Revelation 14:1-20 – November 11

God, please give us a fresh revelation of Jesus Christ as we study the book of Revelation!

We’ll be studying Revelation through the end of November. Please feel free to read and journal with us as often as you can, with the goal of getting to daily time at the feet of Jesus. For this study, we are using Beth Moore’s “Here and Now…There and Then” lecture series and study guide on Revelation as a resource, so you may see it referenced occasionally.

You can read the NIV version of today’s reading below or your favorite Bible version then spend some time meditating and journaling on the reading, letting God speak to you through it. We encourage use of the SOAP method of Bible study as you grow in your relationship with God. Check out the What’s SOAP tab above for more info. Also, below today’s reading is a SOAP journal entry from our team to help dive into God’s Word. And we encourage you to share your SOAP journal entry, prayer requests, or questions in the Comments section on our website.

The Discover One Thing main website continues to follow the Life Journal Reading Plan which covers the whole Bible in one year. Click HERE to check out today’s Discover One Thing post.

Revelation 14:1-20

The Lamb and the 144,000

14 Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. ² And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. ³ And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. ⁴ These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they remained virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among mankind and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. ⁵ No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.

The Three Angels

⁶ Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. ⁷ He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

⁸ A second angel followed and said, “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,’ which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”

⁹ A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, ¹⁰ they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. ¹¹ And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.” ¹² This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.

¹³ Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”

“Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”

Harvesting the Earth and Trampling the Winepress

¹⁴ I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. ¹⁵ Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” ¹⁶ So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

¹⁷ Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. ¹⁸ Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, “Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine, because its grapes are ripe.” ¹⁹ The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. ²⁰ They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.

 

Purchased by the Blood of the Lamb | Rebecca Hoyt

Scripture

Revelation 14:2-4

Observation

So honestly, God made it quite clear to me today that I needed to stop focusing on trying to understand what each thing means with looking up commentary and the Beth Moore series and just relax and be still and  just see what jumps out at me from my reading. Immediately, the word ‘Purchased’ stuck out to me. And like the the 144,000 were purchased, WE were purchased by the blood of the Lamb. God is telling me these things are going to happen, but I really don’t have to worry about it. It’s the people following Satan that have to worry. It was said in 13:10 and again in 14:12 — this calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.

Application

I love the fact that with everything going on there is music and singing. My Bible says: According to Revelation, human history will end not with a whimper but with a series of loud bangs. And yet frequently reminds his readers that the spasms of violence will lead to a time of eternal peace, with God ruling over a restored heaven and earth. The peaceful scene of a heavenly choir in this chapter is sandwiched between two accounts of tribulation and judgment. John drops in such scenes like orchestral interludes in the midst of a tumultuous opera: they reassure us of a future in which all creation performs together in harmony.

Prayer

Dear God, thank You for teaching me today to stop focusing on each detail of what will happen and instead be still and let You speak to me. And thank You for all the people praying for my pneumonia; prayer really does work! My fever is gone today and my body, head, face, nose aches are much better.

(I’m on 2 meds and an inhaler, I go in Thursday morning to see if it’s gone)