Chapter fourteen is basically a continuation of chapter eleven, with chapters twelve and thirteen serving as transitional chapters that bring us to the Third Territory in Revelation’s expanding spiritual geography. We are about to begin our exploration of the period of time that is “The Great Tribulation.”
     Chapter eleven ends with the rapture of the remnant church (11:12) and the sounding of the seventh trumpet. The warning period has come to its end, and the final judgments upon the rebellious are about to begin.
     It is in the first verse of chapter fourteen we behold with the Apostle John, our Olive Trees of chapter eleven blooming upon Mount Zion with the Lord. –

And I looked, and lo, a Lamb stood on Mount Zion, and with Him a hundred and forty four thousand, having His Father’s name (Yahweh) written on their foreheads (verse 1).

The remnant Christian church that has not succumbed to the apostasy of the age, has been raptured out of every denomination, or “tribe.” They are symbolically appearing in this vision with Jesus in a position of safety and protection from the turmoil and death illustrated in verses fourteen through twenty. It is my belief that the Great Tribulation cannot occur until the praying, separated remnant is removed from the earth. It is the prayers of this Elijah remnant that holds back the devastations of the tribulation, until God deems the time of their ministry is fulfilled.

Except the Lord of hosts had left to us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah (Isaiah 1:9).

The restraining remnant has been removed - the “salt” (Matthew 5:13): those who have been used by God to preserve the earth through their intercessions.

Mount Zion has traditionally been viewed in association with the temple mount. Therefore, the mountain is “The Mountain of the House,” and the witnesses are the house; the temple where God’s presence resides.
     They are symbolically positioned in the Holy of Holies, a place of intimacy with God. As Moses retreated to a mountain to commune with God and Jesus resorted to mountains for the same purpose, Mount Zion is symbolic of a place where intimacy with God is obtained.
     Through Jesus, God has made His people His place of residency, His dwelling place. It is a building made without hands, constructed by faith in the atoning blood of the Messiah. Our witnesses are symbolic of the house/temple, the church, where God resides.

Now therefore you are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together grows unto a holy temple in the Lord: in whom you also are built together for a habitation of God through the Spirit (Ephesians 2:22).
You are God’s husbandry, you are God’s building (I Cor. 3:9).

All true believers who have escaped the apostasy of the last age are God’s plantings, His husbandry, His olive trees and His temple.

In verse one we are told what John sees, now we learn what he hears. –

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 (verse 2).

It seems God is singing along with His voice of many waters and thunder with the harpers as they sing. –

And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth (verse 3).

The harpers are not identified as angels. Since they obviously know the song that is reserved only for the 144,000, apparently we are being treated to a concert by these ones who have been raptured into the presence of God in heaven.
     How can they be on Mount Zion with Jesus and be in heaven at the same time? Because this is a prophetic vision designed to illustrate principles. There are times when these visons cannot be read as literally as the rest of Scripture.
     What we are being shown here is that the position of intimacy with Jesus the remnant has cultivated during their lifetimes has put them symbolically on a higher elevation with the Lord. In turn, these raptured ones (11:12), are in heaven prior to the tribulation.
     I think it’s important to understand that these ones are not aware of the category they are in while they are on earth. They are just humble servants of the Lord and are in no way encased with any sense of spiritual superiority. If they were prideful, then they really couldn’t be classified as true followers of our humble Jesus, would they?
     Verses four and five describes what has qualified them to be the 144,000.

These are they which were not defiled with women, for they are virgins.

They are not literal virgins, as God refers to His entire church as virgins (Matthew 25:1-13). This is showing us that these ones are not committing any form of sexual sin, they are not defiled with women, (or men), and if they have sinned in this regard, they have fully repented. They are following the Word of God and His instructions in this area. They are the Philadelphian remnant who are seen cleaving to the Word of God (Rev. 3:10).
     These are they which follow the Lamb wherever He goes. Jesus is not leading them into sin, but away from it. The definition of a true disciple is someone who is following Jesus. They are heeding the Biblical instructions to crucify their flesh with its affections and lusts, letting the Holy Spirit have His way in their lives.

These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and the Lamb (verse 4). Firstfruits are harvested first, sealed or marked for their preservation In ancient Israel the first of the firstfruits were marked with a string to designate them as an offering to the Lord and were harvested first to be taken to the temple. We witnessed the sealing or marking of the firstfruits in chapter seven. Thus this designated remnant is sealed or marked through their faith in the Messiah Jesus to be a firstfruits offering to the Lord.
     Like the Philadelphian remnant these witnesses represent, they have been sealed to be kept from the hour of temptation (Rev. 3:10), the apostasy, which in turn keeps them from the hour of His judgment (Rev. 14:7), the great tribulation.
     It should be the goal of every pastor/teacher to guide the Lord’s flock into that Philadelphian fold, and it should be the desire of every believer to be included among that faithful remnant kept to bloom with Jesus upon Mount Zion’s holy pinnacle.

And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God (verse 5).
The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid (Zephaniah 3:13).

While no believer is perfect by any means, the Grace that has been appropriated to them through the blood of the Lamb they follow, continuously shepherds them, conforming them into their Shepherd’s loving image. Those He knows are His, will be found rejoicing with Him upon that holy mount.

Let’s keep this principle in mind; God knows in advance our futures. He can see the finished product of our characters before they are completed. Therefore those who are sealed may not have yet achieved spiritual maturity, but God is not viewing them as they are at the moment, but as He knows they will be. For this reason, and the fact that their faithfulness will keep them from apostasy and from falling away, they will be gathered in the harvest of the firstfurits. They are His “Sheep” and His disciples.
     Jesus said, "My sheep 'hear' My voice, and I 'know' them, and they 'follow' Me" (John 10:27).
     Jesus’ sheep “hear;” – the Biblical meaning of this word is basically to understand. Jesus told His disciples, “Blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears for they hear” (Matthew 13:16). A disciple values God’s word and seeks its meaning.
     Jesus “knows” them. There is a relationship between the Lord and the believer.
     Jesus said, “I stand at the door and knock: if any man hears My voice, (a disciple is listening and seeking) and opens the door I will come in to him and will sup with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20).
     A disciple has responded to Jesus’ knock on the door of his heart and he communes with the Lord on a daily basis. In other words, a disciple doesn’t wait until Sunday morning to enter God’s presence and worship Him.
     A disciple “follows.” Jesus said, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24). Jesus is saying that a true disciple of His will endure hardship for His name’s sake and not fall away when the going gets tough - or fall away when God tells him to let go of something that is not pleasing to Him.

The beatitudes in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount are in essence a description of our olive tree disciples. We see in the fifth chapter of Matthew that even though there were many people around, it was the disciples that exerted themselves to climb the mountain with Him and the sermon is addressed to them (Matthew 5:1,2).
     “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (verse 3).
     The word "poor" in the Greek literally means beggar or to beg. Jesus is describing people that are spiritually hungry, or needy. When Jesus was being followed by a large crowd of people, He told them that they were following Him not because they saw the miracles, but because they had eaten the physical bread He had provided (John 6:5-13) and were more concerned for their physical needs (John 6:26,27). When He told them to ingest Him, (John 6:53) most of them left, – except His true disciples who valued His Word, the Truth, more than anything else. His disciples were spiritually hungry and were fed and satisfied by the things of God.

“Blessed are they that mourn;” there is a grieving for sin, personally and for the sin and suffering in the world. These ones hunger and thirst for righteousness in themselves and in others (Matthew 5:4,6).
     Jesus’ disciples are blessed because of their willingness to abide in the vine (John 15:5) and are allowing the Lord to produce His holy character in them. Therefore they have the strength of His character in them to be meek and are blessed (Matthew 5:5). They can turn the other cheek when they are reviled by unbelievers (Matthew 5:39).

A disciple is a reflection of their Lord, so they are merciful, as their Lord is merciful, they are pure in heart, for they are allowing the Holy Spirit of Jesus in them to remove attitudes and inner sins, for they are willing to judge, or evaluate themselves (Mathew 5:7).
     They are peacemakers (Matthew 5:9) – first by sharing the peace of Jesus through the Gospel, making peace between God and man, and secondly by sowing peace where there is discord.
     They are blessed because they are followers of the Lord and willing to be persecuted for His sake (Matthew 5: 10-12) for they are the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13) and the light of the world (Matthew 5:14). Salt is a preservative. God always reserves to Himself a remnant that will preserve His Word and shine as lights in the dark times of apostasy.
     The blessed Olive Trees of chapter eleven and chapter fourteen, are this remnant; they are not perfect by any means, but they are representatives of all those believers who love God enough to let Him change them into the people He wants them to be.

After John had been shown the raptured saints, their position with the Lord and their character, he sees the first of three angels. –

And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell on earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, (verse 6).

The first angel is the angel of the Gospel. This signifies a period of time when the Gospel will be preached supernaturally. Whether by literal angels, or through dreams and visions, the Gospel will be proclaimed to everyone, especially in the countries where the Gospel has been forbidden and Christians cannot evangelize.
     The Lord had been leading me to pray for Him to send angels, two by two, into these areas to evangelize for quite a while. When Jesus told us to pray to send workers into the harvest, why do they all have to be human beings? Angels don’t need passports, they know every language, they can’t be martyred or jailed, and they can appear in any form. They are the perfect ones to accelerate evangelism before and during the tribulation.
     It is God’s desire that all men be saved. In this moment in church history, it seems that the Lord will and is using supernatural means to reach the nations where the church has been unable to minister.
     This accelerated move of God upon all of humanity proceeds the great tribulation, as this angel proclaims. –

Saying with a loud voice, “Fear God, and give glory to Him; … This message is being sent to those on earth of every religion. There is only One True God of Israel and One Messiah; one plan of salvation of redemption for all mankind.

…for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters (verse 7).

The hour of His judgment has come. The great tribulation is at hand and the residents of earth are being given the life line that can save them from eternal death.
     The second angel follows in the wake of the proclamation of the Gospel. This is the angel of prophecy. This angel proclaims in advance the fall of Babylon.

And there followed another angel, saying, ‘Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drunk with the wine of the wrath of her fornication’ (verse 8).

God declares things before they are (Rev. 4:17). The people are being told that the world system of apostate religion, finance and government represented by this corrupt city will be no more. The world as they know it is about to be removed. If their trust has been in these apostate systems, they are being given the opportunity to sever this connection and take hold of the provision that is being proclaimed by the first angel. They must believe the Gospel and trust the Lord.

And the third angel followed them saying with a loud voice, “If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or his hand,…(verse 9).

This third angel is the angel of warning. The people have been told through the first two angels that this beast/Babylonian system is going to be destroyed, its reign is temporary, and the Gospel is eternal. Now they are being warned to not allow themselves to be branded and made one by that which God has judged and condemned.
     The angel of warning proceeds to describe the consequences of following this system. –

The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture (it’s undiluted), into the cup of His indignation; and shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: (verse 10).

If God’s plan of redemption through the sacrifice of His Son for the sins of the people is rejected in favor of the beast’s satanic government, then those souls who have rejected eternal life for a temporary security, will be tormented for eternity in the presence of the Life they have rejected. –

And the smoke of their torment ascends up forever and ever; and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and His image, and whoever receives the mark of his name (verse 11).

It seems here, that God is making no exceptions. Unfortunately there are some in the Christian camp that think because their names are written in the Lamb’s book of life, they can never be blotted out. They can disobey God, take the mark and still be saved. This heresy is being promoted by those who ascribe to the “once saved always safe” doctrine of eternal security. We were shown that the church in Sardis is warned that if she does not strengthen what she has, the faith that can save her, then her name will be blotted out of “the book of life”(Rev. 3:5). So obviously it is possible for someone to have their name removed, if the Gospel is abandoned.
     This doctrine of eternal security is justified by those who promote it by misinterpreting the terminology that is used to describe the book of life. To them the term “book of life” is talking about God’s book of the saved that was in the Old Testament under the old covenant. In the New Covenant the term “Lamb’s book of life” is used. Therefore, they assume that there are “two books,” and if anyone’s name is written in the Lamb’s book they are eternally secure. If that’s the case, then apparently the Apostle Paul’s friends didn’t make it because their names were only written in the book of life. –

And I entreat you also, true yokefellow, help those women which labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with my other fellow laborers, whose names are written in the book of life (Philippians 4:3).

The term, Lamb’s book of life and the book of life are synonymous. There are not two books. Revelation uses the term Lamb’s book of life twice, (13:8, 21:27) and book of life five times (3:5, 17:8, 20:12, 20:15, 22:19). It is very obvious by studying the context of these verses that there is only one book of life.
    In Revelation chapter twenty, when God judges everyone who lived on earth, which would include those who lived during the Old Covenant and also the New, only one term is used, “The Book of Life” (20:12,15). Also, the book “The Shepherd of Hermas,” an early document that was read by the first century church and was found included with some of the earliest manuscripts, also mentions the Book of Life very often, but never mentions it as the Lamb’s book of life. The first century church only recognized one book. It is merely an assumption that there are two books.
     I reiterate; the two book theory was devised to try and justify the “once saved always safe,” doctrine of “eternal security,” even through the Scriptures teach that someone can lose their salvation by denying Jesus and harboring unforgiveness. However, if a person is genuinely saved, he is following Jesus, and these disciples are not going to do the things that the Scriptures say can cost a believer their salvation. These ones are secure eternally, and will never lose their salvation.

The danger of the two book theory is obvious. By following this man inspired doctrine, a believer can lose his salvation by taking the mark, which in God’s eyes is viewed as a denial of His plan of salvation. I believe that the mark is attached to not only a satanic one world government, but one that also demands allegiance to a one world religion that denies Jesus as the only way to God and the only provision for mankind’s salvation. If one ascribes to the “all religions are valid” new age theology, then they have denied their faith and their names are automatically deleted from “The book of Life.”
     It is vital that we take God’s warning on this issue seriously. Those who are genuinely the Lord’s will heed His instructions because they are following His Word. –

Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus (verse 12).

The word for “patience” in the Greek is hupomone (hoop-om-on-ay’). Its primary meaning is, steadfastness, constancy, endurance. The “patient” saint cannot be moved from the faith, no matter what they are called to endure. Therefore those faithful Christians who will be living during this time on earth and are facing martyrdom for their faith, are called “blessed.” –

And I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yes, says the Spirit that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them” (verse 13).

Here they are told that one of the rewards of their faithfulness is rest in contrast to the disobedient ones who are promised no rest, but only eternal torment because they have allowed themselves to be branded by the beast.
     There are many Christians on earth at this time; the “left behind” from the five churches described in Revelation chapters two and three who have not been classified as Philadelphians, (the raptured witnesses;) and also those who have come to the Lord after the rapture through the supernatural preaching of the angel. This shows us that there will be a period of time for a potential revival before the tribulation actually begins.
     The people are being warned in advance not to take the mark of the beast, before the beast actually has full control of the planet and has gained the ability to brand everyone (Rev. 13:16).
     If people refuse the mark, they will not be able to buy or sell without it (Rev. 13:17). God’s people would rather starve to death than take the mark and I believe God will provide for them supernaturally as he did for Elijah in the desert (I Kings 17:4). The ravens brought food, and in turn there will be people like those ravens who have taken the mark and will be used of God to provide for His people, His faithful ones.
     It will take some sort of cataclysmic natural disaster or war to enable the one world beast government to gain full control. I believe that this event is described in the following verses fourteen through twenty. This instigates the great tribulation, a period of time that stretches out through the remainder of Revelation to chapter nineteen.

And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle (verse 14).

The Apostle John has previously been told to write that those who die in the Lord from that time forth are blessed. He then sees this vision of Jesus on a cloud with a sickle, a farmer’s harvesting tool in His hands. It seems in this vision, Jesus is waiting for the time of harvest to begin. We see that He receives His cue in the next verse. –

And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him that sat on the cloud, “Thrust in Your sickle, and reap: for the time is come for You to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe” (verse 15).

It is time for the great tribulation to begin.
     By this we are shown that in heaven’s eyes, this period of time is seen as a harvest. Harvests are generally thought to be something good. Here we are about to enter a cataclysmic period in earth’s history that enables the instigation of the beast’s one world government, and this time of death is viewed as merely a harvest. We are also told that those who die in the Lord during this time are blessed. God is directing us all to view the events that are about to transpire upon earth before Jesus’ second coming through heaven’s perspective. To those who are the Lord’s and die during this season, the tribulation is to be viewed as a harvest of the blessed. In other words, no matter what the circumstances we must face in this life, we always have the victory over them in our Lord Jesus.
     Now thanks be unto God, which always causes us to triumph in Christ, and makes manifest the fragrance of his knowledge by us in every place (II Corinthians 2:14).
     Jesus responds to the angel’s announcement. –

And He that sat upon the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped (verse 16).

I want you to understand that Jesus is not killing people. The symbolism in this vision tells us that the souls that are being harvested in this season are dying “in the Lord.” Because they belong to Jesus, they are the fruits of His harvest, no matter what means causes their death. Some are martyred, some will die from the environmental judgments, lack of food, etcetera. Their souls are His and when the sickle arrives, these ones are immediately exalted to their place before God’s throne as we shall see in chapter fifteen.
     In the meantime: -

Another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle (verse 17).

This angel is the symbolic overseer of another harvest that will be taking place at the same time the blessed are being reaped for God’s kingdom. This angel also waits for his cue to begin.

And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, “Thrust in your sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe” (verse 18).

Evil has come to its fullness. The wicked of the earth are about to be harvested into their eternal destiny which has been determined by their own actions.

And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.

The vine of the earth represents the souls that are unified by their mutual rejection of the Messiah. They have been abiding in the vine of this world, and not the vine of Jesus (John 15).
     Again, the angel is not killing people. This is a symbolic parable of two types of death; those who die in the Lord and those who die without Him, and are subject to the wrath of God.

And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs (180 miles) (verse 20).

We were shown that this harvest encompasses the souls of “the vine of the earth.” But in verse twenty, the final verse of chapter fourteen, the deaths are suddenly localized to a city. To understand, we need to return to Matthew twenty-four. In this chapter Jesus has been asked by His disciples to tell them what would be the sign of His coming and the end of the age. Jesus answers them with a duel prophecy. He is predicting two events at the same time, the destruction of Jerusalem within their generation, and also a similar time of destruction in the future that immediately precedes His second coming.
     Many of the Old Testament prophecies are also duel in their construction. They are designed to relate to circumstances in their current day and age and also are meant to apply to events in the future.
     The book of Revelation was written twenty-five years after Jesus’ prophecy concerning Jerusalem’s destruction in 70AD was fulfilled. Thus this prophecy in Revelation’s chapter fourteen, contains a similar duality. While tribulation is a harvest upon the entire world, it also involves a specific attack on the city of Jerusalem.
     This event was also prophesied by Zechariah, (14:2,3) and Ezekiel (38,39). There will be another captivity for the Hebrew people before Jesus returns.

Behold, the day of the LORD comes, and your spoil shall be divided in the midst of you.
For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle.
And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south (Zechariah 14:1-4).

The prophecy of the tribulation in Revelation’s chapter fourteen, verses fourteen through twenty, encompasses the remainder of the book until Jesus returns in chapter nineteen. The turmoil and death that has been introduced to us in chapter fourteen will continue to build into a tsunami that directly precedes the overwhelming victory of Jesus’ return to earth. Again we are reminded that although the darkness of our circumstances can be devastating, there is hope. Revelation’s ancient prophecies have been designed by God to be a keepsake of His Word to His people to remind us that we are never forsaken or forgotten. For the faithful, there will always be victory in the storm.

Copyright 2018 by H.D. Shively

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