Reflections on Revelation 14

Revelation 14 (Contemporary English Version)
1. I looked and saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion! With him were a hundred forty-four thousand, who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads.
   
2. Then I heard a sound from heaven that was like a roaring flood or loud thunder or even like the music of harps.
   
3. And a new song was being sung in front of God's throne and in front of the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn that song, except the one hundred forty-four thousand who had been rescued from the earth.
   
4. All of these are pure virgins, and they follow the Lamb wherever he leads. They have been rescued to be presented to God and the Lamb as the most precious people on earth.
   
5. They never tell lies, and they are innocent.
   
6. I saw another angel. This one was flying across the sky and had the eternal good news to announce to the people of every race, tribe, language, and nation on earth.
   
7. The angel shouted, "Worship and honor God! The time has come for him to judge everyone. Kneel down before the one who created heaven and earth, the oceans, and every stream."
   
8. A second angel followed and said, "The great city of Babylon has fallen! This is the city that made all nations drunk and immoral. Now God is angry, and Babylon has fallen."
   
9. Finally, a third angel came and shouted: Here is what will happen if you worship the beast and the idol and have the mark of the beast on your hand or forehead.
   
10. You will have to drink the wine that God gives to everyone who makes him angry. You will feel his mighty anger, and you will be tortured with fire and burning sulfur, while the holy angels and the Lamb look on.
    
11. If you worship the beast and the idol and accept the mark of its name, you will be tortured day and night. The smoke from your torture will go up forever and ever, and you will never be able to rest.
    
12. God's people must learn to endure. They must also obey his commands and have faith in Jesus.
    
13. Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Put this in writing. From now on, the Lord will bless everyone who has faith in him when they die." The Spirit answered, "Yes, they will rest from their hard work, and they will be rewarded for what they have done."
    
14. I looked and saw a bright cloud, and someone who seemed to be the Son of Man was sitting on the cloud. He wore a gold crown on his head and held a sharp sickle in his hand.
    
15. An angel came out of the temple and shouted, "Start cutting with your sickle! Harvest season is here, and all crops on earth are ripe."
    
16. The one on the cloud swung his sickle and harvested the crops.
    
17. Another angel with a sharp sickle then came out of the temple in heaven.
    
18. After this, an angel with power over fire came from the altar and shouted to the angel who had the sickle. He said, "All grapes on earth are ripe! Harvest them with your sharp sickle."
    
19. The angel swung his sickle on earth and cut off its grapes. He threw them into a pit where they were trampled on as a sign of God's anger.
    
20. The pit was outside the city, and when the grapes were mashed, blood flowed out. The blood turned into a river that was about two hundred miles long and almost deep enough to cover a horse.

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This chapter contrasts the preservation through this great time of tribulation of the 144,000, who were introduced earlier in Revelation, with the terrible judgment that will befall those who reject Christ and follow Satan.

In 14:1-5 the scene is at Mount Zion and the Lamb is there on the mount with the 144,000. They are described as those who "had His name and His Father's name written on their foreheads." A sound came from heaven and the 144,000 sang a new song before the throne. These are said to have been "redeemed from the human race as the firstfruits for God and the Lamb. (14:4)  They are the first of those who, during this time of tribulation, remain faithful to Christ and do not accept the lie of the Antichrist. They are said to be blameless.

Following this scene of the 144,000 comes a scene announcing coming judgment followed by two scenes of judgment:

• Announcement of coming judgment:  An angel is seen flying in mid-heaven and proclaiming, "Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come."  This angel is followed by a second who says, "It has fallen, Babylon the Great has fallen." A third angel follows saying, "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he will also drink the wine of God's wrath, which is mixed full strength in the cup of His anger."  What awaits those who receive this judgment? They will be "tormented with fire and sulfur in the sight of the holy angels and in the sight of the Lamb, and the smoke of their torment will go up forever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or anyone who receives the mark of his name." (14:10-11) In contrast to the judgment of those who worship the beast in which they will have no rest day or night, is the blessing of those "who die in the Lord." They will have "rest from their labors." (14:13)
  
• First Scene of Judgment:  Then one "like the Son of Man" is seen seated on a cloud with a sharp sickle in His hand. This One is understood to be Christ. An angel tells Him to "Use your sickle and reap, for the time to reap has come, since the harvest of the earth is ripe." He does so and "the earth was harvested." 
  
• Second Scene of Judgment:  Finally, an angel appears carrying a sharp sickle and another angel says, "Use your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from earth's vineyard, because its grapes have ripened." He did so and "the grapes from earth's vineyard" were thrown into the "great winepress of God's wrath." When the press was trampled, there was a great flow of blood. 

Scenes such as these are hard for many to understand. We are prone to see God only as a God of love or only in His role as judge.  Scripture shows both roles and we must accept both, being careful not to force God into our image of Him, but instead adjusting our image to see Him as scripture, in full, describes Him.