For all of world’s nations the time to choose, to embrace Christ is now – now or when? By the end of the events of this chapter, all Christians will be with Him, and judgment awaits all who remain in opposition to Him. All, apart from Israel, will be in glory with Christ, or will stand condemned.
Hallelujah – the Lord Jesus returns! The King of Kings! And for the people of Israel, your Messiah has come, and he has realized your covenant place.
Forever.
1 Then I looked and saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000 [12,000 per tribe – see Revelation chapter 7, verses 5-8] who had His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2 And 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.
Roar of many waters, the loud rumbling of thunder – from heaven. The setting is Mount Zion. That is, on Earth, so John hears this in the sky. Roaring, rumbling – like thunder – like an asteroid falling, penetrating the atmosphere? Perhaps. Like harps strumming? Perhaps music, perhaps not.
3 And 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. 4 These 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. 5 And no lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.
Recall from chapter 7 the sealing of the 144,000 faithful people of Israel, that it is followed by the revealing of the ‘multitude too large to count, from every nation and tribe and people and tongue‘. At this point, the deceased members of the body of Christ (that is, his own) are revealed to John. With the completion of the harvest, those who love Christ are in His care. Those who embraced Christ are alive, forevermore with Christ. Thy kingdom come!
6 Then 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. 7 And 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.”
Will anyone who remains turn to him now? The call is made once again, Come to Christ! Humble your stiffened hearts, turn your wearied souls to God.
8 Then 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.”
The Babylonian empire was defeated by the Persian empire long before this was written, so what does the allusion here confer to the reader? For now, I postulate only that Babylon is the principle force at work to separate the human race from God – employing treachery to effect division and death. A force of decadence and deception, lies and treachery – of Lucifer.
9 And a third angel followed them, calling out in a loud voice, “If anyone worships [obeys] the beast and its image, and receives its mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he too will drink the wine of God’s 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. 11 And 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.”
Do not accept, do not endorse this system of evil – yes, of murderous evil.
12 Here is a call for the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
A message that knows no temporal bound, though it rings ever louder until the time is fulfilled. Great difficulty, but the reward in Christ is greater!
13 And 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.”
Once again we see – so please understand – the world ‘governments’ will kill the non-conformant. I can hear it now, “You must be vaccinated and have proof thereof to protect yourself and everyone else.” No! We must yet be prepared to die, must choose Christ over the lies of the beast. There are no buts, there is no alternative. The manifest will of the adversary is to kill.
14 And 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.
15 Then 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.” 16 So the One seated on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.
The word translated ripe is a form of the Greek word ξηραίνω (xay-rah’-ee-no) – dried up, wasted away. Oh when the saints, go marching in! Well not quite marching. Not at all, really. The harvest will reminisce the scene of Lazarus emerging from the tomb. Not in strength or vigor, at least not to the human eye, rather the saints are ‘raptured’ – snatched away, passively in every sense – fully withdrawn, rescued by the power of God alone.
17 Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 Still 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.”
This time, the word translated as ‘ripe’ conveys the meaning of another Greek word, ἀκμάζω (ak-mad’-zo) – to be in full vigor – that is, all are in full arrogance.
19 So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and gathered the grapes of the earth, and he threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. 20 And 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 [Greek: σταδίων (stad’-ee-on) – an eighth of a Roman mile].
Those remaining have committed themselves to effect and to partake in the work of the beast…
And so they are condemned.
Under punishment for lifelong abandonment of God’s grace, their true nature has consumed them, and they are thus consumed by the wage of finality, of sin. I dare not imagine the physical reality of this verbal image.
Nevertheless it conveys completion – of the history humanity has known.
End Times Prophecy 