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"And I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him a hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads."
Is Mount Zion here the heavenly one or the earthly one? It is not the earthly one for the following reasons:
(1) By then, the earthly Zion will still be in the hands of the Gentiles (11:2).
(2) Revelation 14:3 clearly says that these ones have been purchased from the earth. By this we can realize that they are not standing on the earthly Mount Zion.
(3) We know from the last two sentences of 14:4 and from Exodus 23:19 that the firstfruits are not left in the field. As soon as they ripen, they are put into God's house. (Exodus 34:26 says the same thing.) Since the hundred and forty-four thousand are the firstfruits, they should not be left in the field, which signifies the world (Matt. 13:38), but should be put on the heavenly Mount Zion, which is the New Jerusalem.
(4) Revelation 14:3 says that they stand "before the throne and before the four living creatures and the [twenty-four] elders." We know that the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders are all in heaven.
(5) The ones described in 14:1-5 are the firstfruits. This is in accord with the matter of the harvest in verses 14-16. If the reaping of the harvest takes place in heaven, even more should not the firstfruits be in heaven?
(6) It is unreasonable to assume that this occurs on the earth at that time, because the Lord Jesus does not come to the earth until chapter nineteen.
Who are these hundred and forty-four thousand? Are they the same group of people as the hundred and forty-four thousand in 7:4? The hundred and forty-four thousand in 7:4 and the hundred and forty-four thousand mentioned here are two different groups of people, for:
(1) The group mentioned in 7:4 are selected from the Israelites; the group in 14:1 are purchased from the earth (v. 3) and purchased from among men (v. 4).
(2) The seal which the group in 7:4 receives is different from the seal which this group receives. In the former case, it is "the seal of the living God" (7:2). This is a term used in the Old Testament. In this case, the seal is the name of the Lamb and the name of the Father. This name has to do with the church; hence, this group of people must be related to the church.
(3) The ones in 7:4 are "the slaves of our God" (v. 3), while the ones in 14:1 are the children of God (from the word "Father" in the last part of verse 1).
(4) In Revelation, every time that the Lord calls God the Father, it is in relation to the church (1:6; 2:27; 3:5, 21), never to the Israelites.
(5) The ones in 14:1 are related to the Lamb. (They stand with the Lamb, have the Lamb's name, and belong to the Lamb.) But in chapter seven, the Lord is only an angel, returning to the position of a messenger in the Old Testament.
(6) The song sung by the ones in 14:1 is "a new song" (v. 3), while the ones in 7:4 can sing only the old song.
(7) The ones in 14:1 are virgins (v. 4), but to be such among the Israelites was a matter of curse. (Exodus 23:26; Deuteronomy 7:14; 1 Samuel 2:5; and Psalm 113:9 all show that childbearing is a blessing and that not to bear children is a curse. Judges 11:38-39 shows that to be a virgin is a thing to be mourned.)
(8) The articles used for the hundred and forty-four thousand in Revelation 7:4 and the hundred and forty-four thousand in 14:1 are indefinite articles. This shows that these two groups of a hundred and forty-four thousand are different people.
The hundred and forty-four thousand in 14:1 are a special group of people in the church; they are not the whole church.
(1) Since the number one hundred and forty-four thousand in 7:4 should be interpreted literally, the number in 14:1 should also be interpreted literally.
(2) If the number one hundred and forty-four thousand in 14:1 were not to be interpreted literally, there would be no way in which to interpret all the other numbers in this book.
(3) The hundred and forty-four thousand are the firstfruits (v. 4). One cannot say that the whole church is the firstfruits.
(4) There is not the fact of the whole church being virgins.
(5) These are raptured to Mount Zion before the great tribulation (before the speaking of the three angels in verses 6-11).
(6) Revelation 14:5 points out that they are different in their nature. It is a fact that not every regenerated Christian has this nature. These are the overcomers, the called-out ones, in the church of God. (Both John and Peter are included in this group.) From 14:1 we see that this group of people is related to the Lamb.
"And I heard a voice out of 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 harp-singers playing on their harps."
This "voice out of heaven" is the voice of the hundred and forty-four thousand. It is as melodious as "the sound of harp-singers," as majestic as "the sound of loud thunder," and as tumultuous as "the sound of many waters."
"And they sing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could learn the song except the hundred and forty-four thousand, who have been purchased from the earth."
Only these can sing the new song. All Christians are purchased, but these are the first to be purchased back to home. All Christians are redeemed, but these are the first to be redeemed back to home.
"These are they who have not been defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are they who follow the Lamb wherever He may go. These were purchased from among men as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb."
This verse says, "These are they" two times. This explains who these hundred and forty-four thousand are:
(1) "These are they who have not been defiled with women, for they are virgins." We cannot say that the women here are idols, because the Bible never says this. Nor can we say that the women here are evil doctrines. The Bible often translates "women" into "wives." For example, "wives" in Acts 21:5 (KJV) is the same word in Greek as "women" in Revelation 14:4. The Bible not only says that these are they who have not been defiled with women, but also that they are virgins. Hence, we see that this passage is not only about chastity, but even more, it is about virginity. This corresponds with Matthew 19:10-12. Consider Revelation 14:1 again. God has only given this gift to one hundred and forty-four thousand people (cf. Luke 20:35; 1 Cor. 7:7); not every Christian has this gift. In the future when Antichrist appears, one of the dangers will be the forbidding of marriage (1 Tim. 4:1-3). Daniel said that the coming Antichrist will not marry. "And he will not regard the gods of his fathers or the desire of women" (11:37). It is impossible that only one hundred and forty-four thousand will not worship Antichrist; otherwise, who are they that overcome by not following the evil teachings? Furthermore, 14:4 is an explanation and must, therefore, be explicit, requiring no further interpretation. Moreover, the words of explanation are all in the present tense.
(2) "These are they who follow the Lamb wherever He may go." This verse does not refer to things in the past. It refers to the present and to the future. These are they who are closest to the Lord; they are like the Lord's bodyguards.
(3) "These were purchased from among men as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb." These are men, but they are different from ordinary men, for they have been purchased from among men. In Leviticus there are three different matters: the firstfruits (23:17), the harvest, and the gleanings (23:22). The harvest comes when there is the maturity. After the reaping, the harvest does not remain in the field but is collected into the barn. The rapture is not determined by God but by man; when the harvest is ripe, it is reaped. The firstfruits are the Christians who mature first; they are raptured first.
"And in their mouth no lie was found; they are without blemish."
The words of their mouths expose what is in their hearts. These two expressions were originally used to describe the Lord; now they are used to describe the hundred and forty-four thousand.
This does not mean that there are no females within the hundred and forty-four thousand. The Bible only records the males. Although there were females among those who left Egypt and among those who ate manna in the wilderness, God did not consider the female as a unit. Adam is a man, a human being, while Eve is just a female. Furthermore, although Dinah was the daughter of Jacob (Gen. 30:21), Israel still had only twelve tribes.
This does not mean that the people in Revelation 14:1-5 are the only ones in the first group of raptured ones. It merely means that among the first group of raptured ones, there are those who are like this.
"And I saw another angel flying in mid-heaven, having an eternal gospel to announce to those dwelling on the earth, even to every nation and tribe and tongue and people."
The "another angel" here is different from the "another Angel" in 7:2. The latter refers to the Lord.
This "eternal gospel" is different from the gospel of grace. The eternal gospel, according to the text which follows, teaches people to worship only the Creator. It does not preach God's redemption; it preaches only God's creation. It does not cause men to worship the Lamb, but to worship God. It does not preach God's grace, but God's judgment. It does not cause men to thank and praise God, but to give glory to God.
"Those dwelling on the earth, even to..." In the original language, there is no "even to." In the Bible, "those dwelling on the earth" are different from "every nation and tribe and tongue and people." "Those dwelling on the earth" are that group among those in "every nation and tribe and tongue and people" that loves the world the most and is the most connected to the earth. Although the future kingdom of Antichrist will only be as big as the Roman Empire, its influence will reach every nation and tribe and tongue and people. In this book, "those dwelling on the earth" may be those who actually live in the Roman Empire. The coming great tribulation will have Rome as its center.
At this time, the gospel is no longer one of salvation through believing in Jesus; it is to teach men to worship God and not to worship the image of the beast. How did the sheep in Matthew 25:34-40 know to treat the Lord's little brothers well? They knew it through the powerful proclamation of the angels.
"Saying with a loud voice, Fear God and give Him glory because the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who has made heaven and earth and the sea and the springs of waters."
To "fear God" is covered clearly in the Old Testament. If someone treated others well in his conduct, he was a person who feared God. Hence, when the time of judgment comes, the angels will remind men to fear God and give glory to Him.
In the fourth trumpet heaven suffers. In the first trumpet the earth suffers, in the second trumpet the sea suffers, and in the third trumpet the springs suffer.
"And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the Great, who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the fury of her fornication!"
Does this Babylon refer to the physical Babylon or to Rome? The Babylon in Revelation 17 is mysterious; it typifies the Roman Church and is religious. The Babylon in chapter eighteen refers to the material Babylon. The Babylon in 14:8 corresponds with the word in 17:2; hence, it refers to the Roman Church. The second angel announces to men the fall of Babylon, that is, the failure of the Roman Church. Hence, we see that the great harvest which follows must come after the failure of the Roman Church.
"The wine of the fury of her fornication!" refers to the persecutions carried out by the Roman Church. The Roman Church gives to the unfaithful ones the wine of fornication and to the faithful ones the wine of fury. Wine signifies derision. In the future, the Roman Church will revive, but ultimately, it will utterly fail.
"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 on his hand, he also shall drink of the wine of the fury of God, which is mixed undiluted in the cup of His wrath; and he shall be tormented in fire and brimstone before the holy angels and before the Lamb."
In verse 10 the angel informs men that all those who conduct themselves according to verse 9 will suffer God's punishments. Wine indicates something temporary.
There are two kinds of punishment here: (1) the wine of God's fury, which is the fury mentioned in chapter fifteen, and is temporary; and (2) the suffering before the Lamb, which speaks of their hopelessness in regard to receiving salvation. Moreover, to suffer before the holy angels means that the angels will put them in hell.
"And the smoke of their tormenting 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."
This shows us that once a person goes to hell, there will no longer be any chance for repentance. Moreover, one does not perish immediately when he goes into hell. The saints will not need to sleep in the new heaven and the new earth, while those in hell will not be able to sleep forever.
"Here is the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus."
This verse corresponds with 13:10. "The commandments of God" refer particularly to the first and the second commandments: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me," and "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image." This is the time for the believers to exercise their endurance.
"And I heard a voice out of 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 works follow with them."
"From now on" refers to the time after the worship of the beast begins. This shows that one can escape the persecution of the beast by death. Those "who die in the Lord" must be the Christians. Here it does not say the seven Spirits of God, but the Spirit. The Spirit is directly related to the church, while the seven Spirits are directly related to His judgment. Our works cannot go before us to God. However, Christ's work goes before us to God and secures for us God's acceptance. Our works follow us to God and bring to us God's reward.
"And I saw, and behold, there was a white cloud, and on the cloud One like the Son of Man sitting, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand."
"A white cloud" here agrees with 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. "One like the Son of Man" is a word related to the church (Rev. 1:13). "Having a golden crown" signifies having obtained glory. The sickle has to be sharp so that the reaping can be done quickly. In Matthew 13:37, the Lord is the Sower; at His second coming, He will be the Reaper.
"And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, Send forth Your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come because the harvest of the earth is ripe. And He who sat on the cloud thrust His sickle upon the earth, and the earth was reaped."
In verse 15 we have the angel sent from God speaking to the Lord. Here the Lord takes the position of a servant. In Matthew 9:38 the Lord says that God is the Lord of the harvest. Here the Lord is a sent One.
"Harvest." Mr. Darby does not recognize that Christians can pass through these judgments. Hence, he thinks that the harvest here refers to something negative. However, nowhere in the entire Bible is harvest referred to in a negative way. The wheat is not like the fig, which can remain on earth for a long time. Once it has ripened, it must be harvested. The first time that the harvest is mentioned in the Bible is in Genesis 8:22. There it clearly indicates that the harvest is a blessing from God. In John 4:35 the Lord refers to the harvest in a positive way. Matthew 3:12 says that the wheat should be gathered into the barn. In Exodus the firstfruits of the harvest should be gathered into the house of God (23:19; 34:26). To be gathered into the house of God typifies the initially-raptured Christians being taken to the throne of God, while to be gathered into the barn typifies the majority of the believers being raptured to the air. The barn is between the field and the house. The field refers to the world (Matt. 13:38), while the house refers to the heavens. Hence, the Christians who are gathered into the barn are those who are raptured to the air, which is between the heavens and the world.
The harvest in Matthew 13:37-43 is a reaping of what the Lord has sown. What the Lord has sown is something good; hence, what is reaped must also be good. In Mark 4:26-29, God is reaping because the time of harvest has come. Romans 11:16 says that if the firstfruits are a certain way, the whole lump is also. Since the firstfruits in Revelation 14:1-5 are good, the harvest in verses 14 through 16 must be good also. Since verses 1 through 5 do not refer to the judgment of the sinners, verses 14 through 16 should not refer to something negative; they cannot refer to God's judgment.
The word "ripe" can be translated "dried up." The immature grain will not be harvested. Likewise, the immature Christians will not be raptured. The firstfruits are composed of those who ripen first, those who forsake the world first. It is only after the worldly Christians have been dried up of the world that they will no longer love the world.
Matthew 13:39 says that the angels are sent to reap the harvest. The sickle in Revelation 14:14 is in the Son of Man's hand; it is a mysterious sickle. When the Lord comes to receive us, we will be raptured. Then, we will "stand before the Son of Man" (Luke 21:36).
"And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the altar, he who has authority over fire, and he cried with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, Send forth your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripened. And the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth and cast it into the great winepress of the fury of God. And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress up to the bridles of the horses for a thousand six hundred stadia."
Revelation 14:14-16 speaks of the harvest of the wheat. In the entire Bible, wheat refers to the Christians, and the fig, to the Jews. Sometimes grapes refer to the evil ones among the Gentiles. This is because:
(1) The Lord does not say that He is the grape. He only says that He is the true vine (John 15:1). The Lord Jesus is the vine, while the Christians are the branches. With Christ in the branches, there are the heavenly grapes. The earthly grapes here must refer to Antichrist and those who follow him. These stand in contrast to the heavenly grapes.
(2) The gathering of the grapes happens after the harvest. By that time, the good ones will have already been raptured. Hence, whatever is left must be the bad ones.
(3) According to Revelation 14:18, the grapes here are the evil ones who oppose Christ.
(4) The Old Testament also refers to grapes in a negative sense (Deut. 32:32).
(5) In verses 19 to 20 of Revelation 14, blood is pressed out. This shows that the pressing of these grapes is not a positive thing.
(6) The treading of the winepress in Joel 3:13 and Isaiah 63:1-6 is a sign of the wrath of God and the judgment of God.
Revelation 14:14-16 speaks of the end result of the wheat, while verses 17 through 20 speak of the end result of the tares. After the Christians are raptured, God will send the angels to gather the tares with a sickle, and this sickle is sharp.
In verse 15, when the wheat is ripened, its water will be dried up, but when the grapes are ripened, their juice will be full. The wheat and the grapes are completely opposite to one another. Wheat can only ripen when it dies to the earth, while grapes become ripe by absorbing the water of the earth. The more worldly the grapes become and the more they receive from the world, the more they are filled up with sins, and the time for God's judgment will come.
Verse 16 says, "He...thrust His sickle upon the earth." This is only the reaping. But verse 19 says, "The angel thrust his sickle into the earth"; this seems to be a digging out of even the roots. There is a difference between the harvest of the wheat and the gathering of the grapes. One is good, and the other is bad.
"The winepress" is a kind of stone press. To put the grapes in the winepress is to squeeze out every drop of water, causing these ones to suffer loss and bear pain.
This passage of verses 17 through 20 covers the period that ends with the Lord Jesus' coming to the earth. This passage corresponds with 19:15. A proof of this is that "outside the city" in 14:20 refers to outside of Jerusalem (chapters fifteen and sixteen being a supplement to the seventh trumpet). Furthermore, "the bridles of the horses" in 14:20 corresponds with 19:14 because when the Lord descends with His army, they will be riding on horses.
"A thousand six hundred stadia" (14:20). Revelation 16:16 says that this battle will be at Armageddon. According to Isaiah 63:1, it will start from Bozrah. One end is Armageddon, while the other end is Bozrah. In between these two places there are exactly a thousand six hundred stadia. (The battle of Armageddon will take place when Antichrist is persecuting the Jews, and the Jews seek refuge in the Mount of Olives. When their escape routes are cut off, the Lord will set His feet upon the Mount of Olives, and the mountain will split into two halves — Zech. 14:4-5, making a way for the Jews to escape. The Lord will then fight with Antichrist and destroy him — Rev. 19:17-21.)
God's kingdom will not come through the preaching of the gospel but through bloodshed. The church can only wait for the Lord's return; He alone will bring in the kingdom.
Isaiah 34:1-8 speaks of Bozrah and of the extent of the bloodshed.
After these things, the kingdom will come. With the Israelites, after the harvest and the gathering of the grapes, there was the feast of tabernacles. The feast of tabernacles was a type of the millennium. (Revelation 15 — 16 does not continue the thought in 14:17-20, because 14:17-20 corresponds with 19:15.)
