New Testament in a Year
An Interlude: The Song of the 144,000
14 Then[a] I looked, and here was[b] the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him were 144,000, who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2 I also heard a sound[c] coming out of heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. Now[d] the sound I heard was like that made by harpists playing their harps, 3 and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No[e] one was able to learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.
4 These are the ones who have not defiled themselves[f] with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from humanity as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb, 5 and no lie was found on their lips;[g] they[h] are blameless.
Three Angels and Three Messages
6 Then[i] I saw another[j] angel flying directly overhead,[k] and he had[l] an eternal gospel to proclaim[m] to those who live[n] on the earth—to every nation, tribe,[o] language, and people. 7 He declared[p] in a loud voice: “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has arrived, and worship the one who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water!”
8 A[q] second[r] angel[s] followed the first,[t] declaring:[u] “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great city![v] She made all the nations[w] drink of the wine of her immoral passion.”[x]
9 A[y] third angel[z] followed the first two,[aa] declaring[ab] in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and takes the mark on his forehead or his hand, 10 that person[ac] will also drink of the wine of God’s anger[ad] that has been mixed undiluted in the cup of his wrath, and he will be tortured with fire and sulfur[ae] in front of the holy angels and in front of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke from their[af] torture will go up[ag] forever and ever, and those who worship the beast and his image will have[ah] no rest day or night, along with[ai] anyone who receives the mark of his name.” 12 This requires[aj] the steadfast endurance[ak] of the saints—those who obey[al] God’s commandments and hold to[am] their faith in Jesus.[an]
13 Then[ao] I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this:
‘Blessed are the dead,
those who die in the Lord from this moment on!’”
“Yes,” says the Spirit, “so they can rest from their hard work,[ap] because their deeds will follow them.”[aq]
14 Then[ar] I looked, and a white cloud appeared,[as] and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man![at] He had[au] a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 Then[av] another angel came out of the temple, shouting in a loud voice to the one seated on the cloud, “Use[aw] your sickle and start to reap,[ax] because the time to reap has come, since the earth’s harvest is ripe!” 16 So[ay] the one seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.
17 Then[az] another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 Another[ba] angel, who was in charge of[bb] the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to the angel[bc] who had the sharp sickle, “Use[bd] your sharp sickle and gather[be] the clusters of grapes[bf] off the vine of the earth,[bg] because its grapes[bh] are now ripe.”[bi] 19 So[bj] the angel swung his sickle over the earth and gathered the grapes from the vineyard[bk] of the earth and tossed them into the great[bl] winepress of the wrath of God. 20 Then[bm] the winepress was stomped[bn] outside the city, and blood poured out of the winepress up to the height of horses’ bridles[bo] for a distance of almost 200 miles.[bp]
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