fault before the throne of God. 6 ¶ And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation and kindred, and tongue and people, 7 saying with a loud voice, "Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His Judgment has come. Worship Him that made heaven and earth, and the sea and the fountains of waters." 8 And there followed another angel, saying, "Babylon is fallen! Fallen is that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication." 9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out unmixed into the cup of His indignation; and he shall 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 ascended up for ever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever received the mark of his name." 12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. 13 ¶ And I heard a voice from Heaven, saying unto me, "Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth.’" "Yea," saith the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, and their works do follow them." 14 And I looked, and behold, a white cloud; and upon the cloud sat one like unto the Son of Man, having on his head a golden crown and in his hand a sharp sickle. 15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, "Thrust in thy sickle and reap; for the time has come for thee to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe." 16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped. 17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in Heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. 18 And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, "Thrust in thy sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe." 19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great wine press of the wrath of God. 20 And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out of the wine press, even unto the horse bridles, for the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs. |
v1-5 The Lamb and the 144,000. This is the special group of Jewish men sealed by God before the opening of the seventh seal, Rev 7:1-8. They now join The Lord Jesus on Mount Zion. Is this the Mount Zion on earth or perhaps in heaven? The rest of the text suggests heaven. v2,3 The group are standing but also singing, they have a special song because of what they had gone through. They are joined by heavenly harps. v4,5 John also points out that these men have been redeemed out of the earth. They were unmarried. The words "not defiled with women" does not indicate that sex within marriage is evil, Heb 13:4. Jesus was the most important thing for these men. v6-20 The Angels. Six or more angels are now called into action to spread special messages to the earth. v6-7 "Judgment has come." Today we are given the task of spreading the message of salvation. The angels are now given that task. This is a cry to the people on the earth to "fear God" and give Him the worship and service He should have. v8 "Babylon is fallen!" is the message from the second angel. ‘Babylon’ is the name given by God for the world system, the commercial and political organizations. The Antichrist created his own religious system, Rev 13:11-15, eventually he will destroy this but God is about to destroy the world system, "Babylon" and all who are part of it. v9-13 "The wrath of God." This message is meant for those who had chosen to follow the beast. The angel warns that if you received the ‘Mark of the Beast’ then you are heading for eternal torment. "Drink of the wine," v10 usually indicates judgement. Also v8. The initial judgements, "the vials of wrath," come from heaven as shown in Revelation chapter 16. The time of His mercy is ending. "Fire and brimstone," this may make us question "a loving God." We must remember that God’s love is an holy love, it cannot tolerate wrong. He does love but must also punish disobedience. 1 John 3:8,9 God regularly sends warnings giving people time to turn away from wrong and come to Him for forgiveness through the Blood of Jesus. Rom 10:10. You only have yourself to blame if you end in "fire and brimstone" for eternity. v12,13 shows the difference for the people who have turned to God, eternal rest for the saints, eternal punishment for the wicked. v14-20 "The Harvest is ready." v14 The person on the cloud is obviously The Lord Jesus Dan 7:13-14; Rev 1:13-15. "The harvest is about to happen. John 4:34-37; Matt 13:24-30. v17-20 An angel with a sharp sickle (sharp curved knife on a handle used for cutting grass and wheat crops) appears from heaven and is told by a second angel to ‘start the harvest.’ He collects the ‘crop’ from the "vine of the earth." Like the normal grapes, the ‘crop’ is placed in a wine press of God’s anger and wrath. Out of this press comes not wine but the blood of men. This could be an image of the coming "Battle of Armageddon" Rev 16:16ff. |
Easy English Translation
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