Revelation 14
English Standard Version
The Lamb and the 144,000
14 Then I looked, and behold, on (A)Mount Zion (B)stood the Lamb, and with him (C)144,000 who (D)had his name and his Father's name written (E)on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a voice from heaven (F)like the roar of many waters and (G)like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of (H)harpists playing on their harps, 3 and they were singing (I)a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. (J)No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4 It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for (K)they are virgins. It is these (L)who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as (M)firstfruits for God and the Lamb, 5 and (N)in their mouth no lie was found, for they are (O)blameless.
The Messages of the Three Angels
6 Then I saw another angel (P)flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to (Q)those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. 7 And he said with a loud voice, (R)“Fear God and (S)give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and (T)worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the (U)springs of water.”
8 Another angel, a second, followed, saying, (V)“Fallen, fallen is (W)Babylon the great, (X)she who made all nations drink (Y)the wine of the passion[a] of her sexual immorality.”
9 And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone (Z)worships the beast and its image and receives (AA)a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he also will drink (AB)the wine of God's wrath, (AC)poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and (AD)he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And (AE)the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and (AF)they have no rest, day or night, these (AG)worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”
12 (AH)Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who (AI)keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.[b]
13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: (AJ)Blessed are the dead (AK)who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, (AL)“that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”
The Harvest of the Earth
14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one (AM)like a son of man, (AN)with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 And another angel (AO)came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, (AP)“Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for (AQ)the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” 16 So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped.
17 Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 And another angel came out from the altar, (AR)the angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, (AS)for its grapes are ripe.” 19 So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great (AT)winepress of the wrath of God. 20 And (AU)the winepress was trodden (AV)outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as (AW)a horse's bridle, for 1,600 stadia.[c]
Footnotes
- Revelation 14:8 Or wrath
- Revelation 14:12 Greek and the faith of Jesus
- Revelation 14:20 About 184 miles; a stadion was about 607 feet or 185 meters
Revelation 14
New American Standard Bible
The Lamb and the 144,000 on Mount Zion
14 Then I looked, and behold, (A)the Lamb was standing on (B)Mount Zion, and with Him (C)144,000 who had (D)His name and the (E)name of His Father written (F)on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a voice from heaven, like (G)the sound of many waters and like the (H)sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of (I)harpists playing on their harps. 3 And they *sang [a](J)a new song before the throne and before the (K)four living creatures and the (L)elders; and (M)no one was able to learn the song except the (N)144,000 who had been (O)purchased from the earth. 4 (P)These are the ones who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are celibate. These are the ones who (Q)follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been (R)purchased from mankind (S)as first fruits to God and to the Lamb. 5 And (T)no lie was found in their mouths; they are (U)blameless.
Vision of the Angel with the Gospel
6 And I saw another angel flying in (V)midheaven with (W)an eternal gospel to preach to (X)those who [b]live on the earth, and to (Y)every nation, tribe, language, and people; 7 and he said with a loud voice, “(Z)Fear God and (AA)give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who (AB)made the heaven and the earth, and sea and (AC)springs of waters.”
8 And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “[c](AD)Fallen, fallen is (AE)Babylon the great, she who has (AF)made all the nations drink of the (AG)wine of the [d]passion of her sexual immorality.”
Doom for Worshipers of the Beast
9 Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone (AH)worships the beast and his (AI)image, and receives a (AJ)mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he also will drink of the (AK)wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed [e]in full strength (AL)in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with (AM)fire and [f]brimstone in the presence of the (AN)holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the (AO)smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; (AP)they have no rest day and night, those who (AQ)worship the beast and his (AR)image, and [g]whoever receives the (AS)mark of his name.” 12 Here is (AT)the [h]perseverance of the [i]saints who (AU)keep the commandments of God and [j](AV)their faith in Jesus.
13 And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write: ‘(AW)Blessed are the dead who (AX)die in the Lord from now on!’” “Yes,” (AY)says the Spirit, “so that they may (AZ)rest from their labors, for their (BA)deeds follow with them.”
The Harvest
14 Then I looked, and behold, a (BB)white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one (BC)like [k]a son of man, with a golden (BD)crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. 15 And another angel (BE)came out of the [l]temple, calling out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “[m](BF)Put in Your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the (BG)harvest of the earth [n]is ripe.” 16 Then He who sat on the cloud [o]swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.
17 And another angel (BH)came out of the [p]temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. 18 Then another angel, (BI)the one who has power over fire, came out from (BJ)the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “[q](BK)Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters [r]from the vine of the earth, (BL)because her grapes are ripe.” 19 So the angel [s]swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into (BM)the great wine press of the wrath of God. 20 And (BN)the wine press was trampled (BO)outside the city, and (BP)blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, [t]for a distance of [u]1,600 stadia.
Footnotes
- Revelation 14:3 One early ms something like a new song
- Revelation 14:6 Lit sit
- Revelation 14:8 Lit Babylon...fell, fell, she who
- Revelation 14:8 Or wrath (incurred from God)
- Revelation 14:10 Lit unmixed; in ancient times wine was usually diluted with water
- Revelation 14:10 I.e., burning sulfur
- Revelation 14:11 Lit if anyone
- Revelation 14:12 Or steadfastness
- Revelation 14:12 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people
- Revelation 14:12 Lit the faith of
- Revelation 14:14 Or the Son of Man
- Revelation 14:15 Or sanctuary
- Revelation 14:15 Lit Send forth
- Revelation 14:15 Lit has become dry
- Revelation 14:16 Lit cast
- Revelation 14:17 Or sanctuary
- Revelation 14:18 Lit Send forth
- Revelation 14:18 Lit of
- Revelation 14:19 Lit cast
- Revelation 14:20 Lit from
- Revelation 14:20 Possibly about 184 miles or 296 km; a Roman stadion perhaps averaged 607 ft. or 185 m
Revelation 14
EasyEnglish Bible
The Lamb and the 144,000 people
14 Then I looked again and I saw the Lamb. He was standing on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. There were 144,000 people there with him. The Lamb's name and his Father's name were written on the front of those people's heads.
2 Then I heard a loud sound which came from heaven. The noise was like water that pours along a river very fast. It was like the loud noise of thunder. The sound was like people who were making music with harps. 3 The 144,000 people were singing a new song that they had learned. They sang it in front of the throne. They sang in front of the four beings that are alive and in front of the leaders. Only these 144,000 people could learn the new song. They are the people that God had saved from among the people who lived on the earth.
4 These 144,000 people have kept themselves pure. They have not had sex with women in a wrong way. They follow the Lamb everywhere that he goes. God has saved them from among the people of the world and he has paid for their sins. They are the first people to become a gift to God and to the Lamb. 5 They have not spoken any lies. They have done nothing wrong.[a]
The three angels with messages
6 Then I saw another angel who was flying high in the sky above me. He brought God's message of good news that is always true. He came to tell this news to everyone who lives on the earth. He would tell it to people from every nation, from every tribe and from every language. 7 He said in a loud voice, ‘Respect God and give him honour! Now it is time for him to judge people. He made the sky and the earth and the sea. He also made the springs of water. So worship him!’
8 A second angel followed the first one. He said, ‘God has destroyed Babylon! It is no longer a great city! It has caused people everywhere to do the same bad things as it enjoys. She is like a prostitute who makes men become drunk and have sex in a wrong way. She has caused them to turn away from God.’[b]
9 A third angel followed the other two angels. He said in a loud voice, ‘If anyone worships the wild animal and its idol, God will punish them. If anyone receives that animal's mark on their head or on their hand, God will punish them. 10 God will be very angry with all those people. They will be like people who must drink God's strong wine. When they drink wine from the cup of God's anger, they will have terrible pain. Fire and sulphur will burn them. God's angels and the Lamb will watch while God punishes them. 11 The smoke will rise for ever while they burn. They will have no rest during the day or during the night. This will happen to everyone who worships the wild animal and its image. It will happen to everyone who receives the mark which shows its name.’
12 This means that God's people must go on being patient and strong. They must continue to obey God's rules. They must continue to trust Jesus.
13 Then I heard a voice that spoke from heaven. It said, ‘Write this: From this time, people who continue to believe in the Lord and then they die will be very happy.’ God's Spirit says, ‘Yes, they will rest from their work. God will not forget the good things that they have done.’
The earth's harvest
14 Then I looked, and I saw a white cloud in front of me. I saw someone who was like a son of man.[c] He was sitting on the cloud. He had a gold crown on his head and a sharp knife in his hand.[d] 15 Then another angel came out from God's house in heaven. He shouted with a loud voice to the person who was sitting on the cloud. He told him, ‘Use your sharp knife and start to work. It is time to bring in the harvest. Cut down the plants and bring them in. The harvest on the earth is now ready.’
16 Then the person who sat on the cloud moved his sharp knife over the earth. He cut down the earth's plants and he brought in the harvest.[e]
17 Then another angel came out from God's house in heaven. He also had a sharp knife in his hand. 18 Again, another angel came from the altar where people offered gifts to God. This angel had authority for the fire on the altar.[f] He shouted with a loud voice to the angel who had the sharp knife. He told him, ‘Use your knife and cut the grapes off the earth's vine. The grapes are ready now to make wine.’
19 So the angel moved his sharp knife over the earth. He cut off the grapes which grew in the earth's vineyard. He threw the grapes into the winepress where God stamps on the grapes because he is very angry. 20 The winepress was outside the city. When God stamped on the grapes, the juice that came out of the winepress was blood.[g] The river of blood was very deep. It rose as high as horses' necks and it went as far as 300 kilometres.
Footnotes
- 14:5 These 144,000 may be a certain group of men who have decided to serve God with all their lives. So they have chosen not to have sex. Or it may mean that they have kept themselves pure because they have not worshipped false gods. They have been completely faithful to the true God. See Revelation 7:3.
- 14:8 Babylon was the capital city of a country that was the enemy of God's people, Israel, many years ago. Babylon had ruled many other countries. The leaders in Rome ruled many countries when Jesus lived on the earth. Really, John may be talking about Rome here when he says ‘Babylon’. But ‘Babylon’ could mean any place that is against God and his people. That means a place where Satan rules.
- 14:14 ‘a son of man’ or ‘a human’. This person seems to be the Lord Jesus. Jesus often called himself the Son of Man. See Daniel 7:13.
- 14:14 The sharp knife had a round shape to cut crops.
- 14:16 The Lord Jesus brings in the harvest of people from all the earth. He will bring all the people together. He will decide who is good. He will also decide who is bad. See Matthew 13:30.
- 14:18 Fire destroys what the farmer does not need after the harvest.
- 14:20 God is showing how angry he is. He is angry with everyone who will not obey him. The grapes are like a picture of bad people. At the time when John was writing Revelation, this is how people made wine. They put the grapes in a big hole that they had cut in the rock. This was called a winepress. Then they walked on the grapes, to squeeze them. Pipes went out of the winepress. The juice from the grapes went out through the pipes. It was red like blood. This is a picture of how God will punish his enemies. So, in fact, John was describing the deaths of these people. See also Revelation 19:15 and Isaiah 63:3.
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