1 ¶ And 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. 2 And 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: 3 And
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. 4 These 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. 5 And in their mouth
was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.
The focus narrows on the translation, the first resurrection, or the rapture.
These are the servants of Christ
mentioned in chapter 7. Mount Sion here is a reference to the heavenly Jerusalem.
Hebrews 12:22 But ye are come
unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,
and to an innumerable company of angels, 23
To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written
in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made
perfect,
These 144,000 Jews were redeemed from the earth and are in
Heaven, whether translated/raptured alive or dead. They have a unique position
in God’s plan and can sing a new song that no one but they can sing. They are
male virgins, not hindered by any attachments to life. As men who have wives or
women who have husbands and families have a sort of divided loyalty while, in a
relationship ordained by God, family responsibility is not suitable for the
purpose of these specific men.
We don’t exactly know what
function these exemplary individuals performed but they are Christ’s servants
who follow Him faithfully in that time and, based on Matthew 24:14, many
believe were evangelizing the world.
6 ¶ And 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, 7 Saying 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. 8 And 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. 9 And 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, 10
The 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: 11 And 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. 12 Here is the patience of the
saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of
Jesus.
The everlasting gospel is; 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.
Everyone is going to hear this. A
second angel declares the fall of Babylon, the identity of which we will
explore more fully when we come to chapter 17. A third angel warns that anyone
who takes the mark of the beast is doomed. From reading verses 9 through 11
notice this cross reference.
Isaiah 66:22 For as the new
heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the
LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. 23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new
moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to
worship before me, saith the LORD. 24
And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have
transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire
be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.
It is a warning of their impending
fate in the lake of unquenchable fire for the eternal-living soul of
Christ-rejecting mankind.
Verse 12 shows that those who are
Christ’s did not take the mark.
Look at these previous
explanations of what is called for in the believers’ lives in this Great
Tribulation.
Revelation 12:11 And they
overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and
they loved not their lives unto the death.
Revelation 13:10 He that leadeth
into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be
killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
This is a hard pill to swallow if
you have a family and loved ones.
13 ¶ And 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. 14 And 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.
15 And 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. 16 And he that sat on the
cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. 17 And another angel came out of the temple
which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. 18 And 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. 19
And 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. 20 And 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.
Verse 13 indicates that those who
would not take the mark of the beast die, are killed.
There are two angels here. One
reaps a harvest.
Remember;
John 4:35 Say not ye, There are
yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your
eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.
This is a good thing, another take
on the rapture or translation of believers.
Then, the next angel casts what he
reaps into the winepress of the wrath of
God.
Outside of the city of Jerusalem it is said
that the blood will rise to the level of horses’ bridles, about 4-5 feet in a
space of 1600 furlongs which is roughly 200 miles. This is usually associated
by commentators with Armageddon coming up in 16:16 and linked to the 200 million number of the
spiritual creatures in 9:16-19 and the kings
of the east in 16:12. If this is true then the clearly supernatural
creatures of chapter 9 mean that for
every event on earth there are similar events happening in the invisible world
that coincide with the events on earth. The massive demonic army coming out of
the abyss coincides with the massive army that comes from the east to meet at
Armageddon for a climactic battle that results in a huge bloodbath of
unimaginable proportions.
No comments:
Post a Comment