The Lamb and the 144,000

14 Then I looked, and there was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion,(A) and with him were 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.(B) I heard a sound[a] from heaven like the sound of cascading waters(C) and like the rumbling of loud thunder. The sound I heard was like harpists playing on their harps.(D) They sang[b] a new song(E) before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders,(F) but no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. These are the ones who have not defiled themselves with women, since they remained virgins.(G) These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were redeemed[c] from humanity as the firstfruits(H) for God and the Lamb. No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.(I)

The Proclamation of Three Angels

Then I saw another angel(J) flying high overhead,(K) with the eternal gospel to announce to the inhabitants of the earth—to every nation, tribe, language, and people.(L) He spoke with a loud voice:(M) “Fear God(N) and give him glory,(O) because the hour of his judgment has come.(P) Worship the one who made heaven and earth,(Q) the sea and the springs of water.”

And another, a second angel, followed, saying, “It has fallen, Babylon the Great(R) has fallen.[d] She made all the nations drink the wine of her sexual immorality,[e] which brings wrath.”(S)

And 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, 10 he will also drink the wine of God’s wrath, which is poured full strength into the cup of his anger.(T) He will be tormented with fire and sulfur(U) in the sight of the holy angels and in the sight of the Lamb, 11 and the smoke of their torment will go up forever and ever.(V) There is no rest[f](W) day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or anyone who receives the mark(X) of its name. 12 This calls for endurance from the saints,(Y) who keep God’s commands and their faith in Jesus.”[g]

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

“Yes,” says the Spirit, “so they will rest from their labors, since their works follow them.”

Reaping the Earth’s Harvest

14 Then I looked, and there was a white cloud, and one like the Son of Man[h](AA) was seated on the cloud, with a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 Another 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.”(AB) 16 So the one seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

17 Then another angel who also had a sharp sickle came out of the temple in heaven. 18 Yet 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.” 19 So the angel swung his sickle at the earth and gathered the grapes from the vineyard of the earth, and he threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath.(AC) 20 Then the press was trampled outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press up to the horses’ bridles for about 180 miles.[i](AD)

Footnotes

  1. 14:2 Or voice
  2. 14:3 Other mss add as it were
  3. 14:4 Other mss add by Jesus
  4. 14:8 Other mss omit the second has fallen
  5. 14:8 Or wine of her passionate immorality
  6. 14:11 Or They have no rest
  7. 14:12 Or and the faith of Jesus, or and faithfulness to Jesus
  8. 14:14 Or like a son of man
  9. 14:20 Lit 1,600 stadia

The Lamb and the 144,000 on Mount Zion

14 And I looked, and behold, the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him one hundred forty-four thousand who had his name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads. And I heard a sound from heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the sound that I heard was like harpists playing on their harps. And they were singing something like a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders, and no one was able to learn the song except the one hundred forty-four thousand who had been bought from the earth.

These are those who have not been defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were bought from humanity as first fruits to God and to the Lamb, and in their mouth a lie was not found; they are blameless.

The Three Angels and Their Messages

And I saw another angel flying directly overhead[a], having an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who reside on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and language and people, saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship the one who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and the springs of water!”

And another second angel followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, who caused all the nations to drink from the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.”

And another third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he himself also will drink of the wine of the anger of God that has been mixed full strength in the cup of his wrath, and will be tortured with fire and sulphur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torture went up forever and ever[b], and those who worshiped the beast and his image did not have rest day and night, along with anyone who received[c] the mark of his name. 12 Here is the patient endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and the faith in Jesus.

13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write:

‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!’”

“Yes,” says the Spirit, “in order that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow after them.”

The Earth is Harvested

14 And I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud was seated one like a son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. 15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to the one seated on the cloud, “Send out your sickle and reap, because the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe!” 16 And the one seated on the cloud swung his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.

17 And another angel came out of the temple that is in heaven; he also had a sharp sickle. 18 And another angel who had authority over the fire went out from the altar, and he called out with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Send out your sharp sickle and harvest the clusters of grapes from the vine of the earth, because its grapes are at their prime!” 19 And the angel swung his sickle into the earth and harvested the vine of the earth, and threw the grapes[d] into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was stomped outside the city, and blood went out from the winepress up to the bridles of the horses, about one thousand six hundred stadia.[e]

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 14:6 Literally, “in midheaven”
  2. Revelation 14:11 Literally “for the ages of the ages”
  3. Revelation 14:11 Literally “and if anyone received”
  4. Revelation 14:19 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  5. Revelation 14:20 That is, about 300 km (200 mi); a stade (plural stadia) was a measure of distance about 192 m (607 ft)