@Re 14:1-20. THE LAMB SEEN ON ZION WITH THE 144,000. THEIR SONG. THE GOSPEL PROCLAIMED BEFORE THE END BY ONE ANGEL: THE FALL OF BABYLON, BY ANOTHER: THE DOOM OF THE BEAST WORSHIPPERS, BY A THIRD. THE BLESSEDNESS OF THE DEAD IN THE LORD. THE HARVEST. THE VINTAGE.
In contrast to the beast, false prophet, and apostate Church (@Re 13:1-18) and introductory to the announcement of judgments about to descend on them and the world (@Re 14:8-11, anticipatory of @Re 18:2-6), stand here the redeemed, "the divine kernel of humanity, the positive fruits of the history of the world and the Church" [AUBERLEN]. The fourteenth through sixteenth chapters describe the preparations for the Messianic judgment. As the fourteenth chapter begins with the 144,000 of Israel (compare @Re 7:4-8, no longer exposed to trial as then, but now triumphant), so the fifteenth chapter begins with those who have overcome from among the Gentiles (compare @Re 15:1-5 with @Re 7:9-17); the two classes of elect forming together the whole company of transfigured saints who shall reign with Christ.
1. a--A, B, C, Coptic, and ORIGEN read, "the."
Lamb . . . on . . . Sion--having left His position "in the midst of
the throne," and now taking His stand on Sion.
his Father's name--A, B, and C read, "His name and His Father's
name."
in--Greek, "upon." God's and Christ's name here answers to
the seal "upon their foreheads" in @Re 7:3. As the 144,000 of
Israel are "the first-fruits" (@Re 14:4), so "the harvest"
(@Re 14:15) is the general assembly of Gentile saints to be
translated by Christ as His first act in assuming His kingdom, prior to
His judgment (@Re 16:17-21, the last seven vials) on the
Antichristian world, in executing which His saints shall share. As Noah
and Lot were taken seasonably out of the judgment, but exposed to
the trial to the last moment [DE
BURGH], so those who shall reign
with Christ shall first suffer with Him, being delivered out of the
judgments, but not out of the trials. The Jews are meant by "the
saints of the Most High": against them Antichrist makes war,
changing their times and laws; for true Israelites cannot join in
the idolatry of the beast, any more than true Christians. The common
affliction will draw closely together, in opposing the beast's worship,
the Old Testament and New Testament people of God. Thus the way is
paved for Israel's conversion. This last utter
scattering of the holy people's power leads them, under the Spirit,
to seek Messiah, and to cry at His approach, "Blessed is He that cometh
in the name of the Lord."
2. from--Greek, "out of."
voice of many waters--as is the voice of Himself, such also is the
voice of His people.
I heard the voice of harpers--A, B, C, and
ORIGEN read, "the voice
which I heard (was) as of harpers."
3. sung--Greek, "sing."
as it were--So A, C, and Vulgate read. It is "as it were" a
new song; for it is, in truth, as old as God's eternal purpose. But
B, Syriac, Coptic, ORIGEN, and
ANDREAS omit these words.
new song--(@Re 5:9,10). The song is that of victory after
conflict with the dragon, beast, and false prophet: never sung before,
for such a conflict had never been fought before; therefore new: till now the kingdom of Christ on earth had been
usurped; they sing
the new song in anticipation of His blood-bought kingdom with His
saints.
four beasts--rather, as Greek, "four living creatures." The
harpers and singers evidently include the 144,000: so the parallel
proves (@Re 15:2,3), where the same act is attributed to
the general company of the saints, the harvest (@Re 14:15)
from all nations. Not as ALFORD, "the harpers and song are in heaven,
but the 144,000 are on earth."
redeemed--literally, "purchased." Not even the angels can learn that
song, for they know not experimentally what it is to have "come out
of the great tribulation, and washed their robes white in the blood of
the Lamb" (@Re 7:14).
4. virgins--spiritually (@Mt 25:1); in contrast to the apostate
Church, Babylon (@Re 14:8), spiritually "a harlot"
(@Re 17:1-5 Isa 1:21; contrast @2Co 11:2 Eph 5:25-27). Their not
being defiled with women means they were not led astray from
Christian faithfulness by the tempters who jointly constitute the
spiritual "harlot."
follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth--in glory, being especially
near His person; the fitting reward of their following Him so fully on
earth.
redeemed--"purchased."
being the--rather, "as a first-fruit." Not merely a
"first-fruit" in the sense in which all believers are so, but
Israel's 144,000 elect are the first-fruit, the Jewish and Gentile
elect Church is the harvest; in a further sense, the whole of the
transfigured and translated Church which reigns with Christ at His
coming, is the first-fruit, and the consequent general ingathering
of Israel and the nations, ending in the last judgment, is the full and
final harvest.
5. guile--So ANDREAS in one copy. But A, B, C,
ORIGEN, and
ANDREAS
in other copies read, "falsehood." Compare with English Version reading @Ps 32:2 Isa 53:9 Joh 1:47.
for--So B, Syriac, Coptic, ORIGEN, and
ANDREAS read. But A and C omit.
without fault--Greek, "blameless": in respect to the sincerity of
their fidelity to Him. Not absolutely, and in themselves blameless;
but regarded as such on the ground of His righteousness in whom alone
they trusted, and whom they faithfully served by His Spirit in them. The
allusion seems to be to @Ps 15:1,2. Compare @Re 14:1,
"stood on Mount Sion."
before the throne of God--A, B, C, Syriac, Coptic,
ORIGEN, and
ANDREAS omit these words. The oldest Vulgate manuscript supports
them.
6. Here begins the portion relating to the Gentile world, as the
former portion related to Israel. Before the end the Gospel is to be
preached for a WITNESS
unto all nations: not that all nations shall
be converted, but all nations shall have had the opportunity given them
of deciding whether they will be for, or against, Christ. Those thus
preached to are "they that dwell (so A, Coptic, and
Syriac read. But B, C, ORIGEN, Vulgate,
CYPRIAN, 312, read,
'SIT,' compare
@Mt 4:16 Lu 1:79, having their settled home) on the earth,"
being of earth earthy: this last season of grace is given them, if yet
they may repent, before "judgment" (@Re 14:7) descends:if not, they
will be left without excuse, as the world which resisted the preaching
of Noah in the the hundred twenty years "while the long-suffering of God
waited." "So also the prophets gave the people a last opportunity of
repentance before the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem, and our Lord
and His apostles before the Roman destruction of the holy city"
[AUBERLEN]. The Greek for "unto"
(epi, in A and C) means literally,
"upon," or "over," or "in respect to" (@Mr 9:12 Heb 7:13). So also
"TO every nation" (Greek, "epi," in A, B, C, Vulgate, Syriac,
ORIGEN,
ANDREAS,
CYPRIAN, and
PRIMASIUS). This, perhaps, implies that
the Gospel, though diffused over the globe, shall not come savingly
unto any save the elect. The world is not to be evangelized till
Christ shall come: meanwhile, God's purpose is "to take out of the
Gentiles a people for His name," to be witnesses of the effectual
working of His Spirit during the counter-working of "the mystery of
iniquity."
everlasting gospel--the Gospel which announces the glad tidings
of the everlasting kingdom of Christ, about to ensue immediately
after the "judgment" on Antichrist, announced as imminent in @Re 14:7.
As the former angel "flying through the midst of heaven" (@Re 8:13)
announced "woe," so this angel "flying in the midst of heaven" announced
joy. The three angels making this last proclamation of the Gospel,
the fall of Babylon (@Re 14:8), the harlot, and the judgment on the
beast worshippers (@Re 14:9-11), the voice from heaven respecting
the blessed dead (@Re 14:13), the vision of the Son of man on the
cloud (@Re 14:11), the harvest (@Re 14:15), and the vintage
(@Re 14:18), form the compendious summary, amplified in detail in
the rest of the book.
7. Fear God--the forerunner to embracing the love of God manifested
in the Gospel. Repentance accompanies faith.
give glory to him--and not to the beast (compare
@Re 13:4 Jer 13:16).
the hour of his judgment--"The hour" implies the definite
time. "Judgment," not the general judgment, but that up on Babylon,
the beast, and his worshippers (@Re 14:8-12).
worship him that made heaven--not Antichrist (compare @Ac 14:15).
sea . . . fountains--distinguished also in
@Re 8:8,10.
8. another--So Vulgate. But A, B, Syriac, and
ANDREAS add,
"a second"; "another, a second angel."
Babylon--here first mentioned; identical with the harlot, the
apostate Church; distinct from the beast, and judged separately.
is fallen--anticipation of @Re 18:2. A, Vulgate, Syriac, and
ANDREAS support the second "is fallen." But B, C, and Coptic omit it.
that great city--A, B, C, Vulgate, Syriac, and Coptic omit
"city." Then translate, "Babylon the great." The ulterior and exhaustive
fulfilment of @Isa 21:9.
because--So ANDREAS. But A, C, Vulgate, and Syriac read,
"which." B and Coptic omit it. Even reading "which," we must
understand it as giving the reason of her fall.
all nations--A, B and C read, "all the nations."
the wine of the wrath of her fornication--the wine of the wrath
of God, the consequence of her fornication. As she made the nations
drunk with the wine of her fornication, so she herself shall be made
drunk with the wine of God's wrath.
9. A, B, C, and ANDREAS read, "another, a third angel." Compare with this verse @Re 13:15,16.
10. The same--Greek, "he also," as the just and inevitable
retribution.
wine of . . . wrath of God--(@Ps 75:8).
without mixture--whereas wine was so commonly mixed with water
that to mix wine is used in Greek for to pour out wine;
this wine of God's wrath is undiluted; there is no drop of water
to cool its heat. Naught of grace or hope is blended with it. This
terrible threat may well raise us above the fear of man's threats. This
unmixed cup is already mingled and prepared for Satan and the
beast's followers.
indignation--Greek, "orges," "abiding wrath," But the
Greek for "wrath" above (Greek, "thumou")
is boiling indignation,
from (Greek, "thuo") a root meaning "to boil"; this is temporary
ebullition of anger; that is lasting
[AMMONIUS], and accompanied with a
purpose of vengeance [ORIGEN on Psalm 2:5].
tormented . . . in the presence of . . .
angels--(@Ps 49:14 58:10 139:21 Isa 66:24).
God's enemies are regarded by the
saints as their enemies, and when the day of probation is past, their
mind shall be so entirely one with God's, that they shall rejoice in
witnessing visibly the judicial vindication of God's righteousness in
sinners' punishment.
11. for ever and ever--Greek, "unto ages of ages."
no rest day nor night--Contrast the very different sense in which the
same is said of the four living creatures in heaven, "They rest not day
and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy"; yet they do "rest" in another
sense; they rest from sin and sorrow, weariness and weakness, trial and
temptation (@Re 14:13); the lost have no rest from sin and Satan,
terror, torment, and remorse.
12. Here, &c.--resumed from @Re 13:10;
see on Re 13:10. In the fiery ordeal of persecution which awaits
all who will not worship the beast, the faith and patience of the
followers of God and Jesus shall be put to the test, and proved.
patience--Greek, "hupomene," "patient, persevering endurance."
The second "here" is omitted in A, B, C, Vulgate, Syriac, Coptic, and
PRIMASIUS. Translate, "Here is the endurance of the saints, who keep,"
&c.
the faith of Jesus--the faith which has Jesus for its object.
13. Encouragement to cheer those persecuted under the beast.
Write--to put it on record for ever.
Blessed--in resting from their toils, and, in the case of the
saints just before alluded to as persecuted by the beast, in
resting from persecutions. Their full blessedness is now "from
henceforth," that is, FROM THIS TIME,
when the judgment on the beast
and the harvest gatherings of the elect are imminent. The time so
earnestly longed for by former martyrs is now all but come; the full
number of their fellow servants is on the verge of completion; they
have no longer to "rest (the same Greek as here, anapausis)
yet for a little season," their eternal rest, or cessation from
toils (@2Th 1:7; Greek, "anesis," relaxation after
hardships. @Heb 4:9,10, sabbatism of rest; and
Greek, "catapausis," akin to the Greek here)
is close at hand now.
They are blessed in being about to sit down to
the marriage supper of the Lamb (@Re 19:9), and in having part
in the first resurrection (@Re 20:6), and in
having right to the tree of life (@Re 22:14). In @Re 14:14-16
follows the explanation of why they are pronounced "blessed" now in
particular, namely, the Son of man on the cloud is just coming to
gather them in as the harvest ripe for garner.
Yea, saith the Spirit--The words of God the Father (the "voice from
heaven") are echoed back and confirmed by the Spirit
(speaking in the Word, @Re 2:7 22:17; and in the saints,
@2Co 5:5 1Pe 4:14). All
"God's promises in Christ are yea" (@2Co 1:20).
unto me--omitted in A, B, C, Vulgate, Syriac, and Coptic.
that they may--The Greek includes also the idea, They are blessed,
in that they SHALL rest from their toils (so the Greek).
and--So B and ANDREAS read. But A, C, Vulgate, and Syriac read
"for." They rest from their toils because their time for toil is
past; they enter on the blessed rest because of their faith evinced
by their works which, therefore, "follow WITH
(so the Greek) them."
Their works are specified because respect is had to the coming
judgment, wherein every man shall be "judged according to his works."
His works do not go before the believer, nor even go by his side, but
follow him at the same time that they go with him as a proof that
he is Christ's.
14. crown--Greek, "stephanon," "garland" of victory; not His
diadem as a king. The victory is described in detail, @Re 19:11-21.
one sat--"one sitting," Greek, "cathemenon homoion," is the
reading of A, B, C, Vulgate, and Coptic.
15. Thrust in--Greek, "Send." 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.
thy sickle--alluding to @Mr 4:29, where also it is
"sendeth the sickle." The Son sends His sickle-bearing angel
to reap the
righteous when fully ripe.
harvest--the harvest crop. By the harvest-reaping the elect
righteous are gathered out; by the vintage the Antichristian
offenders are removed out of the earth, the scene of Christ's coming
kingdom. The Son of man Himself, with a golden crown, is introduced in
the harvest-gathering of the elect, a mere angel in the vintage (@Re 14:18-20).
is ripe--literally, "is dried." Ripe for glory.
16. thrust in--Greek, "cast."
17. out of the temple . . . in heaven--(@Re 11:19).
18. from the altar--upon which were offered the incense-accompanied
prayers of all saints, which bring down in answer God's fiery judgment
on the Church's foes, the fire being
taken from the altar and cast upon the earth.
fully ripe--Greek, "come to their acme"; ripe for punishment.
19. "The vine" is what is the subject of judgment because its grapes are not what God looked for considering its careful culture, but "wild grapes" (@Isa 5:1-30). The apostate world of Christendom, not the world of heathendom who have not heard of Christ, is the object of judgment. Compare the emblem, @Re 19:15 Isa 63:2,3 Joe 3:13.
20. without the city--Jerusalem. The scene of the blood-shedding of
Christ and His people shall be also the scene of God's vengeance on the
Antichristian foe. Compare the "horsemen," @Re 9:16,17.
blood--answering to the red wine. The slaughter of the apostates is
what is here spoken of, not their eternal punishment.
even unto the horse bridles--of the avenging "armies of heaven."
by the space of a thousand . . . six hundred furlongs--literally, "a
thousand six hundred furlongs off"
[W. KELLY]. Sixteen hundred is a
square number; four by four by one hundred. The four quarters,
north, south, east, and west, of the Holy Land, or else of the world
(the completeness and universality of the world-wide destruction being
hereby indicated). It does not exactly answer to the length of Palestine
as given by JEROME, one hundred sixty Roman miles.
BENGEL thinks the
valley of Kedron, between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives, is meant,
the torrent in that valley being about to be discolored with blood to
the extent of sixteen hundred furlongs. This view accords with Joel's
prophecy that the valley of Jehoshaphat is to be the scene of the
overthrow of the Antichristian foes.