Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from Rev 14:1 and following. Indeed, after a parenthesis that presented us with the trinity of evil – namely the dragon, the first and the second beast – the seven visions of chp 14 connect to the 7th trumpet not yet accomplished (Ap 11:14-17). We now come to chapter 14, where we find neither Satan’s opposition to God’s counsel, first in heaven and then on earth; nor the plan it follows and the instruments it employs for this purpose. This is what we saw in chp 12 and 13. We are now entering a different order of things. It is impossible for God not to act for His own. For there must also be an activity of good against evil. God is therefore willing to reveal to us here the various ways in which He will manifest His power, give witness and send the appropriate warning to the present crisis. This is what unfolds in a comprehensive way in this chapter.
The first scene shows us a set number of people separated and united to the Lamb on Mount Zion. The Lord Jesus is about to assert His rights in the midst of Israel. Zion, we know, is the center of royal grace. I say royal, because Christ affirms his title of Son of David; but it is also a grace, because it supposes that after the total ruin of Israel, the Lord by pure favor, begins there again to gather around Him. This is the first form in which God will deploy His action in the last days. The devil can have his beasts and horns; God has His Lamb whom we do not see on this occasion, on the throne in heaven, nor taking the book, but on the Mountain of Zion. What is thus clearly presented to us before the end is a notable step towards the establishment of the kingdom. “And I saw: and behold the Lamb standing on the mountain of Zion, and with him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having his name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads.” It is not said that they are aware of being with God in this relationship of sons; for there is no question of their Father, nor of his Father and their Father. Nothing similar is found in Revelation, but “the name of his Father is written on their foreheads”: they belong to him.
The next two scenes show us this. First we read: “And I saw: and here is a white cloud, and on the cloud someone sitting, like the Son of man, having on his head a crown of gold and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, shouting aloud to him who was sitting on the cloud: Throw your sickle and harvest; for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is parched. And he who sat on the cloud put his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped”: The Son of man is seen wearing the golden crown, as king of justice and not yet as king of peace.
Then comes the final scene: “And another angel came out of the temple that is in heaven, also having a sharp sickle. And another angel, having power over the fire, came out of the altar and, casting a great cry, he cried out to the one who had the sharp sickle, saying: Throw your sharp sickle and harvest the bunches of the vine of the earth, for his grapes have matured.” This goes further than the previous scene. For the harvest, the cry comes out of the temple; here it is from the temple that is in heaven. Car ce is not only anger exerted on earth, but anger coming from heaven. It is therefore clear that we have seven distinct acts by which God intervenes to form a testimony; to warn the world and console its people; and finally to judge the results, as far as it is the living.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
The Lamb and the Redeemed:
- Inhabitants of the heavens, a great multitude
Neh 9:6 It was you, Jehovah, you alone, who made the heavens, the heavens of heaven and all their army, the earth and all that is upon it, the seas and all that they contain. You give life to all these things, and the army of heaven prostrates itself before you. Dn 7:10 A river of fire flowed and came out of front of him. A thousand thousand served him, and ten thousand million stood in his presence. The judges sat down, and the books were opened. Hb 12:22 But you have approached the Mount of Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, the myriads that form the choir of angels, Rev 5:11 I looked, and heard the voices of many angels around the throne and living beings and the elderly, and their number was myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands. Rev 14:1 I looked, and behold, the lamb stood on the mountain of Zion, and with him one hundred and forty-four thousand people, who had his name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads. Rev 19:6 And I heard as a voice of a large crowd, as a sound of great waters, and as a sound of loud thunders, saying: Hallelujah! For the Lord our Almighty God has entered into His kingdom.
- Redeemed
Isa 35.9 On this road, lion’s point; No ferocious beast will take it, No one will meet there; The delivered will walk there. Isaiah 51:11 Thus the redeemed of the Lord will return, They will go to Zion with songs of triumph, And eternal joy will crown their heads; Joy and joy will approach, Pain and moans will flee. Mt 8:11 Now, I declare to you that many will come from the East and the West, and will be at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. Rev 5:9 And they sang a new hymn, saying: You are worthy to take the book, and to open its seals; for you have been slain, and you have redeemed for God by your blood men of every tribe, of every language, of every people, and of every nation; Rev 7:9 After that, I looked, and behold, there was a great crowd, which no one could count, from any nation, tribe, people, and language. They stood before the throne and the lamb, dressed in white robes, and palms in their hands. Rev 14:4 These are those who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins; they follow the lamb wherever he goes. They have been redeemed from among men, as firstfruits for God and for the lamb;
- Worship of demons
Lev 17:7 They will no longer offer their sacrifices to the goats, with whom they prostitute themselves. It will be a perpetual law for them and for their descendants. Dt 32:17 They sacrificed to idols who are not God, to gods whom they did not know, New, who had come recently, and whom your fathers had not feared. Ps 106:37 They sacrificed their sons and daughters to idols, 1 Cor 10:19 What do I say? That meat sacrificed to idols is something, or that an idol is something? By no means. Rev 9:20 The other men who were not killed by these plagues did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk; Rev 13:4 And they worshipped the dragon, because he had given authority to the beast; they worshipped the beast, saying: Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?
- Angels in Heaven
Mk 12:25 For at the resurrection of the dead men will not take wives, nor the wives of husbands, but they will be like angels in heaven. Luke 12:8 I say to you, whoever confesses me before men, the Son of man will also confess him before the angels of God; Hb 12:22 But you have come near to the mount of Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to the myriads that form the choir of angels, Rev 7:11, and all the angels stood around the throne and the old men and the four living beings; and they prostrated themselves on their face before the throne, and they worshipped God,
From all of the above, we note that these believers are “those who follow the Lamb wherever He goes.” Having followed him in affliction and suffering, they will also be his companions in the Kingdom. Some will be put to death out of faithfulness to the Lord (Rev. 12:9-11). Far from losing their share in the reign, they are called blessed. And their works follow them (note that they do not precede them; they are never the works of someone who open the access of heaven to him). Dear believers, our Christian privileges are even higher. Would we like to be found less faithful than these witnesses of the last days? The Lord once announced to His accusers, “Henceforth you shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming upon the clouds of heaven” (Mt 24:29-31). Here he is, this Son of man, sitting on a white cloud. Once crowned with thorns, He wears a golden crown; instead of a reed, He holds a sharp sickle. The one whom men judged became the Judge of men. And it is in this capacity that He orders the great harvest of the earth, followed by the dreaded harvest, both of which have been announced for so long (Mt 13:27-43). But before intervening against evil, God recognizes and sets apart a new residue of His people. These witnesses resisted the general corruption. In contrast to the masses that bear on their foreheads the mark of the beast, the name of the Lamb is inscribed on the leur. Do we shamelessly bear the name of our Savior? Can everyone around us see who we belong to? Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to react to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow “seven angels and seven cups, the last seven plagues. »
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.