Revelation 14

The Lamb and the 144,000 First Fruits

While chapter twelve presents the battle between Satan and Christianity and chapter thirteen introduces Satan’s human collaborators, Revelation 14 provides a different view. In these visions, God revealed his promises to save the Christians who follow his commandments and remain faithful to him.

Revelation 14:1-5

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.

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.

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.

The initial 144,000 souls “redeemed from the earth” are labeled first fruits. They are virgins who follow Jesus wherever he goes, have no dishonest words in their mouths, and are found to be without fault by God. The first fruits are presumably the same 144,000 whom God sealed in Revelation 7:4.[1]

While the bar for first fruits is almost unreachable, the good news for the rest of us is these are the first souls, but not the only souls, harvested by God. After the 144,000 were sealed in Revelation 7:4, John wrote about a much larger group—an innumerable “great multitude” standing in Heaven in white robes.[2] If we do not meet the rigorous criteria to be a first fruit, we still have hope for eternal life. Fortunately for us, God does not require Christians to be celibate and without fault for their entire lives to meet the criteria to spend eternity in Heaven, as we will see later in this chapter.

The Three Angels’ Messages

Once the first fruits are collected, three angels pass on vital messages to the rest of us. Their advice encapsulates God’s warnings for Christians after the Protestant Reformation. The first angel commands Christians to serve God. The second makes a declaration about the status of Mystery Babylon. Finally, the third angel has a stern warning for those who continue to follow Catholicism after the Reformation.

Revelation 14:6-7

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.

The first angel holds the scriptures and preaches the gospel to the world in every language. In his sermon, he instructs Christians to do three things: fear God, give him glory, and worship him. According to the twenty-four elders in Heaven, God created us for his pleasure.[3] This first angel instructs us to serve God by fearing, glorifying, and praising him.

Revelation 14:8

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.

The second angel announces the fall of Mystery Babylon to the world. This is not Babylon’s permanent destruction. The Roman Catholic Church lost credibility during the Reformation, as its pseudo-Christian disguise had fallen. The Reformers removed the façade that had deceived many, allowing Christians to see the truth about the pope and his church.

Revelation 14:9-11

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.

The message from the third angel warns against taking the Antichrist’s mark. It is evident from this passage that the church of Mystery Babylon remained active after the seventh trumpet, as it was still capable of branding the followers of the papacy with the Antichrist’s mark. To this day, Roman Catholicism continues to mislead would-be Christians with false doctrine. Unfortunately, Catholics conflate adhering to what their church teaches them with following God’s Word. In following Vatican dogma, they are unwittingly allowing themselves to be spiritually marked by the Antichrist beast. Until the ultimate destruction of Babylon, which does not occur until Revelation 18, Catholics will continue to fall victim to the Antichrist’s deceit.

Verse ten cautions anyone who worships the beast that they “shall be tormented with fire and brimstone.” The third angel’s message aligns with Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:21-23.[4] Catholics believe they are following the Christian faith by adhering to Catholic doctrine. They believe in Jesus Christ and display their faith outwardly. Unfortunately, Catholics—and lukewarm Christians along with them —will be devastated when they reach Heaven and Jesus rejects them with the words, “I never knew you: depart from me.”

Revelation 14:12-13

12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

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.

Next, the faithful Christians who recognize and overcome the papal ruse receive a different promise from the third angel. According to him, those of us who have faith in Jesus and live by his commandments will be considered blessed by God. After death, true Christians will be given a respite from our earthly persecutions—our “labors”—if we die as faithful followers of Christ.

The phrase “their works do follow them” in verse thirteen has significant implications. Many Protestant pastors and denominations preach that we only need to believe in Jesus to earn eternal life. This would mean faith was a license to sin without suffering the consequences of eternal damnation.

Revelation 14:13 disagrees with this principle. Belief in Jesus Christ is a prerequisite to making it to Heaven, but not the only requirement. Christians who receive eternal life also do so because “their works do follow them.” This does not mean our works alone could get us into Heaven. Instead, in addition to our faith in Jesus, we will be judged based on our actions during our time on earth. As James wrote, “Faith without works is dead.”[5]

The book of James is an excellent epistle to read in its entirety. It was intended to guide Christians outside of Israel on how to live a godly life. All Christians should make the time to read this short book and work diligently to live by it.

Harvesting the Earth

The First Harvest

Revelation 14:14-16

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.

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.

16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.

After the three angels communicate their messages, John’s vision shifts to the Christians who do not meet the standard of first fruits. These believers still successfully follow the instructions the three angels provided and live a life that would make Jesus proud, but they are not entirely without fault like the 144,000 first fruits.

John’s vision of this harvest began with a visitation from a supernatural being who reminded him of Jesus. The description of this individual, whom John refers to as “like unto the Son of man,” elicits the same impression of the angel in Revelation 10. This character is seated upon a cloud, wearing a golden crown, and holding a sickle. John’s account implies authority as if the Christ-like figure were a sitting judge preparing to issue his verdict.

Next, John sees another angel coming from the temple in Heaven with a message for Jesus. This second angel says, “Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” The angel who looks like Jesus then judges the earth, deciding who deserves to be harvested based on their faith and actions. The representation of a Jesus-like angel reaping the earth suggests this harvest is of the true Christians who had faithfully served God. These believers are collected to be brought with Jesus to their eternal reward in Heaven, where they receive “rest from their labors.”

In this passage, two pairs of angels reap the earth. In each pair, one angel carrying a sickle harvests the earth at the command of the second. The angel who told Jesus to reap originated from the temple of God, the same temple measured by John in Revelation 11:1-2. The temple implies piety, as the first souls reaped were good Christians who had faithfully worshipped God.

The Second Harvest and the Winepress

Revelation 14:17-18

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.

The metaphor of two harvests would be familiar to first-century Jews. In ancient times, Israel had two distinct harvests. The seven-week-long Jewish harvest season began with the reaping of barley just before the celebration of Passover, and it ended with the harvesting of wheat during Shavuot.[i]

Just as the harvest comes when crops are ripe, the earth was not prepared to be harvested until the Protestant Reformation allowed Christians to see Catholicism for what it was. Once the Bible could be read and the Reformers wrote extensively on the topic of the Catholic Church’s anti-Christian dogma and deception, there was no excuse for ignorance. The Catholics were given the mark of the papal beast, making them ripe for judgment.

The second sickle-brandishing angel received his command to reap from an angel who came from the altar in Heaven. As we learned from the sixth trumpet, the altar alludes to the need for repentance based on the atonement ceremonies in Leviticus 16. This second harvest is not one of Christians but of sinners. This is made more apparent when we find the angel who gives the second command to reap has the “power over fire”—an allusion to Hell.

Revelation 14:19-20

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.

The souls of this second harvest are cast into “the winepress of the wrath of God.” After the harvested sinners are thrown into this winepress, John describes it as “trodden” or flattened underfoot. This depiction is the same method that first-century winemakers would use to press grapes. In ancient times, vineyards and winepresses were traditionally located outside of the city, as the winepress in John’s vision is. We know the city in verse twenty is Rome because it is the same city as in verse eight, where it is named as “Babylon.”[6] By writing, “the winepress was trodden without the city,” John was leveraging the historical location of the winepress to imply the city itself will be left out of God’s judgment, for now.

In the ancient world, when a winepress was trodden, the juice from the grapes spilled out. John departs from the metaphor of grapes in verse twenty; the product of the spiritual winepress is not described as the juice of grapes but the blood of the sinners cast into the press, which represents a spiritual death after God’s judgment. So much blood was spilled in this judgment that John describes it as reaching the horse bridles, or around five feet high. The blood from the press was not only high but wide, covering sixteen hundred furlongs. A furlong, or one-eighth of a mile, was an English measurement used by the King James Version’s translators to make the nomenclature more familiar to contemporary seventeenth-century readers. The Greek word used in the original text was σταδιων, or stadia. A single stadion equals 630 feet, so sixteen hundred stadia would be a length of nearly 191 miles.[ii] The amount of blood spilled, five feet high across 191 miles, does not have an apparent literal fulfillment. However, the implication is that the judgment of sinners would be vast, an almost immeasurable amount of spiritual death.

John used the term “great city” ten times in the book of Revelation. The first nine all refer to Babylon, meaning Rome. The tenth is New Jerusalem—God’s pure replacement for the evils of Rome. Similarly to the third angel’s message, which declared Rome had made the nations “drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication,” the followers of Catholicism and all other non-Christians are cast into the winepress of the wrath of God’s judgment as a punishment for their sins.

Summary

The Lamb and the First Fruits (Revelation 14:1-5)

144,000 Christians with the seal of God “were redeemed from the earth”

The Three Angels’ Messages (Revelation 14:6-13)

First Angel: “Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him.”
Second Angel: “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.”
Third Angel: “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.”

Harvesting the Earth and the Winepress (Revelation 14:14-20)

An angel with the appearance of Jesus harvests Christians who remained faithful, worshipped God, and did not take the Antichrist’s mark
He is told to harvest by an angel who comes from God’s temple
Another angel reaps those who remain and casts them into a winepress as punishment for their sins

[1] 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.

[2] Revelation 7:9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

[3] Revelation 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

[4] Matthew 7:21-23 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

[5] James 2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

[6] 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.

[i] Daubuz, Charles. 1730. “Vision II. Part III. Trumpet VII. § VIII.” In A Perpetual Commentary on the Revelation of St. John, 446-456. London: Charles Daubuz.

[ii] Gulbekian, Edward. 1987. “The origin and value of the stadion unit used by Eratosthenes in the third century B.C.” In Archive for History of Exact Sciences 37, no. 4 (December 1987) 359-363.