1And then I looked and a Lamb stood on Mount Zion, and with Him a hundred forty-four thousand who had His Father's name written on their foreheads (Ezek. 9:4).
2And I heard a voice from heaven, like the roar of mighty ocean waves, and like loud thunder; and I heard a sound like harpists playing their harps.
3And they sang a new song before the throne, and before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred forty-four thousand, who had been redeemed from the earth.
4These are they who have kept themselves chaste (abstinent from illicit sexual activity), and are followers of the Lamb wherever He leads. They were redeemed, purchased from among mankind, and offered as a special (first-fruits) (1 Cor.15:20) offering to God and to the Lamb.
5And in them there is no deceit, fraud or hypocrisy (Zeph. 3:13); they stand faultless before the throne of God.
6And I saw another angel flying in the midair, carrying the eternal gospel to proclaim to those that dwell on the earth - to every nation, kindred, language, and people,
7And he said in a loud voice, “Fear God, and give Him glory; for the hour of His judgment has come. Worship Him Who made heaven, earth, the sea, and the springs of water.”
8And another angel followed, saying, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen - that great city is fallen, (Is. 21:9) because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her immorality”.
9And a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image, and receives its mark on their forehead, or on their hand,
10They, too, shall drink the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation (Job 21:20); and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and the Lamb;
11And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever; and there shall be no rest (respite) day nor night, for those who worship the beast and its image, and receive the mark of its name”.
12This will require patience and endurance on the part of the people of God, who obey His commandments, and remain faithful to Jesus.
13Then I heard a voice from heaven say to me, “Write this: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on’. ‘Yes’, says the Spirit, ‘blessed, indeed, are they who will rest from their labors (Dan.12:13); and their good works will follow them.’”
14And I looked and saw a white cloud, and seated upon the cloud was One like the Son of man, with a golden crown on His head, and a sharp sickle in His hand.
15And then another (4th) angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to Him Who sat on the cloud, “Begin reaping with Your sickle, and reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe; and the time has come for You to begin reaping.”
16And so He that sat on the cloud swung His sickle across the earth (Joel 3:13); and the earth was harvested (Is.63:2).
17And another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he, too, had a sharp sickle.
18And still another angel, who had power (authority) over fire, came out from the altar, and called loudly to that angel that had the sharp sickle, “Take your sharp sickle, and gather the clusters from the earth’s grapevine; for her grapes are fully ripe”.
19And the angel swung his sickle (Joel 3:13) across the earth, and gathered the grapes from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath.
20And the grapes were trampled (Is.63:3) in the winepress outside the city (He.13:12), and blood flowed out of the winepress, rising as high as the horses’ bridles, for the distance of a thousand, six hundred furlongs (200 miles) (Ezek.32:6)/ Verse 14:15 seems to show Christ, the Son of God, in a role subordinate to one of God’s angels, in stark contrast with all representations in Scripture that He is subordinate only to the Father, and never to an angel, a created being. Excerpts from two commentaries on this verse may serve to put it in proper perspective: “The angel does not command the ‘Son of man’ (Re 14:14), but is the mere messenger announcing to the Son the will of God the Father, in Whose hands are kept the times and the seasons.” (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary); and “the command was borne directly from God by the angel to the Messiah” (Barnes’ Notes on the Bible) Easy Reader Bible: Purple Letter Edition © 2023 by Jim Musser. Used by Permission. All rights Reserved. Bible Hub |
    |