Revelation 14:1

REV:14

There is relatively very little difficulty in the interpretation of this chapter. First (Revelation 14:1-5), there is a consolatory vision of the redeemed rejoicing in heaven (anticipatory, of course), followed by a solemn angelic announcement of the final judgment (Revelation 14:6,7), "The hour of his judgment is come!" However, even preceding that announcement (Revelation 14:7), there was foretold the fulfillment of that great event which must come before the final judgment; namely, the preaching of the truth to all nations, as Jesus prophesied, "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony unto all nations; and then shall the end come" (Matthew 24:14). The announcement of the angel in Revelation 14:7 that the hour is come very logically follows the revelation of Revelation 14:6 that preaching of the "eternal good tidings" had been effectively concluded. The rest of this chapter (Revelation 14:8-20) contains a more detailed and graphic vision of the judgment. This follows a pattern John frequently used. "As often, with this author, we have first a general fact, or statement, then a detail or part."[1]

By way of recalling what was revealed in the preceding chapter, two great enemies of God's people were presented: (1) the sea-beast and (2) the land-beast. The first of these we identified as the satanically perverted state, Satan's perennial device as seen in the great historical empires of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome, the latter being the specific manifestation of it when John wrote. The second was understood as the false church which made an image of the beast (in the sense of becoming that image), the degenerate religion, being particularly manifested when John wrote as the pagan priesthood, but developing later into the full apostasy of the Middle Ages, and becoming an image of the first beast, itself the second, but particularly a religious beast originating in Christianity and developing out of it.

Such revelations must have been shocking indeed to the first readers of this prophecy; and their most natural reaction would have been the question, "Is evil then destined to triumph?" This great judgment scene in Revelation 14 is squarely addressed to that question. Wickedness shall not prevail; evil cannot win. The first beast shall fall (Babylon, Revelation 14:8), her doom being pronounced in the prophetic past tense as something already accomplished, and as certain as if it had already occurred. The second beast, those worshipping the first beast and his image (Revelation 14:9), shall be tormented with fire and brimstone (Revelation 14:10), forever and ever (Revelation 14:11). Thus, the great purpose of the final judgment, as stated in this chapter, is the overthrow and destruction of these two great enemies of God and his people.

In connection with that great final judgment, three angelic announcements signal the onset and execution of it (Revelation 14:6-12). Revelation 14:13, coming at the end of that triple preliminary, is, in a sense, the summary of all three, and one of the noblest passages in the whole Bible.

The actual execution of the final judgment is presented in Revelation 14:14-20, which might be entitled "The Sickle of God," for these are not two visions, but one. Some commentators get mixed up here by paying too much attention to the various angels, who with regard to the judgment (all of them) are but the instruments of Christ (Matthew 13:41,49) and are merely part of the scenery of the vision. As Lenski noted, "Those who count the angels and think that each appears in a separate vision have seen visions![2] However many angels are seen in these verses, there is only one sickle, only one judgment. An outline of this chapter is:

<LINES><MONO>

I. A consolatory vision of the whole church in heaven (Revelation 14:1-5).

II. The announcement of the final judgment and the Second Coming of Christ, "the day of the Lord" (Revelation 14:6,7).

A. The gospel is preached to all nations, as Jesus said, that the end might come (Revelation 14:6).

B. The judgment is announced (Revelation 14:7).

C. The first beast is destroyed (Revelation 14:8).

D. The second beast is destroyed (Revelation 14:9-12).

E. Another word of great consolation is given (Revelation 14:13).

III. The execution of the judgment itself (Revelation 14:14-20).

A. The "wheat" is gathered into the garner (Revelation 14:14-16).

B. The wicked earth (its inhabitants) perishes (Revelation 14:17-20).MONO>LINES>

[1] Isbon T. Beckwith, The Apocalypse of John (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1919), p. 663.

[2] R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. John's Revelation (Minneapolis, Minn.: Augsburg Publishing House, 1943), p. 418.

And I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on the mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty and four thousand, having his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads. (Revelation 14:1)

The 144,000 ... These are without doubt the same as those of Revelation 7:4,9; namely, the entire register of the redeemed of earth without the loss of one. See further comment on this interpretation under those verses, above. Some are able to find only "the martyrs" here, "but it is unlikely to stand for a spiritual elite of any sort, such as the martyrs."[3] "The whole church is in view."[4] They are not the martyrs, nor the celibates, nor any special kind of Christians whatever. "'These words demand no such interpretation."[5]

Standing on the mount of Zion ... Of course, Zion is the poetic name for the old Jerusalem, but no literal city of any kind could be meant here.

This is that Zion which cannot be moved but abides for ever (Psalms 125:1); it is heaven (Hebrews 12:22). Hence, we read, "And I heard a voice from heaven" (Revelation 14:2,13).[6]

Having his name written on their foreheads ... Since this is not literally true of Christians, it must be understood as a mark of their identification with Christ and with God. It is a spiritual likeness, which also corroborates the interpretation given above regarding the mark of the beast (Revelation 13:16-18). Having the names of God and Christ written upon the forehead symbolizes thoughts and dispositions conformable to the will of God. Barclay believed that "'it might indicate ownership, loyalty, security, dependence and safety of the Christian."[7] Moffatt understood this whole vision as being "introduced as a foil of what preceded,"[8] and as anticipatory of heaven. Any notion that it is "a preview of the near future"[9] is erroneous. All such interpretations suppose that John (mistakenly, of course) believed that Christ would return very shortly to gather a literal army (the 144,000) on the hills of the literal Jerusalem.

[3] Leon Morris, Tyndale Commentaries, Vol. 20, The Revelation of St. John (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1969), p. 175.

[4] G. R. Beasley-Murray, The Book of Revelation (Greenwood, South Carolina: The Attic Press, 1974), p. 223.

[5] George Eldon Ladd, A Commentary on the Revelation of John (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1972), p. 190.

[6] William Hendriksen, More Than Conquerors (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1956), p. 183.

[7] William Barclay, The Revelation of John (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1976), p. 102.

[8] James Moffatt, The Expositor's Greek New Testament, Vol. V (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1967), p. 435.

[9] Martin Rist, The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. XII (New York-Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1957), p. 467.