Revelation 14

Then I looked, and there was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion. With him were 144,000 people, and they had his Father's name written on their foreheads.

1And 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.

Note"Sion" is the King James spelling of Zion, the hill in Jerusalem that the temple stood on, and by extension a name for the city itself. The number 144,000 is twelve times twelve times a thousand, built out of the twelve tribes of Israel; it was introduced back in chapter 7. A name written on the forehead was the mark of ownership, the counterpart of the beast's mark in the next chapter; ancient slaves and soldiers could be branded or tattooed to show whom they belonged to. The Greek manuscripts differ here: some read only "his Father's name," as the King James does, while others read "his name and his Father's name."

2And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing water and like a loud crash of thunder. The sound I heard was also like harp players playing their harps.

2And 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:

NoteThe harp meant here is not the large modern floor harp but a small hand-held lyre, the instrument used in Israel's temple music.

3They sang what sounded like a new song in front of the throne, in front of the four living creatures, and in front of the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000, who had been bought back from the earth.

3And 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.

Note"Beasts" in 1611 English meant simply living creatures, with none of the menace the word now carries. These four are the winged creatures around the throne described in chapter 4, and the Greek word for them is not the word used for the "beast" of chapter 13. "Redeemed" translates a commercial word: to buy something back, or to buy a slave out of slavery by paying the price.

4These are the ones who did not make themselves unclean with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were bought back from among the human race as the first part of the harvest, given to God and to the Lamb.

4These 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.

Note"Not defiled with women" and "virgins" both picture men in the Greek, and the phrasing is disputed. Some take it literally, of celibacy; others take it as the Old Testament habit of describing unfaithfulness to God as adultery, so that the "virgins" are those who refused the idolatry of chapter 13. The rendering leaves the ambiguity where the Greek leaves it. "Firstfruits" was the first portion of a crop, brought to God before the rest was used; the term carries the sense that a larger harvest follows.

5No lie was found in their mouths. They stand without fault before the throne of God.

5And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.

Note"Guile" means deceit or trickery, not guilt.

6Then I saw another angel flying high overhead. He had the good news that lasts forever, to announce to everyone living on the earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people.

6And 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,

Note"In the midst of heaven" means at the high point of the sky, where a flying thing is visible to everyone at once. "Gospel" is simply the word for good news, used in the ancient world of a public announcement, such as a victory or the accession of an emperor. "Kindred" and "tongue" are the King James words for tribe and language.

7He said in a loud voice, "Fear God and give him honor, because the hour has come for him to judge. Worship the one who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and the springs of water."

7Saying 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.

Note"Fear God" in biblical usage means reverence and awe before God, not being frightened of him. "Give glory to him" means to acknowledge publicly what he is worth, the way one honors a king.

8Then a second angel followed, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great city, because she made all the nations drink the wine of her raging sexual sin."

8And 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.

NoteBabylon was the empire that destroyed Jerusalem and its temple in 586 BC. By the first century Jewish and Christian writers used the name as a code word for Rome, which had destroyed the second temple in AD 70. The Greek word behind "wrath" here can mean either fury or passionate desire, so the phrase can be read as the wine of her raging immorality or as the wine that brings wrath because of her immorality. Prophets regularly described a nation's unfaithfulness to God as sexual unfaithfulness, which is the force of "fornication."

9And a third angel followed them, calling out in a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and its statue, and takes its mark on his forehead or on his hand,

9And 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,

NoteThe beast, its image and its mark all refer back to chapter 13, where a statue of the beast is set up and people are required to carry its mark on the hand or forehead in order to buy and sell.

10that person will also drink the wine of God's anger, poured out full strength into the cup of his fury. He will be tormented with fire and burning sulfur, in front of the holy angels and in front of the Lamb.

10The 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:

Note"Without mixture" means undiluted. Wine in the ancient world was normally cut with water before drinking, so wine served neat was a picture of full, unrestrained strength. A "cup" that someone is made to drink is a standard Old Testament image for the portion assigned to a person, usually of punishment. "Brimstone" is the old English word for sulfur, which burns with a choking smell and was associated with the destruction of Sodom.

11The smoke of their torment rises forever and ever. They have no rest, day or night, those who worship the beast and its statue, and anyone who takes the mark of its name."

11And 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.

12This calls for the steady endurance of God's holy people, those who obey God's commands and keep faith with Jesus.

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

Note"Patience" in 1611 English meant endurance, holding out under pressure, not calm waiting. "Saints" translates a word meaning those set apart for God, used throughout the New Testament for all believers rather than for a special class of them. "The faith of Jesus" is grammatically ambiguous in the Greek and can mean either faith in Jesus or the faithfulness Jesus himself showed.

13Then I heard a voice from heaven say to me, "Write this down: Blessed are the dead who die belonging to the Lord from now on." "Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their hard work, and what they have done goes with them."

13And 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.

Note"From henceforth" sits between two clauses in the Greek and may attach to either: blessed from now on are the dead who die in the Lord, or blessed are those who from now on die in the Lord. "Their works do follow them" pictures a person's deeds walking behind them like companions or attendants into God's presence.

14Then I looked, and there was a white cloud. Sitting on the cloud was someone who looked like the Son of Man, with a gold crown on his head and a sharp curved blade in his hand.

14And 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.

Note"Son of man" in Hebrew and Aramaic idiom means simply a human being, but here it echoes Daniel 7, where one "like the Son of man" comes with the clouds of heaven and is given authority. The Greek word for crown here is the victor's wreath awarded at games or to a returning general, not the jeweled band of a hereditary king. A sickle is a short curved blade on a handle, swung by hand to cut standing grain.

15Another angel came out of the temple, calling in a loud voice to the one sitting on the cloud, "Swing your blade and cut the grain, because the time to harvest has come. The earth's crop is ripe."

15And 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.

NoteThe Greek word rendered "ripe" literally means dried out, describing grain that has stood long enough to be past its green stage; the harvest cannot wait any longer.

16So the one sitting on the cloud swung his blade over the earth, and the earth's crop was harvested.

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

17Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he also had a sharp curved blade.

17And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.

18And another angel came from the altar, the one who had authority over the fire. He shouted to the angel with the sharp blade, "Swing your sharp blade and gather the bunches of grapes from the earth's vine, because its grapes are fully ripe."

18And 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.

NoteThe altar is the one seen earlier in the vision, in chapters 6 and 8, where incense and the prayers of God's people are offered and from which burning coals are thrown to the earth. The angel's authority "over fire" ties him to that altar fire.

19So the angel swung his blade over the earth, gathered the grapes of the earth's vine, and threw them into the great winepress of God's anger.

19And 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.

NoteA winepress was a shallow basin cut in rock where grapes were trampled underfoot, the juice running through a channel into a lower vat. The image of trampled grapes standing for slaughter, with the juice red as blood, comes from the prophets, particularly Isaiah 63.

20The grapes were crushed in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the winepress as high as a horse's bridle, for a distance of about 180 miles.

20And 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.

Note"Without the city" means outside the city walls, the place where executions and disposal of the unclean happened. A furlong here translates the Greek stadion, about 600 feet, so 1,600 of them is roughly 180 miles, about the length of the land of Israel. The figure is also four squared times a hundred, a number suggesting the four corners of the earth. "Even unto the horse bridles" gives a depth of roughly four or five feet.