Revelation Chapters 14 and 15

Verses 1-5

And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an 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 sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. 4 These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they lwhich follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These hwere redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits 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.[1]

Verse 1

I looked and lo – In the last two chapters, John took a different approach to his writing style. He now turns back to his typical vision; with I looked and saw.

A Lamb and with Him a hundred forty and four thousand – John see’s Christ standing on Mount Sion with the hundred and forty-four thousand from chapter seven. If you remember from chapter seven, this is a literal number, twelve thousand from each tribe of Israel.

Having His Fathers name written on their foreheads – In chapter seven the hundred and forty-four thousand were sealed on their foreheads. By both the number and the description, we can ascertain that we are discussing the same group of people.

Some commentators have also read into this deeper, teaching this number is not meant to be literal, but spiritual showing the completeness of Christ’s promise that He should not lose one. A hundred and forty-four thousand were sealed, and a hundred and forty-four thousand stood with Him on the mount.

Verse 2

And I heard a voice, as the voice of many waters – As normal with John’s visions, he first sees and then he hears. This voice of many waters John hears is the hundred and forty-four thousand lifting up voices of praise to God.

Verse 3

They sung as it were a new song – It has been suggested the contents of this new song are the same as the contents of the new song sung in chapter 5:9. Whether this is the case or not becomes complicated by the fact that this same verse states only those of the hundred and forty-four thousand may learn the song.

If this group of people does symbolically represent the church, there may be cause to agree with the other commentators. If this is literal in the translation, we may not know the contents at any point.

However, as kink in this mix, the text specifies, as it were a new song – This suggests not that the song is new, but the voices lifting the song up lift it up with newness – They have a new perspective and this is the result of salvation.

Which were redeemed from the earth – These hundred and forty-four thousand people were selected and redeemed from the earth. They are human, and the text indicates they are redeemed from wordly things and people – they now belong to God.

Verse 4

These are they which are not defiled with women – This and the next statement have caused much confusion. Defiled not with women would suggest this group of people are exclusively men, as I have always held to be. However, this next statement contradicts this statement:

They are virgins – Biblically, virgins always applied to a women who was sexually pure, having never known a man. Neither the first nor this latter statement can be reconciled in a strictly physical and literal way.

It is best then, to not understand this in a physical sense, but in a spiritual one. It is best to understand that John is referring to this group of people as a people who were committed and fully devoted to Christ, for They followed the Lamb withersoever He goeth. In the Bible, worshipping Idols was seen as Idolatry. Both Paul and John addressed the church as the bride of Christ and Paul uses similar language in 2 Corinthians 11:2 “ For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, fthat I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.[2]”

Being the first fruits – This term firstfruits comes from the Old Testament where the first of an increase would be given to God. It suggests these hundred and forty-four thousand will be the first who precede others who make it through the tribulation and will turn to Christ in His second coming.

Verse 5

Without guile – These people kept themselves morally upright and in their mouths was found no lies.

Without fault – To be clear, it is not that these people lived a perfect or sinless life. But because they were purchased by the Lamb, they were made to be without fault. The same shall be true in our lives, that because we were purchased by Christ, we too, at the consummation, shall be made without fault.

Verses 6-7

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 is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.[3]

Verse 6

Another angel – This is actually the first angel in this chapter, but it is written to set this angel apart from the other angels John has mentioned in the book so far.

Having the everlasting gospel – This is the one and only occurrence of the noun gospel occurring in the book of Revelation. This occurrence, however, is not used in the traditional sense we are used to. On first look, it would appear this is not a “good news” gospel, because the angel preaches judgement. However, the angel will be proclaiming good news, for the judgement has come – the righteous will be avenged and this is good news. Further, we will see that the angel does give one last plea for repentance.

To them that dwell on the earth – The message of this angel is not for John, but for those who dwell on the earth, of every nation people and language. This will be a final plea.

Verse 7

Saying with a loud voice – That is, the angel is crying, pleading, and proclaiming. This angel will be heard and his message shall be delivered.

Fear God – The wicked of whom the angel is proclaiming this message to have much to fear of God’s judgement. They are to fear God instead of the monster

For the hour of His judgement is come – Fear, the angel says, because God is ready to pour out His judgement upon the earth. This truly is a final plea of repentance.

Worship Him – The angel pleads with them to repent and to turn to God. To worship Him, for He made the heavens, and the earth, and the waters. They are to worship and give God glory instead of the dragon and beast. While this message may seem like horrible news to the perishing, this message is also great news to the saved. The end is here.

Verse 8

And there followed another angel, saying, zBabylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. [4]

Another angel – The next announcement comes from a second, unknown angel.

Babylon – It is highly unlikely that John is referring to the physical city Babylon. It is more likely that John is referring to the pride of humankind. The first mention of Babylon is immediately after the flood, when men disobeyed God and set to build a tower rather than to disperse. To John, Babylon represents all that opposes God and His righteousness.

Fallen, fallen – John writes fallen twice, that the fallen nature of Babylon is complete. There is to be no doubt that Babylon will fall.

Because – The reason that Babylon falls is because she caused men to go astray. As the righteous described in the hundred and forty-four thousand were set apart by their sexual purity, so is the people of Babylon the great set apart of the sexual filthiness, as harlots, prostitutes.

Verses 9-12

And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with hfire and hbrimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth 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.[5]

Verse 9

Third angel – The next angel brings a message concerned with those who worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead or in his hand. We discussed the beast, his image, and his number in last weeks service. This angel will bring a message of destruction and eternal judgement.

If any man – For those who will chose to worship the beast, that is the unsaved and the perishing, the following message is for them. We should allow this to be a warning today and attempt to stay people from this that their fates may be different.

Verse 10

This verse can be somewhat hard to interpret and understand. Those who are identified in the previous verse, marked by The same shall drink of the wrath of God. There are two words for wrath that are used in this verse, the other appearing as the phrase Cup of His indignation. What makes this verse particularly difficult is the sense of the verbs John uses – He describes the wrath as being poured out, which literally translates to “mixed” and then says without mixture. This comes from the literal prep of wine, before it is poured out to drink. It is normally mixed in a cup with water to dilute it, and then it is poured. John here states that the wrath will be mixed without mixture. In other words, it will be undiluted wrath poured out upon the inhabitants of the earth. John describes this wrath as Tormented with fire and brimstone and the literal result that we should understand is that those we are judged of God will be paying for their sins in the most of painful ways. Though they may rejoice in their wrongdoings now, they will later be devoured because of it.

Verse 11

Ascended forever and ever – John describes the eternal nature of their punishment. There is no reward, there is no, as other religions teach, glories of heaven of a lessor degree. There is heaven and there is hell. And those who enter into hell stay there, tormented forever, and their smoke ascends forever. This punishment is eternal.

No rest day or night – Compared to the saved in verse 13, the perishing will receive no rest as their eternal punishment. Both day and night, second after second, minute after minute, hour after hour, they will receive torment. To the religions that teach differing degrees of glory, none of what we read here describes glory in any sense. Imagine the worst pain, and then imagine that pain never lessoning for eternity. Imagine that you never grow “used” to it that it doesn’t bother you any longer. And then multiply that pain by any number you can fathom. With that, I would dare say you have still not reached the magnitude of what the perishing will suffer in hell.

Verse 12

This verse, as we saw in last chapter, will encourage those who hear the message and choose to accept it to endure in Patience, to keep the commandments, and that they should keep the faith of Jesus.

Verse 13

13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord sfrom henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.[6]

Write – The last time John was specifically commanded to write or to write not was in chapter ten when he was commanded to seal up what he had heard. Now, John will be commanded specifically to write again.

Blessed – This is only the second time in the book of Revelation a blessing is given to a specific group of people. The first blessing, found in chapter one, was to all who heard and kept the book of Revelation. Now, there will be a blessing to another group of people, a group of people who

Are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth – from henceforth in this context refers to the time of John forward. All who die as believers in Christ will receive a blessing. Typically, we think of blessing in terms of in this life, but in the face of persecution, and in the judgements to follow, John points out that there is more important things than this life.

Rest from their labors – In contrast to those in verse eleven, who receive no rest day or night, those who die in Christ shall receive rest. We shall dwell in the presence of God and be restored.

Their works do follow them – In the final judgement, the works that show we are a Christian, the good fruit that is developed in every single Christian, will be acknowledged.

Verses 14-16

14 And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat 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 is 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.[7]

Verse 14

These verses have caused much debate in the pre/mid tribulation rapture people. To further the confusion, John does not always write chronologically. It is certain in verses seventeen through twenty that the passage is discussing judgement, however, that becomes less clear in fourteen through sixteen.

If this passage refers to the rapture, then you have to discuss whether this is at the beginning of the tribulation. But the structure of Johns writing places these two events at the same time. So are we discussing a mid-trib rapture?

Another option that seems more likely is that verses fourteen through twenty all refer to judgement. Though some commentators have pointed to Christs parables where He uses images of a harvest to picture the gathering of His church.

White cloud – Clouds were associated with the glory of God.

Son of man – Some commentators have said this could not be Christ, because why would Christ be taking an order from an angel? The answer lies in the next verse, where the angel comes directly from the throne room in the presence of the Father.

Sharp Sickle – A device used to harvest grain.

Verse 15

Time for thee to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe – The sense of this word is that the harvest is over ripe and withering. What follows is the judgement of the earth. It is for this reason, and the flow of verse sixteen into seventeen that forces me to believe this cannot, as some commentators suggest, refer to the gathering of the saints. It is hard to imagine and picture God’s people as being over ripe and withering. But this verse goes to show that the time for judgement can wait no longer, the earth is over ripe and ready for the harvest. It is ready for the judgement.

Verse 16

What we see in this verse is the judgement begin as Christ who sits on the cloud swings His sickle over the earth. The verse discusses nothing of the rapture, but as we continue into the end of this chapter, we shall see of the judgement.

Verses 17-20

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, which 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 winepress of the wrath of God. 20 And hthe winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.[8]

Verse 17

In verse seventeen, we see another angel also with a sickle come out from the temple, ready to assist in the harvest.

Verse 18

In verse eighteen, another angel comes from the alter, and command the angel from our previous verse to become gathering the grapes (wicked people) and toss them into the press. This is the ancient imagery of winepressing, where they would take the ripe grapes and trample them into a pulp for the juices. This is a perfect image of the judgement to take place.

Verse 20

What we read in verse twenty is very graphic, and shows the extend of this destruction. There is evidence of another great world wide war that will be taking place during this time period, and it seems plausible that God could be using that death and destruction of the war in this event. What we read is of the amount of blood that will be shed from this destruction, whether by the means of a war, or supernatural from God and His angels.

A Furlong, or more properly, a Stadia, is equal to 606.75 feet – Therefore, the twelve hundred stadia we read here would equal about a hundred and eighty-four miles, or roughly the length of the promised land.

An average horses bridle is four feet from the ground.

Given these numbers, we are discussing enough blood to cover a linear area of a hundred and eighty-four miles up to four feet deep in blood. The equivalent of 86,271 liters of blood. We are discussing the full amount of blood in the human body from 15,404 bodies, or, if only partial draining of the body is done, 30,000 bodies to make this amount of blood.

Many commentators have said this amount of blood is impossible, but consider that from the single bomb dropped on Hiroshima, over eighty thousand people died. So this number of people is not only possible, but very likely and plausible.

Chapter 15

Verses 1-4

And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. 2 And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over ghis mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. 3 And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; qjust and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. 4 sWho shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art tholy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.[9]

Verse 1

These verses which follow will be the prelude to the final judgements on the earth, which take place in chapter sixteen. Then seventeen and eighteen will take us through a aftermath view of what has happened.

I saw another sign, great and marvelous – John now transitions to a new thing taking place in the heavens. What he sees first is seven angels, but John will briefly take a break from the angels and discuss those who overcame. Then returning to the angels in verse five, we will find out about what shall come to pass.

For in them is filled up the wrath of God – These angels are coming directly from the presence of God and they contain the cups (bowls) of His wrath to pour out on the earth.

Verse 2

Sea of glass – Notice first, that John did not see a sea of glass, but as it were a sea of glass. It is plausible that this is the same sea that we had seen in chapter four. Now there is an usual thing included with this vision, that the sea of glass is mingled with fire. Immediately after we are introduced to martyrs who sing to God, and it is possible this fire represents both the blood of the martyrs and the judgement about to pour of from Heaven to those dwelling upon the earth. We are not told in this verse how those who overcame the beast overcame, but we know from previous chapters that they overcame by the blood of the lamb and their testimony.

Verse 3

And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God – The song of Moses is a song which refers to God’s faithfulness to Israel in Exodus 15. The saints here may have in mind God’s faithfulness to them.

Song of the Lamb – The song of the Lamb appears to be the song we see in this present verse, where to sing to God…

Great and marvelous are thy works – In the song, God is praised for His works and deeds, which are called great and marvelous.

Just and true – God is also praised for being just and true. God will judge the wicked and His ways are true.

Verse 4

In verse four, there then is given a prediction that all nations shall worship God. Scriptures teach us that every knee shall bow and every tongue confess. The only question then is shall you bow and confess before or after it is too late?

You alone are holy – The saints recognize that God alone is Holy and perfect. The word here means perfect moral purity. Save Christ alone, no human has posses in him perfect moral purity.

As opposed to the wickedness of the antichrist, God’s act’s and judgements are righteous.

Verses 5-8

5 And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened: 6 And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. 7 And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever. 8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.[10]

Verse 5

The temple of the tabernacle – This seems to be a spiritual counterpart to the physical temple on earth. It is described as being a tabernacle of testimony. The temple in Johns vision is opened and John describes what he began to identify in verse one of this chapter.

Verse 6

Seven angels having seven plagues – In verse one of the chapter, these plagues are described as being the last seven plagues. In these plagues will God’s judgement on the earth be brought to it’s intended purposes. Those this is not the end, which will not occur until after satan is loosed for a time after the thousand year reign in chapter twenty.

Clothed in white linen, breast girded with golden girdles – John does not go into much description about the appearance of these angels, but he describes to us that these angels are clothed in clean shining linen portraying their purity and their golden sashes pointing to the glory of God.

Verse 7

The beast described here is the beasts we read in chapter four. This beast sits in a place very close to God’s throne, worshipping God both day and night. This beast brings from the throne room of God a golden bowl, after the same type that held the prayers of the saints in revelation five. The same word used here for bowl is the same word used for vial chapter five. Thus these final judgements are often called the seven bowl or the seven vial judgements. This bowl, or vial, however is not full of the saints prayers, but full of the wrath of God.

Verse 8

Immediately after the angels receive their commission to begin pouring out God’s wrath upon the earth, the Spirit of God fills the temple (portrayed by the temple filling with smoke representing God’s glory). This filling of the temple prevents anyone from being able to enter until the fulfillment of God’s judgement on earth is completed. After chapter sixteen, we will see the temple no longer, because it will not exist in the new heavens and earth, because God will be the temple.

[1] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Re 14:1–5). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[2] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., 2 Co 11:2). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[3] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Re 14:6–7). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[4] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Re 14:8). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[5] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Re 14:9–12). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[6] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Re 14:13). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[7] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Re 14:14–16). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[8] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Re 14:17–20). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[9] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Re 15:1–4). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[10] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Re 15:5–8). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.