REVELATION
SIMPLIFIED
CHAPTER 14.1
Gleanings
from the Book of Revelation:
A
Weekly Verse-by-Verse Bible Study Series
The
REVELATION
TO JOHN
(The Apocalypse)
Chapter
Fourteen
The
Great Tribulation
A Parenthesis
The
Seven Trumpets
Trumpet
Number 7: Woe Number 3
Introduction
Standing
in stark contrast to the previous chapter, Chapter 14 presents a distinct
section of the interlude period that precedes the final bowl judgment phase of
Tribulation Week. While Chapter 13 delineated the reign of terror surrounding
the Beast, the False Prophet, and the False Church, Chapter 13 assures believers
the righteous will be triumphant and enjoy the eternal benefits and blessings
of God forever. Concurrently, the wicked shall be judged into eternal
damnation.
Outline
Revelation
14 has three major divisions beginning with eidō (I saw, beheld, perceived, understood, looked upon, or became
fully aware of something awesome). Forming sub-divisions, there appear seven
different visions (each complete in itself) which are not
presented in a chronological sequence:
A. John looked (Vv.
1-5)
1. The
presence of the Lamb and 144,000 on Mount Zion (v. 1-5)
B. John saw (Vv. 6-13)
2. The
proclamation of the everlasting Gospel on earth (Vv. 6-7)
3. The
prediction concerning the doom of Babylon (v. 8)
4. The
punishment of the Beast’s worshippers (Vv. 9-11)
5. The
promise to those who die in Christ (Vv. 12-13)
C. John looked (Vv. 14-20)
6. The
preemptive harvest on earth reaped (Vv. 14-16)
7. The
picture of God’s vengeance poured out (Vv. 17-20)
(Verse 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.
Significantly, lo and behold, John sees
the Lamb of God, like a great Shepherd, Who has left His position amid the
heavenly Throne and is now standing on Mount Sion (Zion) alongside the 144,000
sealed servants of God (cf. Revelation 7:5-8). This vision is an indication Tribulation
has concluded and Christ is about to establish His Millennial Kingdom upon the
earth. Additionally, there is no chapter break as John comprehends these
revelations.
Historic Mount (Sion) Zion
Chapter 14 and Verse 1 is the only
place in the Book of Revelation where Mount Zion is mentioned. The word Zion means a fortress or citadel.
Originally, it was a Jebusite stronghold situated on the southern tip of a
mountain ridge between the Kidron and Tyropoeon Valleys near the Spring of
Gihon.
The first mention of Zion in the Bible appears
when David and his army captured the Jebusite acropolis and set it apart from
God.
2
Samuel 5:6 - Later, the king (David) and his army marched
on Jerusalem against the Jebusites, who were
inhabiting the territory at that time and who had told David, "You're not
coming in here! Even the blind and the lame could turn you away!" because
they were thinking "David can't come here." (ISV)
2
Samuel 5:7a, 9 - Nevertheless David took the strong
hold of Zion…So David dwelt in the
fort, and called it the city
of David…
David
then built his palace at Mount Zion (cf. 2 Samuel 5:11) and brought the Ark of
the Covenant to this place and placed the Ark in the Tent of Meeting (cf. 2
Samuel 6:12, 17) where it became the seat of Israel’s government. It is here
where David is noteworthy for dancing before the Lord (cf. 2 Samuel 7:14, 16). Later,
the City of David became his burial place (cf. 1 Kings 2:10).
Subsequently,
David’s son King Solomon brought the Ark of the Covenant to lay rest in his
newly built Temple (1 Kings 8:1, 6). At this time Zion included the area of the
Temple Mount. Finally, Zion eventually grew to represent all of Jerusalem (cf.
Psalm 48:1-2, 8, 12; 69:35). Hence, Zion and Jerusalem are frequently used interchangeably.
Prophetic
Mount (Sion) Zion
God
chose the physical Mount Zion for the emplacement of the Messiah's Throne (the
capital of the world) during the Kingdom Age. When the Lord returns, Jerusalem
will be the proper place where He rules with righteousness. Some prophetic
statements include:
Psalm 2:6 - Yet have I set (installed, consecrated, anointed) My King upon My holy
hill (mountain) of Zion.
Psalm 132:13-14, 17-18 - For the LORD hath chosen Zion;
He hath desired it for His habitation. This is My rest for ever: here will I dwell; for
I have desired it…There will I make the horn
of David to bud: I have ordained a lamp for
Mine anointed. His enemies will I clothe with shame: but upon Himself shall His
crown flourish.
Obadiah 1:21 - And saviours (the redeemed) shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau (Mount Seir; home
of Esau and the Edomites); and the Kingdom shall be the LORD'S.
And with Him an hundred forty and four thousand.
Standing with the Lamb are the first
fruits of the Kingdom. The 144,000 [the same number of the sons of Israel that were
sealed from the twelve tribes (cf. Revelation 7:3-8)] arrive safely and
triumphantly from the Tribulation’s holocaust. Not one being lost depicts Jesus
in several ways:
1. The Shield
Psalm
144:2 - My Goodness, and my Fortress; my High Tower, and my Deliverer; my Shield, and He in whom I
trust; Who subdueth my people under me.
2. The Refuge
Psalm
63:1 - For Thou hast been a Shelter
(Refuge) for me, and a Strong
Tower from the enemy.
3. The Shepherd of Israel
Psalm
80:1 - O Shepherd of
Israel, Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; Thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.
Our
hope: The King is coming!
An hundred forty and
four thousand, having His Father's name written in their foreheads.
There are those 144,000 redeemed of
Abraham who is set apart, sealed, marked, or separated unto God to eternal life
having His Father’s seal on their foreheads, indicating they are God’s
possessions. Now contrast this group with those who do not receive Christ, are
condemned to eternal damnation, and have the mark of the beast on their
foreheads (cf. Revelation 13).
More
importantly, to believers who await His Second Coming, their life is a
testimony to His power, love, and the assured promise:
Ephesians 4:30b - Whereby ye are sealed
unto the day of redemption.
(Verse 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.
Amid John’s vision, he hears, as it
were, heavenly homecoming. voices permeate Heaven in praise and worship. The
word voice (phōnē) implies a continuous loud announcement of some sort. In this
instance, it is a sound not of judgment but joy – The joy of redemption. Thus,
hearing the voice as of many waters (like
an ocean’s roar) and a great thunder (a
thunderclap) has its similarities:
Revelation
5:11a, 12a - And I beheld, and I heard the
voice of many angels round about the Throne
and the beasts (living
beings) and the
elders…Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the
Lamb.
Later,
the great multitude is understood to be the Church – Both Jew and Gentile:
Revelation
19:6 - And I heard as it were the voice of a great
multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
So, the 144,000 survivors assembled
with Jesus on Mount Zion are rejoicing representatives of saved Israel. Their redemption
song is also accompanied by instrumentalists – harpers. Thunderous joy reverberates
throughout Zion because the Lamb has returned and is standing victorious.
Harpists
In the Old Testament, harps are always
a symbol of joy on special occasions (cf. Revelation study 5:6). Some examples
are considered:
2
Samuel 6:5 – And David and all the house
of Israel played before the LORD on all
manner of instruments made of fine
wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and timbrels, and on cornets, and cymbals.
1
Chronicles 15:28 - Thus all Israel brought up
the ark of the covenant of the LORD with
shouting, and with sound of the cornet, and with trumpets, and with cymbals, making a noise with psalteries
and harps.
Nehemiah
12:27 – And at the dedication of the
wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites
out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep the dedication with
gladness, both with thanksgivings, and with singing, with cymbals, psalteries, and with harps.
(Verse 3)
And they sung as it were a new
(fresh) song before the Throne, and before the
four beasts (living
creatures), and the elders: and no man could learn
that song but the hundred and
forty and four thousand, which
were redeemed from the earth.
The phrase as it were in later translations is rightly omitted. The elders and
living creatures (representatives of the Church) hear sealed Israel as they
stand before them praising and worshipping the Lord. They sing an exclusive new
song of the Jews as contrasted to the song of the saints sung in Revelation
5:9. Three points are determined:
1. It is a song only intelligible to the
144,000
2. It is a song they alone will understand
3. It is a song exclusive to their
endurance
Rest assured: One day our present
sorrows will be transformed into joyful songs.
The next study will further define the
attributes of Israel’s 144,000.
QUESTIONS:
1. Why is Mount Zion important?
2. Where is Mount Zion in prophecy?
3. What does Mount Zion represent?
4. Who will one day stand on Mount Zion?
5. Why is the Father’s name written on their
foreheads?
6. Why are there harps sounding?
7. What is the significance of this new song?
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