Holy Bible

A Lamb... and with Him an hundred forty and four thousand. Revelation 14:1-13 The 144,000 J. A. Seiss, D. D. I. WHO ARE THESE 144,000? They are the identical 144,000 sealed ones spoken of in chapter 7., with only this difference, that there we see them in their earthly relations and peculiar consecration; and here we see them with their earthly career finished, and in the enjoyment of the heavenly award for their faithfulness. II. WHAT ARE THE CHIEF MARKS OR CHARACTERISTICS OF THESE 144,000? 1. The first and foremost is that of a true and conspicuous confession. They have the name of the Lamb and the name of His Father written on their foreheads. This is their public mark as against the mark of the worshippers of the Beast. There is nothing more honourable in God's sight than truth and faithfulness of confession. 2. Another particular is their unworldliness. Whilst most people in their day "dwell upon the earth," sit down upon it as their rest and choice, derive their chief comfort from it, these are "redeemed from the earth" — withdrawn from it, bought away by the heavenly promises and the Divine grace to live above it, independent of it. They are quite severed from the world in heart and life. 3. A third point is their pureness. "They are virgins," in that they have lived chaste lives, both as to their faithfulness to God in their religion, and as to their pureness from all bodily lewdness. 4. A further quality is their truthfulness. "In their mouth was not found what is false." These people were truthful in speech, had also a higher truthfulness. They have the true faith; they hold to it with a true heart; they exemplify it by a true manner of life. They are the children of truth in the midst of a world of untruth. III. WHAT, THEN, IS THEIR REWARD? 1. Taking the last particular first, they stand approved, justified, and accepted before God. "They are blameless." To stand before God approved and blameless from the midst of a condemned world — a world given over to the powers of perdition by reason of its unbelief and sins, is an achievement of grace and faithfulness in which there may well be mighty exultation. 2. In the next place, they have a song which is peculiarly and exclusively their own. Though not connected with the throne, as the Living Ones, nor crowned and seated as the Elders, they have a ground and subject of joy and praise which neither the Living Ones nor the Elders have; nor is any one able to enter into that song except the 144,000. None others ever fulfil just such a mission, as none others are ever sealed with the seal of the living God in the same way in which they were sealed. They have a distinction and glory, a joy and blessedness, after all, in which none but themselves can ever share. 3. They stand with the Lamb on Mount Zion. To be "with the Lamb," as over against being with the Beast, is a perfection of blessing which no language can describe. It is redemption. It is victory. It is eternal security and glory. To be with the Lamb "on Mount Zion" is a more special position and relation. Glorious things are spoken of Jerusalem which have never yet been fulfilled. On His holy hill of Zion God hath said that He will set up His King, even His Son, who shall rule all the nations ( Psalm 2 .). The Lamb is yet to take possession of the city where He was crucified, there to fulfil what was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin over His head when He died. And when that once comes to pass, these 144,000 are with Him, His near and particular associates in that particular relation and administration. 4. They are "a firstfruit to God and to the Lamb," not the firstfruit of all the saved, for the Living Ones and the Elders are in heavenly place and glory above and before them; but a firstfruit of another and particular harvest; the firstfruit from the Jewish field, in that new beginning with the Israelitish people for their fathers' sakes, which is to follow the ending of the present "times of the Gentiles." They are brought to the confession of Christ, and sealed in their foreheads with the name of both the Father and the Son, during the time that the rest of their blood-kin are covenanting with and honouring the Antichrist as Messiah. IV. WHAT, NOW, OF THE ANGEL-MESSAGES? 1. The first message. That an angel is the preacher here is proof positive that the present dispensation is then past and changed. It is no longer the meek and entreating voice, beseeching men to be reconciled to God, but a great thunder from the sky, demanding of the nations to fear the God, as over against the false god whom they were adoring — to give glory to Him, instead of the infamous Beast whom they were glorifying — to worship the Maker of all things, as against the worship of him who can do no more than play his hellish tricks with the things that are made; and all this on the instant, for the reason that "the hour of judgment is come." 2. The second message. With the hour of judgment comes the work of judgment. A colossal system of harlotry and corruption holds dominion over the nations. God has allowed it for the punishment of those who would not have Christ for their Lord, but now He will not allow it longer. Therefore another angel comes with the proclamation: "Fallen, fallen, the great Babylon," etc. The announcement is by anticipation as on the very eve of accomplishment, and as surely now to be fulfilled. The particulars are given in chapter 17. and 18. There also the explanation of the object of this announcement is given. It is mercy still struggling in the toils of judgment, if that by any means some may yet be snatched from the opening jaws of hell; for there the further word is, "Come out of her, My people," etc. 3. The third message. And for the still more potent enforcement of this call a third angel appears, preaching and crying with a great voice, that whosoever is found worshipping the Beast and his image, or has the Beast's mark on his forehead or on his hand, even he shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God which is mingled without dilution in the cup of His anger, and shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the angels and in the presence of the Lamb, and the smoke of their torment ascends to the ages of ages, and they have no rest day and night! It is an awful commination; but these are times of awful guilt, infatuation, and wickedness. And when men are in such dangers, marching direct into the mouth of such a terrible perdition, it is a great mercy in God to make proclamation of it with all the force of an angel's eloquence. The same is also for the wronged and suffering ones who feel the power of these terrible oppressors. It tells them how their awful griefs shall be avenged on their hellish persecutors. 4. The fourth message. There is no suffering for any class of God's people in any age like the sufferings of those who remain faithful to God during the reign of the Antichrist. Here, at this particular time and juncture, is the patience or endurance of them that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. To come out of Babylon, and to stand aloof from its horrible harlotries, is a costly thing. Therefore there is another proclamation from heaven for their special strengthening and consolation. Whether this word is also from an angel we are not told; but it is a message from glory and from God. And it is a sweet and blessed message. It is a message which John is specially commanded to write, that it may be in the minds and hearts of God's people of every age, and take away all fear from those who in this evil time are called to lay down their lives because they will not worship Antichrist. "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth." And when violence, cruelty, and slaughter are the consequence of a life of truth and purity, the sooner it is over the greater the beatitude. ( J. A. Seiss, D. D. )

Benson Commentary Revelation 14:1 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. Revelation 14:1-4 . I looked, and behold a Lamb — The Lord Jesus, in the form of a lamb, or as the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world, and not only with horns like a lamb; stood on mount Sion — Namely, the heavenly Sion; and with him a hundred forty and four thousand — The same select number that was mentioned Revelation 7:4 , the genuine followers of the twelve apostles, apostolically multiplied, and therefore the number of the church, as six hundred and sixty-six is the number of the beast; and as the followers of the beast have the name of the beast, so these have the name of God, and, as some copies add, of Christ, written in their foreheads — As being the redeemed of God and of the Lamb, his now unalienable property, and as having been, when on earth, his professed servants, and the same as the witnesses. This prophecy often introduces the inhabitants of heaven as a kind of chorus, with great propriety and elegance. The church above, making suitable reflections on the grand events which are foretold in this book, greatly serves to raise the attention of real Christians, and to teach the high concern they have in them. Thus is the church on earth instructed, animated, and encouraged, by the sentiments, temper, and devotion of the church in heaven. And I heard a voice — Or sound, from heaven — Sounding clearer and clearer; first at a distance; as the sound of many waters — Or thunders; and afterward, being nearer, it was as of harpers harping on their harps — It sounded vocally and instrumentally at once. And they sung — With voices and instruments of music; as it were a new song — The Christian song, which they sung before, chap. 5.; and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty-four thousand — Those who had been the true spiritual worshippers of the one true God, through the one true Mediator, Jesus Christ; all the rest of mankind offering up their devotions to other objects, and through other mediators; or not worshipping with a truly spiritual worship; which were redeemed from the earth — From this present evil world, being bought by the blood of Christ, and delivered from the guilt and power of sin by the word and Spirit of God. These are they which were not — Or, had not been, defiled with women — It seems that one kind of defilement, and the most alluring temptation, is put for every other. Or rather, the meaning is, that they had kept themselves pure from the stains and pollutions of spiritual whoredom, or idolatry, with which the other parts of the world were miserably debauched and corrupted. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth — Who are nearest to him; or rather, the meaning is, who followed the Lamb in all things while on earth; who adhered constantly to the religion of Christ, in all conditions and in all places, whether in adversity or prosperity; whether in conventicles and deserts, or in churches and cities. These were redeemed from among men — Rescued from the corruptions prevalent among mankind, and consecrated as the first-fruits unto God and the Lamb — An earnest and assurance of a more plentiful harvest in succeeding times. And in their mouth was found no guile — They were as free from hypocrisy as from idolatry; for they were without fault before the throne of God — They resembled their blessed Redeemer, who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth, ( 1 Peter 2:22 ,) and were, as the apostle requires Christians to be, blameless and harmless, the sons of God without rebuke, &c., Php 2:15 . But possibly it may be asked, Where did such a church ever exist, especially before the Reformation? To which it may be replied, That it hath existed, and not only in idea, history demonstrates; as it hath been before evinced that there hath been, in every age, some true worshippers of God, and faithful servants of Jesus Christ; and as Elijah did not know the seven thousand who had never bowed the knee to Baal, so there may have been more true Christians than were always visible. Revelation 14:2 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: Revelation 14:3 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. Revelation 14:4 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. Revelation 14:5 And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God. Revelation 14:6 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, Revelation 14:6-7 . And — As a further motive to Christian patience and constancy, this vision of the happy state of faithful Christians was followed by another; I saw another angel — A second is mentioned Revelation 14:8 ; a third, Revelation 14:9 . These denote great messengers of God, with their assistants. The first exhorts to the fear and worship of God, the second proclaims the fall of Babylon, the third gives warning concerning the beast. Happy were they who made a right use of these divine messages! Fly — Or flying, going on swiftly; in the midst of heaven — Through the air; having the everlasting gospel to preach unto every nation and people — Both to Jews and Gentiles, even as far as the authority of the beast had extended. In the fourth and fifth verses the nature and character of the true Christian Church, in opposition to the wicked antichristian kingdom, were described; and here it is predicted that three principal efforts would be made toward a reformation at three different times, represented by the three angels appearing one after another. Or, that the gospel, here said to be everlasting, because, like its Divine Author, it is the same yesterday, to- day, and for ever, should be preached during this period, in opposition to the novel doctrines of the beast and the false prophet, which should be rooted up, Matthew 15:13 . And the swiftness with which the gospel should be disseminated and spread over the world, is admirably represented by the swift flight of the first angel; and the nature of the doctrine, and the earnestness wherewith it should be especially inculcated, is set forth by the first clause of the next verse; saying, with a loud voice — That is, urging in the most zealous and forcible manner, Fear God, and give glory to him, who made heaven, earth, the sea, &c. — Revere, stand in awe of, dread to offend, worship, and serve him; for the hour of his judgment is come — It is now denounced with certainty, and in due time will be fully executed on the impenitent, unbelieving, and disobedient. “It is,” says Bishop Newton, “a solemn and emphatic exhortation to forsake the reigning idolatry and superstition, and such exhortations were made even in the first and earliest times of the beast. Besides several of the Greek emperors, who strenuously opposed the worship of images, Charlemagne himself held a council at Frankfort in the year 794, consisting of about three hundred French, and German, and Italian, and Spanish, and British bishops, who condemned all sorts of adoration or worship of images, and rejected the second council of Nice, which had authorized and established it. At the same time the Caroline books, as they are called, four books written by Charles himself, or by his authority, proving the worship of images to be contrary to the Scripture, and to the doctrine and practice of antiquity, were approved by the council, and transmitted to the pope. Lewis the Pious, the son and successor of Charles, held a council at Paris, in the year 824, which ratified the acts of the council of Frankfort, and the Caroline books, and affirmed that, according to the Scripture and the fathers, adoration was due to God alone. Several private persons also taught and asserted the same Scriptural doctrines. Claude, bishop of Turin, declares, that ‘we are not commanded to go to the creature that we may be made happy, but to the Creator himself; and therefore we should not worship dead men; they are to be imitated, not to be adored; let us, together with the angels, worship one God.’ Agobard, archbishop of Lyons, wrote a whole book against images, and says, that ‘angels or saints may be loved and honoured, but not be served and worshipped; let us not put our trust in man, but in God, lest that prophetic denunciation should redound on us, Cursed is the man who trusteth in man.’ Many other bishops and writers of Britain, Spain, Italy, Germany, and France, professed the same sentiments; and this public opposition of emperors and bishops to the worship of saints and images, in the eighth and ninth centuries, appears to be meant particularly by the loud voice of this first angel flying aloft, and calling upon the world to worship God. In another respect, too, these emperors and bishops resemble this angel having the everlasting gospel to preach unto every nation; for in their time, and greatly by their means, the Christian religion was propagated and established among the Saxons, Danes, Swedes, and many other northern nations.” Revelation 14:7 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. Revelation 14:8 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. Revelation 14:8 . And there followed another angel — As the admonitions of the first angel had not the proper effect upon the kingdom of the beast, a second angel is commissioned to proclaim the fall of the capital city, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city — By Babylon is meant Rome, including the antichristian kingdom, the papal hierarchy seated there. Rome, considered in this light, is called Babylon, upon many accounts. Babylon was magnificent, strong, proud, powerful. So was Rome also. Babylon was first, Rome afterward, the residence of the emperors of a great part of the world. What Babylon was to Israel of old, Rome hath been both to the literal and spiritual Israel of God. Hence the liberty of the ancient Jews was connected with the overthrow of the Babylonish empire. And when Rome is finally overthrown, then the people of God will be at liberty. Whenever Babylon is mentioned in this book, the great is added, to teach us that Rome then commenced Babylon when it commenced the great city; when it swallowed up the Grecian monarchy and its fragments, Syria in particular; and, in consequence of this, obtained dominion over Jerusalem, about sixty years before the birth of Christ. Then it began, but it will not cease to be Babylon, till it is finally destroyed. Its spiritual greatness began in the fifth century, and increased from age to age. It seems it will come to its utmost height just before its final overthrow. Her fornication is her idolatry, invocation of saints and angels, worship of images, human traditions, with all that outward pomp, yea, and that fierce and bloody zeal, wherewith she pretends to serve God. But with spiritual fornication, as elsewhere, so in Rome, fleshly fornication is joined abundantly. Witness the stews there, licensed by the pope, which are no inconsiderable branch of his revenue. This is fitly compared to wine, because of its intoxicating nature. Of this wine she hath, indeed, made all nations drink — More especially by her later missions. We may observe, this making them drink is not ascribed to the beast, but to Babylon. For Rome itself, the Roman inquisitions, congregations, and Jesuits, continually propagate their idolatrous doctrines and practices, with or without the consent of this or that pope, who himself is not secure from their censure. But, as Bishop Newton observes, though Rome, with the antichristian power above described, was evidently here intended, it would not have been prudent to predict and denounce its destruction in open and direct terms; it was for many wise reasons done thus covertly under the name of Babylon, the great idolatress of the earth, and enemy of the people of God in former times. By the same figure of speech that the first angel cried, that the hour of his judgment is come, this second angel proclaims that Babylon is fallen; the sentence is as certain as if it was already executed. For greater certainty too it is repeated twice, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; as Joseph said, Genesis 41:32 , that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice, because the thing was established by God. The reason then is added of this sentence against Babylon; because she made all nations drink of the wine of her wrath, or rather, of the inflaming wine, of her fornication — Hers was a kind of Circean cup with poisoned liquor, to intoxicate and inflame mankind to spiritual fornication. St. John, in these figures, copies the ancient prophets. In the same manner, and in the same words, did Isaiah foretel the fate of ancient Babylon, ( Isaiah 21:9 ,) Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and Jeremiah hath assigned much the same reason for her destruction, ( Jeremiah 51:7 ,) Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord’s hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad. As by the first angel calling upon men to worship God, we understand the opposers of the worship of images in the eighth and ninth centuries, so by this second angel proclaiming the fall of mystic Babylon or Rome we understand particularly Peter Valdo, and those who concurred with him among the Waldenses and Albigenses; who were the first heralds, as I may say, of this proclamation, as they first of all, in the twelfth century, pronounced the Church of Rome to be the apocalyptic Babylon, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth; and for this cause not only departed from her communion themselves, but engaged great numbers also to follow their example, and laid the first foundation of the Reformation. Rome then began to fall; and as the ruin of Babylon was completed by degrees, so likewise will that of Rome; and these holy confessors and martyrs first paved the way to it. Revelation 14:9 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, Revelation 14:9-12 . And the third angel followed — At no great distance of time; saying — As the two former had done; with a loud voice — With authority and earnestness; If any man worship the beast, &c. — The commission of this angel reaches further than that of the preceding; it extends not only to the capital city, not only to the principal agents and promoters of idolatry, but to all the subjects of the beast, whom it consigns over to everlasting punishment. If any man worship the beast — That is, embrace and profess the religion of the beast; or, what is the same, the religion of the Papal hierarchy; the same shall drink, &c. — The worship against which judgment is here denounced, consists partly in an inward submission to the beast, a persuasion that all who are subject to Christ must be subject to the beast, or they cannot receive the influences of divine grace; or, as their expression is, “There is no salvation out of the church;” and partly in a suitable outward reverence to the beast and his image — the antichristian kingdom, and the pope that rules in it. The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God — The wine of God’s indignation, tempered with various ingredients of wrath; which is poured out without mixture — Namely, of mercy, and without hope. Bishop Newton renders the expression, the poisonous wrath of God; observing, “His punishment shall correspond with his crime; as he drank of the poisonous wine of Babylon, so he shall be made to drink of the poisonous wine of God; ??? ???????????? ??????? , which is mixed unmixed, the poisonous ingredients being stronger when mixed with mere, or unmixed wine;” in the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone — In the day of God’s future vengeance; in the presence of the holy angels — From hence some conjecture that possibly the torments of the damned may, at certain seasons, through eternal ages, become a spectacle to the inhabitants of the blessed world above; and in the presence of the Lamb — This signifies that their punishment shall not only be appointed by the infinite majesty of God, but approved moreover by men and angels, and by him also who loved us unto death, even Christ, our merciful and compassionate High-Priest. In all the Scriptures there is not another threatening so terrible as this. And God, by this greater fear, intended to arm his servants against the fear of the beast. The smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever — “When I seriously reflect on this text,” says Doddridge, “and how directly the force of it lies against those who, contrary to the light of their consciences, continue in the communion of the Church of Rome for secular advantage, or to avoid the terror of persecution, it almost makes me tremble.” By this third angel following the others with a loud voice, we may understand principally Luther and his fellow-reformers, who, with a loud voice, protested against the corruptions of the Church of Rome, and declared them to be destructive of salvation to all who obstinately continued in the practice and profession of them. This would be a time of great trial, Revelation 14:12 . Here is the patience of the saints — Manifested in suffering all things, rather than receive this mark of the beast, the badge of their devotedness to him, and making an open profession of his religion; who keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus — The character of all true saints. It is very well known that this was a time of great trial and persecution; the Reformation was not introduced and established without much bloodshed; there were many martyrs in every country, but they were comforted with a solemn declaration from heaven in the next words. Revelation 14:10 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: Revelation 14:11 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. Revelation 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. Revelation 14:13 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. Revelation 14:13 . And I heard a voice from heaven — This is most seasonably heard when the beast is in his highest power and fury; saying unto me, Write — He was at first commanded to write the whole book. Whenever this is repeated, it denotes something peculiarly observable. Blessed — ???????? , happy, are the dead which die in the Lord — In the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ; and, in consequence of that faith, in a state of vital union with him, he being thereby made of God unto them wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, and thereby imparting unto them, 1st, A satisfactory knowledge of the nature and greatness of their future felicity, in their illumination; 2d, A title to it, in their justification; 3d, A meetness for it, in their sanctification; and, 4th, Bringing them to the enjoyment of it, in their complete redemption from all the consequences of the fall; from henceforth — Particularly, 1st, Because they escape the approaching calamities, or are taken away from the evil to come, as the expression is, Isaiah 57:1-2 , to which passage there seems to be an allusion here; 2d, Because they already enjoy so near an approach to, and indeed an anticipation of, glory — the glory to be conferred at the second coming of Christ, and the resurrection of the dead; for they rest — No pain, no purgatory follows; but pure and unmixed happiness; from their labours — And the more laborious their life was, the sweeter is their rest. How different is this state from that of those ( Revelation 14:11 ) who have no rest day nor night! Reader, which wilt thou choose? And their works — Each one’s peculiar works, done from a principle of faith and love, with a single eye to the glory of God, and in a spirit of humility before God, resignation to his will, and patience under all trials and sufferings; and in meekness, gentleness, and long-suffering toward those who oppose them in their Christian course of cheerfully doing good, and patiently suffering ill; follow them — And will be produced as evidences of their faith and love; or of the genuineness of their religion at the day of judgment. But the words, ?? ???? ????? ????????? ??? ’ ????? , properly signify, their works follow with them, or follow them immediately; that is, the fruit of their works; they reap this, in some measure, immediately on their admission into paradise. Observe, reader, their works do not go before, to procure for them admittance into the mansions of joy and glory, but they follow or attend them when admitted. Bishop Newton accounts for the expression, From henceforth, blessed are the dead, &c., by observing, that though from the time of the Reformation, “the blessedness of the dead who die in the Lord hath not been enlarged, yet it hath been much better understood, more clearly written and promulgated than it was before, and the contrary doctrine of purgatory hath been exploded and banished from the belief of all reasonable men. This truth,” adds he, “was moreover one of the leading principles of the Reformation. What first provoked Luther’s spirit was the scandalous sale of indulgences; and the doctrine of indulgences having a close connection with the doctrine of purgatory, the refutation of the one naturally leads to the refutation of the other; and his first work of reformation was his ninety-five theses, or positions, against indulgences, purgatory, and the dependent doctrines. So that he may be said literally to have fulfilled the command from heaven, of writing, Blessed are the dead, &c., and from that time to this, this truth hath been so clearly asserted, and so solemnly established, that it is likely to prevail for ever.” But though what the bishop here states might be one reason of the expression, from henceforth blessed, &c., yet the principal reason of its being used seems evidently to have been that above suggested, namely, to intimate that the sufferings which the people of God would be exposed to at this period, from the persecutions of the antichristian power, would be so great that those individuals who escaped them by being taken out of the world by death before they came, would have reason to think themselves happy. Revelation 14:14 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. Revelation 14:14-16 . And I looked, and behold a white cloud — An emblem of the equity and holiness, as also of the victory of him that sat upon it, over all adverse power; and upon the cloud one like unto the Son of man — By the majesty of his form, as represented in Daniel; having on his head a golden crown — Signifying his high dignity, his extraordinary authority and power; and a sharp sickle in his hand — As if going forth to reap some remarkable harvest. And another angel came out of the temple — Which is in heaven, ( Revelation 14:17 ,) out of which came the judgments of God in the proper seasons; crying, by the command of God, with a loud voice, Thrust in thy sickle and reap, for the time is come, &c. — Namely, the appointed time of judgment, for which the world is ripe; the voices of the three warning angels, spoken of from Revelation 14:6-11 , not having their due effect, it is here predicted that the judgments of God would overtake the followers and adherents of the beast, which judgments are represented in this paragraph under the figures of harvest and vintage, figures not unusual in the prophets, and copied particularly from the Prophet Joel, who denounced God’s judgments against the enemies of his people in the like terms, Joel 3:13 , saying, Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; come, get you down, for the press is full, the fats overflow for their wickedness is great. “Having passed,” says Mr. Faber, “the epoch of the Reformation, we now advance into the times of God’s last judgments upon his enemies, the days of the third wo-trumpet. Two remarkable periods of the most conspicuous of these judgments (the several steps of the whole of which are afterward described under seven vials) are here arranged under the two grand divisions figuratively styled the harvest and the vintage. In the days of Bishop Newton the third wo-trumpet had not begun to sound. Hence his lordship justly observed, ‘What particular events are signified by this harvest and vintage, it appears impossible for any man to determine; time alone can with certainty discover, for these things are yet in futurity. Only it may be observed, that these two signal judgments will as certainly come, as harvest and vintage succeed in their season; and in the course of providence the one will precede the other, as in the course of nature the harvest is before the vintage; and the latter will greatly surpass the former, and be attended with a most terrible destruction of God’s enemies.’ But although both these signal judgments were future when Bishop Newton wrote, it has been our lot to hear the voice of the third wo, and to behold in the French revolution the dreadful scenes of the harvest. Still, however, a more dreadful prospect extends before us. The days of the vintage are yet future; for the time hath not yet arrived when the great controversy of God with the nations shall be carried on between the two seas, in the neighbourhood of the glorious holy mountain, in the blood-stained vale of Megiddo, in the land whose space extends one thousand six hundred furlongs.” Mr. Faber, therefore, considers the harvest and the vintage here as predicting “two tremendous manifestations of God’s wrath, two seasons of peculiar misery;” and that the apostle gives here only a general intimation of these, reserving a more particular account of them for future consideration under the pouring out of the seven vials, which are all comprehended under the third wo, and which he divides into three classes; the vials of the harvest, the intermediate vials, and the vials of the vintage. — Dissertation on the Prophecies, vol. 2. pages 378 and 382, edition 1810. Whether and how far these views of Mr. Faber appear to be just and consistent with the general tenor of this latter part of the prophecy, we shall be better able to judge when we come to consider the contents of the two next chapters. Revelation 14:15 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. Revelation 14:16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. Revelation 14:17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. Revelation 14:17-20 . And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven — As the former had done; he also having a sharp sickle — To assist in this execution, and finish the destruction of the enemies of the truth. And another angel, just at that instant, came out from the altar — Of burnt-offering, from whence the martyrs had cried for vengeance. Which angel, it is said, had power over fire — This, according to Daubuz, is spoken in allusion to the office of that priest who was appointed by lot in the temple-service to take care of the fire upon the altar, and who was therefore called the priest over the fire. Grotius interprets it, habens ministerium iræ divinæ, having the office of God’s vengeance. And he cried with a loud voice — With great vehemence; to him that had the sharp sickle — Being sent to bring a message to him; saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters, &c. — Begin to put in execution the righteous judgments of God on this wicked generation; for her grapes are fully ripe — The time of God’s vengeance, his appointed time, is fully come, for the iniquities of the inhabitants of the earth have made them fully ripe for destruction. And the angel thrust in his sickle — Immediately upon this order the angel began to cut down those wicked persons whose iniquities had made them ripe for destruction; and gathered — Or lopped off the grapes of the vine of the earth, and cast them into the great wine- press of the wrath of God — Which seemed to stand ready to receive them; that is, delivered them over to divine vengeance, which should press them hard with grievous afflictions, as grapes are pressed in a wine-press. And the wine-press was trodden without the city — The images in this vision are very strong and expressive. The largest wine-presses used to be in some places out of the city. This expression, therefore, seems to intimate the great numbers that should be involved in this general destruction. And the blood came out of the wine-press even unto the horses-bridles, &c. — Which is a strong hyperbolical expression, to signify a vast slaughter and effusion of blood; a way of speaking not unknown to the Jews, for the Jerusalem Talmud, describing the woful slaughter which the Roman Emperor Adrian made of the Jews at the destruction of the city of Bitter, saith, that “the horses waded in blood up to the nostrils.” Nor are similar examples wanting even in classic authors; for Silius Italicus, speaking of Hannibal’s descent into Italy, useth a like expression of “the bridles flowing with much blood.” The stage where this bloody tragedy is acted is without the city, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs, which, as Mr. Mede ingeniously observes, is the measure of stato dello chiesa, or the state of the Roman Church, or St. Peter’s patrimony, which, reaching from the walls of Rome unto the river Po and the marshes of Verona, contains the space of two hundred Italian miles, which make exactly sixteen hundred furlongs. Revelation 14:18 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. Revelation 14:19 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. Revelation 14:20 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. Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.

Expositor's Bible Commentary Revelation 14:1 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. CHAPTER XI THE LAMB ON THE MOUNT ZION AND THE HARVEST AND VINTAGE OF THE WORLD. Revelation 14:1-20 . THE twelfth and thirteenth chapters of this book were designed to set before us a picture of the three great enemies of the Church of Christ. We have been told of the dragon, the principle and root of all the evil, whether inward or outward, from which that Church suffers. He is the first enemy. We have been further told of the first beast, of that power or prince of the world to whom the dragon has committed his authority. He is the second enemy. Lastly, we have been told of that false spirit of religion which unites itself to the world, and which, even more opposed than the world itself to the unworldly spirit of Christianity, makes the relation of God’s children to the world worse than it might otherwise have been. The picture thus presented is in the highest degree fitted to depress and to discourage. The thought more especially of faithlessness in the Church fills the heart with sorrow. The saddest feature in the sufferings of Jesus was that He was "wounded in the house of His friends;" and there is a greater than ordinary depth of pathos in the words with which the beloved disciple draws to a close his record of his Master’s struggle with the Jews: "These things spake Jesus; and He departed, and was hidden from them. But though He had done so many signs before them, yet they believed not on Him: that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?"* (* John 12:36-38 ) Even then, however, it was not wholly darkness and defeat, for the Evangelist immediately adds, "Nevertheless even of the rulers many believed on Him;" and he closes the struggle with the words of calm self-confidence on the part of Jesus, "The things therefore which I speak, even as the Father hath said unto Me, so I speak."* Thus also is it here, and we pass from the dark spectacle on which our eyes have rested to a scene of heavenly light, and beauty, and repose. The reader may indeed at first imagine that the symmetry of structure which has been pointed out as a characteristic of the Apocalypse is not preserved by the arrangement of its parts in the present instance. We are about to meet in the following chapter the third and last series of plagues; and we might perhaps expect that the consolatory visions contained in this chapter ought to have found a place between the sixth and seventh Bowls, just as the consolatory visions of chap. 7 and of chaps. 10 and 11 found their place between the sixth and seventh Seals and the sixth and seventh Trumpets. Instead of this the seventh Bowl, at Rev 15:17, immediately follows the sixth, at Rev 15:12 of the same chapter; and the visions of encouragement contained in the chapter before us precede all the Bowls. The explanation may be that the Bowls are the last and highest series of judgments, and that when they begin there can be no more pause. One plague must rush upon another till the end is reached. The final judgments brook neither interruption nor delay. (* Joh 12:42:50) In this spirit we turn to the first vision of chap. 14: "And I saw, and, behold, the Lamb standing on the mount Zion, and with Him a hundred and forty and four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and the voice which I heard was as the voice of harpers harping with their harps: and they sang as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four living creatures, and the elders: and no man could learn the song save the hundred and forty and four thousand, even they that had been purchased out of the earth. These are they which were not denied with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. These were purchased from among men, a first-fruits unto God and unto the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no lie; they are without blemish ( Revelation 14:1-5 )." The scene of the vision is "the mount Zion," that Zion so often spoken of both in the Old and in the New Testament as God’s peculiar seat, and in the eyes of Israel famous for the beauty of its morning dews.1 It is the Zion in which God "dwells,"2 the mount Zion Which He "loved,"3 and "out of which salvation comes."4 It is that "holy hill of Zion" upon which God set the Son as King when He said to Him, "Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten Thee."5 It is that Zion, too, to which "the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads."6 Finally, it is that home of which the sacred writer, writing to the Hebrews, says, "Ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable hosts of angels, to the general assembly and Church of the first-born, who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of a new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speak eth better than that of Abel."7 Upon this mount Zion the Lamb - that is, the crucified and risen Lamb of chap. 5 - stands, firm, self-possessed, and calm. (1 Psalm 133:3 ; 2 Psalm 9:11 ; 3 Psalm 78:68 ; 4 Psalm 14:7 ; 5 Psalm 2:6-7 ; 6 Isaiah 35:10 ; 7 Hebrews 12:22-24 ) There is more, however, than outward beauty or sacred memories to mark the scene to which we are introduced. Mount Zion may be "beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King."* But there is music for the ear as well as beauty for the eye. The mount resounds with song, rich and full of meaning to those who can understand it. A voice is heard from heaven which seems to be distinguished from the voice of the hundred and forty and four thousand to be immediately spoken of. We are not told from whom it comes; but it is there, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder, and as the voice of harpers harping with their harps. Majesty and sweetness mark it. It is the music that is ever in God’s presence, not the music of angels only, or glorified saints, or a redeemed creation. More probably it is that of all of them together. And the song which they sing is new, like that of Revelation 5:9 , which is sung by "the four living creatures and the four-and-twenty elders, who have each one a harp, and golden bowls of incense, which are the prayers of the Saints." That song the Church on earth understands, and she alone can understand. It spoke of truths which the redeemed alone could appreciate, and of joys which they alone could value. There is a communion of saints, of all saints on earth and of all who fill the courts of the Lord’s house on high. Even now the Church can listen with ravished ear to songs which she shall hereafter join in singing. (* Psalm 48:2 ) Standing beside the Lamb upon Mount Zion, there are a hundred and forty and four thousand, having the Lamb’s name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads, in token of their priestly state. We cannot avoid asking, Are these the same hundred and forty and four thousand of whom we have read in chap. 7 as sealed upon their foreheads, or are they different? The natural inference is that they are the same. To use such a peculiar number of two different portions of the Church of God would lead to a confusion inconsistent with the usually plain and direct, even though mystical, statements of this book. Besides which they have the mark or seal of God in both cases on the same part of their bodies, - the forehead. It is true that the definite article is not prefixed to the number; but neither is that article prefixed to the "glassy sea" of Revelation 15:1 , and yet no one doubts that this is the same "glassy sea" as that of chap. 4. Besides which the absence of the article may be accounted for by the fact that the reference is not directly to the hundred and forty and four thousand of Revelation 7:4 , but to the innumerable multitude of Revelation 7:9 .* We have already seen, however, that these two companies are the same, although the persons composing them are viewed in different lights; and the hundred and forty and four thousand here correspond, not to the first, but to the second, company. They are in full possession of their Christian privileges and joys. They are not "in heaven," in the ordinary meaning of that term. They are on earth. But the two companies formerly mentioned meet in them. They are both sealed, and in the presence of the Lamb. (* Comp. Lee in Speaker’s Commentary in loc . The distinction between the two references is there wrongly given.) The character of the hundred and forty and four thousand next claims our thoughts. 1. They were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. The words cannot be literally understood, but must be taken in the sense of similar words of the Apostle Paul, when, writing to the Corinthians, he says, "For I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy: for I espoused you to one Husband, that I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ."l Such "a pure virgin" were the hundred and forty and four thousand now standing upon the mount Zion. They had renounced all that unfaithfulness to God and to Divine truth which is so often spoken of in the Old Testament as spiritual fornication or adultery. They had renounced all sin. In the language of St. John in his first Epistle, they had "the true God, and eternal life." They had "guarded themselves from idols."2 (1 2 Corinthians 11:2 ; 2 1 John 5:20-21 ) 2. They follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. They shrink from no part of the Redeemer’s life whether on earth or in heaven. They follow Him in His humiliation, labours, sufferings, death, resurrection, and ascension. They obey the command "Follow thou Me"* in prosperity or adversity, in joy or sorrow, in persecution or triumph. Wherever their Lord is they also are, one with Him, members of His Body and partakers of His Spirit. (* John 21:22 ) 3. They are purchased from among men, a first-fruits unto God and unto the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no lie; they are without blemish. Upon the fact that they are "purchased" it is unnecessary to dwell. We have already met with the expression in Revelation 5:9 , in one of the triumphant songs of the redeemed. Nor does it seem needful to speak of the moral qualifications here enumerated, further than to observe that in other parts of this book the "lie" is expressly said to exclude from the new Jerusalem, and to be a mark of those upon whom the door is shut,1 while the epithet "without blemish" is elsewhere, on more than one occasion, applied to our Lord.2 (1 Revelation 21:27 ; Revelation 22:15 ; 2 Hebrews 9:14 ; 1 Peter 1:19 ) The appellation "a first-fruits" demands more notice. The figure is drawn from the well-known offering of "first-fruits" under the Jewish law, in which the first portion of any harvest was dedicated to God, in token that the whole belonged to Him, and was recognized as His. Hence it always implies that something of the same kind will follow it, and in this sense it is often used in the New Testament: "If the first-fruit is holy, so is the lump; " "Epaenetus, who is the first-fruits of Asia unto Christ;" "Now hath Christ been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of them that are asleep;" Ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the first-fruits of Achaia."1 In like manner the mention of the hundred and forty and four thousand as "first-fruits" suggests the thought of something to follow. What that is it is more difficult to say. It can hardly be other Christians belonging to a later age of the Church’s history upon earth, for the end is come. It can hardly be Christians who have done or suffered more than other members of the Christian family, for in St. John’s eyes all Christians are united to Christ, alike in work and martyrdom. Only one supposition remains. The hundred and forty and four thousand, as the whole Church of God, are spoken of in the sense in which the same expression is used by the Apostle James: "Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first-fruits of His creatures."2 Not as the first portion of the Church on earth, to be followed by another portion, but as the first portion of a kingdom of God wider and larger than the Church, are the words to be understood. The whole Church is God’s first-fruits; and when she is laid upon His altar, we have the promise that a time is coming when creation shall follow in her train, when "it shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God,"3 when "the mountains and the hills shall break forth before the Redeemer into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands."4 (1 Romans 11:16 ; Romans 16:5 ; 1 Corinthians 15:20 ; 1 Corinthians 16:15 ; 2 Jam 1:18 ; 3 Romans 8:21 ; 4 Isaiah 55:12 ) Why shall nature thus rejoice before the Lord? Let the Psalmist answer: "For He cometh, for He cometh to judge the earth: He shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with His truth."* This thought may introduce us to the next portion of the chapter: (* Psalm 96:13 ) - "And I saw another angel flying in mid-heaven, having an eternal gospel to proclaim over them that sit on the earth, and over every nation, and tribe, and tongue, and people; and he saith with a great voice, Fear God, and give Him glory; for the hour of His judgment Is come: and worship Him that made the heaven, and the earth, and sea, and fountains of waters. And another, a second angel, followed, saying, Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the great, which hath made all the nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And another angel, a third, followed them, spying with a great voice, If any man worshippeth the beast and his image, and receiveth a mark on his forehead, or upon his hand, he also shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mingled unmixed in the cup of His anger; and 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 goeth up unto ages of ages: and they have no rest day and night, they that worship the beast and his image, and whoso receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints, they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their toils; for their works follow with them. And I saw, and behold a white cloud, and on the cloud I saw One sitting like unto a Son of man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the temple, crying with a great voice to Him that sat on the cloud, Send forth Thy sickle, and reap: for the hour to reap is come; for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe. And He that sat on the cloud cast His sickle upon the earth; and the earth was reaped. And another angel came out from the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, he that hath power over fire; and he called with a great voice to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Send forth thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her bunches of grapes are ripe. And the angel cast his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the winepress, the great winepress, of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and there came out blood from the winepress, even unto the bridles of the horses, as far as a thousand and six hundred furlongs ( Revelation 14:6-20 ). The first point to be noticed in connection with these verses is their structure, for the structure is of importance to the interpretation. The passage as a whole, it will be easily observed, consists of seven parts, the first three and the last three being introduced by an "angel," while the central or chief part is occupied with One who, from the description, can be no other than our Lord Himself. In this part it is also obvious that the Lord comes to wind up the history of the world, and to gather in that harvest of His people which is already fully or even overripe. There can be no doubt, therefore, that we are here at the very close of the present dispensation; and, as five out of the six parts which are grouped around the central figure are occupied with judgment on the wicked, the presumption is that the only remaining part, the first of the six, will be occupied with the same topic. In this first part indeed we read of an eternal gospel proclaimed over them that sit on the earth, and over every nation, and tribe, and tongue, and people; and the first impression made upon us is that we have here a universal and final proclamation of the glad tidings of great joy, in order that the world may yet, at the last moment, repent, believe, and be saved. But such an interpretation, however plausible and generally accepted, must be set aside. The light thrown upon the words by their position in the series of seven parts already spoken of is a powerful argument against it Everything in the passage itself leads to the same conclusion. We do not read, as we ought, were this the meaning, to have read, of "the," but of "an," eternal gospel. This gospel is proclaimed, not "unto," but "over," those to whom it is addressed. Its hearers do not "dwell," as in both the Authorized and Revised Versions, but, as in the margin of the latter, "sit," on the earth, in the sinful world, in the carelessness of pride and self-confident security. Thus the great harlot "sitteth upon many waters;" and thus Babylon says in her heart, "I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall in no wise see mourning."1 There is no humiliation, no spirit of repentance, no preparation for the Gospel, here; while the mention of the "earth n and the fourfold division of its inhabitants lead us to think of men continuing in their sins, over whom a doom is to be pronounced.2 Still further, the words put into the mouth of him who speaks "with a great voice," and which appear to contain the substance of the gospel thus proclaimed, have in them no sound of mercy, no story of love, no mention of the name of Jesus. They speak of fearing God and giving glory to Him, as even the lost may do,3 of the hour, not even the "day," of His judgment ; and they describe the rule of the great Creator by bringing together the four things - the heaven, and the earth, and sea, and fountains of waters - upon which judgment has already fallen in the series of the Trumpets, and is yet to fall in that of the Bowls.4 Lastly, the description given of the angel reminds us so much of the description given of the "eagle" in Revelation 8:13 as to make it at least probable chat his mission is a similar one of woe. (1 Revelation 17:1 ; Revelation 18:7 ; 2Comp. Revelation 11:9 ; Revelation 13:7 ; 3Comp. Jam 2:19 ; 4Rev. 8 and 15) In the light of all these circumstances, we seem compelled to come to the conclusion that the "gospel" referred to is a proclamation of judgment, that it is that side of the Saviour’s mission in which He appears as the winnowing fan by which His enemies are scattered as the chaff, while His disciples are gathered as the wheat. There is no intimation here, then, of a conversion of the world. The world stands self-convicted before the bar of judgment, to hear its doom. The cry of the second angel corresponds to that of the first. It proclaims the fall of Babylon and its cause. The deeply interesting questions relating to this city will meet us at a later point. In the meantime it is enough to observe that Babylon is described as fallen . The Judge is not only standing at the door: He has begun His work. The words of the third angel continue the strain thus begun, and constitute the most terrible picture of the fate of the ungodly to be found in Scripture. The eye shrinks from the spectacle. The heart fails with fear when the words are read. That wine of the wrath of God which is mingled unmixed in the cup of His anger, that wine into which, contrary to the usage of the time, no water, no mitigating element, has been allowed to enter; that torment with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb; that smoke of their torment going up unto ages of ages; that no-rest day and night, of so different a kind from the no-rest of which we have read in Revelation 4:8 - all present a picture from which we can hardly do aught else than turn away with trembling. Can this be the Gospel of Jesus, the Lamb of God? Can this be a revelation given to the disciple whom Jesus loved, and who had entered so deeply into his Master’s spirit of tenderness and compassion for the sinner? 1. Let us consider that the words are addressed, not directly to sinners, but to the Church of Christ, which is safe from the threatened doom; not to the former that they may be led to repentance, but to the latter that through the thought of what she has escaped he may be filled with eternal gratitude and joy. 2. Let us notice the degree to which sin is her supposed to have developed; that it is not the sin of Mary in the house of Simon, of the penitent thief, of the Phillippian gaoler, or of the publicans and harlots who gathered around our Lord in the days of His flesh to listen to Him, but sin bold, determined, loved, and clung to as the sinner’s self-chosen good, the sin of sinners who will die for sin as martyrs die for Christ and holiness. 3. Let us observe that, whatever the angel may mean, he certainly does not speak of never-ending existence in never-ending torment, for the words of the original unhappily translated both in the Authorized and Revised Versions "forever and ever" ought properly to be rendered "unto ages of ages;"* and, distinguished as they are on this occasion alone in the Apocalypse from the first of these expressions by the absence of the Greek articles, they ought not to be translated in the same way. (*They are so rendered in the margin of the Revised Version) 4. Let us recall the strong figures of speech in which the inhabitants of the East were wont to give utterance to their feelings, figures illustrated in the present instance by the mention of that "fire and brimstone" which no man will interpret literally, as well as by the language of St. Jude when he describes Sodom and Gomorrah as "an example of eternal fire."* (* Judges 1:7 {margin of R.V.}). 5. Let us remember that hatred of sin is the correlative of love of goodness, and that the kingdom of God cannot be fully established in the world until sin has been completely banished from it. 6. Above all, let us mark carefully the distinction, so often forced upon us in the writings of St. John, between sinners in the ordinary sense and the system of sin to which other sinners cling in deadliest enmity to God and righteousness; and, as we do all this, the words of the third angel will produce on us another than their first impression. So far as the human being is before us we shall be moved only to com passion and eagerness to save. But his sin, the sin which has mastered the Divinely implanted elements of his nature, which has fouled what God made pure and embittered what God made sweet, the sin which has subjected one created in the nobility of the image of God to the miserable thralldom of the devil, the sin the thought of which we can separate, like the Apostle Paul, from the "I" of man’s true nature* - of that sin we can only say, Let the wrath of God be poured out upon it unmingled with mercy; let it be destroyed with a destruction the memory of which shall last "unto ages of ages" and even take its place amidst the verities sustaining the throne of the Eternal and securing the obedience and the happiness of His creatures. If a minister of Christ thinks that he may gather from this passage, or others similar to it, a commission to go to sinners rather than to sin with "tidings of damnation," he mistakes alike the Master whom he serves and the commission with which he has been entrusted. (* Romans 7) At this point, after the thought of that spirit of allegiance to the beast which draws down such terrors upon itself, and before we reach the central figure of the whole movement, we have some words of comfort interposed. The meaning of the first part of them is similar to that of Revelation 13:10 , and need not be further spoken of. The meaning of their second part, conveying to us the contents of the "voice from heaven," demands a moment’s notice. Blessed , exclaims the heavenly voice (at the same time prefixing the command Write ), are the dead which die in the Lora from henceforth. It is difficult to determine the precise point of time referred to in the word "henceforth." If it be the moment of the end, the moment of the Second Coming of the Lord, then the promise must express the glory of the resurrection. But, to say nothing of the fact that "resting from labours" is too weak to bring out the glory of the resurrection state, there is at that instant no more time to die in the Lord. The living shall be "changed." It seems better, therefore, to understand the words as a voice of consolation running throughout the whole Christian age. In the view of "heaven" the lapse of time is hardly thought of. All is Now. The meaning of "dying in the Lord," again, must not be regarded as equivalent to the Scriptural expression "falling asleep in Jesus." Not the thought of "falling asleep" in a quiet Christian home, but of "dying" as Jesus died, is in the Seer’s mind; and not the thought of rest from work, but of rest from toils , an entirely different and far stronger word, is in the answer of the Spirit. Thus are believers blessed. Their life is a life of toil, of hardship, of trial, of persecution, of death; but when they die, they "rest" And their "works" - that is, their Christian character and life - are not lost. They follow with them , and meet them again in the heavenly mansions as the record of all that they have done and suffered in their Master’s cause. The first three angels have accomplished their task. We now reach the fourth and chief member in this series of seven, and meet with the Lord as He comes to take His people to Himself, that where He is, there they may also be. That it is the Lord who is here before us we cannot for a moment doubt. The designation like unto a Son of man, the same as that of Revelation 1:13 , itself establishes the fact, which is again confirmed by the mention of the white cloud and of the golden crown. In His hand He holds a sharp sickle, with which to reap. Thus also in different passages of the New Testament our Lord speaks of the harvest of His people, although in them He acts by His angels and Apostles.1 In one passage of the Gospel of St. John He acts by Himself.2 The glorified Redeemer is thus ready to complete His work. (1 Matthew 9:37-38 ; Matthew 13:29-30 ; 2 Joh 14:3) Another angel now appears, the first of the second series of three, and styled "another," not by comparison with Him who sat on the white cloud, and who is exalted far above all angels, but by comparison with the angels previously spoken of at the sixth, eighth, and ninth verses of the chapter. This angel is said to come out from the temple - that is, out of the naos , out of the innermost shrine of the temple - and the notice is important, for it shows that he comes from the immediate presence of God, and is a messenger from Him. Therefore it is that he can say to the Son, Send forth Thy sickle, and reap. "The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father doing."1 Until the Father gives the sign His "hour is not yet come;" and more especially of the hour now arrived Jesus had Himself said, "But of that day or that hour knoweth no one, not even the angels in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father."2 The day, the hour, the moment, has now arrived; and, as usual in this book, the message of the Father is communicated by an angel. The intimation that the hour is come is grounded upon the fact that the harvest about to be gathered in is fully ripe . The Revised Version translates "overripe;" but the translation, though literal, is unhappy, and so far false as it unquestionably suggests a false idea. God’s time for working is always right, not wrong; and it is perfectly legitimate to understand the word of the original as meaning simply dry, hard, the soft juices of its ripening state absorbed, and the time of its firmness come.3 Thus summoned by the message of the Father to the work, the Son enters upon it without delay. "As He hears, He judges."4 He that sat on the cloud cast His sickle upon the earth; and the earth was reaped. (1 Joh 5:19; 2 Mark 13:32 ; 3Comp. the "dried up" of the margin of the Revised Version; 4 John 5:30 ) The second angel of the second group of three next appears, having, like Him that sat upon the cloud, "a sharp sickle;" and he too waits for the summons to use it. This summons is given by the third angel of the second group, of whom it is said that he came out from the altar, he that hath power over fire. The altar of this verse must be that already spoken of in Revelation 8:3 , where we were told that "another angel came and stood over the altar, having a golden censer," an altar which we have been led to identify with the brazen altar of Revelation 5:9 , beneath which were found the souls of the Old Testament saints; and the "fire" over which this angel has power must be the "fire" of Revelation 8:5 , the fire taken from that altar to kindle the incense of the prayers of the saints. The angel is thus a messenger of judgment, about to command a final and full answer to be given to the prayer that the Almighty will finish His work and vindicate His cause. To this character, accordingly, his message corresponds, for he called with a great voice to him (that is, to the second angel) that had the sharp sickle, saying, Send forth thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her bunches of grapes are ripe. A vintage, not a harvest of grain, is here before us; and it is impossible to doubt that it is the purpose of the Seer to draw a broad line of distinction between the two. The latter is the harvest of the good; the former is the vintage of the evil: and the propriety of the figure thus used for the evil is easily perceived when we remember that grapes were gathered to be trodden in the winefat, and that the juice when trodden out had the colour of blood. The figure was indeed one already familiar to the prophets: "Let the nations bestir themselves, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat" (that is, The Lord judges): "for there will I sit to judge all the nations round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the vintage is ripe: come, tread ye; for the winepress is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great;"1 "Wherefore art Thou red in Thine apparel, and Thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was no man with Me: yea, I trod them in Mine anger, and trampled them in My fury; and their life-blood is sprinkled upon My garments, and I have stained all My raiment. For the day of vengeance is in Mine heart, and My year of redemption is come."2 The figure is here employed in a similar manner, for the angel gathered the vine (not "the vintage," the whole vine being plucked up by the roots) of the earth, and cast it into the winepress, the great wine press, of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and there came out blood from the winepress, even unto the bridles of the horses, as far as a thousand and six hundred furlongs. In these words we have undoubtedly the judgment of the wicked, and the last portion of them alone need detain us for a moment. (1 Joel 3:12-13 ; 2 Isaiah 63:2-4 ) 1. What is meant by the statement that the sea of blood thus created by the slaughter spoken of reached "even unto the bridles of the horses "? The horses are those of Revelation 19:11-16 , where we have again a description of the final victory of Christ over all His enemies, and where it is again said of Him that "He treadeth the winepress