Revelation 14:1-20

(Revelation 14:1-20)

And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.  And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:  And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.  And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.  And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,  Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.  And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:  And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.  And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.  And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.  And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.  And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.  And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.  And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

In order to understand Chapter 14, we need to revisit the contents of Chapters 11-13 that were discussed earlier. The Bible proclaims in chapter 11 15 that the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of God and the Lord. Becoming the Lord's kingdom means that God's people will have a reward, and the adversary will have a judgment. This is referred to as judgment and reward in 11:18, and the contents of chapters 12 to 14 that follow are the judgment and judgment. This is the specific content of the higher level. In chapter 12, Satan, the red dragon who appeared from heaven, was defeated by the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Satan, who was driven to the earth in chapter 13, puts sea and earth beasts on the front as agents, pretending to be God, performing various miracles and wonders, and tempting people with evil pit.

The apostle John said in Chapter 14, "Satan, knowing that his time is short, is making his last act, and persecuting and forcing him to ceaselessly apostate toward the saints of Revelation as well as us living today. In the end, they are just beings who will be judged by God."do not succumb to this, but urge you to endure boldly and win.

In chapters 12 and 13, the red dragon and beast come out of the sea and stand on the sand of the sea, whereas in Revelation 14:1-5, the lamb and the 144,000 flock stand on Mount Zion. In Revelation 21:11, “Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; The fact that the sea and the sand where the evil group is standing does not exist in the new sky and the new earth means that the evil group will disappear.

On the other hand, the resurrected Lamb and Mount Zion, where 144,000 are standing, represent the eternal kingdom of God as the place where God will finally rule. As we saw in Chapter 7, the number 144,000 is not a literal number. The 144,000 is a multiplication of 12, which means the 12 tribes of the Old Testament, representing the entire church, 12 means the 12 disciples of the New Testament, and 1,000, which means a great number. It is a symbolic number indicating that there are so many that there are not. The 144,000 redeemed from the earth means that they have become heavenly ones. Despite the threat of dragons, sea animals, and land beasts, they testify to their faith as follows:

『 These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.  And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God. 』 The Bible compares the relationship between God and the people as a male and female relationship. In the Old Testament, Israel was described as a pure virgin, and in the New Testament the church was described as the pure bride of Christ. Therefore, “the pure one who is not defiled with a woman” refers to a person who does not worship idols and apostasy by keeping the fidelity of faith in God and the Lamb.

Earlier, Revelation warned against the church in Ephesus in 2:4-5.

『 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.  Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. 』

In Matthew 16:24-25, Jesus told his disciples, ``Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 』 To the saints who did not yield to idols but kept their faith and faith with patience, the Lord said, ``Write it down, blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. This is it.” He did not stop with what he declared, but went one step further and said that he would harvest as follows.

Despite this evil threat and suffering. The saints who hold on to the faith are saved, but the following severe judgment is proclaimed on the forces who are hostile to God and those who follow him: ``If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 』

The wine poured without anything mixed in the glass of wrath means a strong drink, which means that God's wrath is as fierce as a drink. It wasn't just proclamation, but eventually the wicked were judged: "And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs. 』

“The grapes are ripe” means that the wicked people's disbelief and iniquity have reached their climax, and the cry of the saints has risen to God, and the final judgment has come. In the end, an angel swings a sickle to judge them. The act of putting grapes into the winepress and stepping on them means that in the Bible, God's wrath on the adversary means that they will face the severe judgment of God just as the followers of dragons and beasts brutally persecuted the saints to shed blood.

『Blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs. 』The fact that it has literally spread as much as 1,600 sdadions, which is 320km in length of Palestine, shows that God's judgment is so severe and that no one can escape it because it covers the whole world. The chapter 14 text shows both sides of the coin of faith. Living in indulgence in the visible world seems to be successful, and living according to God's word to them may seem foolish and losers, but in the end times, the evil that ignores God will eventually be judged and persecuted by evil, but the Lord's people retain their faith. In the face of being saved, we can be bold toward the world.