The Gospel of Revelation
Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads.
And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps.
They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth.
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 firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.
And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God.
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.”
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.”
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. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.
And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”
Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
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 works follow them.”
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 reap, 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 reaped.
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 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.”
So the angel thrust 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 the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs.
Content source: English Standard Version (ESV) of the Holy Bible.
Image source: Our media Team
The first thing that John sees after the horrifying scenes and sequences of chapter 13, is the Lamb of God, who is "standing", that is, in position of action, on Mount Zion; that is, in action of authority and power. We know from the Word that Sion does not only correspond to the geographical place on this earth; that is, the earthly Jerusalem, but first with Heaven, with the holy city, the new Jerusalem, the heavenly one. We read like this in Hebrews 12:22; "But you have come near to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, Jerusalem the heavenly one, to the company of many thousands of angels." As we can see in the context of this section, this mountain of Sion is the one that corresponds to the one that is located in Heaven. As we will analyze in chapter 21, we believe that this heavenly city is to descend from heaven, from God, and come to be the tabernacle of God with men (21: 2, 3), so it is feasible that at the time of fulfillment of what is expressed in this verse, said holy city, is literally coming to this planet. Together with the Lamb, that is, the expression of the Christ who gave his life for all, there are 144,000 sealed with two names: that of the Lamb and the of His Father in the forehead. What a difference it is to have the seal of the living God on the forehead, instead of the seal or mark of the Devil's Beast in the same place! The difference lies between eternal life or death. : Those who will sing are those 144,000. They will not do it on earth, but before the Throne of God. They will also sing before the four living beings mentioned in chapter four, which are around and around the Throne. They will also sing to the elders; it means the twenty-four elders mentioned also in chapter four, who are also sitting around the Throne. However, no one of them, or anyone else can learn that song, only the 144,000 who sing it, who will be rescued or bought by the blood of Christ from the rest of the earth. Obviously, their song, which is new, will have to do with them, since only they can learn it.
In this chapter John makes reference about the vision of the persecution which transforms abruptly into a vision of the church in glory
The one hundred and forty four thousand symbolize all the faithful saints, the mount of sion represents a spiritual reality that expresses the communion of the saints, not a geographical place, the name of the father contrasts deliberately with the name of the beast
Likewise the one hundred and forty-four represent the remnant of sealed Jews and consequently exempted from going through the great tribulation, they will be very identified with the lamb (Jesus Christ) and Mount Zion, typical of the seat of power of the kingdom in Jerusalem.
The new song is a song of redemption, which only the redeemed can understand, they are spiritual virgins who have remained faithful to the Lord, not having prostituted themselves through idolatry, they are without stains, free of guilt because they are in Christ and are, Therefore, an acceptable sacrifice
there is a serious warning to those who fail in this time of trial. And it is significant that this is the most terrible warning of all.
Of all the condemnations, according to the Apocalypse, the worst is that of apostates, that is, those who deny or abandon faith in Jesus Christ. When the apostle John wrote these lines, inspired by the Holy Spirit, around 95 AD, the Church was struggling for its own existence. If it were to continue its expansion, the individual Christian must be better prepared to face suffering, persecution, imprisonment and death. The Christian could not surrender, or the Church died.
In our time, the Christian, as an individual, as a person, also has a capital importance. Although its function now is not to "protect the faith" by facing persecution, death and martyrdom, at least in Western countries, the current challenge faced by the Christian is to present the Gospel to others, willing to live it daily.
The condemnation of the apostate is presented here with the gloomiest colors of the most terrible judgment that ever fell upon the earth - that of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah: "The smoke ascended from the earth like the smoke of a furnace" (Genesis 19). : 28).
I thank God for the gift of salvation.
Merciful is God, who also warns us in his written word, when all these things arrive, he will send his angels to warn that many do not suffer the wrath of the Lord.