REVELATION
CHAPTER 14, “The 144,000 With The Lamb On
By
1.
INTRODUCTION
1.1.
In our last study, we looked at
chapter 13 and two beasts of John’s vision:
1.1.1.
A beast that we saw coming up out of the sea
represented the “Antichrist” who will become the one-world leader during
the 7 Year Tribulation period, and then during the second half of that
tribulation period undertake a campaign of terror in requiring himself to be
worshipped by the threat of death, as well by persecuting and killing the
Lord’s saints upon the earth.
1.1.2.
A second beast, one coming up out of the
earth, represented the “False Prophet” who will become the inspirational
leader and PR man for the Antichrist in getting the people of the earth to
relinquish their power and authority to the Antichrist, as well as to worship
the Antichrist.
1.1.3.
We saw see that the Antichrist was killed and
then 3 ½ years into the 7 Year Tribulation that the Devil resurrected him from
the dead and then that miraculous act was used to give credence to the
authority and power of the Antichrist and to get the people of the world to
worship the Antichrist.
1.1.4.
We saw that great power to perform miracles
is given to both the Antichrist and the False Prophet by the Devil.
1.2.
In our study today, we are going to look at a
group of 144,000 with the Lamb upon
1.2.1.
God has and will yet again announce His “good
news” and warn those upon the earth of His plans for mankind for the
future.
1.2.1.1.Airplanes that are
made in the world today have in their cockpit what is called a “Master
Warning Annunciator” unit. It is a box full of
electronics which has connected to it 100+ sensors from all over the plane, and
it has a big panel of led lamps, each of which is labeled, and associated with
a respective sensor. I have personal
knowledge of these units since I have written the software for about four
different airplane manufacturer’s annunciators.
The “Master Warning
Annunciator” reads the various indicator sensors throughout the plane and
then based upon a logic tree makes decisions as to the potential danger of each
indication as it occurs. Typically
there are four different levels of potential danger in these warnings, with an
associated color for a display indicator for the warning: Some indications in the plane report
conditions that merely signal the pilot that certain maintenance items need to
be taken care of at the next convenient “Maintenance Cycle” for the
place. These indicators are the color of
white when they are active, and they have the least amount of potential danger
associated with them. Secondly, there
are indications of something that has just occurred during the flight of the
plane which is really of no real consequence, however the pilot needs to know
that this condition has occurred. For
instance, when the flaps on the plane are lifted up, one of these green “Advisory”
indicator lights comes on. Thirdly, there
are indicator lights which come on that involve a definite possibility of
potential danger and are thus the color of amber. Plus, their amber indicators flash when they
are active and they set off a secondary big flashing “Master Caution”
indicator in the cockpit which has to be manually switched off once it is set
on. This tells the pilot of a condition
that could become critical and affect the safe flight of the plane and thus
needs to be investigated right away. However, the fourth type of indication is the
most serious of all of the indications when these indicators come on the flash
the color of red, and they likewise set off a secondary red flashing “Master
Warning” indicator light somewhere in the cockpit which must be manually
switched off by the pilot after the indication has occurred. Whenever a “Master Warning” indicator
lamp becomes active, this becomes an emergency situation for the pilot, and if
he does not perform an immediate action the plane could immediately crash and
kill all on board. For instance, when
the plane begins to stall in the air a red “Master Warning” indication
is activated in the cockpit, and the pilot is trained to know that he must take
immediate action to come out of the stall and avoid hitting the ground. Well, God has given to mankind indication
after indication:
1.2.1.1.1.He
has revealed Himself to every person in some way through what He has created (see Romans chapter
1). So, therefore people are without
excuse if they do not come to know Christ as their Lord and Savior in this life
(
1.2.1.1.2.The
lives of faithful Christians have been visible to most of the people who have ever
lived upon the earth, so there shall be no excuse for a person not repenting
before the Lord.
1.2.1.1.3.Many
people have actually had the opportunity to hear preached and taught the
message of salvation through faith in Christ as Lord and Savior, and yet they have not
chosen to turn from their sin and receive His offer of forgiveness and
reconciliation.
1.2.1.1.4.God’s
Word has gone out to many people all around the world, and they have heard of
God’s coming future judgment upon this world who refuses to repent and come to
Him.
1.2.1.2.Well, here in chapter 14 we will see that
even before the Tribulation period begins that angels will go about the world
and warn those upon the earth that Babylon is going to fall, and that anyone
who receives this mark of the Beast that they will be condemned to an eternity
in hell. Everyone will therefore be without excuse if they worship the Beast or
take the mark of the Beast because God has personally sent His messengers ahead
of time to warn them not to take this mark.
2.
VS 14:1
- “14:1 And I looked, and behold, the Lamb was
standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand,
having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads.” - John tells us that he now sees a vision of
the Lamb standing on
2.1.
In chapter 13, we looked primarily at the two beasts that were portrayed
for us:
the beast out of the sea, and the beast out of the earth. We saw how that the beast out of the sea was the one that is normally spoken of as the
Beast throughout scripture, and perhaps alluded to in John’s epistle writings as being the Antichrist. The beast
out of the earth was the False Prophet who is to come and be the
inspirational leader and public relations man supporting the first beast. Chapter
13 seemed to be set time-frame wise to occupy the whole Tribulation
period, but concentrated in particular
on the second half of the seven year Tribulation period, or the “Great
Tribulation”. However, as we have seen in much of the book
of Revelation, the story here unfolds much as modern day motion pictures do,
fast-forwarding to the future and then looking back to the past, as the
director is unfolding the intended plot to the viewer.
2.2.
Here in chapter 14, the story rewinds and shows us the event of the
rapture of the church just before the beginning of the Tribulation, and then
fast-forwards to the end period of the Tribulation and shows us the reaping of
the wicked upon the earth at the end of the Tribulation period when the wrath of God is finally and fully poured out
upon those upon the earth who refuse to repent of their sins and walk with the
Lord. In this chapter, we see the 144,000 whom we were introduced to originally
in chapter 7 of the book, standing upon Mount Zion with the Lamb, followed by the rapture of the church before
the Tribulation, followed then
by the reaping of the wicked to be placed into the winepress of God’s wrath
where their blood is squished out of them just like grapes which burst under
the winepress.
2.3.
In chapters 12 through 18 in the book of Revelation, John appears to be
giving high-lights of what occurs throughout the entire 7 Year Tribulation
period.
In the account given to us of creation in the book of Genesis, we see this same sort of thing occurring in the
two accounts of the creation in chapters 1 and 2 of Genesis. Chapter 2 of Genesis is sort of a fill in the
gaps missed in chapter 1.
2.4.
I must say at the
outset that here are good Bible
commentators who disagree as to
whom these 144,000 represent, as
well as to what these two different reapings refer. So,
we will look at the arguments as people have presented them.
2.4.1. Who we believe the 144,000
represent is very important for it determines how we will interpret the rest of
the chapter pertaining to them.
2.4.2. We must come to terms with
whether or not there is sufficient proof that these 144,000 mentioned here are
in fact the same 144,000 mentioned in chapter 7:
2.4.2.1.THE SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THIS GROUP OF 144,000 AND THE
144,000 OF CHAPTER 7 OF THE BOOK ARE:
2.4.2.1.1.The number of them is
identical.
2.4.2.1.2.Both groups have a seal by
God which is upon their fore-heads.
2.4.2.1.3.They apparently have gone through
the Tribulation period walking faithfully and uprightly before the Lord.
2.4.2.2.THE DISSIMILARITIES BETWEEN THIS GROUP AND THE 144,000
OF CHAPTER 7 OF THE BOOK ARE:
2.4.2.2.1.The seal of God in this
chapter is actually the Name of Jehovah God written there.
2.4.2.2.1.1.This may not be a problem since it does not say in
chapter 7 that the seal is something other than this.
2.4.2.2.2.The group in chapter 7 is
said to be Jewish, and to be comprised of 12,000 from each of the twelve tribes
of
2.4.2.2.2.1.This also may not be a problem because in this chapter
though it does not say that these ones are Jewish or from any particular tribe
of
2.4.2.2.3.The group in this chapter
are described as being “virgins”
(that is, “they have never been defiled with women, for they have kept
themselves chaste”).
2.4.2.2.3.1.This may not be a problem because though in chapter 7
it does not say that the group there are “virgins”, it does say that
they are clothed with white, which symbolizes their purity.
2.4.2.2.3.2.Also, it may be the case that in this chapter when it
says that this group “has not been defiled with women”, it should not
necessarily be taken literally regarding sex, but could mean that sort of
cleanness before God that scripture refers to as being the opposite of whoredom
toward the Lord, whose bride is His church.
Sex in marriage is not unclean before the Lord for the scripture tells
us that “the marriage bed is undefiled”.
2.4.2.2.3.3.However, we must remember that a Nazarite vow for a
Jew meant that a man would never have sex, being fully dedicated to the Lord,
and this group may have all made a Nazarite vow to the Lord.
2.4.2.2.3.4.Not being married may have been a great practical help
to these who were surely hunted by their persecutors, just as Paul told the
Corinthians that it would be better for them to also not be married because of
the difficulty of the entanglement of marriage and family during a time of
great persecution.
2.5.
Some believe that this group symbolically represents Israelites other
than the original 144,000 of chapter 7
who have rejected the worship of the Beast and come to the Lord during the
Tribulation period. Yet others believe
that this group represents Gentiles who have come to God during the Tribulation
period.
2.6.
However, for lack of any good reasons to accept either of those two
conclusions, and with the precedence of the original 144,000 that were
introduced to us in chapter 7, I would agree that this group in this chapter
are indeed the 144,000 of chapter 7.
2.7.
The next two
questions which we have to answer are:
Where this group actually are, as they are seen here with Christ? Are
they in the heavenly
2.7.1. ‘
2.7.1.1.If they are in heaven, then they
have already been “raptured” up to heaven temporarily before God’s wrath
is poured out fully upon the earth.
2.7.1.2.But, if they are on the
earth, then it is after the Tribulation period is completed, and they are now
taking part in the
2.7.2. However, I don’t think that
it matters which it is, so I will leave the question unanswered. I believe
that they are part of those who will
make up the Millennial Kingdom of Christ that will be setup after the
Great Tribulation.
2.8.
Some would say that the 144,000 are with the Lamb on
2.9.
Having established that these are the same 144,000 that we saw first in
chapter 7, at the beginning of the
Tribulation period, God’s faithfulness
is seen here in that toward the end of the Tribulation period, exactly 144,000
of these ones are still alive. Not one has perished. This again demonstrates that the seal they
have in their foreheads protects them from death and harm.
2.10. Before we leave this verse, we Christians ought to ask ourselves how pure our life is before
God? Have we sought with all of our
hearts to be obedient to His commandments and precepts? How dedicated to His calling are we in our
life? How focused and tireless upon
following His leading are we?
2.10.1.Oh, and one day I think that we shall deeply regret in
our hearts that we were not more like this 144,000 when we once lived our lives
upon this earth!
3.
VS 14:2-3
- “2 And I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of
many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was
like the sound of harpists playing on their harps. 3 And they *sang a new song
before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no
one could learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had
been purchased from the earth.” -
John hears a voice like many waters and thundering from heaven and the
144,000 sing a new song before the throne
3.1.
Here we see worship going on among this group of the 144,000 with a
heavenly accompaniment on divinely created instruments.
3.2.
These ones have a tremendous song to sing for they have been delivered
completely unharmed from a period upon the earth that has been more horrific
than any period before it in the history of the earth.
3.3.
During the Tribulation Period, these ones have had the seal of God upon
them and therefore the things that were
occurring upon the earth for the judgment of the wicked has not harmed a hair of their heads. Therefore, they have more to worship and
thank God for than any of us who haven’t experienced the depth of what they
have gone through.
3.4.
There are many things in life that some people have gone through that we
have not had to endure, and therefore we are not able to truly understand the
depth of suffering and trial which they have experienced. This is why, only this 144,000 is able to
learn this ‘new song’ of worship
and thanksgiving to God. No one else who
has ever lived upon the earth has experienced what these have experienced, so
therefore no one is now able to learn this song.
3.5.
We Christians
need to realize that we have truly not
walked in another man’s shoes.
Therefore, we should never be quick to judge or condemn anyone. We must be willing to give people grace and
understanding, whatever their situation, for we probably have not gone through
what they have or are going through. We
must ask God for a heart of compassion for everyone whom we come into contact.
4.
VS 14:4-5
- “4 These are the ones who have not been defiled with
women, for they have kept themselves chaste. These are the ones who follow the
Lamb wherever He goes. These have been purchased from among men as first fruits
to God and to the Lamb. 5 And no lie was found in their mouth; they are
blameless.”
- John tells us that these 144,000 have
not been defiled with women but have kept themselves chaste
4.1.
These verses reveal the faithfulness before God of this group of 144,000
Jewish evangelists.
4.1.1. They have gone wherever He
has wanted them to go to preach the gospel, teach, or exhort, all throughout
the Tribulation.
4.1.2. They have been tireless, never giving up in their labor of obedience to God’s
call upon their lives.
4.2.
Since they have followed the Lord wherever He has led them upon the
earth, they will now be given the privilege of following Him wherever He may go
in the
4.2.1. In Matthew
11:11, Jesus told His disciples that John the Baptist was the greatest
man ever born under the Old Covenant, yet he who is the least of those who
enter into relationship with Him under the New Covenant is greater than was John,
“11 “Truly, I say to you, among
those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist;
yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.””
4.3.
As I mentioned earlier in this chapter concerning these 144,000, the phrase,
‘have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste,’
could mean literally that this group of men which comprise the 144,000 have
taken a Nazarite vow and thus have never had sex with women,
or it could mean that they have not committed
spiritual fornication, but rather have lived a life of purity before God.
4.4.
Concerning the genuine purity of life and devotion to God of these
144,000, John records of them, ‘no lie was found in their mouth; they are
blameless.’
4.5.
Now, we have to ask the question of what it means of this 144,000 that
they are ‘first fruits to God’? The church has already been “raptured”
to heaven, these 144,000 have not preceded them to heaven. Therefore, in what sense could they be
considered ‘first fruits’?
4.5.1. The answer is that they are
on
5.
VS 14:6-7
- “6 And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having
an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation
and tribe and tongue and people; 7 and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God,
and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him
who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters.””
- John sees another angel flying in
midheaven preaching the gospel to all of the people on the earth
5.1.
We first ought to ask the question I guess of why angels here are
preaching the gospel since this is a job that scripture tells us has always
been handed down to man?
5.1.1. The answer is that since the
event of the “rapture” of the church there simply will not be enough of
God’s people on the earth to preach the gospel and warn the people on the earth
of the impending judgment. The message
of these angels we see is going to go to every people group on the face of the
earth, and this would be a difficult enough task to perform if the church were
still left on the earth. Angels will
have to help the 144,000, the two witnesses, and the tribulation saints (those
who have come to Christ during the 7 Year Tribulation) to preach the gospel and
warn the world, and this must go out to every culture, language, and dialect on
the face of the earth.
5.2.
Here in these
verses we see the first of two angels
in this section who have a message to proclaim loudly to all everywhere who are
upon the earth.
5.3.
The angel’s message that he proclaims is called in verse 6 ‘an eternal
gospel’. ‘Gospel’ means “good news”, and
this ‘gospel’ message is not a message of condemnation or it wouldn’t be
“good news”. There really is only one ‘gospel’
preached in New Testament times, and it consists of the message of Jesus’ dying
upon the cross for the sins of mankind and thus providing for the salvation of
all men through His blood, if men will repent of their sins and believe upon
Jesus and His sacrifice at Calvary to atone for all of their sins.
5.4.
The angel’s message also includes a warning of impending judgment on
earth from the Lord.
5.5.
This event must be occurring in time before the second half of the seven
year Tribulation, before the worship of the Beast and the mark of the Beast is
mandated upon all mankind, which will
occur beginning at the middle of the seven year Tribulation period. God
would not tell the world to not take the mark, otherwise you will be condemned
to hell, if it were already too late for everyone to refuse taking it. The scripture is clear in the book of
Revelation that once a person receives that mark of the Beast that they have
now gone past the point of no return, and God will no longer attempt to bring
the to salvation.
6.
VS 14:8
- “8 And another angel, a second one, followed, saying,
“Fallen, fallen is
6.1.
The second angel now makes an announcement in this verse which contains
the message that ‘
6.2.
However, it is just as possible I believe that the city of
6.3.
Several years, Saddam Hussein, the ruler of
6.4.
It is interesting that this angel gives this warning concerning
7.
VS 14:9-11
- “9 And another angel, a third one, followed them,
saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and
receives a mark on his forehead or upon his hand, 10 he also will drink of the
wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His
anger; and he will 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
goes up forever and ever; and they have no rest day and night, those who
worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.””
- A third angle warns of the doom for
all those who receive the mark of the Beast
7.1.
This third angelic messenger to proclaim a message loudly to all those
upon the earth has a message that is very
stern. It is God’s ultimatum to those who are upon the earth. If
they will worship the Beast or receive of the mark of the Beast, then there
shall be no path of return for them, but they shall be fully given over by God
to His wrath, for eternity.
7.2.
In verse 10, we see a graphic description of the horrors of hell. Drinking of
the ‘wine of the wrath of God which is mixed in full strength in the cup of
His anger’ graphically portrays
what is going to happen to all who do not come to know Christ in this life. Many
think like Ted Turner, who once said that hell is going to be just one big
party, however that is not what God has promised to the world, nor what
His messenger one day will proclaim loud and wide all across the world.
7.3.
Only one who is a complete fool will submit himself to receive the mark
of the Beast (Anti-Christ) or worship the Beast. However, because of the fear of the death of martyrdom
many will reluctantly choose a way of death instead of life and receive the
mark, and, many others will do the same willingly because they just are dead
set in joining in league with the devil in trying to defy God.
7.4.
The angel further proclaims the horrors of hell in verse 10 saying of it that those who receive the mark or worship the Beast will be, ‘tormented
with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence
of the Lamb’. God is
everywhere present and when He sends wicked angels and the unrepentant souls
from this earth into the Lake of Fire in chapter 20, it will be in His’ and the
angel’s plain view.
7.5.
In Is. 66:44, Isaiah writes that for eternity there will be a place where
God’s people can go to view those who are in the torments of hell, “ 24 “Then
they shall go forth and look on the corpses of the men Who have transgressed
against Me. For their worm shall not
die, And their fire shall not be quenched;
And they shall be an abhorrence to all mankind.””
7.6.
Some have said that the fires of hell must not be literal flames, however
if that is the case then the reality of what hell is to be like will actually
be worse than that of literal flames.
7.7.
Some have questioned whether or not the Bible really says that hell for
non-believers and fallen angels will last for eternity, however this third
angel’s proclamation in verse 11 clears that up when it says, ‘and the smoke
of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest day and night’.
7.8.
This angel warns the people upon the earth specifically about who, during
the 7 Year Tribulation, shall suffer an eternity it hell. It is, ‘those who worship the beast and his
image, and whoever receives the mark of his name’. Therefore,
if anyone worships the beast or receives his mark upon the right or forehead,
they shall have no excuse, for they have been and shall be warned as clearly
and specifically as God could possibly warn anyone about this. However, tragically many will choose a way of
death instead of life.
8.
VS 14:12
- “12 Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the
commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.
13 And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write, ‘Blessed are the
dead who die in the Lord from now on!’” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may
rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them.””
- John tells us about and defines for us
the ‘perseverance of the saints’
8.1.
It shall be much better for a person at that time to suffer the death of
martyrdom than to receive the mark of the Beast or worship him and then suffer for the rest of eternity in
hell. Jesus gave us sound words of
advice pertaining to this in Matt.
10:28, “28 “And do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill
the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in
hell.””
8.2.
John records that
‘a voice from heaven’ once again
prompts him to write about this.
The voice this time comes from
the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. It is
not very often in the scripture where we find the Holy Spirit Himself speaking,
so this must be a very significant event.
8.3.
This verse contains yet another one of Jesus’ be-attitudes. The Spirit is telling John to write that the
one who commits his way to God and thus is martyred, will in reality actually
be ‘blessed’, for he will be one
who will be able to ‘rest’ from his
‘labors’, however those
who are unrepentant and worship the Beast and receive his mark they will have
no rest for all of eternity.
8.3.1. The scripture says in Is.
57:20 that there is no rest for the wicked. The
only true rest that people actually receive occurs when they are a child of God and they have come to know
what His rest really is like.
8.4.
The ‘perseverance of the saints’ is defined in this verse as being
what those have ‘who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus’. In other
words, when all is said and done “true
saints” will have persevered in well doing, keeping God’s commandments
throughout their life (note that everyone has set backs in their walk with
Christ), and thus they have shown the genuineness of their salvation in their
lives.
9.
VS 14:14-16
- “14 And I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and
sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, having a golden crown on His
head, and a sharp sickle in His hand. 15 And another angel came out of the
temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your
sickle and reap, because the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the
earth is ripe.” 16 And He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth;
and the earth was reaped.” - John sees
a vision of ‘one like a son of man’ on a cloud who will use a sickle and become
a reaper
9.1.
This first reaper is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ (‘one like a son of man’ is the unmistakable
clue) seen in time just before the
events of the Tribulation begin as He returns for His church upon the clouds,
and as He has upon His head, ‘a golden crown’ (a victor’s crown
in the Greek), and ‘a sharp sickle
in His hand’.
9.2.
Some believe that this first reaping is a reaping of the wicked to have
to go through the seven Bowl Judgments which completes the outpouring of the
wrath of God. However, why would the
Lord be reaping the wicked to go through that event of judgment?
9.2.1. This is the church that is
being rapture before the 7 Year Tribulation begins.
9.3.
These two reapings in this chapter are foretold of the harvest that will
occur at the end of the age by Jesus, which is recorded in Matt. 13:24-30, “24 He
presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be
compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 “But while men were
sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat, and went away.
26 “But when the wheat sprang up and bore grain, then the tares became evident
also. 27 “And the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you
not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 “And he said
to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ And the slaves *said to him, ‘Do you want
us, then, to go and gather them up?’ 29 “But he *said, ‘No; lest while you are
gathering up the tares, you may root up the wheat with them. 30 ‘Allow both to
grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to
the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them
up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’””
9.3.1. This harvest is the harvest
of wheat which is to be taken in His barn.
This is the harvesting of the church which occurs before the Tribulation
occurs.
9.4.
Angels have been given the commission of overseeing God’s working in the
church, and they report to Him constantly about that work. Therefore, it is not unexpected that an angel
might now be reporting to the Lord that now it is time to reap the Christians
from the earth.
10.
VS 14:17-20
- “17 And another angel came out of the temple which is
in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. 18 And another angel, the one who
has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice
to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Put in your sharp sickle, and gather
the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe.” 19 And
the angel swung his sickle to the earth, and gathered the clusters from the
vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of
God. 20 And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out
from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, for a distance of two hundred
miles.”
- John tells us that a second reaping is
going to occur, this one reaping souls to go into the great winepress of the
wrath of God
10.1. Here in these verses, we
have two more angels, and these are commissioned for the purpose of carrying
out the reaping of the wicked who are upon the earth to go into the ‘Great
wine press of the wrath of God’, which will occur at the battle of Armageddon. This is the
one of the passages in the Bible that inspired
the song, “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”. Joel prophesied that this would occur in Joel
3:9-16: “9 Proclaim this among the
nations: Prepare a war; rouse the mighty
men! Let all the soldiers draw near, let
them come up! Beat your plowshares into
swords, 10 And your pruning hooks into spears;
Let the weak say, “I am a mighty man.”
11 Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations, And gather yourselves
there. Bring down, O Lord, Thy mighty
ones. 12 Let the nations be aroused And
come up to the
10.2. There are two words used for
‘ripe’ in the two visions of a reaper in this chapter, and this shows
that there are two different reapings that are mentioned:
10.2.1.The word that is used for ‘ripe’
in these verses is different than the word used for ripe in the previous
reaping mentioned in this chapter, which I believe to be a view to the
pre-Tribulation rapture of the church. The
word used for ‘ripe’ here means “fully ripe and bursting at the seams”,
and thus it represents the fact that now
at this present juncture towards the end of the Tribulation, sin is full and
ready for the outpouring of God’s full unadulterated merciless wrath.
10.2.2.The word used for ‘ripe’
in the previous reaping mentioned in this chapter, which was performed by Jesus,
means “to be dried up, past dried up.” This could indicate the fact that when the Lord returns for His church
before the Tribulation begins, she has by and large fallen into compromise and
apostasy and is not the spotless bride that He desires. Or,
it could refer to the very last of the Christians who has finally become saved,
and thus as Paul alludes to in Romans 11, the final number count has been
reached.
10.3. It is interesting that an
angel is mentioned in these verses which ‘has power over fire’. Each angelic creature has a particular domain
related to supervision over lives of
those who live upon the earth, and this one has a special charge to be watchful
over ‘fire’ upon the earth. However, this particular angel has also been
commissioned to be the one to command that the harvest of the wicked into the
battle of Armageddon should begin.
10.4. In chapter 16 of the book of
Revelation we will see that God will accomplish this gathering of the nations
to battle at the valley of Armageddon through three spirits who are like frogs,
whom Satan, the dragon, will send forth
to bring the people together.
10.4.1.This will be yet another instance of the Lord using
evil spirits for the accomplishing of His judgments upon the earth.
10.5. The reference of the wicked
upon the earth as being like grapes which are placed into a winepress is very
graphic, as I mentioned. This indicates that whenever this judgment occurs that the wicked upon the earth will
actually pop and have their blood squirt out of them and run down into the
valley and fill it up. This could be accomplished by mere
supernatural means, or perhaps the detonation of a nuclear device could cause
such a huge anti-gravitational force to come over the people that their bodies
simply pop.
10.5.1.A few times when I was younger I left an egg too long
in the pan boiling only to have it explode and fling egg all over the kitchen
ceiling.
10.5.2.Once my Physics professor in college said that he was
up high in the mountains and there was a family there who had placed a pressure
cooker on the fire to make some stew.
Then, when they thought it was ready, they opened up the lid of the pot
only to have their stew end up in the branches of the trees overhead. You see the pressure inside of the cooker was
so much greater than the pressure outside of it at that altitude that the
result was a big pop and explosion when the lid of the cooker came off. In a similar way perhaps the wicked people of
the earth will die there in battle in the
10.6. In Zechariah
14:12-16, Zechariah seemed to see a similar thing that is described to
happen just before the Millennial Kingdom is set up upon the earth, “12 Now this will be the plague with which
the Lord will strike all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem;
their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in
their sockets, and their tongue will rot in their mouth. 13 And it will come
about in that day that a great panic from the Lord will fall on them; and they
will seize one another’s hand, and the hand of one will be lifted against the
hand of another. 14 And
10.6.1.Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary has the following entry for
this Hebrew word that is used for ‘rot’ in the above passage: 4743 maqaq \{ maw-kak’\} a primitive root;
TWOT - 1237; v AV - pine away 4, consume away 4, corrupt 1, dissolved 1; 10 GK
- 5245 \{ qq'm;
10.6.1.1.to decay, pine away, rot, fester
10.6.1.1.1.(Niphal)
10.6.1.1.1.1.to fester (of wounds)
10.6.1.1.1.2.to rot, rot away
10.6.1.1.1.3.to moulder away
10.6.1.1.1.4.to pine away
10.6.1.1.2.(Hiphil) to cause to rot
10.7. The number of those who are
alive upon the earth, I believe, may be close to 3 billion at this time. Of these, 200 million (see Rev. 9:16) are going to
gather in the
10.8. William Newell has written
about how the blood running this high is feasible because history records that
something similar happened once in 70AD at the destruction of Jerusalem by the
Romans, “If Josephus could say that when Jerusalem was taken by Titus, the
Roman soldiers “obstructed the very lanes with dead bodies; and made the whole city run down with blood,
to such a degree indeed that the fires of many of the houses was quenched with
these men’s blood” (Wars: 6,8)-
what folly to doubt this word of God that a river of blood will run when the Son of God tramples the nations of
all the earth in the Almighty’s
anger.”