The Lamb and the 144,000
1Then I looked, and there was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion,14:1 Is 18:7; 24:23; Mc 4:7 and with him were 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.14:1 Dt 6:8; Ezk 9:4; Rv 3:12; 7:3; 9:4; 13:16; 22:4
2I heard a sound14:2 Or voice from heaven like the sound of cascading waters14:2 Ezk 1:24; 43:2; Rv 1:15; 19:6 and like the rumbling of loud thunder. The sound I heard was like harpists playing on their harps.14:2 Rv 5:8
3They sang14:3 Other mss add as it were a new song14:3 Rv 5:9 before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders,14:3 Rv 4:4,6 but no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.
4These are the ones who have not defiled themselves with women, since they remained virgins.14:4 1Sm 21:4–5 These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were redeemed14:4 Other mss add by Jesus from humanity as the firstfruits14:4 Dt 21:17; Jr 2:3; Jms 1:18 for God and the Lamb.
The Proclamation of Three Angels
6Then I saw another angel14:6 Rv 7:2; 8:3; 14:15,17–18; 18:1 flying high overhead,14:6 Rv 8:13 with the eternal gospel to announce to the inhabitants of the earth — to every nation, tribe, language, and people.14:6 Rv 5:9; 7:9; 11:9; 13:7
7He spoke with a loud voice:14:7 Rv 1:10; 8:13; 10:3 “Fear God14:7 Gn 22:12; 42:18; Ps 66:16; Ec 5:7; 12:13; Ac 13:16,26; 1Pt 2:17 and give him glory,14:7 Jos 7:19; 1Sm 6:5; Jr 13:16; Lk 17:18; Rv 4:9; 16:9; 19:7 because the hour of his judgment has come.14:7 Rv 18:10 Worship the one who made heaven and earth,14:7 Ps 115:15; 121:2; 124:8; 134:3; 146:6 the sea and the springs of water.”
8And another, a second angel, followed, saying, “It has fallen, Babylon the Great14:8 Dn 4:30; Rv 16:19; 17:5; 18:2 has fallen.14:8 Other mss omit the second has fallen She made all the nations drink the wine of her sexual immorality,14:8 Or wine of her passionate immorality which brings wrath.”14:8 Is 21:9; Jr 51:7–8,49; Rv 17:2,4; 18:2–3
9And another, a third angel, followed them and spoke with a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand,
10he will also drink the wine of God’s wrath, which is poured full strength into the cup of his anger.14:10 Ps 75:8; Is 51:17; Jr 25:15–17; Rv 17:2,4; 18:2–3 He will be tormented with fire and sulfur14:10 Lk 17:29; Rv 20:10; 21:8 in the sight of the holy angels and in the sight of the Lamb,
11and the smoke of their torment will go up forever and ever.14:11 Is 1:31; 34:10; 66:24; Rv 19:3 There is no rest14:11 Or They have no rest14:11 Ps 22:2; Is 23:12; 62:6; Jr 45:3; Lm 2:18 day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or anyone who receives the mark14:11 Gn 4:15; Ex 12:13; Ezk 9:4,6; Rv 13:16; 16:2; 19:20 of its name.
“Yes,” says the Spirit, “so they will rest from their labors, since their works follow them.”
Reaping the Earth’s Harvest
14Then I looked, and there was a white cloud, and one like the Son of Man14:14 Or like a son of man14:14 Dn 7:13; Lk 21:27; Rv 1:13 was seated on the cloud, with a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.
15Another angel came out of the temple, crying out in a loud voice to the one who was seated on the cloud, “Use your sickle and reap, for the time to reap has come, since the harvest of the earth is ripe.”14:15 Jl 3:13
16So the one seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.
17Then another angel who also had a sharp sickle came out of the temple in heaven.
18Yet another angel, who had authority over fire, came from the altar, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Use your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the vineyard of the earth, because its grapes have ripened.”
Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard
Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.
