Revelation 14 · WEB
The Lamb, the Three Angels, and the Harvest
Listen — WEB narration 0:00 / 0:00 Narration: World English Bible (David Williams), public domain — AudioTreasure.
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I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him a number, one hundred forty-four thousand, having his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads.
2I heard a sound from heaven, like the sound of many waters, and like the sound of a great thunder. The sound which I heard was like that of harpists playing on their harps.
3They sing a new song before the throne, and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the one hundred forty-four thousand, those who had been redeemed out of the earth.
4These are those who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are those who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed by Jesus from among men, the first fruits to God and to the Lamb.
5In their mouth was found no lie, for they are blameless.
6I saw an angel flying in mid heaven, having an eternal Good News to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth, and to every nation, tribe, language, and people.
7He said with a loud voice, "Fear the Lord, and give him glory; for the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and the springs of waters!"
8Another, a second angel, followed, saying, "Babylon the great has fallen, which has made all the nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality."
9Another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a great voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead, or on his hand,
10he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is prepared unmixed in the cup of his anger. He will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb.
11The smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever. They have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.
12Here is the patience of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."
13I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write, 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.'" "Yes," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors; for their works follow with them."
14I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud one sitting like a son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
15Another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, "Send your sickle, and reap; for the hour to reap has come; for the harvest of the earth is ripe!"
16He who sat on the cloud thrust his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.
17Another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven. He also had a sharp sickle.
18Another angel came out from the altar, he who has power over fire, and he called with a great voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, "Send your sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for the earth's grapes are fully ripe!"
19The angel thrust his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vintage of the earth, and threw it into the great wine press of the wrath of God.
20The wine press was trodden outside of the city, and blood came out of the wine press, even to the bridles of the horses, as far as one thousand six hundred stadia.
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Summary
In stark contrast to the beast, the Lamb stands on Mount Zion with the redeemed 144,000 marked with his Father's name. Three angels proclaim the eternal gospel, announce Babylon's fall, and warn against worshiping the beast. The chapter closes with two harvests — a grain harvest of the redeemed and a grape harvest of the wicked trodden in the winepress of God's wrath.
Themes
- The Lamb's faithful remnant versus the beast's followers
- The eternal gospel proclaimed to every nation
- The certain fall of Babylon
- Final judgment as harvest — separation of righteous and wicked
- Blessing of those who die in the Lord
Key verses
- Rev 14:12 — “Here is the patience of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”
- Rev 14:13 — “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on... that they may rest from their labors; for their works follow with them.”
- Rev 14:7 — “Fear the Lord, and give him glory; for the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and the springs of waters!”
Context & background
John wrote Revelation c. AD 95 from exile on Patmos, a small Aegean island off the western coast of modern Turkey. Mount Zion (Jerusalem, modern Israel) is the symbolic seat of God's reign, deliberately contrasting the Lamb's gathering with the beast's earthly empire. "Babylon" was code for Rome (modern Italy) and stands for every God-defying world system — the original Babylon (modern central Iraq) being the city that exiled Judah. The harvest imagery draws from Joel 3 and Isaiah 63's winepress; "1,600 stadia" (about 184 miles) roughly matches the length of the land of Israel, suggesting judgment fills the whole promised land or symbolically the whole earth.
Cross-references
- Daniel 7:13 — One like a son of man coming with clouds
- Isaiah 21:9 — "Fallen, fallen is Babylon" — quoted by the second angel
- Isaiah 63:1-6 — The winepress of God's wrath trodden alone
- Joel 3:13 — "Put in the sickle; for the harvest is ripe" — source of the harvest imagery
- Matthew 13:39-43 — The harvest is the end of the age