Revelation 14:1-20The Judgment of the Nations
Revelation 14:1-20
American Journal of Biblical Theology
What will the end times be like? When we read the Revelation of John we are given an intriguing glimpse into God’s plan to end the age of grace. With so much of the content of the Revelation dedicated to an apocalyptic presentation of the final battle for the human soul, it is difficult for us to separate what is descriptive of the spiritual future of mankind and what is descriptive of the physical future of this world. As intensely curious folk, we want all of our questions answered. We want to know what is going to happen, how it is going to happen, when it is going to happen, who it is going to happen to, why it is happening, etc. We want a detailed news report that can be published on the media airways.
What we desire is not always exactly what God wants for us, and we can be assured to know that God has given us, not all of what we want, but all of what we need. The first-century church, as well as the church today, needs hope and encouragement as it has been faced with such conflict from an evil world. Though John’s writing does not include all of the answers to all of the questions that we might pose concerning God’s plans for the end of the age, it does contain all that we need to know to receive the hope and encouragement that we need.
The first chapters of John’s Revelation describe the unfolding of God’s plan and purpose for mankind through the imagery of the opening of seven seals by Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who sits on the throne of heavenly authority. Each of these seals is characterized by a vivid vignette of images that represent the spiritual truths of God’s sovereign plan for the redemption of the faithful and the judgment of Satan, his demons, and those who Satan has led to reject God’s offer of grace. The last of the seven seals is presented as the blowing of seven trumpets, each heralding an additional message that describes God’s plan for the closing of the age of grace. Chapter 11 begins with the blowing of the last trumpet, a presentation of the awaited end. Chapters 12 and 13 is a form of soliloquy or parenthesis that reviews some of the characteristics of the main “characters” in this end-time drama: (1) Israel and its offspring, the Christian church, (2) Jesus Christ, and (3) the satanic trinity of Satan, the Beast (the system of worldly and ungodly ideologies), and the Antichrist (the appointed human leader of these ideologies).
Following the parenthesis of Chapters 12 and 13, chapter 14 returns to the heralding of the seventh trumpet where chapter 11 left off as this drama of the final battle for the soul of mankind continues. This vignette presents a heavenly scene that portrays the saints of all ages worshipping the LORD as they are safely gathered around the throne (Vs. 1-5). As they worship, a sequence of six angelic messages are broadcast to the world to demonstrate how God’s Word is one of imminent and decisive action as they present the evangelistic proclamation to the world (Vs. 6-7), the judgment of the nations (Vs. 8), and the judgment (Vs. 9-11) and the gathering of the wicked (Vs. 17-18).
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.
This vignette begins with the image of Jesus and the saints. Jesus is described as standing on Mount Zion, another name for Jerusalem. Mount Zion is the location within the city of Jerusalem where the tabernacle stands, the one place where the ancients believed that God resided. When applied to the Revelation, the faithful followers of Christ, the offspring of Israel (12:17), are included in the body of Jerusalem’s citizens. Standing in the middle of Jerusalem was the tabernacle, the dwelling-place of God. Likewise, standing in the middle of the New Jerusalem of the Revelation is the tabernacle of God: Jesus Christ. First-century Christians could still go to Jerusalem and see Herod’s temple, but even they could no longer see God’s presence, the Shekinah Glory of God, the pillar of fire over the tabernacle that illuminated it during the pre-exilic period. To the first-century Christians the temple had become merely a stone edifice with a dramatic history where Jews met to listen to the teaching of the Scribes and for worship. The Shekinah glory had long been displaced by the autocratic authority of the Scribes and Pharisees. Jerusalem and the temple was only a shadow of what it was during the Exodus, and what it could have been had the people not turned from God. John provides an encouraging description of the New Jerusalem and the New Tabernacle that is prepared for all the saints, and in the place of the cold stone tabernacle is the true presence of God through the person of Jesus Christ.
Surrounding Jesus, or with Jesus, is the gathering of the saints. The context of this passage determines that this gathering is the sum of all of those who have placed their faith and trust in God. During the period of the first century, this number of 144 thousand would have been considered enormous, much like a figure of 144 trillion might be today. Some have taken this number literally in an effort to defend a position that the number of saved is limited to 144,000. However, when we employ the enormity of this number to the ancients with some obvious numerology, we get a quite different viewpoint. It is rather clear that the number is obtained by the product of 12 times 12 times 1000. The first number 12 can be understood to represent the number of Israel’s nations, identifying that this number includes Israel, the Woman of Rev. 12:17. The second number 12, which produces a product of 144, can be understood to represent a much larger number of her offspring, those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ. Finally, the one-thousand is the largest number that was commonly used in the ancient culture, employing a product that would represent an extremely large number. John could has easily referred to a thousand thousand (Rev. 9:16) and made the same point. John is not limiting the number of saved souls to 144,000, but is rather identifying that the number of the faithful who are present at the throne in heaven is an immense number, a complete assembly, of souls from both Israel and from the Christian church.
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. 3And 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.
As John again brings our focus back to the throne of grace, we see the faithful taking part in a great song of praise. Rather than sounding like a great celestial choir, John hears a roar like the rushing of a mighty waterfall with the clear sounds of music mixed into it. One gets the impression that John is hearing the shouts of praise and songs of joy being loudly proclaimed by the millions who are there. The singing is being done by those faithful, and this image, combined with those other portrayals of the heavenly throne indicate that the scene is populated with all of the redeemed for all ages. The depictions of heaven never seem to move far away from this vision of the throne and the presence of the Trinity and the Christian church. As John writes, the first century church can be encouraged to know that they are among this number.
The song they are singing is the praise of the LORD. Only the redeemed know the LORD, so only the redeemed can “sing” this song. The message that John is bringing to us is clear: all of those who have placed their faith and trust in God are present at the throne of God, and only those who have placed their faith and trust in God. As they observe the wickedness in their world, as we also do today, we can be assured that the salvation of the elect is a promise of God’s grace, and the judgment of the wicked includes their separation from God and from the faithful. The wicked have no more influence over the saved. Unlike the worship we experience in today’s sin-infested world, the joyful sounds of praise that are being lifted up at the throne are not impeded by sin, by the wicked, or by the deceiver, Satan. This is, indeed, a new and wonderful song.
These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure.
The population of the redeemed are described as celibate. Taken literally, this could engender some confusion since all who have been and will be saved were at some time sinners. Many of those who have been saved lived lives of significant debauchery and sin, and some may have lived lives that were less characterized by sinful acts. However, all people have sinned and come short of God’s glory, so in truth all people have been “defiled.”
The phrase “did not defile themselves with women” is an idiom that describes the opposite of fornication, the opposite of idolatry. Though we draw a very wide distinction between these two words, the ancients did not, particularly when for centuries idolatrous worship was characterized by sexual perversion. The idiom was a very common figure of speech that simply defines purity. Taken literally, this phrase states that these are those who have been made pure. Though these had all sinned, by placing their faith in God, their sin is completely forgiven. By turning to God in faith, these are those who have made themselves pure, a purity that was kept by the power of the Holy Spirit. Those to whom John writes know in their own hearts that they have also sinned and come short of God’s glory, and John’s statement is a reminder of the significance of God’s grace as He has forgiven the faithful of their unrighteousness and given to each the righteousness of Christ.
They follow the Lamb wherever he goes.
John gives us the literal impression that, as the LORD moves around Mount Zion, the multitude follows Him. Following the LORD is the very nature of one’s expression of Lordship. Those who place their faith and trust in Jesus Christ follow Him in obedience. They, as with all of the faithful, first obeyed God by placing that trust in Him. However, in addition to saving people from the condemnation for their sins, God is also Lord. God’s purpose for saving people is so that He can have a relationship with them, and as God, He is the One who has all of the authority in that relationship. If one claims to have faith in God but does not follow Him in obedience, their profession of faith may not be sincere (Matt 12:50, et. al.)
Those first-century Christians who received this letter from John can be encouraged to continue in their obedience to Jesus’ Lordship despite the continued and intense pressure to follow the way of the world, the way of the Beast who seems to be so much in control. As Christians view the Beast today, the need to be faithful in obedience continues.
They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb.
One might envision a marketplace where slaves have been brought in for auction. Each is a doomed foreigner who has been torn from his home by evil, vicious and greedy men to face a life of bondage. The agony of their suffering is apparent on their face as each has suffered his or her own unique form of brutality and can only stand with blank stares as their mind and heart is overwhelmed by the noises, smells, and images of the slave yard. This is the condition of the lost as they are enslaved to the Beast and the Dragon which has given the Beast his authority. The lost of this world are enslaved to it, and are without hope. However, “they were purchased.” It is as if a buyer entered the slave yard to purchase them and set them free. When Jesus died on the cross, He died to pay the purchase price of all slaves who would trust in Him and come to Him of their own free will. When they came to Him, he accepted them, not as emancipated slaves, but as His own sons and daughters, giving them the full rights of an inheritance in His kingdom.
No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.
All who place their faith and trust in God have been entirely, fully, and completely forgiven. Jesus paid the penalty that all of the forgiven saints deserve for their sin. Consequently, all of these who are praising God are without sin. Though Christians have been forgiven, they are not blameless. The relationship that the Christian has with sin is that of a struggle, a conflict that is waged between the flesh which seeks its own desire, and the Spirit which seeks the will of God. This struggle continues all of the days of this life. However, that struggle is not carried to the throne. When the faithful gather at the throne, the desires of the flesh are somehow gone. The power of personal pride is destroyed. Those who stand before the throne are truly blameless. Is this not one of the reasons why we praise God?
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. 7He 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."
The New Testament church of the first century found itself living under an imperial decree to worship the emperor. To refuse the worship of Caesar was considered a crime punishable by death. We see quite a contrast in the message of this angel who proclaims God’s evangelist message to the entire world, to both those in the church who do their best to resist the power of the worldly decree, and those of the nations who follow it. The emperor is not God, nor is he a god.
The contrast to Roman emperor worship is emphasized by the description of God’s redemptive purpose for all people, His coming act of judgment, and His identification as the One who created the heavens and the earth. All three of these are quite the opposite of the character of the venerated Emperor, and a vindication of God’s true position as the LORD of the earth. The one true and living God is proclaiming His evangelistic message as He has done through the entire age of grace. The call to faith is even proclaimed when the final judgment is imminent. It is not too late to turn to God in faith.
A second angel followed and said, "Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great, which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries."
As we do today, the first-century church found itself surrounded by Babylon. The vision of the doom of Babylon, this wicked world government, is often considered to be Rome and its influence, certainly consistent with the first-century middle-eastern and Mediterranean cultures. From a more general perspective, Babylon represents the entire world system of unrepentant governments and ideologies, the first beast of Chapter 13. During its height, the city of Babylon of Mesopotamia was considered the most wicked of all cities, as was Nineveh in Jonah’s day, and serves as an appropriate metaphor for the general wickedness of all of the world’s cities. We may be reminded of the descriptions of God’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah where its citizens lived a lifestyle of overt sinfulness. The world today is like this Babylon, Nineveh, Sodom, and Gomorrah, and is subject to God’s judgment. John reminds his readers that God will judge and bring to an end the wicked world that they witness around them. World governments are made up of leaders who think that they are in control, but God will bring them all down when each is called upon by Him to stand before His judgment.
John’s words serve not only as an encouragement to those faithful who patiently bear the task of evangelism in an evil world, but also as a warning to that evil world that God’s judgment is certain and imminent. God offers the nations the opportunity to avoid the fall by turning to Him in faith.
A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, 10he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name."
Just as John pronounces the judgment upon the nations, those who populate those nations are also individually subject to that same judgment. Those who prefer to live a lifestyle apart from God, who have chosen to characterize their attitudes (forehead) and actions (hand) with spiritual depravity (666), are described as worshipers of the Beast. They choose to stand for that which the Beast stands for, and since the Beast receives its power from the Dragon, they are standing for that which Satan stands for. It is these who, standing against the purposes of God in Rev. 13:16-17, proclaimed that those without this mark of the beast would be persecuted. Now that mark of acceptance by the world, the Beast, has become the mark of condemnation of every individual who has taken it. The doom of the punishment meted out is reminiscent of Isa. 34:8-10, that tells of the doom of Edom.
It is made plain that the punishment is continual and eternal. Simply stated, the wages of sin is death, and these are wages that will be paid out in full at the final judgment when the godless receive exactly what they have desired: godlessness. They will be separated from the God’s love and the protecting power of the Holy Spirit for eternity. Since an angel has just been proclaiming the gospel, those who are still in the world are yet being given another opportunity to turn to God. God’s redemptive purpose does not change, and His grace is offered to all who will turn to Him in faith, even up to the very end of the age.
This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.
John interjects a statement that does not require the interpretation of metaphors as he clearly states the purpose of his writing. As the Christian church witnesses the character of this wicked world around them, and as they suffer rejection and persecution by that world, the sovereignty of God and His faithfulness to His plan for judgment that John has described, should encourage the faithful to be patient.
John is also aware of the tremendous pressure that the body of believers is under to compromise their faith and take part in the godlessness of the evil world in which they are immersed. To compromise one’s faith is to be accepted by that world, and that compromise can minimize or eliminate the rejection and persecution that they are experiencing. However, God has called His children to a life of holiness, a life that is separate from this wicked world and fully brought under the Lordship of God. So, John reminds us to be faithful even when there is so much pressure to compromise. We can be faithful because God is faithful and will vindicate the saints when this evil world is judged.
One may arguably state that the 20th century has seen a dramatic shift in the character of the Christian church towards spiritual compromise. Entire denominations of Christian thought are under pressure to be accepted by this world and make polity decisions every day that nibble away at the call to holiness that God has given to His church as they continue to bless marks of the beast such as homosexuality and child sacrifice through the murder of the unborn. We may be reminded that the Offspring of the Woman (the Christian church) is under attack by the Dragon (Satan) who seeks to devour it by its torrent of lies. The defense against those attacks is found in standing on the truth of God’s Word, a timeless Word that does not stand for compromise and change. Just as Christians are reminded to maintain their faithfulness, the church is also reminded that God is calling His Bride to remain faithful and not compromise its purity and holiness.
Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write: 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."
The cost of discipleship can be discouraging to those who suffer for their faith. They may wonder if it is really worth it all, after all they have given their lives for the LORD and carry that faithfulness to the grave. Meanwhile those who live godless lives seem to “eat, drink, and be merry,” taking their worldly successes to the grave also. John reminds us of an important truth from the word of God: the greatest reward for faithfulness is found after we leave this physical body. Those who die apart from God will remain apart from God, subject to the kind of climate that His absence would create, one of eternal torment. However, those who die with faith in God will remain with God, and will find rest from the labor that so characterizes the conflict with this evil world. The faith of the faithful follows them to the throne of God in heaven, and the works of faith that characterized their life on earth will serve as a testimony.
It may seem that living a life of faith receives little reward on this earth, and maintaining that faith in the face of the onslaught of the sin of this world is an unending labor. However, John reminds us that heaven is a place of both rest and peace for those who have so labored. John states in Rev. 20:12 that all of the works of all people will be revealed at the final judgment, both those who were faithless and those who loved God. Consequently, every small act of kindness, every gift given to God, and every faithful witness given by the faithful will be revealed. Those deeds follow us to the throne of judgment, and those deeds of faith and love will be brought to light when it means the most.
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.
As John opened this chapter he described a vision of Jesus standing with the church surrounding Him in worship. This has left some confused who wish to apply this verse to that self-same vision, arguing that this one who sits on the cloud cannot be Jesus. However, this apocalyptic description of the “son of man” is consistent with descriptions of the Messiah from both the Old Testament (Daniel 7, e.g.), and the New Testament (Matt. 26:24, John 5:27, e.g.). Also, as the crown represents the given right to execute authority, the gold in the crown usually refers to a man rather than to God. Some would argue that this cannot be Jesus because the crown represents man’s given authority. However, we may be reminded that Jesus is fully man just as He is fully God. We may also be reminded that He is given authority over all things, including man. Finally, the context refers to the work of the Son of Man as He reaps the harvest, a task given to Jesus, the Messiah, as He is the agent of the world’s judgment.
Some have argued that the harvest refers to two separate harvests, the first of the saved, and the second of the lost. However, the “sharp sickle” is a violent, cutting tool. It tears the shaft from its roots. Consequently, this is an appropriate metaphor for the task of tearing the wicked from the world in which their roots are firmly planted. Also, the context of this chapter as well as that of Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 indicate that the faithful are located around the throne, safe from the judgment.
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."
Some also have argued that the One seated on the cloud cannot be Jesus because Christ does not receive shouted commands from angels. However when we apply this literature in the metaphorical context of the apocalyptic style we find no such limitation. The proclamations of angels in the Apocalypse are messages from the truth of God’s word. Jesus said that He does the will of the Father (John 9:20, e.g.) and the pronouncements of the angel are the will of the Father. The time for the end of the age is at hand and God is giving the command for the harvest.
So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested. 17Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18Still 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." 19The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath. 20They 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.
The judgment here is represented as the harvest and vintage of the world (Joel 3:13). John describes what appears to be a two-part harvest with Jesus gathering the wicked from all over the face of the earth. One who is seated on the cloud is instructed by an angel to utilize the sickle to reap the wicked for the coming judgment. Following the gathering, those who have been reaped are subject to the winepress. This judgment upon the nations will be described in detail in Rev. 19:11-16.
Reference is made here to a great carnage of the wicked at this time. We may be reminded that the first seals described the nature of the authority that would produce such wide-spread destruction. This may be a reference to that carnage, or rather just a description of the completeness of the judgment.
The numerology that is employed in this passage speaks to the enormity of the carnage that is found at the winepress of judgment. In order to produce a pool of blood in a diameter of 1,600 furlongs to a depth of 6 feet, it would be necessary to destroy about 200 to 400 billion people. This is not an unreasonable number considering that it could refer to all of the wicked for all ages. At the time of John’s writing there may not have been such a large number of people since the creation of man who had lived and died, but that number could be quite reasonable, if not even low, for the number who had lived and died by the 21st century.
In the 14th Chapter of John’s Revelation we see yet another glimpse of both God’s redemptive purpose and His plan to execute judgment upon those who have refused redemption. There is coming a time when the age of grace will end, and God’s judgment will be executed upon all people. The faithful will be safely brought to the throne of God in heaven, and the unrepentant will be separated from God for eternity. The description of that judgment should stand as a warning to all who have followed Satan’s lies and have refused to turn to God in faith. However, that warning serves as a call to repentance as the offer of salvation is still open to all who would place their faith and trust in God. Why would one choose to be part of the carnage of the winepress? One can make that choice only when they have been deceived by the torrent of Satan’s lies. However, God’s Word has the power to swallow up the torrent, and its truth exposes the lies. The age of grace is still upon us, so it is important that we take every opportunity to communicate the truth of the Gospel to a lost world that is facing this terrible judgment.