Revelation Chapter 14

Revelation 14:1

Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads.

The first part of ch. 14 are the events that happened in ch. 13 but from a different perspective if you will. These things happen around the same time as the beginning part of the last chapter to help you keep things in context. This text is a great contrast as compared to the way we met up with Leviathan. If you can remember back to ch 7, after Jesus had opened the sixth seal, we saw angels holding back the 4 winds of the earth in order that 144,000 from the tribes of Israel could be marked on their foreheads with the seal of God. These were called servants of God. Well today we learn that the seal they received was the name of Jesus and His Father’s name which is interesting due to the fact that many will soon be getting a different name on their foreheads. The last time we really encountered the Lamb it was said that He was looking as if He had been slain which is very similar to the way we learned of Leviathan; that he had a fatal wound that had been healed. Sometimes these similarities are quite shocking and I believe are put there for the reason of giving people no excuse for not worshipping Jesus. If a person were inclined to argue with God saying, I didn’t worship Jesus because I didn’t believe God can die and then be raised from the dead; then He could simply point out the fact that is why they decided to worship Leviathan. The reasons many reject Jesus will be the same ones that cause them to worship the beast. So we see Jesus, before what many consider His second coming, standing on Mount Zion with those sealed before the land and sea were to be harmed. There is some debate about whether the place Jesus is standing is on earth or in heaven due to the fact that it seems He has technically not had His second coming yet. In the coming lesson we will learn more about these events and I will give several examples about why the mountain He is standing on is the earthly Zion. In addition to that we will continue to compare the events of ch. 13 to ch.14 and will look at the reasons why there will be no excuses available to anyone that decides to worship the beast or receive his mark.

Revelation 14:2

I heard a sound from heaven like the sound of cascading waters and like the rumbling of loud thunder. The sound I heard was also like harpists playing on their harps. (HCSB)

When Jesus moves, glorious things begin happening in the heavens. Jesus descends to Mt. Zion and all of a sudden there is a new song being sung from heaven. The wording of this verse implies complete harmony from whomever is singing. It conveys an idea that while the sound is a loud rumbling sound, it is being portrayed as a single sound or voice. This will be unlike anything we have seen on “Sunday’s Best” or anything we have heard from any church choir. This will be true praise toward our Savior like it is meant to be but unlike what we’ve experienced on earth. Simply put, a perfect song for our perfect God. The psalmist said it like this, “Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous ones; praise from the upright is beautiful. Praise the Lord with the lyre; make music to Him with a ten- stringed harp. Sing a new song to Him; play skillfully on the strings, with a joyful shout.” And again he said, “Lord, part Your heavens and come down. Touch the mountains, and they will smoke...Reach down from heaven; rescue me from deep water, and set me free

from the grasp of foreigners whose mouths speak lies, whose right hands are deceptive. God, I will sing a new song to You; I will play on a ten- stringed harp for You — the One who gives victory to kings, who frees His servant David from the deadly sword.” You’ll notice there that Jesus has come down and touched the mountains and rescued the 144,000 from those who speak lies and whose right hands are deceptive. We learned earlier that God had sent them a strong delusion in the form of the second beast who is performing great signs and these seen with the Lord are kept from those lies. Gloria in excelsis Deo.

ref: Psalm 33:1-3; Psalm 144:5-11; Psalm 149; 2 Thessalonians 2:11

Revelation 14:3

They sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders, but no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. (HCSB)

Continuing from yesterday, the sound heard from heaven, though in unison, is sung by a number of beings. It is not clear however, who exactly is teaching the 144k to sing this song. It does rule out the living creatures and the elders so it would have to either be Michael and/or his angels; or those beheaded Christians who were once seen under the altar but were last seen celebrating the feast of booths. One thing is made certain and that is that no one else will be able to learn the song except these that have been redeemed from the earth. They sing unashamed before the throne of God and no doubt give him glory from their praise. But another question comes to mind that we do not yet know the answer to but I will leave you to ponder. When the 144k begin to learn the song, will everyone get to hear it being sung or is it just for them? I wonder because either way it would point out the uniqueness of this group of people. Either only they get to hear the song and learn it or everyone gets to hear it yet by sheer favor they are the only ones who can learn it. They have attributes in the spiritual realm that few others do so that in itself may be the reason they are able to learn the song while no one else can. The mysteries of God and these types of events really do cause the mind to wonder.

Revelation 14:4

It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, (ESV)

We first learned about the 144,000 that were sealed back in chapter 7 and finally we are receiving some clarification about their character. Just as we discussed in the earlier lesson, these are Israelite men who have kept their virginity. However it is interesting the verbiage John decided to use to accentuate their holiness. He said they have not defiled themselves with women. This word defiled is only used in context a few other times in the new testament. Once was during Jesus’ description of the church of Sardis saying, “Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled (defiled) their garments. Anther is in Paul’s letter to Corinth saying, “some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled.” So in all three instances there are different aspects or inciting incidents that cause one to be defiled. Now generally we would not consider marriage and the consummation of marriage to be something that defiles, but in a spiritual sense it does pull men to some degree, away from kingdom responsibilities. These men have a calling toward God on their life and they must follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They have no time to manage a household on earth but are the firstfruits of God; showing us what it will be like after the resurrection when we will no longer marry. It is hard for even the most pious person to live the life these will live. Can you imagine that at the mere word of God, you would move and do whatever it is that He spoke? He goes to this place and you are right there. He wages war on this people and without hesitation you are ready for battle. He goes off to destroy the wicked, some of which may be in your very own family and you remain a half step behind Him. That’s what it means to not be defiled; to be ready to move wherever the Lord is moving without question or hesitation and with a clear conscience. These are those who have counted the cost of being a disciple of Christ. Jesus explained that to be His disciple, one must sit down and calculate the cost of discipleship. That in order to be His disciple one must renounce all that He has in order to achieve that. We can choose to twist His words by saying that we must be able and ready to renounce all we have but that would be inaccurately teaching what He was saying. Very clearly He said, “So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” That is who we see standing here, undefiled and following Jesus.

ref: Revelation 3:1-6; 1 Corinthians 8:4-13; Matthew 22:30; Luke 14:25-33

Revelation 14:5

and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless. (ESV)

Again a very peculiar statement made by John here and one that we need to heed. For some reason we have viewed God as 100% merciful with no justice in Him any longer. This is not a fly by night verse but a demonstration of how we should begin living NOW. We tend to think that when we are made perfect at the resurrection then suddenly we will no longer be sinning, which is partially true but it doesn’t quite seem to work like a magical wand. We must practice not doing the things that He commands us now, that we will be a prepared people, ready to inherit His kingdom. The 144k didn’t wait until God came back to stop lying, but rather lies were not found in their mouths when they were still unaware. This is a command received from God that they practiced regularly and are being rewarded for and we would do well to be obedient just as they are.

In a previous lesson we partially quoted a Psalm that I want to continue with today. When we see these men they are being taught a new song, and now we see that they did not lie. This is in contrast to what is found in the Psalm saying that they will sing a new song and “Set me free and rescue me from the grasp of foreigners whose mouths speak lies, whose right hands are deceptive.” So in a time where liars will be all around and these certain men from Israel will be set free from their lies in the only way this could be played out; following the Lamb wherever He goes. Furthermore the prophet testified that, “They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord, those who are left in Israel; they shall do no injustice and speak no lies, nor shall there be found in their mouth a deceitful tongue. For they shall graze and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.” This is whom he was speaking of for they have the name of God on their forehead and are found to be first fruits from Israel; speaking no lies and being blameless. And while terror is happening all around for the rest of God’s people, (Christians are being beheaded and not able to buy or sell) these virgins shall graze and lie down. They are with Jesus wherever He goes so none shall make them afraid, even as menacing a creature as Leviathan appears to be.

ref: Psalm 144:5-11; Zephaniah 3:12-13

Revelation 14:6

Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people.

I once heard a teacher say that God tells us in extensive detail the facts surrounding the events of His wrath. As I stated before, we have gone a little bit back in time from chapter 14 to the time directly before Leviathan takes control of the earth. This verse is also the main reasoning for believing that Jesus is on earth at this time because these angels are flying directly above Him proclaiming to humans the eternal gospel of God. In doing so none will be left without an excuse of ignorance in that day; for even if we fail to share the gospel they will receive the message sent by an angel, just as the Israelites did in the wilderness.

This verse, while being in the same vein is slightly different than that of the great commission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Telling someone about Jesus and making disciples of men are two different tasks. The first is fairly straightforward and is similar to what this angel will be doing in sharing the gospel with people. Making a disciple is somewhat more complicated and involves more interaction between two parties. It involves teaching as well as qualifications that the student must possess. Jesus spoke about what a disciple of his will look like. They must hate the members of their own household as well as their own life, giving all they have toward His glory. They must also bear their own cross and follow Him. We do not bear His cross or another’s cross but must be willing to take whatever punishment is meant personally for us and be willing to endure it for the namesake of Jesus. He then begins a discourse about how most Christians live their lives and thus not proving to be His disciples. He says, “For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’” This is where we as Christians fail miserably. We do not take the time to sit down and teach one another about what it actually costs to be a disciple. We simply tell people that God loves them and that they should believe that His Son was crucified and resurrected for the forgiveness of sins, and then we send them on their way. This is not what Jesus told us to do, but that we should make disciples. When we send new believers on their way we have turned them into this very person Jesus is speaking about. We taught them to build a foundation but since they didn’t consider the cost, many are not able to finish the race. When the world sees their lack of perseverance they begin to mock them for they can’t complete the tower on the foundation they built. Then we decide that it was beneficial that they at least knew Jesus even though they couldn’t finish and turned away but this is not beneficial to them at all. Jesus goes on to explain their condition saying, “Now, salt is good, but if salt should lose its taste, how will it be made salty? It isn't fit for the soil or for the manure pile; they throw it out.” So putting line upon line, pretext upon pretext He basically says that those who are not able to finish though they were once salty; have lost their taste and CANNOT be made salty again. They cannot be saved another time because they are no longer fit for the soil or the manure pile but will be thrown out and trampled underfoot. Instead we should insist upon Christians to hold to every command that He has given in order that we do not lose our saltiness.

ref: Matthew 28:19-20; Luke 14:26-35

Revelation 14:7

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 heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water."

The angel proclaims to the people on the earth to fear God and give Him glory. If you want to gauge how far we have come as a people that think highly of ourselves, this word fear is enough to expose us. I have heard sermons and teachings on what it means to fear God. If you’ve experienced this you most likely heard something about a healthy fear of God used in some sort of respectful sense. Teachers almost go out of their way to explain that this is not how we would normally view fear but is more geared toward a reverence toward God. I too would like to go out of my way to say that this fear is not the fear we would normally associate with the word...it is much worse. As a church for some reason we have gone too far to explain that God is not a frightening God. There may be several reasons why this is the case with probably the most central reason being the loss of members from our church and the subsequent loss of revenue this would create. In doing this we have created a generation of people that see God as their buddy instead of the Holy Judge He is. Think for a moment about the power He possesses and that fear should begin to manifest itself in you. This is the reason that when men saw angels they fell prostrate before them, not because of a reverence of who they are but because they were afraid; and angels are created beings, some of which are about to be destroyed by this God we don’t fear. Any stroll through scripture will very quickly bring about reasoning as to why He is to be feared and in fact we will be seeing those in graphic detail very soon. In fact in our timeline one has already happened, we just haven’t had it explained to us yet. As we stand right now, the beast is just beginning to take power and will rule 3 ½ years. This is the same time that the two witnesses are on the earth performing their specific ministry. In a few chapters we will find out what has happened to cause this but let me give you a sneak preview. Babylon has been destroyed. Kingdoms have come together to give the beast power and with this power, the beast (who hates Babylon) goes and destroys Babylon the great. The shocking part is that God has orchestrated all of this. He put it into the hearts of the kingdoms to give the beast power in order that Babylon be destroyed. It is not by accident that this is the very point in which Jesus decides to show up on Mt. Zion with 144k. He basically is letting us know that He, the Lamb who is looking as He had been slain, is above the dragon and the beast. Therefore, it is not they who destroy Babylon but is the Lord of all the earth, who is to be feared. His judgement against Babylon has come therefore we must worship Him for His greatness. This will be explained further once we catch up to the event of Babylon being destroyed in one hour; but for now begin building up a fear toward the one who is able to destroy both body and soul. It really is easier just to heed the words of Jesus rather than trying to explain away what we think He meant. Fear God and worship Him.

Revelation 14:8

Another angel, a second, followed, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality." (ESV)

Mighty things have been happening upon the earth as the seven seals were being opened by Jesus. Many people have lost their lives by the hands of the four horseman. Beheaded Christians were found under the altar in heaven. We have Jesus on Mt. Zion with the 144K just as was declared, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” Also, while not exclusively directed toward Babylon but it was written, “in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.” By the time the Lord begins to reign, the kingdom of the beast also begins to take hold. We have not experienced his mark as of yet but Babylon has fallen. I brought up the mystery being revealed because later in chapter 17 it is declared that the name on the forehead of the prostitute was written in mystery as “"Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth's abominations”; and the prophets on several occasions declared from God the destruction of Babylon. All this is done in order that souls might fear God and worship Him, but we are left with a decision to make at this point. We can either believe God in His word when He said He would destroy this prostitute or we can fear Leviathan who hated her and went out and destroyed her. It cannot be overstated the Babylon is/was not working in conjunction with the beast and his kingdom. They are not in a mutual partnership. The beast hated the prostitute because she was seen riding on his back. We will discuss Babylon at great length in a future chapter but for now just know these few details to keep in the back of your minds. Babylon is dead and the beast has killed her under the will of God This act begins the time of the eternal gospel being proclaimed by the angel; possibly through the two witness who are ministering at the temple, which has now been taken over by Leviathan and the false prophet. Very turbulent times indeed and we still have another very important message from the third angel before we experience the worst 3 ½ years of our time here on earth. It is also important to know that God’s wrath really hasn’t been in full force as of yet. Once that event takes place I believe it will be greatly distinguishable from anything we have seen yet.

ref: Revelation 11:15

Revelation 14:9

And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand,

Fear God and give Him glory because His judgement has come. Fallen is Babylon the Great who made all nations drink the wine of her sexual immorality, which brings wrath. We firsthand witnessed God’s judgement in the destruction of Babylon. His wrath had come because she made all the nations drink of her sexual immorality. If this does not sound like the state of affairs in America today, I don’t know what does. It has not been enough for a person to be sexually immoral, but now we have forced our nation to drink of this wine and soon will come the world. This sexual immorality brings the wrath of God and Babylon will fall. This is not something that will be left until the end to deal with but God is making it very clear to us with the destruction of Babylon that sexual immorality is absolutely not to be tolerated. Will we listen?..probably not. Those rules are in an outdated book that is no longer relevant to this world. All the things we are witnessing are just a gigantic coincidence. But even still He sends a warning forth that we should not receive the mark on our forehead or hand and we should not worship the beast and its image. Will we listen? No. Jesus is standing on Mt. Zion with His followers. The two witnesses are shutting up the sky from the rain and sending fire from their mouths to destroy those who want to harm them and yet when they die the world will rejoice. Not following the commands of God is nothing new to us; in fact we practice and celebrate when we disobey. The angel says this with a loud voice so that there will be no excuse in us. We know that this is a command from the Most High yet most, including Christians, will turn away from this message. The warning goes out and soon we will learn the punishment for this disobedience. Will we listen? Surely this is an idle threat made, for God is love. We have reduced Him to that alone. There is no longer any punishment left spoken in our pulpits and from ministering Christians alike. The threat that is to come is more figurative in nature just as this warning is basically a suggestion. God no longer instills fear in us and He has done away with absolutes. This is the mentality that we possess and it shows in almost every aspect of our lives. We have reduced the commands of God and the consequences of not following those commands to the only two words we can quote verbatim from His Holy scripture, “judge not”.

Revelation 14:10

he also will drink the wine of God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. (ESV)

If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, they will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of His anger. The Lord most certainly has gotten angry before but we have not seen the likes of this full strength wrath. The psalmist described one incident concerning a cup that is poured out on the wicked full of wine that is “well mixed”. A similar cup is described by the prophet that was drunk by Jerusalem and then taken away and given to her tormentors. Jeremiah describes another cup of wrath that is being dispersed in or around the time we are discussing here, specifically naming 20 different kings that are to drink from the cup “and after them the king of Babylon shall drink.” The prophet warned them that this would happen and if they refuse to drink they are told, “Thus says the Lord of hosts: You must drink! For behold, I begin to work disaster at the city that is called by my name, and shall you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, for I am summoning a sword against all...Drink, be drunk and vomit, fall and rise no more, because of the sword that I am sending among you.” The cup holds His wrath. The city is Jerusalem and as we have discussed this is where the Lord began the slaughter of all the people who were not receiving the seal of God. The sword He summons is Leviathan, out of the sea it comes, afraid of nothing, destroying them that they will fall and rise no more. And yet all of this talk pales in comparison to the full strength wrath in the cup of His anger. Not only will they be crushed in the winepress by the actual feet of Jesus but they then will be tormented with fire & sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb. We tend to think of this being the lake of fire and that it will exist in some far off place separated from God and everyone else but here scripture says that is simply not so. This is done in their presence. Daniel describes this in his vision saying, “As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened.” So at the judgement, the fire that will consume those who are not written in the books flows out from Him and seems to be eternally in His presence, making it eternally in the presence of those who are able to come into the city gates to worship. It would seem their torment will be a constant reminder about full strength wrath of God and to the God fearing among us we have nothing left to do but to worship at His feet.

ref: Psalm 75:8; Isaiah 51:17-23; Jeremiah 25:15-32; Daniel 7:9-10

Revelation 14:11

And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name."

For the second time in two verses a warning goes forth about a punishment of those that disobey God’s decree and decide to worship the beast or anyone who receives the mark of its name. At times He makes His word so childlike and plain that it almost seems that we want to be punished for disobeying. Just think about this scenario for one second. There is an angel flying overhead telling us not to worship the beast and its image and not to receive its mark. Then the angel in the very next sentence says almost the exact same thing again. The punishment in this case is so severe and permanent that it is made clear to us not to disobey and yet many will turn away. This is almost understandable for someone who doesn’t really believe in the God of the angel giving the message or for those that fear the beast so desperately that they must get the mark. As for those who call themselves Christians I’m afraid that the disobedience may be greater. We tend to hold up the mercy that God gives us, like a blanket in front of His face and basically command Him that He must continue to show us mercy no matter what. I imagine at the judgement that many will be shocked because will be holding Himself to His word, in that He will actually have these people tossed into an actual lake of fire. How long will we continue to abuse the grace He shows us daily and refuse to act righteously? If we do this in this case He lets us know again that we will be tormented with fire and sulfur and that the smoke of the torment will go up forever with no rest. Will He at a later date decide to rescind this? I mean this smoke is going up forever and ever in His presence; so will He one day decide that He has had enough of this torment? I am reminded of the words of Jesus, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” We need to pay closer attention to the absolute words of God when He gives them such as always, never, and forever. This is a never ending torment that will take place eternally before us. The smoke will never stop and they will never be given rest for those that worship or receive the mark...We have been warned.

ref: Luke 21:33

Revelation 14:12

Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. (ESV)

If we flashback to Revelation 12:7 we will see that the exact same group of people are about to have war brought to them by the dragon who went and stood on the shore of the sea. It’s been a little while since we have discussed the teaching about all things rapture related so we’ll touch on it briefly again. If we remember back to chapters 2 and 3 we see Jesus declaring to the churches to endure to the end over and over again. Now in this second retelling about the rise to power of the beast there is another call of the saints to endure. This takes place as Jesus is standing on the earth at the very beginning of the tribulation so how exactly can we subscribe to a rapture teaching? Why do we think that God would call us to endure and then snatch us away a few seconds after that? Furthermore, why would we think that He would remove the church from the scene just to leave those who will come to believe on the earth to suffer? No, those who keep His commandments and their faith and Jesus have to endure; we are called to endure. If we endure then we will surely get to spend all eternity with God. If we don’t endure, but falter and worship the beast and his image or receive his mark then the smoke of our torment will go up forever. This is what we have to endure, the punishment from the beast(s) and the refusal of receiving the mark or worshipping him. This however will be simpler said than done for this will be torment unequalled from the beginning of the earth.

Revelation 14:13

And I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Blessed indeed," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!" (ESV)

From this point Christians who die are blessed. Its at this point, a person that believes in rapture theories might want to ask themselves, “how are Christians going to die if they are all raptured already?” The saints that keep God’s commandments and faith in Jesus are blessed if they die from this point forward. We say blessed because death will be the only chance of rest we will get to experience during the full reign of Leviathan because Christians will be thrown in jail, tortured, and beheaded. There is a great chance many will starve since they will not be able to buy or sale because they refuse the mark of the beast, not to mention those that will be killed by the image of the beast for refusing to worship it. These have proven their loyalty to God unlike anything we have witnessed as of yet. They have the resolve of Daniel who was thrown into the lion's den for the testimony of God and refusing to worship for the sake of comfort. If this is your first time hearing this please understand, our Christianity is not supposed to be comfortable. The reign of the beast will be great if you are not of the offspring of God, but if you are this will be a terrible time so it is no wonder why the voice says those that die are blessed. They have received rest from their labors and some of this group, the ones beheaded will get to reign with Christ in his millennial kingdom that is rapidly approaching. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. And then the Holy Spirit co-signed.

Revelation 14:14

Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand.

Now we fast forward to about 3 ½ years later to the time surrounding when Jesus comes to the earth to take His kingdom by force. He, looking like a son of man is seated on a white cloud just as was promised by the angel when He was taken up to heaven when He left this earth. He comes with a reaper’s tool ready to harvest the earth. Jesus spoke several times about this harvest of the earth and often compared the people to a wheat harvest, but one that is most telling of this event occurs in the book of Matthew. “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds? 'He said to them, 'An enemy has done this. 'So the servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?' But he said, 'No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’” This is yet another verse of Jesus defeating the rapture theories we believe in. He was asked if they should gather the weeds from the wheat and He replied that it should wait until this moment so that the wheat (believers) were not accidentally mistaken for those that were supposed to be thrown into the fire. You’ll notice that when the harvest does happen that the weeds will be the first to be gathered up, not the believers. This is in accordance with what is written, “I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left...And they said to him, "Where, Lord?" He said to them, "Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.” So Jesus’ words are completely consistent in that those that will be taken are the weeds who are gathered FIRST and are going to the fire.

ref: Acts 1:9-11; Matthew 13:24-30; Luke 17:20-37

Revelation 14:15

Another angel came out of the sanctuary, crying out in a loud voice to the One who was seated on the cloud, "Use your sickle and reap, for the time to reap has come, since the harvest of the earth is ripe." (HCSB)

The time to reap has come for the harvest of the earth is ripe. The time has come for the reaping of the earth. While the time of His salvation has come so has the time of judgement. For those living on the earth it is too late for the sickle is about to swing and there are two options; either be raptured up and thrown into the winepress or be gathered from the four winds to meet the Son of man in the sky. While on the earth Jesus told us about this harvest saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' So the servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?' But he said, 'No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’” So at any time the Master could have called for the wicked to be gathered and burned. To think that right now we might’ve been able to live without “weeds” on the earth; that all it would’ve taken is the ok from the Master to have them uprooted while the wheat continued to fully mature. But there was a problem with this plan that was presented. If they gathered them before the earth was ripe some of the wheat might have been uprooted along with the tare. Now had I been master, this might seem like a possibility. How much better off would the wheat have fared had there been no weeds to steal nourishment from them? All that was needed was the sacrifice of possibly a small amount of wheat. Is that not a fair risk? Having all the wheat grow up weed free by the sacrifice of some of their brothers seems like a good trade off in my eyes; as long as I’m not the one being mistaken for tare. Even though this would be a small sacrifice, Jesus reminds me, “If you had known what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent.” God’s will is that Jesus not lose any of those He has given Him. But when this time comes you will notice the same command as we explore the next few verses; that the weeds are to be gathered up first, staying perfectly consistent with the rest of His words.

The wicked are gathered first in order that the meek may inherit the earth. For two will be in the field, one will be taken, the other left.

ref: Matthew 13:24-30; Matthew 12:7

Revelation 14:16

So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped. (ESV)

How consistent is God’s word? In the last lesson we discussed the parable of the weeds. Without that parable the next few verses may have been difficult to interpret because it almost seems like two different harvests. However the parable explains perfectly what is happening here. "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?' He said to them, 'An enemy has done this. 'So the servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?' But he said, 'No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'" So as we can see there is but one harvest consisting of tare and wheat and this moment Jesus swings His sickle across the earth reaping His harvest. I would venture to say that for those living on the earth, their eternal decision has been made at this point; they have either decided to be wheat or are the weeds growing up among us. Decision time is over as the reaping has happened. Now this is not a killing swing that has come but just a point where the harvest is ripe to be picked. We know that due to the fact that Paul told us that not everyone will taste death but that some (believers) will be left alive at Jesus’ coming. So the reaper Jesus has harvested His crop on the earth and we will find out in the next few lessons about those weeds and their fate.

ref: Matthew 13:24-30

Revelation 14:17

Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. (ESV)

“And his disciples came to him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field." He answered, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law- breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”

What is happening here cannot be explained any easier than that. When the Son of man swung his sickle that was the end of the age. This angel that came out of the temple is gathering the weeds up, separating them from the sons of the kingdom. Notice how Jesus says that the sons of the kingdom are here in this midst and not raptured to heaven, but I don’t want to beat that dead horse now. Today I want to talk about some of Jesus’ other words in this text and who He is referring to as weeds. He says they will gather out of His kingdom (which means His kingdom has come), all causes of sin and all law-breakers. This sounds shockingly like we are supposed to be practicing not being sinful, RIGHT NOW. Those that are gathered are those that cause sin and breakers of His commandments. But many would have you believe that we don’t necessarily have to follow any of His commandments because we are in the dispensation of grace of which we are but that doesn’t mean a single letter has dropped out of the law. I don’t want to put out much more than that because it can easily cause strife but did want to point out that if we love Him, like He says, then we will keep His commandments. The part that causes pause is His use of the word ALL. Jesus, being the Word of God, did not mince His words so I have to believe that when He said the word all, that He knew what that word meant. So it would seem that if we think we can continue to live our lives out, causing sin and breaking the law; and still not be considered as one of the weeds, we are surely mistaken. He who has ears, let him hear. Have mercy on us, Lord.

ref: Matthew 13:36-43

Revelation 14:18

And another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, "Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe." (ESV)

Now another angel has come forth. We don’t know if all of these are different angels, with a very specific purpose or if they are multi-tasking. If the latter is true, we might have seen this angel before. Back in chap. 8 we saw an angel with a golden censer who filled it with the fire from the altar and threw it on the earth. Here again we see an angel coming from the altar and we learn that he has authority over the fire. As interesting as it may be that we see angels serving in different respects, it is more intriguing to ask the question, “what fire is this angel over?” He is coming from the altar so it is assumed that he is in control over the fire under the altar of which we saw those that had been beheaded back in chap. 6. But he also may have authority over the fire that is about to punish. In the explaining of the parable of the weeds Jesus said, “The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law- breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace.” If we put these two passages together we see that this angel has a vested interest in calling out with a loud voice to have the grapes gathered because they are signified by weeds in the parable and are about to be thrown into the fiery furnace. If he is in charge of this fire, that may be why they were waiting for his cue in order to know that the fire was ready for them. Very humbling passages indeed. In the coming lessons we will switch gears slightly and will focus on these weeds and their relationship to being grapes.

ref: Revelation 8:1-5, 6:9-1; Matthew 13:36-43

Revelation 14:19

So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. (ESV)

The angels being the harvesters gather up the grape harvest and threw them into the winepress. So we have switched from them being described as weeds among the wheat to being described as grapes of the earth that are ripe. These ripe grapes are perfectly consistent with the way God works. Way back in Genesis, as a part of the promise God gave to Abraham, He included something that seemed out of sorts but in fact shows the immense grace that God shows upon His creation. He said, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years....And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” The Israelites (who were not yet birthed) were promised to be servants for 400 years and afterward come out because the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet complete. Abraham’s descendants had to become slaves in Egypt so the Amorites could be given an additional 400 years in which to repent. It would have been simple for God to say that they would just take the land and kill off the Amorites because of their iniquity but instead they received grace. In the same way it was shown in the parable of the weeds that the angels were ready to snatch up the weeds that had grown but instead they were given grace until the time that they become ripe. You’ll notice that His timing seems to have almost nothing to do with the actions of the righteous but instead of the growing iniquity of the world that God becomes fed up with. This happened in the time of Noah, when He regretted that He had made man; and again in this instance with Abraham and his descendants. In fact that is how Jesus goes on to give the signs of the last days, referring to the wickedness of man and how violence is rampant and the love of most grow cold. In the next lesson we will discuss just how dreadful it will be to fall into the hands of the Living God.

ref: Genesis 15:13-16

Revelation 14:20

And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse's bridle, for 1,600 stadia.

If ever there existed a verse that should give us pause about who we believe Jesus to be, it would be this verse. Of course if we are just casually reading Revelation we wouldn’t really attribute this to Jesus and might think it is the angels that are the cause of the slaughter; yet in a little while we find out that it is the King of kings and Lord of lords who is the one doing the treading. The grapes were thrown into the winepress of the wrath of God so who else would be able to fulfill such a task? It seems that Jesus alone is the only one who could and will be able to accomplish this. He had bore the burden of the wrath of God before on Calvary all alone so it would be understandable that He is the only one capable of treading the winepress of the wrath of God. But the prophet gives it to us in another sense. As humans and Christians we tend to think that we would very naturally be drawn to God eventually if it were left up to us. We tend to believe that in the end we would gladly do any and everything that God would command us to do, but this is very far from being true.

It is written, “Who is this who comes from Edom, in crimsoned garments from Bozrah,he who is splendid in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? ‘It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.’ Why is your apparel red, and your garments like his who treads in the winepress? ‘I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with me; I trod them in my anger and trampled them in my wrath; their lifeblood spattered on my garments, and stained all my apparel. For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and my year of redemption had come. I looked, but there was no one to help; I was appalled, but there was no one to uphold; so my own arm brought me salvation, and my wrath upheld me. I trampled down the peoples in my anger; I made them drunk in my wrath, and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth.’”

Here Jesus tell us that when the time to tread the winepress had come, that there was NONE that were found that would help Him out. He even goes as far to say that He looked for someone and yet after finding no one He was appalled that no Christians would give Him support. We can argue this point forever but the simple fact is that in the time Jesus comes back, no one lends Him a helping hand. Now we must remember that there are Christians on the earth at this time and apparently they say no to the request. There are also 144k Israelites that are following Him wherever He goes and yet they don’t help. To me this speaks volumes about what kind of people we actually are. We can talk a big game but if He came back right now, no one would help Him. We would leave Him to trample the winepress alone, and yet we expect Him to honor and bless anything we decide to do. Peter really did have the right outlook on the way Christians act when he said, “For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, ‘If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?’” If we are righteous, we are scarcely saved for we still disobey God in almost every aspect of life and neglect His call to follow Him and yet have the audacity to think of ourselves as holy. Have mercy on us, Lord.

ref: Revelation 19:15; Isaiah 63:1-6; 1 Peter 4:117-18