Revelation 14

Today, Dr. J discusses Revelation 14.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:20

Welcome to Dr. J in the Bible. And looking forward today, it's going to be a good day. Quick shout out to Tallahassee, Florida. Thank you for listening. In sunny, Florida, and I'm sure it's very hot. As it's very hot here in Virginia. So we're looking at Revelation 14. And Revelation 14, continuing our study of the book of Revelation, really focuses on a deep contrast between God's faithful and the forces of evil during the tribulation period. So this chapter that we're looking at today focuses, emphasizes the redeemed remnant, angelic proclamations, and God's final judgment, illustrating his sovereignty and justice at this period in the tribulation. Verses 1 through 5, John says, writes, Then I looked, and behold a lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000, having his father's name written on their foreheads, and I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder, and I heard the sound of a harpist playing their harps. They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders, and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth. These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are were virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from among men, being first fruits to God and to the Lamb, and in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God. So in this Revelation 14, we see Jesus Christ, the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, accompanied by the 144,000 faithful, marked with the name of the Lamb and his father on their foreheads. And according to earlier passages in our study Revelation, Revelation 7, this group consists of Jewish believers sealed during the Great Tribulation, set apart by God, protected through this time period. Their presence with the lamb on the Mount Zion strongly suggests they emerged victorious from the tribulation and vanquished by the beast described in Revelation 13. And so thus Revelation 14 answers the question raised there. Although the beast is shown as allowed to make war against the saints, and ever coming many, the 144,000 are not among the defeated, and they stand beside Christ. And some interpret Mount Zion here as an earthly Zion, Jerusalem, the prophesied seed of Messiah's reign. Others see it as a heavenly Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem. In either case, really the vision depicts that those sealed become part of God's redeemed kingdom, purified, faithful, unblemished, without being tainted, akin to those preserved by God when tested, and now standing with him in victory. I tend to take the view that this is uh a vision of them being at the throne when Jesus returns. I think this is literal. But uh to each his own. I think either way you can still be uh believing in the pre-trib, premillennial uh seven-year trib, like we're doing, but I take it as literal. Having his father's name written on their foreheads. So the followers of Satan and the beast may receive a mark on their hand or forehead, as we talked about last week, Revelation 13. But the mark is simply a counterfeit copy of what the 144,000 bear. A genuine, identifying seal showing they belong to the Father. I immediately go back to thinking about Cain and Abel and how after Cain killed Abel, he was given a mark. Uh, we don't know what that mark was. Uh, I take the view, though, that it was something that everyone couldn't see, but they could see. That makes sense. They probably didn't know why they didn't want to hurt Cain. But uh it was a mark, a spiritual mark, uh that that uh made them spiritually, subconsciously, uh to leave Cain alone. So I think this is probably what we're seeing here. Um and so Satan's counterfeit, and I believe those are literal marks that they have, is simply a counterfeit of what God does to the 144,000 and those that trust him. So John hears a voice from heaven like the sound of many waters and like loud thunder, followed by a sound of harpists playing on their harps. So this voice is a powerful, majestic, and overwhelming like rushing waters. It's commonly understood or construed as a voice of God. And this harp music recalls, follows, recalls the heavenly worship described earlier in Revelation 5, where the elders, the living creatures, hold harps, symbolizing praise, and worship before the Lamb. Then the 144,000 sing a new song before the throne, a song unique to them, no one else could learn it. Now in Revelation 14, they stand on Mount Zion. They're praising directly before the heavenly throne, suggesting that their worship transcends earthly celestial boundaries alike. So, you know, the as we look at this, we we know that those who take the mark, that will be a literal mark, maybe even a chip that people will be able to see. Definitely. Maybe a literal one, but I think that most likely it people are gonna be like, well, we don't know why we we're not gonna kill those guys. They're gonna be protected from God's judgment, and they're gonna be preserved through the entire 70 years. And interesting enough, they're described as virgins. And I I believe this says what it says and means what it says. Of the 144,000, they had moral purity. And so this virginity here is indicating that these guys were very righteous and feared God, and that their literal celibate celibacy during this great tribulation shows that uh they were totally sold out for Christ. And remember, if you remember in Matthew 24, 19 through 21, Jesus warned about hardship for those with families in that day, uh, knowing that it would be hard for them to have families during this uh the tribulation period. And so perhaps that's why they, I mean, it's not sin to have kids or not sin to be married and have relations. But it's probably, I think, number one, the full dedication of Christ. Number two, uh, it's gonna be so devastating and they're gonna be using ways, sharing the gospel all over the world. Uh, it's just it's it's it would be totally cruel if they did. You know, they're not gonna be as mobile, these 244,000. Um, and so uh, yeah, and they followed the lamb wherever he goes. It would be hard to follow the lamb wherever he goes with a with with five kids and a wife. And this is not advocating priesthood, like the Roman Catholic priest, by the way. We know in Timothy it says that in the end times there will be people, uh false teachings, uh preventing marriage, relations, and all kinds of uh forbidding to eat meat, eat certain foods. But this is just saying, get up and go where you need to go to share the gospel. And uh, you know, if you have a family, that'd be very hard, like I said before. And the first fruits, the first fruits redeemed from among men. And so the 144,000 are seen as the initial redeemed remnant of the Jewish people, the godly nucleus, per se, through whom others might come to faith and tribulation. So you have this pure, faithful remnant standing beside Christ, visibly marked as his own singing and worshiping in awe and devotion before Christ. Picture that. It's gonna be glorious. Verse 6 through 13, the there's three angels uh with messages. So six through seven, then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on earth, to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, fear of God and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who has made heaven and earth, sea, springs, and springs of water. You know, the Great Commission won't be totally fulfilled until the tribulation period. We're close. I mean, the church is close right now, but there's still people that haven't heard. And so God's gonna send, people will say, Oh, what about those people that never heard? God cares. He's sending 144,000. He's sending an angel to present the gospel from heaven to many, many numerous people all over the world. But that sink in. So this angel preaches the gospel but announces judgment. The hour of his judgment has come. What's that mean? Because the judgment of God's so evident on the earth in the great tribulation, it is no wonder of it is no wonder why the crowd of those saved through the tribulation, the great tribulation can't be numbered. Fear God and give him glory, they say. This is the message proclaiming to the whole world. People today have an opportunity today to honor God, glorify him, and worship him in spirit and truth by their choice, by their own volition. But if they refuse, they will still glorify Jesus. They'll be forced to. Because we know, right, that every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, whether in earth, heaven, or under the earth, to the glory of God the Father. So the the gospel, let me let me say not just here, but the gospel in general today is a message of grace and blessing, salvation, but it's also uh for those that reject it, it's it's it's it's an act of judgment. It's judgment. Because if you reject it, it becomes inevitable that you will be judged. Makes sense. So the second a second angel comes and declares the fall of Babylon, symbolizing the destruction of the worlds of the city, which I believe, I take the view similar to Chuck Misler, that there will be Babylon, the city will be rebuilt. Let's read that. Verse 8. It says, and another angel followed, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen the great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. So Babylon is fallen. More on Babylon will come in Revelation 17, but for now it's it is enough to see it's representing uh a rebellion against God. Now, some people believe this is symbolic. Babylon is a symbolic system. But I tend to take the view it's literal. And others, including Chuck Mizler, which I get into his belief, and he's with the Lord, he definitely knows now, right? Um Chuck Misler believed that Babylon would be rebuilt. And in his specific commentary on Revelation, he discusses prophecy against Babylon the Great. And he notes that the city's destruction as prophesied has never been fulfilled, implying it's a literal city and must still be rebuilt before the final destruction. And I think he's right. I think we must, people, that's how a lot of spiritualization of Israel came about, because Israel was basically the Jews were scattered, and the nation was uh basically looked like there was a nail in the coffin that the nation of Israel would never come come back to being. And uh, but what happened if people spiritualized it and said the Israel is the church today. And uh and we know now that was specifically not true. Scripture said that the nation of Israel and the Jews would be gathered from all over the world in the end times and brought back to the land, and that's what's happened. So I think we must take scripture literally, unless there's some context of metaphor or parable or anything like that. Also a vision in Zechariah 5, 5 through 11, which is possibly indicating that in the last days the commercial, the religious power center will return to the land of Shinar, ancient Babylon. And so uh, which which would indicate a literal future Babylon. Um so it when we look at this, and and Chuck Misler doesn't treat Babylon's revival as symbolic, he really does expect a literal re-establishment. And I think the Bible, most importantly, backs this up. Maybe Babylon will be the counter to Jerusalem being the capital, right? That's where, you know, the world will be centered, um, and Jesus will reign from Jerusalem. And uh it could very well be that Babylon will be the center of maybe where the Antichrist will reign from. Uh, it will be the center of Satan and all hell going against the nation of Israel. I think that's strongly possible. Uh, I don't say, thus saith the Lord, but I think scripture kind of implies it for sure. There's a third angel, and he warns against eternal judgment of those worshiping the beast, receiving its mark. 9 through 11. Then an angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If anyone worships the beast in his image and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of his indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb, and the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever, and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name. So this is pretty profound. Um, we know that Kirk Cameron came out as uh believing that uh hell, uh he basically there would be uh annihilate, annihilated, and that hell is not eternal. But this certainly is God's word, and it certainly indicates he's wrong. So anyone who doesn't who who worships the beast and his image, and that this really reminds us that there's a connection between worshiping the beast and the image and receiving his mark on his forehead and on the hand. No one casually or accidentally takes the mark. I know during COVID, people are like, oh, I got the mark, and because I took the COVID vaccine. And number one, the mark is not here yet. The mark will be done in the tribulation period after the rapture. Number two, it won't be by accident. You will also have to worship the beast and his image. Uh some people believe that the the uh mark is like a computer chip, a chip. Like we talked about in other podcasts about regarding our study in Revelation. Uh some would even indicate it it basically keeps you from even from believing in Christ, because there's going to be kind of a technological brainwashing to where people will be unable, impossible to believe on Christ because of the control from this ship. I think that's really that could be definitely possible. We definitely know for sure that those that worship the beast in his image and take these marks will not be saved. So no way you look at this is there hope for someone who takes this. So those people say, Well, wonder if they put it on my baby, or wonder if they put it or forced me to take the mark. Right. Well, but they can't force you to worship the beast and the image. They can try, you can lose your head, many will, but they you have to take the mark on your forehead or hand and worship the beast and his image. So even if they forced you, that in and of itself would not condemn you to hell, but it would be you also have to worship the beast and the image. Hope that makes sense. Um, this has all been throughout history. That's why I think there's a progressive, this, I'm a progressive dispensationalist per se. We've seen this through the Roman Empire, where believers were at times required to burn a pinch of incense before statue of the emperor and declare Caesar as Lord. Um, and you know, so this is not some far-fetched thing. Um, and you know, we can see the patterns coming uh even now, especially looking back at the COVID uh pandemic. And so uh, and after the rapture, there's going to be a need to bring order. And so I think that is definitely how the Antichrist will form this system, and you have to honor his the beast and the uh the image. It says he himself would drink of the wine, the wrath of God poured full strength into the cup of indignation. And so this is the fate promised to all who worship the Antichrist and receive his mark. The cup of wrath echoes many Old Testament judgments where God warns nations, peoples, that they will drink the cup of his fury. And the wine in Revelation means undiluted, without relief, without mitigation, showing that God's judgment will be pure, full, and unrelenting. And those who drink it will face real conscious suffering, tormenting with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb, and their tormenting rising forever and ever with no rest, day or night, for all who worship the beast in his image and receive his mark. So I don't know where anyone comes off that, oh well, you know, I got up one day in annihilationism because, you know, you just cease to exist and there's no real hell. Well, if you deny hell, number one, you're denying God's word because it's clearly eternal. Number two, you're denying the integrity of God and his character, because if you sin against the eternal, holy, righteous God, there has to be eternal, righteous uh judgment. And number three, it wouldn't be fair for those in heaven if there was not eternal punishment in hell. So, I mean, it's just logic and scripture, so I just don't get it for those that reject hell. I don't like hell. It's a hard thing to talk about, but it's God's word and it's true. And so 12 to 13, you have the blessedness of the saints, even in the great tribulation. It says, John says, Here is the patience of the saints, here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, Right, blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors and their workers follow them, their works follow them. So what's the patience of the saints? Blessed are the dead. They will rest from their labors and their works follow them. This does not mean we won't work. We're going to be working for eternity, but it won't be a type of work where we will sweat by our brow, and that it'll be tiring and muscle aches, and like I just, my son and I just went hiking in the mountain there, Liberty. And uh now my back hurts, my knees hurt, and all that hurts, and I need rest. Um, we're gonna rest and we're gonna have glorified bodies, and we won't have to labor as this earth, this where we're at now in this cursed world. And so when we look at this, the contrast is clear. While the wicked suffer eternal torment, the faithful are promised rest, rest earned by patient endurance, rest of faith, the faithfulness to God's commands and to Christ. What's God's commands? Believe on Jesus Christ, the one he sent. For believers martyrn or persecuted during the tribulation, their promise will be bring courage and comfort. Right? God wants his people to remain steadfast in hardship, knowing that death in the Lord marks blessing and rest. And so that's that's why the Lord says in the Psalms, he says, Blessed are those that blessed are those that die uh to the Lord. They're a sweet, they're sweet to the Lord, they're a blessing to the Lord are the death of his saints. Because why? To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Um, and so many people will lose their head during the tribulation, probably millions. Get that. Verses 14 through 16. Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat one like the Son of Man, having on his head a golden crown, and his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice, To him who sat on the cloud, thrust your sickle and reap. For the time has come for you to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe. So he who sat on the cloud, thrust in his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped. I saw a white cloud appeared seated upon them like the Son of Man. It was like the Son of Man, because it was the Son of Man. Jesus is reaping. And so the crown and the sickle all affirm his identity, his authority as judge. So you either come as him as defense attorney, as savior, as Lord now, or you come to him as judge in the next life. The golden crown on his head is not just a sign of kingship, but a wreath of victory, the triumph of Christ over sin, the death, and all opposing powers of the enemy. And the sharp sickle here signals judgment and harvest, a divine reaping, when the earth is deemed ripe, just as a farmer waits for grain to ripen. So God waits unto the fullness of the human wickedness before he acts in righteous judgment. You know, we've seen Peter it says the Lord is long-suffering, that none should perish, that all should come to him. And many people want to say, see, that means that everyone is, God is one. This is, you know, God came for every single person, and that God, you see, that's not saying that. What that is saying, God is waiting for the elect, the last chosen saint, as his child, before he snatches the church out of here. And so God is patient that none should perish, all should come to him, those that are believers or will ever be. And so the same type of qualities are right here: that he's patient to reap what uh the fruit and the seeds that have been planted through the years before he comes to reap the harvest that he promised. So, Revelation 14, you know, presents Christ as both victorious king and sovereign judge, the one who will reap on the earth in the final harvest, separating the righteous from the wicked and the gathering of his own and judging the rebellious. 17 through 20. Then another angel came out of the temple, which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle, and another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for grapes are fully ripe. So the angel thrust his cycle in the earth and gathered the vine on the earth, and threw it to the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the wine press was trampled outside the city, and the blood came up to the wine press, out to the horses' bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs. So this angel came out from under the altar, from the altar, who had power over fire. And these illusions seem to indicate that the angel is acting in response to the prayers of the saints for divine judgment on wickedness. So, God, some of the prayers that we pray may not seem like they're being answered, but God sometimes often hears our prayers and will answer them in the right time, because his timing's right. So put in your sharp sickle and gather clusters in the vine earth, for her grapes are fully ripe. The image is of the second coming as a harvest, echoes the teaching in the parable of the wheat and tares in Matthew 13. While separation comes only at the final harvest, the fully ripe grapes pictured grapes grown to bursting. That's what it really meant means in this. Ripe, overready, full of juice, ready for the crushing, so their juice flows out. And it's really symbolic. It's in this this harvest is bursting juice becomes a picture of human carnage, emphasizing the severity of the coming judgment. As one writer puts it, the grapes have no resistance against the heel of a lipid. The stronger the grapes ripen, the more helpless they become under divine wrath or judgment. So the wine press is trodden outside the city and the blood flows up to the horse's bridle. That's a lot of blood. It symbolizes massive destruction and massive carnage associated with the final battle of Armageddon. So, in that sense, the harvest is not a blessing for the wicked, but their judgment in a very real sense. A final, inescapable reckoning. Revelation 14 thus stands as a sober reminder by the end. No one remains unjudged. The grapes of the earth, ripe in rebellion, are trampled on the winepress, God's wrath, while the righteous under remain under mercy. So there's one sense the harvest is a blessing, but for those that reject, it's God's wrath. And uh we see that. We see that it's not going to be fun for anyone, and that there's a need right now, an urgency to share the gospel, family, friends, and for people to humble their hearts, opening their ears to hear, their eyes to see, softening their hearts to receive the blessed gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Hope you guys have a good rest of the week. And remember that God can take your mess, turn it to a message for his glory for your good.