Mount Zion, which the author of the Book of Hebrews terms as the city of the Living God, is the setting for John’s vision of the Lamb and His 144,000 followers. Zion was the Mount on which the Jebusites built their city. The desire for the strategic upper hand that this city on a hill would provide, lured king David into capturing and fortifying this city as his capital (2 Samuel 5:6-7). Thus the mountain that provided David a sanctuary from his enemies now symbolizes the eternal refuge that has been prepared by the Lamb for the church of the firstborn.
I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain. I will proclaim the LORD’s decree… I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.
Psalms 2:6-9 (NIV)
The 144,000 that were mentioned before those representing the twelve tribes or the apostles, were symbolic of the followers of God. They have the names of Jesus and His Father written on their foreheads. Since Jesus and God are one and the same, they have the name of God on their foreheads contrary to the people of the world who have adopted the mark of the beast.
John hears a tremendous sound resembling that of thunder and gushing waters. However, when he turns around to ascertain the origin of the magnificent sound, he saw a large choir singing praise to the tune of pleasant harps.
And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.
Revelation 14:3 (NIV)
During wartime, David and his army of men remained celibate, to keep themselves holy and dedicated to fighting battles for the LORD. In the same way, this new army will not defile themselves with any worldly pleasures as they remain steadfast in the mission of the Lamb. These men and women of God are able to remain pure because of the blood of the Lamb. The perfect First fruits offered to the LORD as a living offering.
Likewise, we are bought into the service of the LORD by the blood of the Lamb that was shed on the cross to deem us blameless. We are worthy to be part of His army not by our deeds or by our righteousness but solely by the grace of our LORD and the ultimate sacrifice of the Lamb of God. We must live our lives according to His leading and the purpose that He has set out for us rather than trying to fulfill our own selfish desires.
The Three Angels
Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth —to every nation, tribe, language and people. He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
Revelation 14:6-7 (NIV)
While the Synoptic Gospels brought to us the Good News of our salvation, the Eternal Gospel is the news of us living in the Temple of God and worshipping Him for all eternity. We were created to give glory to our Maker. The thing that we find ourselves doing the most is not worshipping the LORD almighty but adapting to life according to the standards of this world.
Adam and Eve had everything they needed in the Garden but when they chose to go off the path, they needed to adapt to the requirements of living outside the Garden. Similarly, Cain did not listen to God and killed his brother. Subsequently, he had to adapt to living apart from his family, fearing the avenger of his brother’s blood.
Similarly, we have adapted to the life outside of God’s protection, one that is according to the standards of the world. In this dog-eat-dog world, where only the fittest and smartest can survive, we have learned to adapt to these rules of the jungle to get ahead of the pack. Unfortunately, in trying to abide by these norms, we make a conscious decision to leave the way of the LORD behind. Jesus, by dying for our sins, has paved the way back to the Garden. Let us forgo the tactics of survival in this world and thrive under the protection of God.
A second angel followed and said, “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,’ which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”
Revelation 14:8 (NIV)
In the prophecies of Jeremiah and Isaiah, the city of Babylon has always been used to describe a corrupt and immoral place on the earth. The epicentre of sin on earth, that has become a stronghold for the evil forces. The wine of Babylon are the temptations of this world that draw us away from the path of God. The second angel proclaimed the news of the fall of the beast’s stronghold on earth and with it the destruction of those who worshipped his name.
A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath.
Revelation 14:9-10 (NIV)
The third angel brought the news of God’s fury being poured as wine into the cup of His wrath. Remember that in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus asked His Father to take back the cup of His wrath from Him. Such is the wrath of God that the Son of Man wanted to avoid His Father’s wrath but went through it to fulfill His Father’s will. The sons of thunder, the brothers James and John, callously proclaimed that they could also drink from the cup, not knowing what it entailed (Matthew 20). We cannot even begin to imagine the severity of the wrath of God as we have been sheltered from it because of His Grace.
After setting apart the redeemed, the remaining inhabitants of the earth will be tormented by burning sulfur as there will be no rest for the wicked. The image of the twin cities of Sodom and Gomorrah comes to mind as God’s fury will be poured on the earth as sulfur. So we have a choice between praising God for all eternity or burning in the smoke of our torment forever, yet we chose to side with the prince of this world rather than the King of kings.
This shows that while we worship Him with our words, we have not completely put our trust in Him. Our faith is lacking and is often sustained only by witnessing miracles. In a way, we are asking God to prove His loyalty to us through deeds of miracles and blessings. Jesus’s response to the rich man (who requested Lazarus to be sent to his family), was that no matter how many signs the people of the world would be given, they still choose not to believe.
Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”
Revelation 14:13 (NIV)
“Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”
The above verse does not give license to the people who want to leave this earth because of their troubles to kill themselves but is an assurance to the life that ends for the sake of Christ that their works were not in vain. Jesus prayed for His disciples to be in this earth and asked His Father for their protection from the evil one (John17:15).
Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live.
Ezekiel 33:11 (NIV)
In the Old Testament we read that Elijah and Enoch were taken up by God not because they were suffering on this earth but thriving in their relationship with their Maker. They had accomplished the purpose that God had set out for them and when it was the right time, God called them Home. When we have fulfilled the will and purpose of God for our lives, God can decide the same for us because for us to live should be Christ and to die a gain (Philippians 1:21).
The Harvest and the Winepress
Then, in another vision, John saw a white cloud form upon which was seated a figure that resembled the Son of Man. Upon His head was a majestic crown of gold, and in His hand, a sharp sickle. Suddenly, an angel emerged from the sanctuary in Heaven, issuing forth a commanding proclamation to the Son of Man that the time to reap the harvest had come.
… “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.
Revelation 14:15-16 (NIV)
No one knows when the Harvest of the earth will begin as only God knows the appropriate time. Jesus told us that it is not our job to worry about the timeline of these events as only God knows them (Matthew 24:36). Our job is to live a life that is worthy to be harvested during that final harvest season. Only then will we be ready to be harvested by our LORD and taken up to our sanctuary in Heaven?
Then another angel came out from the heavenly temple, carrying a sharp sickle. A second angel, responsible for the fire, emerged from the altar and called out to the angel with the sickle, urging him to harvest the ripe clusters of grapes from the vine on earth. The angels coming from within the temple in Heaven means that they are being sent by God to carry out His will. The angel managing the fire of the altar could represent the fire of judgment that will separate the pure from the impure.
The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.
Revelation 14:19-20 (NIV)
After harvesting the good crops of the earth, God turns to the grapes of the vineyard. Though they seem to bear fruit and look ripe from the outside, the grapes represent the corrupt produce of the earth. The wine of Babylon was squeezed from these grapes and they will receive their just rewards. The fate of the followers of the beast is not a pleasant site. They will be taken outside the city and trampled in a wine press with their blood filling the entire length of their country.
Their fate reminds us of how Jesus was taken outside the ‘holy’ city and crucified till His blood gushed out of His body. Jesus died in place of us for our sins so that we don’t have to experience the terrifying wrath of God. Yet, we keep putting our selfish desires for the things of this world over glorifying His name. If we choose the beast of the earth over the Son of Man, we will bear the unfiltered wrath of God that He has protected us from thus far.
Discussion Questions
- What’s the significance of Mount Zion?
- What is the Eternal Gospel?
- Who or what is the Babylon?
- How can our deeds be of use after we die?
- Why are these angels coming from the temple in heaven?
The Jordan Valley 
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