Revelation 14
Berean Standard Bible · Compare translations · AD 68 – AD 96 · Late apostolic age · Tap a verse to copy, share or highlight ·
20 verses · 613 words · ~3 min read · ~4 min listen
The Lamb and the 144,000
1Then I looked and saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000 who had His name and His Fatherʼs name written on their foreheads. 2And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of many waters and the loud rumbling of thunder. And the sound I heard was like harpists strumming their harps.
3And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. And no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they are virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They have been redeemed from among men as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. 5And no lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.
The Three Angels and Babylonʼs Fall
6Then I saw another angel flying overhead, with the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation and tribe and tongue and people. 7And he said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come. Worship the One who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and the springs of waters.”
8Then a second angel followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, who has made all the nations drink the wine of the passion of her immorality.”
9And a third angel followed them, calling out in a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image, and receives its mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10he too will drink the wine of Godʼs anger, poured undiluted into the cup of His wrath. And he will be tormented in fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11And the smoke of their torment rises forever and ever. Day and night there is no rest for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”
12Here is a call for the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
13And I heard a voice from heaven telling me to write, “Blessed are the dead—those who die in the Lord from this moment on.”
“Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labors, for their deeds will follow them.”
The Harvest of the Earth
14And I looked and saw a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was One like the Son of Man, with a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand.
15Then another angel came out of the temple, crying out in a loud voice to the One seated on the cloud, “Swing Your sickle and reap, because the time has come to harvest; for the crop of the earth is ripe.” 16So the One seated on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.
17Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18Still another angel, with authority over the fire, came from the altar and called out in a loud voice to the angel with the sharp sickle, “Swing your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the vine of the earth, because its grapes are ripe.”
19So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and gathered the grapes of the earth, and he threw them into the great winepress of Godʼs wrath. 20And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and the blood that flowed from it rose as high as the bridles of the horses for a distance of 1,600 stadia.
Footnotes (4)
- a v5 BYZ and TR include before the throne of God.
- b v8 See Isaiah 21:9and Revelation 18:2.
- c v14 Or one like a son of man; see Daniel 7:13.
- d v20 1,600 stadia is approximately 184 miles or 296 kilometers.
Study notes on this chapter · 2
Fallen, fallen is Babylon
In a watchman's vision Isaiah hears the announcement 'Fallen, fallen is Babylon, and all the images of her gods lie shattered'. Revelation borrows the very words for the fall of a later 'Babylon', so that Babylon becomes a symbol of the power that opposes God.
When: Isaiah, c. 700 BC; Revelation, c. AD 90s.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.
The 144,000 sealed
John hears the number of those sealed on their foreheads: 144,000 from the twelve tribes of Israel, twelve thousand from each, and then sees a great multitude from every nation that no one can count. The list of tribes omits Dan and includes Manasseh and Joseph. Interpreters differ on who they are.
When: Revelation, c. AD 90s.
Ways people read this (4)
- Ethnic Israel, or Jewish believers, in a future time of tribulation (dispensationalist and some others).
- The church, spiritual Israel, as the complete people of God (amillennial and many others).
- A symbolic figure: twelve squared multiplied by a thousand, signifying completeness.
- The 144,000 and the great multitude are two views of the same people, one heard and one seen.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.