Revelation 14: The 144,000, 3 flying angels, 2 harvests

     Revelation’s Chapter 12 is an overview of the spiritual war in heaven and the battle between the dragon and the woman and her offspring. Chapter 13 is an overview of the anti-Christ (beast out of the sea) and the false prophet (beast out of the earth). 

     Chapter 14 is an overview of the final half of the Tribulation, also called the 3 ½ year Great Tribulation. Its three parts are about the 144,000’s victorious standing with the Lamb, the three angelic proclamations, and the two sickle harvests.  

 

¹ Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads. ² And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps. ³ They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth. ⁴ These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. ⁵ And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God.

 

Is this the same 144,000 as in Chapter 7? Some have questioned whether these are the same people mentioned in chapter seven (including Tim LaHaye). Others have questioned whether these are in heaven or still on earth. Zion is the hill just east of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and is first mentioned as a stronghold taken by King David (2 Sam. 5:6-10). If this is the earthly Zion, then it must be a foreshadow as the Lamb of God will not come until the end of the Tribulation. When Christ returns, He will come and cause the Mount of Olives to split in two, falling to the north and south (Zechariah 14:4). 

However, in the New Testament, Mount Zion symbolizes heaven (Heb. 12:22), and it appears that following the resurrection of the two witnesses (Revelation 11), the 144,000 are also taken to heaven either through death or Rapture. If through Rapture, this is the firstfruits of the Jewish to God and to the Lamb.

There is a similarity in these who are taken to heaven and those who are in heaven in chapter 5. There is singing, harps, and redemption. The word “redeemed” means to buy in a marketplace (See 1 Corinthians 6:20, 7:23, and 2 Peter 2:1). Jesus bought us with the very price of His life, and it especially is significant that these 144,000 were purchased out of the Great Tribulation. They apparently did not believe until after the Rapture, but these Jewish men were among the firstfruits of the Tribulation, and perhaps were among the converts of the two witnesses, believed to be Elijah and Enoch.

They had been sealed during the first part of the Tribulation, but not for the entirety of it. They and other believers who are saved during the Tribulation will be blessed by coming out of the horrible events to come. A singular voice out of heaven which sounds like many waters has to be that of Jesus Christ (Revelation 1:15). 

While many will be redeemed out of the Tribulation (Revelation 7:9-14, a multitude no one could number), these 144,000 have special privileges, including singing a song that no one else could sing. While most commentators have said that these are not necessarily virgins, but rather faithful men, a literal reading of the text indicates just that, and even Paul attested to the fact that abstaining from marital and sexual distractions is favorable with the Lord’s soon return (1 Corinthians 7:29). That they are without deceit, guile or fault does not mean they were perfect, for they had apparently rejected Christ until the Rapture, but it means that they were morally without reproach before men and even before God, much like Job and Noah were deemed by God as morally impeccable. Obviously, they were not without sin at all, for none of humanity is (Romans 3:23).

⁶ Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth--to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people-- ⁷ saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.” ⁸ And another angel followed, saying, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” ⁹ Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, ¹⁰ he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall 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 ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” ¹² Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. ¹³ Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.”

 

Another angel flying in heaven refers all the way back to Revelation 8:13, when an angel proclaimed the three woes upon the earth. This angel is the first of three angels proclaiming messages of salvation, destruction, and ultimately damnation if the inhabitants take the mark of the beast or worships him. If the 144,000 taken out of the earth leaves a void, it’s possible that God, in His immeasurable love, will send an angelic messenger to proclaim salvation and warnings. Others have theorized that the angels (Gr: aggelos aggelos) are messengers, possibly satellite broadcasts, sent around the world for all to receive. Either way, the earth is without excuse for not receiving salvation. The first message is the everlasting gospel or good news. The gospel has always been the same (Genesis 3:15; Romans 4:3). People will be saved the same way in the Tribulation, through faith, but it begins with the fear of God (verse 7). 

God created everything and is about to bring creation to a closing hour of judgment. Secondly, another angel warns of the fall of Babylon. This is not “that great city” of Babylon of old, for Isaiah 13:20 prophesies that that city will never be rebuilt again, at least not to its former grandeur. It is interesting to note that Saddam Hussein attempted to restore Babylon’s glory in the 1980s and he and the city’s rebuilding was put to a halt in the Gulf War in the 1990s and again in the Iraq war.

What is “Babylon”? It is a religious and political (the Greek word of city is polis  polis) system with both worship and economical effects around the world. There will be a one-world government, monetary system and religious system, centering in an area or city known for its fornication, which does not necessarily mean solely sexual immorality. It appears to be the fornication which causes people to fall away from God spiritually. Spiritual adultery is a far greater sin against God than marital infidelity, although today’s society is seeing an increase in both. The third message declares the assured judgment of God of those who worship the beast and his image, and the phrase “wine of the wrath” connects both God and the judgment of those who commit fornication with Babylon.

The wrath of God includes eternal fire and brimstone punishment. Many people will say that hell is the absence of God. Not true, as the Bible declares God is everywhere (Psalm 139:8), and even the Lamb is present in the unbelievers’ punishment. Hell is only the absence of God’s love but is the full presence of Him and His judgment. Heaven is the opposite. It is the presence of God’s mercy, but the absence of His righteous punishment of sin. However, the patient endurance of the saints to the end will result in everlasting life and rewards.

¹⁴ Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like 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 who sat on the cloud, “Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” ¹⁶ So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped. ¹⁷ Then 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, who had power over fire, and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.” ¹⁹ So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. ²⁰ And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs.

Christ talked about the end times being a time of harvest by the angels (Matthew 13:24-30). With Christ on the clouds with his golden crown and a sharp sickle, He first has a harvest of those who have been saved, a good and ripe harvest. The second harvest is one of judgment, filled with wrath. The blood coming up to the horse’s bridles for one thousand six hundred furlongs or about 180 miles refers likely symbolically to the massive distance in which tremendous bloodshed will take place from Megiddo on the north (Zechariah 12:11; Revelation 16:16) to Edom and Petra in the country of Jordan on the south (Isaiah 34:5-6; 63:1).