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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