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Revelation thirteen continues with a vision showing Christ, the lamb, with those from Judea who believed him and followed him.
REVELATION 14:1–5
1 And I beheld, and lo a lamb stood upon mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty-four thousand, having
his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads.
2 And I heard a voice from heaven, as the noise of many waters, and as the voice of great thunder; and the
voice which I heard, was as the voice of harpers, harping on their harps.
3 And they sang as it were a new canticle, before the throne, and before the four living creatures; and the
ancients; and no man could say the canticle, but those hundred forty four thousand, who were purchased
from the earth.
4 These are they who were not defiled with women: for they are virgins. These follow the Lamb whithersoever
he goeth. These were purchased from among men, the first fruits to God and to the Lamb.
5 And in their mouth there was found no lie; for they are without spot before the throne of God.
This lamb is the same lamb described in Rev. 5:6, the lamb standing as if slain. The lamb is Jesus. Jesus the Lamb stands on Mt. Zion with one hundred forty-four thousand who have followed him. These are the first fruits, the first ones that were redeemed from the earth. They are the elect in Rev. 7:4, the Judeans who recognized Christ, who were faithful to him unto death, and who have reached his heavenly gathering. Their number is shown in the traditional way the Israelites took their census: a roll call of tribes, so many persons from each tribe. To use round numbers showing that an adequate number is considered rather than make an actual count, the Israelites had a convention of squaring the number of the tribes and then multiplying it by one thousand. Twelve squared times one thousand is one hundred forty-four thousand persons. This is presented as an estimate of those harvested as Israel gave birth to the Church.
In the previous chapters, the Dragon recruited the sea beast and land beast to help pursue the woman. She fled to the desert. The dragon wanted the beasts to fight the woman and her child (the Christians) and the rest of her seed (the still unbelieving Judeans). When these two beasts attacked, people, especially the Judeans, made their choice to accept Jesus or accept Rome. There was a big persecution. Those who refused to accept Rome were killed. They are the first fruits of the harvest.
REVELATION 14:6–7
6 And I saw another angel flying through the midst of heaven, having the eternal gospel, to preach unto them
that sit upon the earth, and over every nation, and tribe, and tongue, and people.
7 Saying with a loud voice: Fear the Lord and give him honour, because the hour of his judgement is come; and
adore ye him, that made heaven and earth, the sea, and the fountains of waters.
The time has come for God to separate unbelievers from those who do believe, like a shepherd would separate goats from sheep. Angels will announce God's intentions and warn how serious God is. This is a "gospel" in the original meaning of the word. The time has also come to take the eternal gospel to the Gentiles. "Gospel" is the Anglo-Saxon equivalent of "euaggelia," a Greek word meaning "good news," but more accurately it means "official and authentic news." It is "good" in the sense that it is accurate and reliable. The word was used in Roman times to denote the "authentic announcements" sent ahead by imperial officials to the people they were about to visit (Ford, p. 28). A messenger would arrive beforehand and tell the people how to prepare for the visit and what to expect. In the same way, the first angel proclaims God's authentic announcement: "Fear the Lord, and give him honour, because the hour of his judgement is come; and adore ye him, that made heaven and earth, the sea, and the fountains of water."
REVELATION 14:8
8 And another angel followed saying: That great Babylon is fallen, is fallen; which made all nations
to drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
"Babylon" refers to the unbelieving Judeans who still control the nation. The word really refers to the city of Babylon, a city traditionally cited as an example of people resisting God until God disciplined them. Shortly after the flood, Noah's descendants founded a city rather than disperse as God told them. They named the city Babylon. There they started to build a tower that would reach heaven. They did this to bring glory to themselves. Because of the people's defiance, God confused the languages. Since then "Babylon" has become a byword signifying any wholesale defiance of God by a human society.
The Judeans who control the nation and the Temple priesthood are resisting God. They are choosing their will rather than God's will. This self will is evident in many strata of Judean society, even the highest strata. The ruling strata, Herod and his heirs, Judean aristocrats, and other influential persons who supported Herod had pursued their own agenda for many years. Herod the Great’s father, Antipater, had seized the throne by force from the Hasmoneans. He had no legitimate claim to rule Judea, but he found enough support from enough Judeans that he could take the throne from the legitimate king. He then allied himself with Rome to help him defeat the legitimate king's defenders. When Antipater's son, Herod the Great, heard that the promised Messiah had arrived, instead of accepting the promised one, he and his supporters tried to murder the child.
"Herod" is derived from a Greek word meaning "descendant of heroes" (Ricciotti, p. 10). Antipater was so much influenced by Greek culture (rather than traditional Judaism) that he wanted his son to be ranked as a Greek hero. All rulers of this dynasty bore the name "Herod." There was Antipater's son "Herod," the first named as Herod, known to history as "Herod the Great;" Antipater's grandson "Herod Antipas;" Antipater's great-grandson "Herod Agrippa I;" and Antipater's great-great-grandson "Herod Agrippa II."
The priestly class was no better. The Judeans argued about legitimate succession of high priests ever since the days of Jonathan Maccabeus (Freedman, p.77 & Cornfield, p. 25). Jonathan ignored the traditional procedure and, on his own authority, named himself High Priest. This disrupted the traditional procedure and weakened the legitimacy of all subsequent high priests. When Rome conquered Judea, Pompey required that the High Priest be validated by Rome. This encouraged some candidates to seek Rome's favor beforehand. Many unworthy men became High Priest simply because Rome accepted them. These men were more interested in politics than in serving the Most High God.
Priests were divided into two camps: the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The Pharisees believed in life after death; the Sadducees did not. Being more worldly-minded than the Pharisees, the Sadducees readily cooperated with Rome, so the high priests validated by Rome were almost exclusively Sadducees. What a paradox! Men who do not believe in an afterlife are appointed to lead public worship of the God who rules the afterlife. The Sadducees focused everything on success in this life. They wanted to comply with God's expectations, but they could not understand what God wanted because they did not believe in life after death. Many of them were also hypocrites. They faked piety. Many Pharisees did also. Jesus often warned the Sadducees and the Pharisees about this.
The lower strata, the common people, were no better. The Zealots wanted God to liberate Judea, and they tried to help God. Zealot methods violated the Commandments, yet many Judeans supported the Zealots. The whole nation was drifting away from God.
Simultaneously, Judea gave birth to the Christians, people who understood what God had promised. They recognized Christ as the one foretold in Scripture; they accepted baptism. Actually, the Holy Spirit was drawing all people of good will to believe and accept baptism. The Christians tried to draw every Judean to believe, but many, for various reasons, did not believe. Those who did believe formed one group, the Church. Those who did not believe stayed as they were. They, the unbelievers, became post-Church Judea. These unbelievers controlled the nation, the Temple, the priesthood—they controlled Judaism.
The four winds had been held back while the elect were marked. Now the four winds are released, and the unbelievers will fall from the preeminence their ancestors once had. Their ancestors were "a light to the nations" (Isaiah 42:6). The unbelievers, intoxicated with their own ambitions, had subverted their nation's mission. They brought not enlightenment but bad example before the Gentile nations.
REVELATION 14:9–20
9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice: If any man shall adore the beast and his
image, and receive his character on his forehead, or in his hand;
10 He shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mingled with pure wine in the cup of his
wrath, and shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the sight of the holy angels, and in the sight of the Lamb.
11 And the smoke of their torments shall ascend up for ever and ever: neither have they rest day nor night, who
have adored the beast, and his image, and whoever receiveth the character of his name.
12 Here is the patience of the saints, who keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
13 And I heard a voice from heaven, saying to me: Write: Blessed are the dead, who die in the Lord. From
henceforth now, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; for their works follow them.
14 And I saw, and behold a white cloud; and upon the cloud one sitting like to the Son of man, having on
his head a crown of gold, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
15 And another angel came out from the temple crying with a loud voice to him that sat upon the
cloud: Thrust in thy sickle, and reap, because the hour is come to reap: for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust his sickle into the earth, and the earth was reaped.
17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
18 And another angel came out from the altar, who has power over fire; and he cried with a loud voice to
him that had the sharp sickle, saying: Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vineyard
of the earth; because the grapes thereof are ripe.
19 And the angel thrust in his sharp sickle into the earth, and gathered the vineyard of the earth, and cast
it into the great press of the wrath of God:
20 And the press was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the press, up to the horses
bridles, for a thousand and six hundred furlongs.
The harvest of souls is about to begin. It is shown as a reaping of fields and vintage of grapes. "One like the Son of Man" will do the reaping. An angel will do the vintage. God wills the harvest to be made. Humans and angels will do it, fallen humans and fallen angels included. The whole thing will be the natural consequences of what all of us, good and bad, are pursuing.
REVELATION 15:1
1 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and wonderful: seven angels having the seven last plagues. For in them is filled up the wrath of God.
Judgment is about to begin upon the circumcised who oppose Jesus Christ. When the seven plagues pour upon the earth, all things prophesied by the Baptist will happen. This will be the "great tribulation" for Judea. Judeans will be caught in the confrontation between the Empire's religious errors and God's truth. All Judeans, both those who believe Christ and those who do not, will be hated for not accepting the Empire's beliefs. Both groups will be persecuted. Many will be killed. The Judeans, who believe Christ, will enter a spiritual sphere previously closed to humanity. This sphere transcends death and brings a fuller life after death. It brings them into God's presence. The next vision of the sea of glass is symbolic of standing in the presence of God.
REVELATION 15:2–4
2 And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire, and them that had overcome the beast, and his
image, and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having the harps of God:
3 And singing the canticle of Moses, the servant of God, and the canticle of the Lamb, saying: Great
and wonderful are thy works, O Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, O King of ages
4 Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and magnify thy name? For thou only are holy: for all nations shall
come, and shall adore in thy sight, because thy judgments are manifest.
These believers conquered the beast. They are victorious. They have successfully passed through the three basic steps of growth in faith. They were successful in the attention they paid to the Gospel. They were successful in their response to it. By choosing it they, themselves, became chosen. And they were victorious because they remained faithful, even when persecuted, even to death. They stand in God's presence because they have conquered "the beast, and his image, and the number of his name." They sing the song of Moses, God's servant, and the Lamb's song. They sing like the four living beasts, the elders, and the angels in Rev. 4.
The above describes the intermediary visions between the second and third woes. Their purpose was to explain why the destiny of those who do not believe will proceed as it does. When the unbelieving finally experience the third woe, " . . . the kingdom of this world is become our Lord's and his Christ's. He shall reign for ever and ever" (Rev. 11–15). Judea will cease to exist as an independent nation.
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