1. Judgment at the end of the Great Tribulation ch. 14

John recorded these scenes of his vision to assure his readers of the triumph of believers and the judgment of unbelievers at the end of the Tribulation.

"The two previous chapters have prepared Christians for the reality that as the end draws near they will be harassed and sacrificed like sheep. This section shows that their sacrifice is not meaningless.

"Chapter 14 briefly answers two pressing questions: What becomes of those who refuse to receive the mark of the beast and are killed (vv. 1-5)? What happens to the beast and his servants (vv. 6-20)?"⁴⁵⁵

This chapter contains several incidents John saw in heaven and on earth that continue the parenthetic revelation begun in 12:1. While he saw some things in heaven, most of what he saw transpired on the earth. What he saw in heaven only provides background information for what he saw on earth in his vision. From revelation of the defeat of evil forces (ch. 13), John turned to the triumph of the forces of good.

"It is the opposite side of the picture, a victorious stance of the Lamb and His followers after their temporary setbacks portrayed in chapter 13.

"The whole of chapter 14 is proleptic. As a summary of the Millennium (20:4-6), the first five verses feature the Lamb in place of the beast, the Lamb's followers with His and the Father's seal in place of the beast's followers with the mark of the beast, and the divinely controlled Mount Zion in place of the pagan-controlled earth . . . The remainder of the chapter furnishes a proleptic outline of the catastrophes and the bliss that receives a chronological and more detailed treatment in 16:17-22:5. In this fashion, the chapter is a sort of intermezzoto provide encouragement by telling the ultimate triumph for those who refuse the beast's mark and to predict the doom of those who do receive it."⁴⁵⁶

 The triumph of the 144,000 14:1-5

14:1 "And I looked"(Gr. kai eidon) introduces three scenes in chapter 14 (vv. 1, 6, 14), as this phrase did twice in chapter 13 (vv. 1, 11). "Behold"(Gr. idou, cf. v. 14) calls special attention to the greatness of the sight that John saw here.

John saw in this scene the time yet future at the end of the Great Tribulation when Jesus Christ will return to the earth. His second coming does not take place here but in 19:11-21. John only saw it as happening in his vision here. He saw the Lamb standing on earth, specifically on Mt. Zion, with the 144,000 Jewish witnesses that God had sealed for the Tribulation (7:3; cf. Zech. 14:4-5). The contrast of the gentle Lamb standing and the fierce dragon pursuing (12:13-17) and the evil beasts arising (13:1, 11) is particularly striking.

Amillennialists and some dispensationalists⁴⁵⁷take Mt. Zion (cf. 11:1, 18; 12:5) to refer to the heavenly Jerusalem (cf. Heb. 12:22). Some interpreters take it as the new Jerusalem that God will bring down to earth from heaven (21:1-22:5).⁴⁵⁸

"To interpret this as a heavenly city . . . involves numerous problems . . . . If this group is the same as the 144,000 of chapter 7, they are specifically said to be sealed and kept safely through the tribulation. In this case, they move on into the millennial earth without going to the third heaven [God's abode], since this is the meaning of the seal (cf. 7:3)."⁴⁵⁹

Others take Mt. Zion as a figure for strength (cf. Ps. 2:6; 48:2; 78:68; 87:2; 125:1; Isa. 28:16; 59:20; Obad. 17, 21; Mic. 4:7).⁴⁶⁰However Zion, as that name occurs elsewhere in Scripture, usually refers to earthly Jerusalem (cf. 2 Sam. 5:7; Ps. 48:1; Isa. 2:3; 24:23; Joel 2:32; Obad. 17, 21; Mic. 4:1, 7; Zech. 14:10).⁴⁶¹I think it probably does here too.

"Further, the argument that the 144,000 must be in heaven as they hear the song before the throne may be disputed. There is no statement to the effect that they hear the song, only the declaration that they alone can learn it [v. 3]."⁴⁶²

Apparently their sealing (7:3) protects them from God's wrath but not from the wrath of the dragon and the beasts (cf. 12:12, 17). Some of them will evidently die as martyrs (13:15).⁴⁶³The seal is the earnest of their ultimate victory (cf. 22:4).

14:2 John did not identify the person who spoke from heaven. This could be the voice of Christ (cf. 1:15; Ezek. 1:24; 43:2), the Tribulation martyrs (7:10), an angel (cf. 6:1; Dan. 10:6), or many angels (5:8, 11; 7:11; 19:6). Perhaps the last option is best in view of how John described it here and in the next verse (pl. "they sang"). These angels do not include the four living creatures and the 24 elders, however (v. 3).

14:3 These angels sang a new song. A new song in the Old Testament was a song of praise to God for new mercies (cf. Ps. 33:3; 40:3; 96:1; 144:9; 149:1; Isa. 42:10).

"A new song' is one which, in consequence of some new mighty deeds of God, comes from a new impulse of gratitude in the heart, xl. 13, and frequently in the Psalms, Isa. xlii. 10, Judith vi. 13, Apoc. v. 9."⁴⁶⁴

The song this group sang in heaven is one that only the 144,000 of all God's creatures could learn. Probably they were the only ones who could learn it in the sense that they were the only ones who could appreciate what it expressed (cf. 15:2). God had purchased them from the earth for their special ministry in the Great Tribulation (cf. v. 4), not just for salvation.

14:4 Three occurrences of "these"(Gr. houtoi) in this verse identify the 144,000 as worthy of special honor. First, with women (emphatic in the Greek text) they had not been defiled because they were celibates (Gr. parthenoi, virgins). Should we understand this word literally or figuratively? Literally the text would mean that these males had no sexual relations with women.

"One of the special criteria for these slaves of God was that they have no intercourse with women. . . . So in the future Great Tribulation, virginity will be requisite for this special group."⁴⁶⁵

Figuratively it would mean that they had remained faithful to the Lord, as the NIV translation "they kept themselves pure"suggests (cf. 2 Kings 19:21; Isa. 37:22; Jer. 18:13; 31:4, 21; Lam. 2:13; Amos 5:2; 2 Cor. 11:2).

"It is better . . . to relate the reference to purity to the defilement of idolatry. In fact, John seems to use molyno[defile] this way elsewhere of cult prostitution (3:4; cf. 2:14, 20, 22)."⁴⁶⁶

I think the balance of evidence is slightly in favor of the literal interpretation. If this seems too severe, it may be helpful to remember that Paul advised the Corinthians to remain unmarried because of the nature of the distressing times in which they lived (1 Cor. 7:26; cf. Matt. 19:12). A figurative interpretation of "celebates"could be the correct one, however. Of course, both may be true; they may be unmarried and faithful spiritually.⁴⁶⁷

Second, the 144,000 receive special commendation because they followed the Lamb faithfully during their lives. This was especially difficult due to the time in which they lived, the Great Tribulation.

Third, they receive honor because they not only experienced purchase by God but because they were firstfruits to God. Some view this as expressing the idea that they are the first of others who will follow, specifically believers who will enter the Millennium as living believers.⁴⁶⁸However there will be no others who follow that are just like the 144,000; they are unique. Probably the firstfruits figure represents them as a special gift to God. This is the idea behind two-thirds of the references to firstfruits in the Old Testament.⁴⁶⁹

14:5 Furthermore, they spoke the truth even though deception abounded (13:14; cf. Isa. 53:9; Zeph. 3:13; John 8:44; 1 Pet. 2:22). In short, they were blameless, that is, perfectly acceptable to God as firstfruit sacrifices (cf. Phil. 2:15; Heb. 9:14; 1 Pet. 1:19; Jude 24).

 Four climactic announcements 14:6-13

"And I saw"(Gr. kai eidon) signals another scene of this vision on earth. In this one John heard four announcements that provide incentives for remaining faithful to God and resisting the beasts. Angels made the first three announcements, and a voice from heaven gave the fourth.

 The reaping and treading of God's harvest 14:14-20 

This is the final scene that furnishes background information before the revelation of the seven bowl judgments. Again what John saw was mainly on the earth.

"The total scene in 14:14-20 closes the section on coming judgment (14:6-20) with a proleptic summary in anticipation of the more detailed account of the same in chapters 15-20 . . ."⁴⁸⁷

14:14 "And I looked"(Gr. kai idou) again marks a new scene and an advance to another important subject. The whole description is very similar to Daniel's prophecy of Messiah's second coming (Dan. 7:13-14). The cloud probably represents the glory of God, the shekinah. The person John saw was evidently Jesus Christ, though some commentators think he was an angel in view of verse 15. This seems clear since John saw Him wearing a victor's crown (Gr. stephanon) and holding a sharp sickle (Gr. drepanon oxy) with which He does the work of judging (cf. Mark 4:29). Since the sickle is sharp the reaper can do His work swiftly and completely.⁴⁸⁸"Son of Man"is a messianic title of Jesus Christ in Scripture (cf. 1:13; Dan. 7:13-14; Matt. 8:20; 24:30; 26:64; John 5:27). That He receives and follows the instructions of an angel (v. 15) does not imply His inferiority to an angel. It only indicates that an angel will signal God's proper time for judging, and then the Son will proceed to judge.

14:15 Another angel (cf. v. 9) came out of the opened heavenly temple (cf. 11:19; 15:5) and announced that the time to judge those living on the earth had arrived. Three previous angels (vv. 6, 7, 9) announced that judgment was coming, and now this one conveyed the command to execute it. The harvest was "ripe"(Gr. exeranthe).⁴⁸⁹The earth-dwellers during this late stage in the Tribulation were ready for judgment (cf. 19:11-21).⁴⁹⁰

"The harvest is an OT figure used for divine judgment (Hos 6:11; Joel 3:13), especially on Babylon (Jer 51:33). Jesus also likens the final judgment to the harvest of the earth (Matt 13:30, 39)."⁴⁹¹

14:16 The Judge (John 5:27) then judged those on the earth. This judgment will occur at the end of the Tribulation (19:17-21). This is a proleptic description of what Revelation will describe further in its sequential unfolding of events.⁴⁹²

"The brevity of the statement dramatizes the suddenness of the judgment."⁴⁹³

14:17 The fifth angel in this group came out of the heavenly temple ready to execute judgment (cf. Matt. 13:30, 39-42, 49-50).

14:18 Another angel, the sixth in this chapter, came out from the golden altar of incense in heaven (8:3). This is probably an allusion to his responding to the Tribulation saints' prayers for vengeance from under the altar (6:9-10). His "power over fire"may indicate his authority to execute punishment. It seems clear from verse 19 that this angel was addressing the angel with the sickle, not Jesus Christ.

John saw a different crop here ready for harvest.

"Following the pattern of Joel 3:13, the scene furnishes two pictures of the same judgment for the same reason that Joel does, i.e., to emphasize the terror of it."⁴⁹⁴

The two reapings seem to describe a single judgment at the end of the Great Tribulation (19:15, 17-21). The vine may represent Israel and the wheat Gentiles.

14:19 The earth had yielded a crop of unbelievers that now, at the end of the Tribulation, would come into judgment. The angel took them from the earth to undergo judgment in God's great grape press (cf. Isa. 63:1-6; Lam. 1:15; Joel 3:13).

"In Biblical days grapes were trampled by foot in a trough which had a duct leading to a lower basin where the juice collected. The treading of grapes was a familiar figure for the execution of divine wrath upon the enemies of God."⁴⁹⁵

14:20 Since the city in view escapes this judgment, Babylon is evidently not the city in view. It is instead Jerusalem. The Old Testament predicted that a final battle would take place near Jerusalem, in the Valley of Jehoshaphat (i.e., the Kidron Valley just to the east of Jerusalem; Joel 3:12-14; Zech. 14:4; cf. Rev. 11:2). It seems probable that blood will literally flow up to the height of horses' bridles (about four and one-half feet) in some places in that valley. Obviously many people will have to die for this amount of blood to flow.

Blood came out from the wine press of God's wrath for a distance of 200 miles (lit. 1,600 stadia). Evidently this figure describes the judgment that will take place all over Palestine, not just in the Valley of Jehoshaphat near Jerusalem, at this time. Much of this action will take place in the Valley of Jezreel in northern Israel (i.e., the battle of Armageddon; 19:17-19). There God will put vast numbers of people to death (cf. Isa. 63:1-6). The blood will evidently drain out of the Jezreel Valley for a distance of 200 miles probably eastward down the Harod Valley to the Jordan Valley and south into the Dead Sea.

Many interpreters believe that what we read in this verse is simply a symbolic way of picturing a terrible judgment.⁴⁹⁶Amillennial interpreters generally take this description as picturing the blotting out of all humankind.

This chapter contains a prophetic preview of the major events yet future from John's perspective in his vision. That is, they deal with events leading up to the end of the Great Tribulation.