Then I looked, and there was the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with
him 144,000 who had his name and the name of his Father written on
their foreheads. 2 I heard a sound from heaven, like the sound of many waters
and like the sound of great thunder. The sound I heard was like that of
harpists playing their harps,
3 and 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.
4 These are the
ones who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins.
These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were
purchased from among mankind as first fruits to God and to the Lamb.
5 In
their mouths was found no lie; they are blameless.
6 Then I saw another angel flying overhead, and he had the Gospel about the
age to come[1629] to proclaim to those living on earth — to every nation, tribe,
language, and people. 7 He called out loudly, “Fear God and give Him glory,
because the hour of His judgment has come. Worship the One who made heaven
and earth, the sea and springs of water!” 8 A second angel followed the first, calling out, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the
great! She made all the nations drink the wine of her immoral passion.”
[1630] 9 A third angel followed the other two, calling out loudly, “If anyone worships
the beast and his image, and receives the mark on his forehead or on his hand,
10 that person also will drink the wine of God’s anger, which is mixed
undiluted in the cup of His wrath, and he will be tormented with fire and
sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 The smoke from their torment goes up forever and ever.[1631] They have no
rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and anyone
who receives the mark of his name.” 12 This requires the perseverance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
[1632] 13 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, “so they may rest from
their labor, because their works will follow them.”
14 Then I looked, and there was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was
one like a son of man. He had on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a
sharp sickle. 15 Then another angel came out of the temple, shouting out to the one
seated on the cloud, “Use your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has
come, as the harvest of the earth is ripe!”
[1633] 16 So the one seated on the cloud
swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.
17 Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle.
18 Another angel came from the altar, the one who has authority
over the fire, and he called loudly to the angel who had the sharp sickle, “Use
your sharp sickle and gather the bunches of grapes from the vine of the earth, because
its grapes are now ripe!”
19 So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and
gathered the grapes from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the huge
winepress of the righteous anger of God.
20 Then the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the height of horses’ bridles for a distance of 200 miles.
Commentary
Revelation
[1628]
Standing for the character and agenda of Messiah, the lamb. Jesus is the “lion of the tribe of Judah” (5:5).
[1629]
The Christian Gospel of the Kingdom (Mk. 1:14-15; Lk. 4:43; Acts 8:12; 19:8; 20:24-25;
28:23, 31).
[1630]
Scripturally immorality can be both spiritual and literal. False religion is spiritual fornication.
[1631]
The image is from Isa. 34:8-10 where Edom will suffer a destruction in the Day of the Lord’s
vengeance and “its smoke will go up forever and ever. From generation to generation it will be
desolate. No one will pass through it forever and ever.” The image tells of a permanent desolation of
that land, not of permanent torture of people.
[1632]
“The faith of Jesus” means “the same faith as Jesus had.” Christian faith means obeying Jesus’
teachings and thus demonstrating not only faith in Jesus but the same faith and belief as modeled by
Jesus. This includes the creed of Jesus in Mk. 12:29; Jn. 17:3.
[1633]
“The harvest is the end of the age,” Jesus had said in Matt. 13:39 (not the end of the world, or
of history, or of time!).
Revelation