We’re going to look at the revelation chapter 14 today. Before, I told you that this chapter 14 is a confuser chapter. It’s like it makes people confused and it makes the revelation look like everything is out of order and it gets all scrambled up so you cannot organize it in any orderly fashion.
So we see about 144,000 in the beginning of this chapter. “Then I looked and behold the lamb standing on Mount Zion and with him 144,000 having his father’s name written on their foreheads”.
Why do I call this a confuser chapter? Because in chapter 13 we saw that it describes what will happen in the Great Tribulation and suddenly we see this 144,000 in chapter 14. So before, whenever I read this I always wondered why 144,000 is standing on the Mount Zion with Jesus because I knew that Jesus will return after the Great Tribulation so why is Jesus standing on the Mount Zion before he returns in the Second Advent?
144,000
So when does this happen – 144,000 standing with Jesus on Mount Zion? This happens when Jesus descends on a white horse at the sixth trumpet judgment and sixth Bowl judgment. At the time he will descend on a white horse with the angel army and all the people who were taken up with him at the first resurrection.
So what will happen is, at Jesus’s return the first resurrection will happen and all those who were dead will be resurrected and fly to the sky to meet Jesus on the clouds and after that people living on the earth will be raptured to the cloud to meet Jesus and after that God’s judgment will fall upon the earth and while God’s judgment is happening those people that was resurrected in the first resurrection and those people who were raptured, they will be taken by Jesus to heaven to have a banquet, the banquet of the Lamb and then they will descend with Jesus to the Jerusalem area at the sixth trumpet and sixth bowl judgment and the Antichrist army will advance towards the Jerusalem area to fight Jesus and his army. So this 144,000 standing on Mount Zion is talking about that scene.
So this is actually what will happen during God’s Judgement at the sixth trumpet, bowl judgment. How do we know that? Because it says chapter 14 verse one “one hundred and forty-four thousand having his father’s name written on their foreheads”. Because these are the people who have been raptured and who was resurrected and they were in heaven already having had banquet with Jesus they have God’s name written on their foreheads because those who have been saved and went to heaven they receive the name of God on their foreheads.
This is Revelation chapter 3 verse 12 “He who overcomes I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God the New Jerusalem which comes down out of heaven from my God and I will write on him my new name.” So he who overcomes will become the pillar in the temple of my God in heaven so these are the people who are already in heaven and there will be written on their foreheads God’s name and Jesus’s name.
And also this is Revelation chapter 22 verse 3 “and there shall be no more curse but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it and his servants shall serve him they shall see his face and his name shall be on their foreheads.”
This chapter, Revelation chapter 22 is describing what is happening in heaven, God’s kingdom and it says his name shall be on their foreheads so if somebody has God’s name written on their foreheads that means they are out of this world and they are in heaven in God’s kingdom already. So that’s why this 144,000, because these are the people from the first resurrection and the rapture they have God father’s name written on their foreheads. So we know that these 144,000 standing on Mount Zion, this scene is something that happens after the rapture and the first resurrection so this scene is just like I told you what will happen when Jesus descend on a white horse and touched down on the earth so that’s not the second coming that we are all waiting for now. The second coming of Jesus that we are all waiting for is the return of Jesus on the sky. At that time he will not touch down on the earth. So this 144,000 standing with Jesus on the Mount Zion is what will happen after the rapture during God’s judgment.
So we continue here. So who are these 144,000? But it’s already explained in the chapter 7, they are those who have been sealed among Jewish believers. So in Chapter 7 we saw that from the tribes of all Israel they are sealed first and they are 144,000 and after that so many people that cannot be counted from all the nations, Gentiles, they are described so these 144,000 are Jewish believers.
Now because the number is exactly 144,000 so it could mean that this number is something symbolic, but it doesn’t mean that we should give these people a special meaning because the Bible clearly defines what kind of people this is. It says in chapter 7 they are Jewish believers who have been sealed.
And another thing is, now in chapter 14 it only mentions the 144,000 which are Jewish people standing on Mount Zion but at the time all the people from other nations, the gentiles, will be standing on Mount Zion but this part of the Bible only mentions the Jewish people which are 144,000.
And it goes on to describe some more specifics about this group of people, 144,000. Verse 3 “they sang as it were a new song before the throne before the four living creatures and the elders and no one could learn this song except 144,000 who are redeemed from the earth.” So this is something perplexing because why only these people can learn this song? But we can just accept the fact that God can only make this special group of people to learn this new song. He can do that.
And this is a very special group of people because it goes on to describe verse 4 “these are the ones who were not defiled with women for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from among men being first fruits to God and to the lamb so these are like select believers from Jewish tribes who are virgins. Jesus said that there are some special people who remain virgins for the sake of Jesus but not all can receive that teaching.
They are really special followers of Jesus so these people are virgins and in their mouths found no deceit for they are without fault before the throne of God and only those people are granted to learn this new song. And there is no reason to impose a special meaning to these verses because this book of Revelation says what they are and there is no reason to try to understand it in a symbolic way.
The messages by 3 angels
So after this 144,000 we see three angels proclaiming messages and what I find is those messages are all out of order.
So we see here verse six “then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth to every nation tribe tongue and people saying with a loud voice fear God and give glory to him for the hour of his judgment has come and worship Him who made heaven and earth the sea and springs of water.”
Now after chapter 13 which describes the Great Tribulation and beginning of chapter 14 we see about 144,000 standing on the Mount Zion with Jesus that happens during God’s Judgement and now we see here angel proclaiming everlasting gospel so that’s something strange because after the rapture and during God’s Judgement there is no salvation. And it says God’s judgment has come. But if there was no mention about this 144,000 in the beginning of chapter 14 then to talk about everlasting gospel and the judgment having come wouldn’t be so problematic because during the Great Tribulation the gospel will be preached and there are those who will be saved during the Great Tribulation. So it won’t be problematic.
And on verse 8 “and another angel followed saying Babylon is fallen is fallen that great city because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” So it says Babylon is fallen. So when does Babylon get fallen? The Babylon is destroyed when God’s judgment happens because during God’s judgment the fiery hailstone will fall upon the earth and we see in chapter 16 or 17 that great city Babylon is destroyed and the smoke is coming out of that Babylon. And Babylon is the capital city of the world that will worship the Antichrist during the Great Tribulation. So Babylon being fallen is something that happens after the rapture and during God’s Judgement.
Verse 9 says “then a third angel followed them saying with a loud voice if anyone worships the Beast and His image and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God which is poured out full strength into the cup of his indignation.”
So the third angel is talking about what will happen in the Great Tribulation.
So all the messages by these three angels are all out of order. The first message is talking about the everlasting gospel after the 144,000 which is out of order and then the second angel talks about Babylon being fallen. Now if there was no mention of the 144,000, that wouldn’t be so problematic because the Babylon will be fallen after the Great Tribulation during which the gospel will be proclaimed but this third angel is talking about the Great Tribulation so it goes back. So it’s all out of order here.
And verse 13 “then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, write, blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the spirit that they may rest from their labors and their work follow them.” So this is what will happen during the Great Tribulation and after that we see the return of Jesus and the rapture.
Verse 14 “then I looked and behold a white cloud and on the cloud sat one like the Son of Man having on his head a golden crown and in his hand a sharp sickle and another angel came out of the temple crying with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud thrust in your sickle and weep for the time has come for you to reap for the harvest of the earth is ripe so he who sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth and the earth was ripped.”
This is talking about Jesus’ return and the rapture in a symbolic way because when Jesus returns he will return on the cloud and all the people living will be raptured and fly toward Jesus, those who are asleep will be flown together to Jesus. So this is describing Jesus’s return on the cloud and the rapture in a symbolic way. So because Jesus’s return will happen after the Great Tribulation, this talking about Jesus’ return in chapter 14 poses no problem if not for that 144,000 and the messages from the three angels in the chapter 14. So after the Great Tribulation in chapter 13 we see now in chapter 14 Jesus’ return and the rapture.
And after that there’s another reaping. It’s the reaping of the Grapes of Wrath. Verse 17 “then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven he also having a sharp sickle and another angel came out from the altar who had power over fire and he cried with a loud cry to him who had a sharp sickle saying thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth for her grapes are fully ripe so the angel throws his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God and our winepress was trampled outside the city and blood came out of the winepress after the horses’ briddles for 1,600 furlongs.” This is talking about God’s judgment because at the sixth trumpet and bowl judgment at the outside area of Jerusalem there will be Armageddon war and at that time one-third of the mankind will be killed by the sword coming out of Jesus’ mouth and by the Angel armies so this is talking about God’s judgment.
So we see here on chapter fourteen somethings that are out of order because in the section two of the book of Revelation we saw in orderly fashion, starting from chapter 12 up until chapter 13 the Great Tribulation and suddenly we see this about 144,000 those have been redeemed already and having God’s name written on their foreheads and standing on the Mount Zion with Jesus so it’s something out of order here and then all the messages by the three angels they are out of orders too.
So except those things all other parts of the book of Revelation, all three sections they match with each other in orderly fashion and then we see this Jesus’ return and the rapture in chapter 14.
So we will continue with chapter 15 the next time and in that chapter we’ll see seven bowls judgment and in that video I will explain why the bowls judgment and the trumpet judgments, they are one and the same and we’ll see how they match up.
