The
book of Revelation speaks to suffering believers. It was written from a suffering place, by
John who was suffering, and to suffering people. Sin is the reason all suffer, but all
suffering in not from sin. The
suffering in the world can be traced back to sin and its curse with the fall of
mankind in the book of Genesis. No
suffering can separate us from God’s love.
Believers identify with Christ’s suffering and through our suffering we
are brought closer to Him. Peter called
for all believers to rejoice in their suffering, because through it we are
identified with Christ. One day there
will be no more suffering. Until then He
holds us in His hands.
How
have you suffered?
How are
you using your suffering?
Are you
allowing Him to come closer to you or are you shutting Him out?
Do you
trust God’s purposes in your suffering even though you don’t understand?
Revelation 14 is a preview
of the harvesting of the earth. The believers are separated from the unbelievers and then the unbelievers are destroyed. It’s
a fast forward of what will happen in the end, which we will see in the
following chapters.
Revelation 14:1-5 – The Lamb and the
144,000
John
saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion. He
had the 144,000 with Him. John heard a
roar of like rushing waters and a loud peal of thunder. He also heard a sound like harpists singing a
new song before the throne and before the 4 living creatures and elders. No one could learn the song except the
144,000 who were redeemed from the earth.
They didn’t defile themselves with women and followed the Lamb wherever
He goes. No lie was found in them and
they are blameless. (Rev.
14:1-5)
Who are
these 144,000? I think
they are the same as in chapter 7. If
they weren’t, I think scripture would tell us so. John is describing them in more detail
here. They were sealed with God’s name
on their foreheads and in their hearts and minds. They have victory over the beast and his
mark. They are redeemed from the earth. They are God’s people who have withstood the
attack of Satan. The church is often
referred to as a woman. Not defiled with
women means they did not accept the doctrines of the corrupt church. God often speaks of the purity of His people
in terms of sexual immorality. These
144,000 have not been compromised by the world, but remain loyal as a virgin
bride to the future groom. They remain
pure toward Christ.
How are
you loyal to Christ?
Do you
have God’s seal?
Do you
follow Him wherever He leads you?
Revelation 14:6-13 – The 3 Angels
John
saw 3 angels who have 3 important declarations from God.
The 1st
angel was flying and proclaiming the eternal gospel to all the people of
the earth. “Fear
God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the havens, the earth,
the sea and the springs of water.” – Rev. 14:7 He is warning
people to fear or respect God instead of the Antichrist and to give God the
glory, not the Antichrist. This is good
news to those who receive and obey it, but bad news to those who reject
it. This seems to be God’s last offer to
proclaim Jesus as Lord before the final wrath to come.
The 2nd
angel followed, “Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the
Great, which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”
– Rev. 14:8 I think the Babylon here may not be a literal
city, but a world system that opposes the church and Christians. Babylon is symbolic of the world and its evil
system.
The 3rd
angel followed, “If anyone worships the beast and
his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will
drink of the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the
cup of his wrath. He will be tormented
with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises for ever
and ever. There is no rest day or night
for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the
mark of his name.” – Rev. 14:9-11 As we studied before those who have the mark
on their forehead belong to the beast.
Just as the 144,000 belong to God by His name being on their foreheads,
these who take to mark are sealed for Satan.
There will be torment that will not last for a short time, but
forever. There will be no end! This forever is just as heaven is forever for
believers. They will drink God’s wrath
undiluted. His judgment is not going to
be watered down. They will receive the
full force of God’s anger. There will be
people who will be deceived and take the mark.
The angel is pointing out the consequences of those who do so.
“This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey
God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.” – Rev. 14:12 He is giving
believers another call for endurance.
They are not to give in to the temptation to worship the beast, but to
remain faithful even to death. “Write: blessed are
the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” – Rev. 14:13 John was told
to write that those who die during the Tribulation as martyrs will be blessed
and reign with Christ during the Millennium (Rev. 20:4).
What
things of this world do you worship?
What in
this world defiles you?
Do you
follow the Lamb wherever He goes?
Is your
faith strong enough to endure to the end?
Revelation 14:14-20 – The Harvest
John saw a white cloud with one
like a son of man sitting on it. He had
a golden crown and a sharp sickle. (Rev.
14:14) Then another angel came out of the temple and called out, “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has
come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” – Rev. 14:15
The angel coming out of the
temple shows he has the authority and is speaking directly from God. So he swung his sickle over the earth, and gathered
God’s people. The crown on the one like
a son of man shows his authority. I
think this is a representative of Jesus.
In the verses 15 and 17 it says another angel suggests a previous angel
so I don’t think this is Jesus, but His angel.
Jesus would not need someone to tell Him it was time for the harvest. Also Matt.
13:39 says at the end of the age the reapers are angels.
Another
angel came out of the temple with a sickle.
Then another angel called in a loud voice, “Take
your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine,
because its grapes are ripe.” – Rev.
14:18 Again
the angle is speaking directly from God.
The angel swung his sickle and 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, rising
as high as horses’ bridles for 200 miles.
The
sickle is judgment. The wine press is
God’s wrath. The clusters of the vine or
grapes represent the unbelievers of the earth, those who have followed and
worshipped the Beast. It was outside the
city that Jesus died so God will punish the people outside the city. The city was Jerusalem.
With
which group do you identify?
Sounds
like a horrible sight and place to be. Only
the Lamb can rescue you from God’s wrath.
We all deserve God’s wrath and we all need the gospel. The Lamb offers escape from His wrath that
will last forever. If you are a believer, thank God for His grace and mercy He has given
you that you will not have to endure this.
If you have not yet become a follower of Christ, I hope this wakes you
up. See the bottom of this blog page for
the plan of God’s salvation.
Next week we will study Revelation 15-16. Hope to
see you here.
__________________________________________
If you
have enjoyed my post and have found if helpful, please leave a comment or share
this post with the buttons below.
You can also join this site by clicking on the blue button at the top left "Join this site" or you can "Subscribe by Email". If you follow by email, you will receive an email every time there is a new post.
No comments:
Post a Comment