Revelation
Chapter
14
{Verses
1-5: Victory of the Plan of God}
1~~Then
I looked, and behold,
the
Lamb
{Jesus Christ - emphasis on His humanity in Hypostatic Union}
was
standing on Mount Zion/Sion {2nd Advent - Tactical Victory}, and
with Him . . . 144,000
{Jewish evangelists of Tribulation now in Resurrection Bodies}
who
have His Name {the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ}
and
the name of His Father {God the Father}
written
on their foreheads
{on a priestly mitre (liturgical headdress worn by bishops and
abbots) which covers the forehead - in the past it said 'Holiness
to the Lord' now it will have the name of the Father and the Son}.
{SideNote (NOT RBT): In the previous Chapter 13:16, we saw that the beast also has his followers with a mark on their 'foreheads'. Maybe this is the false 'priestly mitre' on their forehead also - if so, then on the forehead would indicate the false teachers/clergy and the mark on the right hand would be the rest.}
2~~Then
I heard a sound from the source of heaven,
like
the sound of many waters
{huge numbers of singers - in perfect harmony like a waterfall},
like
the sound of loud thunder
{picture of the great volume of the magnificent sound}.
Furthermore,
the sound, which I heard,
was
like the sound of harpers playing on their harps
{idiom: literally 'sound of harpers harping on their harps'}.
{Note: This is the elect angelic choir singing at the 2nd Advent of Christ. A massive number of singers all singing a victory hymn of the tactical victory of the Lord over the ruler of this world - the devil. The singers are accompanied by magnificent playing of the harp.}
{Lord's
Tactical Victory}
3~~And
then {after the instrumental introduction by the harps}
they
{the angelic choir} were singing a new song
{the hymn of our Lord's tactical victory of the second advent
which terminates the time of the devil's desperation}
before
the throne {in the presence of God the Father},
before
the four angelic heralds
{the four living creatures - Seraph rank angels}
and
before the 'angelic staff officers' {24 angelic 'elders'}
{these are the 'alumni' of the angelic conflict present at the singing
of the praises of our Lord's Tactical victory at the 2nd Advent}.
Furthermore
{change of scene back to Mt Zion on earth},
no
one {on earth} was able to learn the song
except
the 144,000 {Jewish evangelists of the Tribulation},
they
have been redeemed/'bought with a price' {agorazo}
from
the origin of the earth.
{Note: The Lamb paid the price for sin on the cross (the wages of sin is death). Agorazo is used for one of the things the work of Jesus on the cross accomplished - He redeemed all humans from the slave market of sin. These 144,000 are all believers.}
4-5~~These
keep on being they {the 144,000 Jewish evangelists}
who
have not been defiled with women . . .
for
they are celibates.
These
are they who keep on following the Lamb
{Jesus Christ with emphasis on his salvation work on the cross}
wherever
He may lead.
These
have been redeemed from among mankind,
the
firstfruits belonging to God
{God the Father, the author of the plan}
and
to the Lamb
{God the Son, the executor of the plan on the cross} 5~~
Furthermore,
no lie/deception
was
found in their mouth {no sins of the tongue} . . .
they
keep on being
blameless/'without
blemish {in their eternal resurrection bodies}.
{Note: Remember, the 144,000 Jewish evangelists could not have been believers at the point of the Rapture of the Church. So, they have to forgo valid human distractions (marriage) in order to very quickly move to spiritual maturity through the intense intake of the Word. These mature believers are the only ones able to understand the victory song of the Lord. Apparently, at this point, they all have been martyred and now are in their resurrection bodies because all humans since Adam were born with the imputed sin of Adam. For them to be without blemish, they must have died and received their resurrection bodies.}
{Verses
6-20: Victory of the Judgments of God}
6~~Then
I saw another of the same kind of {allos} angel {aggelos}
{the pur sui vant officer from the angelic college of heralds}
flying
'in the middle of the heaven'/'at high noon'
{when the sun is at its peak/zenith},
and
he had and held {echo} the eternal/everlasting {aionios}
gospel
{idiom: euaggelion - literally 'good news'}
to
'announce/proclaim the good news' {euaggelizo}
{this angel is a teaching angel/evangelistic angel}
to
those who are residing on the earth,
both
to every nation {gentile nations in view},
and
tribe {Jewish nation is divided into 12 tribes},
and
language
{emphasis on no one being left out - the message is proclaimed in
all languages},
and
people
{and to all people - even those 'deposed' people outside established
nations}.
{Note: This angel's duty will be to make sure all humans on earth are evangelized before judgment - grace always procedes judgment. High noon in each time zone is the best time for this teaching angel to proclaim the 'good news' to every human.}
7~~And
he
{the pur sui vant officer from the angelic college of heralds}
spoke
with a loud voice,
{emphasis on the acoustics - this angel is able to carry his voice
beautifully so all the people hear him clearly and understand the
message - now it is up to them to believe or not}
"Fear/Respect
{phobeo} God
{here fear is in view - the time is short - accept or face the
coming judgment},
and
give/extend {didomi} glory to Him
{obey His command to believe in Christ}
because
the hour of His judgment has come.
And
worship {venerate, render homage}
Him
{the Lord Jesus Christ}
Who
created the atmosphere/heaven
{ouranos - 1st heaven or atmosphere in view here},
and
the 'land mass'/earth {ge},
and
the sea/oceans/'salt water' {thalassa},
and
the fountains {pege}
of
waters/'fresh water' {hudor - fresh water on the land mass}."
{Note: God the Son, the Light . . . Who came into the World is proclaimed to be the creator of the world in John 1:3, Col 1:16 and 17 and Hebrews 1:10}
{Announcement
of Judgment Against Religion in Chapters 17 and 18}
8~~Then
another of the same kind of angel
{another cherub-ranked angel, a pur sui vant officer},
the
second one, followed and kept on saying,
"Babylon
the Great
{reference to religion in the future - also called the 'Red Whore
riding on the Dragon'}
has
fallen . . . has fallen {pipto pipto}
{destruction of 'religion' - Satan's greatest evil influence on the
human race}.
She
has caused all the nations to drink
from
the wine of the {divine} wrath {thumos}
{divine judgment on ecumenical religion}
of
her fornication
{porneia - fornication - means 'sex mixed with religion' - Phallic Cult
- unfaithfulness to the plan of God really in view here}
{Note: This is the cosmic involvement or unfaithfulness to the plan of God. Spiritual fornication of apostasy, reversionism, cosmic involvement through the function of religion which is the devil's ace trump.}
{Verses
9-11: Warning against Ecumenical Religion}
9-10~~Then
another angel, the third one,
{a third cherub-ranked angel, a pur sui vant officer }
followed
them, {the first two angels}
and
kept saying with a loud voice,
"If
anyone worships/'renders homage to'
the
beast dictator and his image
and
receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand,
-
and they do {1st class condition} - 10~~
he
also shall drink from the wine of the wrath of God
which
has been poured out concentrated/undiluted
in
the cup of His anger.
And
he will be tormented in fire and burning sulfur
before
His {God's} Holy {elect} angels,
and
in the presence of the Lamb {Jesus Christ}.
{Note: 'Epi' is used twice in verse 9. Epi plus the genitive emphasizes 'contact'. Epi plus the accusative emphasizes direction. So the first epi indicates the brand is in contact with the forehead. Probably a mitre/headdress of some sort and the clergy might have a tattoo on the forehead indicating clearly their high rank if the headdress is removed. On the hand, is a mark for others. This could be a tattoo or an implanted chip so some such 'mark'/'id card'.}
{Note: In the day the bible was written, grapes were taken from the vine and stomped with feet and fermented and served! They would have to dilute the wine to even be able to drink it by mixing in water. So 'pouring our concentrated wine from His wrath', is a picture of the intensity of the discipline that God will bring to the unbelievers at this point in human history.}
{Note: Smoke is used in the analogy because the more the 'wood' resists consumption, the more smoke is generated. So this indicates the more an unbeliever resists God and His Word, the more smoke will be generated.}
11~~And,
the smoke of their torment
rises
forever and ever.
Furthermore
there is no rest day or night,
for
those who worship the beast dictator and his image,
and
whosoever receives the mark of his name.
{Note: These are unbelievers in the tribulation. So this clearly indicates their conscious state in the lake of fire.}
12~~This
'calls for'
{idiom: literally 'keeps on being'}
the
fortitude/courage/'patient endurance' {hupomone}
of
the saints/'holy ones'/'ones set apart to God' {hagios}
who
observe/fulfil the mandates/commandments {entole} from God, and the
doctrine {pistis} of Jesus.
13~~Then
I {John} heard a voice from heaven which said, "Write:
Happinesses/Blessed
. . . {are} the dead
{mature believers martyred in the last half of the Tribulation}
who
die in the Lord."
"Yes,"
says the Spirit {pneuma - a reference to God the Holy Spirit},
"from
now on {no end to their happinesses in eternity future},
in
order that they may rest from their labors
{referring to their coping with the adversities of the Tribulation
through doctrine};
for
their accomplishments/'divine good production' {ergon}
will
accompany them {into the eternal state}."
{Note: Ergon is used in two different ways depending on the source of the production. When used from 'works' generated by energy of the flesh, it is translated works. When used in connection from 'energy of the Spirit', then it means the production accomplished by allowing God to work through you and is translated 'divine good production'. Works is 'wood, hay and stubble' and is burned away. Divine good productions is 'gold, silver, and precious stones' and are retained forever in eternity future.}
14~~Then
I looked {kai oida},
and
behold/'Important! Pay Attention' {kai idou},
a
white cloud {this is the favorite chair of our Lord and Savior}
and
He {Jesus Christ}
Who
was sitting on the cloud was like the Son of Man
{referring to His Hypostatic Union - with emphasis on His humanity},
and
He has a 'golden crown' {stephanos - a victor's wreath}
{represents our Lord's strategic victory over Satan and his forces
at the cross},
and
a sharp sickle
{symbol of judgement - God the Father has delegated the Judgment
of humanity to Jesus Christ}
in
His hand.
{Note: When John is having a vision, he normally uses 'kai oida kai idou'. This indicates a vision has started and now the reader needs to pay close attention. He is going to reveal it to you.}
15~~Then
another angel
{the officer of arms - a very high ranking angel probably of Cherub
or Seraphim rank - RBT says he is probably second only to the
King of Arms (below in verse 17) in authority - both of course
reporting to the Lord Jesus Christ under His title of 'Angel of
Jehovah'.}
came
out of the temple,
and
proclaimed with a loud voice to Him {Jesus Christ}
Who
was sitting on the cloud,
"Send
in your sickle and reap.
Because
the hour has come to reap . . .
because
the harvest has become overripe {maximum level of evil}."
{Note: This angel obviously is one with great authority. This is part of the 'Protocol' operation in heaven. There is great respect for authority from top to bottom. RBT says this verse indicates that God the Father has declared that it is necessary for a great number of evil people to die so the rest of the population can survive to the 2nd Advent of Christ. If He did not intervene, the human race at this point will annihilate each other. So, here a Top Angel - RBT calls him the 'Officer of Arms' proclaims to God the Son that the time is right for the harvesting of some evil from the earth.}
16~~Then
He Who was sitting on the cloud {Jesus Christ}
swung
His sickle over the earth
and
the earth was reaped.
{Note: This verse indicates the direct role of the Lord Jesus Christ in the removal of evil and evil people from the earth during and at the end of the Tribulation. Most likely, Jesus gave the order for the harvesting to begin and in the next verse an angel carried out the execution of His order.}
17~~And
another angel { pur sui vant officer}
came
out of the temple which is in heaven,
he
also having a sharp sickle.
{Note: This angel obviously is also a high ranking one. RBT says this angel was likely a Cherub who earned his rank of 'Cherub' during the angelic revolution where Satan was created as a cherub. So, this indicates that as part of the reward for his faithfulness, this angel has a direct role in the removing of the evil of Satan's cosmic system from the earth during the Tribulation.}
18~~In
the meantime,
another
of the same kind of angel
{RBT says is again the King of Arms}
who
had authority over fire {execution of divine judicial decrees}
came
out from the altar {of imprecatory prayers}.
And
he shouted with a magnificent voice to him
{the officer who will command the execution squad}
who
has the sharp sickle,
and
he said, "Send in your sharp sickle,
and
harvest the cluster of grapes
{the saturation of human degeneracy}
from
the vines of the earth
{wherever human degeneracy is located on earth}
because
its grapes are ripe."
19~~Then
the angel {the pur sui vant officer}
swung
his sickle against the earth {the seven last plagues}
and
he harvested the vines of the earth
{all the areas where degeneracy, religion and pseudo-morality
existed}
and
he threw them {the clusters of grapes or vines}
into
the great winepress of the wrath of God.
{Note: The above action will be described in detail in Chapters 15 and 16. But, RBT says, like reading the last page of a novel, God the Holy Spirit is giving us the ending now in the following verse.}
20~~In
fact, the winepress was trampled
outside
the city {Jerusalem},
and
blood flowed out of the winepress up to the horse's bridle,
as
far as a hundred and eighty miles/
'1600
stadion (a stadion is approximately 200 yards)'
{1600x200 = 320,000yards x .00057
'conversion to miles' factor = 182.4 miles}.
{Note:
The massive armies will be surrounding Jerusalem. When the carnage
ends, the death (represented by the idiom of 'blood' . . . or maybe
even literally) will have the bodies stacked up to the bridle of a
horse for 180 miles around the city.}
**************************************
This
page is sponsored by
Kenneth Sidley, CPA, and Moxxor
For Pain Free Living.
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