Revelation 14
14
The Lamb and His 144,000 Followers
1 #
Ez 9.4; Rev 7.3. I looked and saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion!#14.1 Mount Zion: Another name for Jerusalem. With him were 144,000, who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. 2#1 Esd 6.17. Then I heard a sound from heaven that was like a roaring flood or loud thunder or even like the music of harps. 3And a new song was being sung in front of God's throne and in front of the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn that song, except the 144,000 who had been rescued from the earth. 4All of these are pure virgins, and they follow the Lamb wherever he leads. They have been rescued to be presented to God and the Lamb as the most precious people#14.4 the most precious people: The Greek text has “the first people.” The Law of Moses taught that the first-born of all animals and the first part of the harvest were special and belonged to the Lord. on earth. 5#Zep 3.13. They never tell lies, and they are innocent.
The Messages of the Three Angels
6I saw another angel. This one was flying across the sky and had the eternal good news to announce to the people of every race, tribe, language, and nation on earth. 7The angel shouted, “Worship and honor God! The time has come for him to judge everyone. Kneel down before the one who created heaven and earth, the oceans, and every stream.”
8 #
Is 21.9; Jr 51.8; Rev 18.2. A second angel followed and said, “The great city of Babylon has fallen! This is the city that made all nations drunk and immoral. Now God is angry, and Babylon has fallen.”
9Finally, a third angel came and shouted:
Here is what will happen if you worship the beast and the idol and have the mark of the beast on your hand or forehead. 10#Is 51.17; Gn 19.24; Ez 38.22. You will have to drink the wine that God gives to everyone who makes him angry. You will feel his mighty anger, and you will be tortured with fire and burning sulfur, while the holy angels and the Lamb look on.
11 #
Is 34.10. If you worship the beast and the idol and accept the mark of its name, you will be tortured day and night. The smoke from your torture will go up forever and ever, and you will never be able to rest.
12God's people must learn to endure. They must also obey his commands and have faith in Jesus.
13Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Put this in writing. From now on, the Lord will bless everyone who has faith in him when they die.”
The Spirit answered, “Yes, they will rest from their hard work, and they will be rewarded for what they have done.”
The Earth Is Harvested
14 #
Dn 7.13. I looked and saw a bright cloud, and someone who seemed to be the Son of Man#14.14 Son of Man: See the note at 1.13. was sitting on the cloud. He wore a gold crown on his head and held a sharp sickle#14.14 sickle: A knife with a long curved blade, used to cut grain and other crops. in his hand. 15#Jl 3.13. An angel came out of the temple and shouted, “Start cutting with your sickle! Harvest season is here, and all crops on earth are ripe.” 16The one on the cloud swung his sickle and harvested the crops.
17Another angel with a sharp sickle then came out of the temple in heaven. 18After this, an angel with power over fire came from the altar and shouted to the angel who had the sickle. He said, “All grapes on earth are ripe! Harvest them with your sharp sickle.” 19The angel swung his sickle on earth and cut off its grapes. He threw them into a pit#14.19 pit: It was the custom to put grapes in a pit (called a wine press) and trample on them to make juice that would later turn to wine. where they were trampled on as a sign of God's anger. 20#Is 63.3; Lm 1.15; Rev 19.15. The pit was outside the city, and when the grapes were mashed, blood flowed out. The blood turned into a river that was about 300 kilometers long and almost deep enough to cover a horse.
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Revelation 14: CEV
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Revelation 14
14
The Lamb and His 144,000
1Then I looked, and behold—there was the young Lamb # 14:1 Nothing but the Lamb must draw our attention when we gaze into the heavenly realm. standing on Mount Zion # 14:1 Mount Zion is not merely a place, but a realm where God’s people are clothed with glory and beauty. See Pss. 2:6; 50:2; 87:5; 110:2; Heb. 12:22. and with him 144,000 # 14:1 It does not say 144,000 men. The Greek construction indicates that it is in fact 144,000 lambs! The Lambkin has become many lambs. who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2And I heard a tremendous sound coming out of heaven, like the roar of a waterfall and like the earsplitting sound of a thunderclap. The sound of music that I heard was like the sound of many harpists playing their harps. 3And they were singing a wonderful new song before the throne, in front of the four living creatures, and in front of the twenty-four elders.
4No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed and who have not defiled themselves with women, # 14:4 These women become a metaphor for the daughters of the harlot of Babylon, with its false religious system (Rev. 17:5). for they are virgins, # 14:4 See 2 Cor. 11:2. Like Mary the virgin, these are pure, obedient, and willing to do the will of God and will bring forth an expression of Christ to the earth. and they join themselves to the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been purchased from humanity and brought forth as the firstfruits # 14:4 That is, they are the first parts of the harvest of Christ’s life within the believer. Set apart for God and the Lamb, they become examples for all others to follow. for God and the Lamb. 5Their words are always true; # 14:5 Or “Falsehood was not found in their mouths.” they are without flaw. # 14:5 See Song. 4:7.
The Message of the Three Angels
6Then I witnessed another angel flying in the sky, carrying a message of eternal good news # 14:6 Or “having a message of goodness for eternal ages.” The Aramaic can be translated “carrying a message with blood, for he had the everlasting good news to proclaim.” to announce to the earth—to every tribe, language, people, and nation. 7With a loud voice he shouted, “You must reverence God and glorify him, for the time has come for him to judge. # 14:7 Or “the time of his deciding came.” Worship at the feet of the Creator of heaven, earth, sea, and springs of water.”
8Then a second angel followed, declaring, “She fell! She fell! Babylon the great is fallen! She once seduced the nations and made them all drink the wine of the passion of her harlotry!” # 14:8 As translated from the Aramaic. The Greek is “immorality,” which becomes a metaphor for idolatry. See also Isa. 21:9, where the reference is to Babylon’s idolatry.
9Then a third angel followed them, shouting with a mighty voice, “Whoever worships the wild beast and its image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10will also drink the wine of God’s wrath. This wine has been poured out # 14:10 Or “undiluted.” and mixed in the cup of his indignation. They will be tormented # 14:10 Although the Greek word basanizō can be translated “tormented” (tortured), its primary meaning is “to test,” “to scrutinize with the touchstone,” “to examine or test its mettle” and is used for testing the purity of gold or silver. with sulfur # 14:10 The Greek word for sulfur, theion, comes from the word theios, which means “divine in character” or “godlike,” and is believed to originate from a word meaning “flashing” (like the flashing of burning incense). An alternate translation of this could be “in union with divine qualities and with fire.” and fire in the presence of holy angels and of the Lamb. 11And the smoke of their severe suffering ascends into ages upon ages. Those who worship the wild beast and its image and receive the mark of its name will have no rest day or night.” 12This is a call for the endurance and faithfulness of the holy believers—those who follow God’s commands and cling to the faith of Jesus.
13Then I heard a voice from the heavenly realm, saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead—the ones dying in the Lord # 14:13 The Aramaic can be translated “Master Yahweh.” from now on.”
“Yes,” says the Holy Spirit, # 14:13 The Holy Spirit speaks twelve times in Revelation (1:10; 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22; 4:2; 14:13; 17:3; 21:10; 22:17). “they will rest from their trouble, # 14:13 Or “hard work.” for their deeds will live on!” # 14:13 Or “Their good deeds will follow [accompany] them.”
The Harvest of the Earth
14I looked and behold—I saw a white cloud, and sitting upon it was one like the Son of Man, wearing a golden crown and holding a sharp sickle. 15Another angel came out of the temple, shouting out to the one sitting upon the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap, for the time of reaping the harvest has come and the harvest of the earth is ripe!” 16So the one sitting upon the white cloud gave his sickle a mighty swing over the earth and reaped its harvest.
17Then another angel came out of the heavenly temple, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18And another angel came out from the altar of incense—the angel with authority over fire. He shouted out with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Take now your sharp sickle and harvest the clusters of the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.”
19So the angel gave his sickle a mighty swing over the earth and gathered the grapes from the vine of the earth and threw them into the great winepress of the wrath # 14:19 Or “strong passion.” of God. 20And the winepress was trodden outside the city # 14:20 That is, the New Jerusalem. until blood poured out of the winepress as high as the horse’s bridle # 14:20 This would be about five feet high. for a distance of one thousand six hundred stadia. # 14:20 There is variation over the exact measurement of a “stade.” Some calculate it to be about 600 feet, which would make it over 180 miles. But in the Aramaic, a stadia (race track) is measured at about 1/8 of a mile, which would make nearly 140 miles. It is impossible to view this as literal, for that much blood of human beings would be over ten thousand times the population of earth. The number forty is the number of testing/trial and 1,600 is forty squared. It becomes a picture of severe testing, even to the point of blood, for the people of God.
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