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A Bible Study:
The Revelation to John
May 30, 2006
A Study of the Revelation to John
A Study of the Revelation to John
By Bernie Parsons - May 30, 2006
A Study of Revelation Chapter 14:1-20
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Revelation 14:1: 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.
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The lamb is Jesus, as we saw in Revelation 5:6, and we encountered the one hundred and forty-four thousand in Revelation 7: 4: “And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.”
These were Israelites who had continued to love God, and to obey Him. That is why that it is said that the lamb’s Father’s name was written in their foreheads.
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Revelation 14:2: 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:
3: 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.
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We have previously studied about the voice like many waters and thunder. This is associated with the presence of God, or one of His representatives. As for the harpers harping, some argue that there will be literal harps in heaven, and some argue that this is figurative. It matters not. God, being over all, can have whatever He wants in heaven.
We have also previously studied the new song in Revelation 5:9. This is an indication of God’s victory over His enemies, and the enemies of His people. In this case, the new song is peculiar to the 144,000 Israelites—the remnant of the seed of Abraham. After all, it was through Abraham’s family that this great Savior of the world came.
Galatians 3:16: “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.”
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Revelation 14:4: 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.
5: And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.
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Are these physical virgins? Maybe—but the context speaks to a spiritual virginity, as revealed in the discussion of their following the Lamb, being redeemed to God as firstfruits—that is, the first of the crop—having no guile, and being without fault. In other words, these are the righteous Israelites.
Romans 1:16: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
James 1:18: “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”
John 1:47: “Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!”
1 Peter 3:10: “For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:”
Faithful followers of Jesus are pure and guiltless—His blood removes their sins.
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Revelation 14:6: 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,
7: 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.
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As we saw previously, some of the Revelation drops back to an earlier time and brings the reader forward once more. In Revelation chapter 5, we read about the Lamb, the harps, and the new song. In Revelation chapter 7, we read about the 144,000 Israelite virgins, and then the innumerable number of Gentiles that turned to God. This 14th chapter revisits those scenes, and that information previously revealed. Verses 6 and 7 deal with the preaching of the gospel to all nations—that is, to the Gentiles.
We read through the opening of the seven seals, the sounding of the seven trumpets, and the pronouncement of the three woes. Now, we are brought back to the events of that time, but this time we look at it from the viewpoint, not of those on earth upon whose God’s wrath is poured, but from the perspective of God, and His son, Jesus, the Lamb.
There is a call to fear, glorify, and worship God, because He is about to pronounce judgment.
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Revelation 14:8: 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.
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Babylon is fallen! What a pronouncement! Some think that Babylon here is a reference to Jerusalem. I have a different understanding. This whole story is one of a parallel to the empire of Nebuchadnezzar, and the Babylonians. The Babylonian empire was the first great empire, followed by the Medo-Persian, the Macedonian (Grecian), and the Roman empires, that were mentioned by the prophet Daniel.
Babylon conquered the Israelites, and destroyed Jerusalem and the temple.
Rome conquered the Israelites, and destroyed Jerusalem and the temple.
Babylon’s emperor, Nebuchadnezzar, fell from power because he failed to worship God, and give Him the glory. He also tried to force the righteous Jews to follow his false gods, as evidenced in Daniel chapter 3.
Rome’s emperors fell, because they persecuted God’s people, and caused the people to worship false gods and the emperor.
Here is how Jerusalem fell to Babylon:
2 Kings 24:8: “Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. And his mother's name was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.
9: And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had done.
10: At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.
11: And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, and his servants did besiege it.
12: And Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers: and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign.
13: And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had said.
14: And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land.
15: And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king's mother, and the king's wives, and his officers, and the mighty of the land, those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.
16: And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths a thousand, all that were strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.
17: And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his father's brother king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
18: Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
19: And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.
20: For through the anger of the LORD it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.”
2 Kings 25:1: “And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts against it round about.
2: And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.
3: And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land.
4: And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king's garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about:) and the king went the way toward the plain.
5: And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho: and all his army were scattered from him.
6: So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him.
7: And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.
8: And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzar-adan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem:
9: And he burnt the house of the LORD, and the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man's house burnt he with fire.
10: And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about.
11: Now the rest of the people that were left in the city, and the fugitives that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude, did Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard carry away.
12: But the captain of the guard left of the poor of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen.”
Remember when Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth—that is, the land”? The nobles and the rich were destroyed, while the poor people were left to tend the land.
2 Chronicles 36:19: “And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof.”
The first temple was burned, and the city destroyed. The rich, the nobility, and the warriors, were killed or taken captive. Only a few meek souls were left in the land. This reminds us of the words of the Apostle Paul:
1 Corinthians 1: 25: “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
26: For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
27: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
28: And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
29: That no flesh should glory in his presence.”
But, Babylon also fell because Nebuchadnezzar, and subsequent emperors, failed to glorify God.
Daniel 4:28: “All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar.
29: At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon.
30: The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?
31: While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.
32: And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
33: The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws.”
Daniel 5:21: “And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will.
22: And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this;
23: But hast lifted up thyself against the LORD of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:
24: Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written.
25: And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
26: This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.
27: TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.
28: PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.
29: Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
30: In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.
31: And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.”
Thus was finished the empire of Babylon. Babylon, the destroyer of Jerusalem and the temple, had fallen. David wrote this Psalm about it:
Psalms 137:1: “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
2: We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
3: For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
4: How shall we sing the LORD's song in a strange land?
5: If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.
6: If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.
7: Remember, O LORD, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.
8: O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.
9: Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.”
As Babylon had destroyed Judah and Jerusalem, so Babylon would be destroyed. It would seem that this mention of a fallen Mystery Babylon in the Revelation would parallel the original fall of Babylon. In other words, Rome would destroy Jerusalem, but then Rome would be destroyed. You cannot tell the story of the fall of Babylon without recounting the fall of Jerusalem at their hands. Neither can you properly tell of the fall of Rome, without first telling how they destroyed Jerusalem.
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Revelation 14:9: 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,
10: 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:
11: 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.
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Here again, we find the warning of the mark of the beast. The beast is represented as both the Roman Empire, and a particular Roman emperor. We see this in verse 11, when we read about the beast and his image. If one is to follow the lead of the Roman Empire, and thereby worship false gods, and worship the emperor, then God shall pour out his wrath upon those who so digress.
Jeremiah 25:15: “For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.
16: And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.”
Again, we see an Old Testament scripture being used in Revelation. The Lord’s fury is likened to the drinking of a cup of wine. The Gentiles shall drink of His fury.
Is “fire and brimstone” used here to remind sinners of the condition of Sodom and Gomorrah, upon which the Lord rained fire and brimstone? Brimstone is sulfur that is found on the rims of volcanoes. There was the famous eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, just nine years after the destruction of Judaea and Jerusalem. God warned that His wrath would fall first on the unbelieving Jews, and then on the unbelieving Gentiles.
Romans 2:8: “But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
9: Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;”
Here is what the Apostle Paul wrote to a Gentile church:
Ephesians 5:6: “1: Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;
2: And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
3: But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
4: Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
5: For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
6: Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
7: Be not ye therefore partakers with them.”
He wrote similarly to another Gentile church:
Colossians 3:1: “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
2: Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
3: For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
4: When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
5: Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
6: For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
7: In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.
8: But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
9: Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
10: And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
11: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.”
God was going to pour His wrath upon the Jews, in that they would be destroyed: their nation, Judaea; their city, Jerusalem; and their temple. Afterward, God was going to pour out His wrath upon the Gentiles. The government would be shaken. The first ruling family, the Claudians, would be removed from power. They were the ones ruling when Jesus was born and died, and of whom was Nero, who persecuted the Christians. After confusion and civil strife, another family, the Flavians, took power. They were the ones who destroyed Judaea, Jerusalem, and the temple, under the orders of Nero.
Vesuvius erupted while Titus was emperor, in 79 AD. It had caused damaging earthquakes in 62 AD, during the rule of Nero. The wrath of God, fire and brimstone, poured out on several cities and towns in the area, including Pompeii and Herculaneum. During Titus’ reign, much of Rome burned while Titus was away giving aid and relief to the victims of the Vesuvius eruption. During his reign there were also devastating outbreaks of disease. The man who burned Jerusalem saw much of his city burned.
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Revelation 14:11: “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.”
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What is meant by “the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever”? Is this a literal smoke that goes ever upward, without ever ceasing? Compare this to another scripture:
Jude 1:7: “Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”
Genesis 19:28: “And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.”
Just as the fire is not still burning in Sodom or Gomorrah, we can see that the smoke of torment in Revelation 14:11 does not need to be literal. What it speaks to is the eternal outcome of the action. In taking this vengeance on a people that worshipped false gods, and even their emperors, the consequence is eternal. This is a rejected people, one that is worthy to be destroyed—they are useless to God.
Isaiah 34:8: “For it is the day of the LORD's vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.
9: And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch.
10: It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.”
This is the description of total destruction.
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Revelation 14:12: “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
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Luke 21:16: “And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.
17: And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake.
18: But there shall not an hair of your head perish.
19: In your patience possess ye your souls.
20: And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.
21: Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.
22: For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.”
2 Thessalonians 1:3: “We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;
4: So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure:
5: Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:
6: Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;
7: And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
8: In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
9: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
10: When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.”
These would be trying times for Christians. It would require patience to endure the things thrust upon them during all of this persecution and destruction.
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Revelation 14:13: 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.
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Remember what we read in:
Revelation 6:11: “And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.”
These were going to endure much trouble, but there was a rest remaining for them after their death in the flesh. We read about this future rest in:
Hebrews 3:6: “But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
7: Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,
8: Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
9: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.
10: Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.
11: So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)
12: Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
13: But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
14: For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
15: While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.
16: For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses.
17: But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?
18: And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?
19: So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.”
Hebrews 4:1: “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
2: For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
3: For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
4: For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.
5: And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.
6: Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:
7: Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
8: For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.
9: There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
10: For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
11: Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.”
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Revelation 14:14: 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.
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This is imagery from the Old Testament scriptures.
Joel 3:13: “Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.
14: Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
15: The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.
16: The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.”
It is the image of the Lord Jesus about to reap the harvest.
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Revelation 14:15: 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.
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It is the time of harvest.
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Revelation 14:16: And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.
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The reaping takes place.
Matthew 9:36: “But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
37: Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;
38: Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.”
John 4:35: “Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.
36: And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.
37: And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.
38: I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.”
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Revelation 14:17: 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, 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.
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The souls ready to receive the word are harvested, followed by the harvesting of the wicked, who continue to reject the gospel of Christ, and the word of Almighty God. The angel that calls for the harvest of vengeance “came out from the altar”, reminding us of what we read earlier in:
Revelation 6:9: “And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
10: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
11: And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.”
The Lord is getting ready to avenge the blood of those slain for the word of God.
Matthew 13:24: “Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
25: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
26: But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
27: So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
28: He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
29: But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
30: Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.”
Jeremiah 51:29: “And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the LORD shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant.
30: The mighty men of Babylon have forborn to fight, they have remained in their holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken.
31: One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to shew the king of Babylon that his city is taken at one end,
32: And that the passages are stopped, and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.
33: For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; The daughter of Babylon is like a threshingfloor, it is time to thresh her: yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come.
34: Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out.
35: The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.
36: Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry.
37: And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwellingplace for dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant.
38: They shall roar together like lions: they shall yell as lion's whelps.
39: In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the LORD.
40: I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he goats.
41: How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised! how is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!
42: The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof.
43: Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.
44: And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up: and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall.
45: My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the LORD.
46: And lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; a rumour shall both come one year, and after that in another year shall come a rumour, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler.
47: Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will do judgment upon the graven images of Babylon: and her whole land shall be confounded, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
48: Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for Babylon: for the spoilers shall come unto her from the north, saith the LORD.
49: As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth.”
As the empire of Babylon fell, so shall the Roman Empire fall. Babylon is fallen!
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Revelation 14:19: 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.
20: 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.
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Isaiah 63:1: “Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.
2: Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?
3: I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.
4: For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.”
The wrath of God is like gathering grapes into the winepress. He tramps the wicked under His feet just like the winemakers tramp the grapes under their feet. The blood runs deep and wide. The depth is to that of a horse’s bridle, and the length is that of 1600 furlongs, or 200 miles, since one furlong is an eighth of a mile. It is not a pretty sight!
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