Introduction
In the two previous chapters we have the record of Satan’s activity, through his chosen instruments, in his attempt to place his yoke upon all the inhabitants of the earth. All his malice and hatred are directed against God, against His Christ, and against His people. For the moment, as also when our Lord was crucified, he seems to be victorious; he has asserted his power, and his sway is almost undisputed. Evil, and evil in its own native blackness and corruption, is triumphant.
In contrast with this, chapter 14 opens like a magnificent sunrise after a stormy night. It is a burst of light which contains the promise that all the clouds that had obscured the scene will be swept away. “And I looked, and, lo, a” [rather, the] “Lamb stood on the mount Zion, and with Him a hundred forty and four thousand, having His Father’s name [The preferred reading is, “His name and the name of His Father.”] written in their foreheads” (vs. 1). This, as is often the case in this book, is an anticipative vision, revealing the end for the comfort of the saints before the judgments are detailed which lead up to this point. In Revelation 13 the frightful oppression and persecution of the saints is seen; and in this vision they are displayed as having been tried and come forth as gold, and as the result, enjoying a special place of association with the Lamb.
Several points in the vision must be observed. As above indicated, it is the Lamb, the Lamb already known as presented in this book. But here He is seen in a new place. In Revelation 5 He is revealed as standing in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders. Here He stands on mount Zion. John saw Him first “as it had been slain” (Ch. 5:6); and we have thus three successive stages marked: first, the cross; next, His exaltation to the throne of God; and, lastly, His being set as God’s King upon His holy hill of Zion (Psa. 2). For Zion is the seat of royal grace from David’s time and onwards (see 1 Chron. 21; Psa. 48; compare Heb. 12:2222But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, (Hebrews 12:22)); and consequently Christ is here displayed in the glory of His kingdom. The vision overleaps all the intervening sorrows and judgments and, as in the scene on the mount of transfiguration, permits us to behold His majesty and glory in the seat of His earthly rule and dominion.
There are with Him a hundred and forty-four thousand. Who are these? They are not, though the same symbolical number, (Twelve is the number representing the perfection of administrative government in man (in Christ). Twelve times twelve will exhibit this in intensified perfection.) those sealed from the twelve tribes in Revelation 7; for the elect remnant out of the ten tribes will not be restored to the land of Israel until after Messiah shall sit upon the throne of His glory; whereas these are the preserved of the two tribes already in the land, those who will have passed through the sorrows of the period before the appearing of Christ, and hence termed “the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb” (vs. 4). The ten tribes will not pass through the unparalleled troubles spoken of in Matthew 24:15-2815When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains: 17Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: 18Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 20But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 21For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. 23Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 24For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 25Behold, I have told you before. 26Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. 27For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 28For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. (Matthew 24:15‑28), all of which will have their center in Jerusalem and will be, as to the Jews, confined to the land. In the restoration from Babylon, of which we read in Ezra, only two tribes were involved, saving individuals from other tribes, Judah and Benjamin. It was to these two tribes in the land that Christ was presented; but when He came to His own His own received Him not, and on them therefore lay the guilt of His rejection and crucifixion. By these same two tribes, that is, by the mass and their leaders, the antichrist will be received; and thus it will be upon them that the chastisements of that day will descend, when the tribulation will be so great that no flesh would be saved, if for the elect’s sake the days were not shortened. The true remnant who in the midst of the apostasy of their brethren, as well as of the seduction and oppression of the antichrist, cleave to God and His truth and are saved out of this time of Jacob’s trouble (Jer. 30:77Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it. (Jeremiah 30:7)), these 144,000 are the elect. Their weeping had endured for the night, but joy had come in the morning with the interposition of their glorious and looked-for Messiah. (See Isa. 25:99And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. (Isaiah 25:9).) In this scene we see the full issue of God’s grace through their sufferings, in their being made the companions of the Lamb amid the glories of His kingdom.
They are distinguished, moreover, by having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads. The name, or the mark, of the beast had been written on the foreheads (or on the hands) of his followers—a sign of their apostasy, and of the degrading yoke which they had accepted; but these, the 144,000, have the name of the Lamb, the expression of their allegiance and of their moral likeness to the One they follow, and the name of His (not their, because they, whatever their place, have not the Spirit of adoption) Father written on their foreheads. They had openly confessed the name of God and the Lamb, and had suffered, short of death, (This expression, “short of death,” should be well weighed and examined. As pointed out afterward, they are said to be “without fault,” (vs. 5) a word used of Christ (Heb. 9:1414How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9:14)), of the church (Eph. 5:2727That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. (Ephesians 5:27)), and of Christians in their final presentation before God (Col. 1:2222In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: (Colossians 1:22)). It is a question, therefore, whether this company may not have passed either through death, or by being changed, into a resurrection—not a heavenly, but a resurrection-condition.) as Christ had suffered through the confession of the name of His Father. (See John 5:1718.) They had therefore come into His former place on earth, in regard to His testimony, however feebly they had occupied it; and now in the abounding grace of God their foreheads are adorned with the name of the Lamb and of His Father, a proclamation to all of their past fidelity and of the rich recompense which had been awarded to them by Him for whom they had suffered.
It is in connection with the appearance of this elect remnant with the Lamb on mount Zion that John “heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and [he says] I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: and they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed [This should really be rendered “bought.” It is remarkable and very significant that the word redemption is not found in this book. It is always agorazein, and never lutroun.] from the earth” (vss. 2-3). Who these heavenly choristers are we are not told. The voice is “from heaven” (vs. 2) and the song is sung before the throne, and before the four living creatures, and the elders. But whoever may be these celebrants of praise, the subject would seem from the connection to be that of the victorious issue of the sufferings of this chosen remnant traced back, doubtless, to God’s grace and the blood of the Lamb. (Compare Rev. 5:9-109And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. (Revelation 5:9‑10).) This is the more evident from the fact that no one could learn that song but the 144,000; for none but they had passed through the sorrows or had experienced the grace connected with their deliverance. The song suited to them in their circumstances was raised in heaven; and they, as in communion with the mind of God, caught up and repeated the strains. Happy are the saints of any period when they are enabled to apprehend in any measure the mind of God concerning His beloved Son, and when, with adoring hearts, they can utter, in the power of the Spirit, His worthiness and praise.
Their characteristics follow. First, they had not defiled themselves with women; “for they are virgins” (vs. 4). In a scene where all had corrupted themselves they had been kept pure, pure from all the contamination by which they had been surrounded, guarding themselves from all the seductions of the antichrist, and keeping themselves alone for Him for whom they waited. They were, it might be said, espoused to Christ, and they walked as chaste virgins amid surrounding defilements. (Compare 2 Cor. 11:2-32For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 3But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. (2 Corinthians 11:2‑3).) Then they “follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth.” (vs. 4) That is, they are His companions in His earthly kingdom. In the Epistle to the Hebrews we read of the companions of Christ (Heb. 1:99Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. (Hebrews 1:9); Heb. 3:1414For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; (Hebrews 3:14) (This may be rendered, “for we are made companions of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end.”); but these “companions” embrace all Christians; whereas in our scripture they are confined to this suffering, but now victorious, remnant. Surely they will also confess that the sufferings of the past are not worthy to be compared with the glorious position on which they will have then entered. To have the privilege of being the constant and intimate attendants upon the King in His glory will be the sum and perfection of earthly bliss.
Moreover, they “were redeemed” (vs. 4) (bought from) among men, being the firstfruits unto God and the Lamb. As with every class of the redeemed in all ages and dispensations, so with these, the blood of Christ alone constitutes their ransom price. Sold through their sins (Isa. 50:11Thus saith the Lord, Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away. (Isaiah 50:1)) into the hand of the enemy, nothing but the precious blood of Christ can redeem any from his power; and hence it is that the fact of the redemption of this elect remnant is here emphasized. As thus “bought,” they are the first-fruits unto God and the Lamb, not firstfruits in the sense in which Christ is (1 Cor. 15), or in which His people are (James 1:1818Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. (James 1:18)), but the firstfruits of the new scene into which they have been introduced by Messiah’s appearing and kingdom. (It may be also that the term “firstfruits” is used in relation to the harvest in verses 15-16.) In this way they become, as it were, the nucleus of the chosen people when God sets His King upon His holy hill of Zion.
Once more we are told that “in their mouth was found no guile:” [The better reading is “falsehood”] “for they are without fault” (vss. 5). (The words, “Before the throne of God,” should be omitted, as also, we judge, the word “for” at the commencement of the clause.) The question is put in Psalm 153Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress. (Psalm 17:3), “Lord, who shall abide in Thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in Thy holy hill?” (vs. 1) The answer (among others) is, “He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.” (vs. 2) It is with this last characteristic that the 144,000 correspond, and they are upon God’s holy hill of Zion with the Lamb. Having truth in the inward parts, no lie was found in their mouth. Lastly it is added, “they are without fault.” The word rendered “without fault” is the same as is applied to our Lord in Hebrews 9:1414How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9:14), and 1 Peter 1:1919But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: (1 Peter 1:19), and given as “without spot.” They are therefore meet for the presence of Him whose companions, through His grace, they are. If spotless, and hence qualified to stand in His immediate presence, it could only be, let it be forever repeated, through the applied efficacy of His own most precious blood. That, and that alone, cleanses from all sin.
What encouragement, it may be added, does this blessed scene afford. In Revelation 13, as has been remarked, Satan and Satan’s power are to the outward eye triumphant; but here we behold the issue in the exaltation of the Lamb in the very place where the antichrist had ruled; and in the safety, blessing, and triumph of His redeemed from among men. His sheep never perish, for none can pluck them out of His hand.
Three Angelic Proclamations and Two Judgments
The whole of this chapter forms a kind of parenthesis. In Revelation 12 and 13 the hand of God is not apparent in the events related, although He reveals His own thoughts concerning His people, and concerning the embodiment of Satan’s power in the revived Roman empire together with its head, and the antichrist. At the commencement of Revelation 14, as already seen, we have an anticipative exhibition of the blessed remnant who will be preserved through the fiery trial of that day, and who, associated with the Lamb on mount Zion, will have the privilege of following Him whithersoever He goeth. Thereupon, coming now to our scripture, there is a solemn call to repentance, and the announcement of coming judgment upon the different forms of evil which have corrupted the earth. It is not that the judgments are yet actually executed; they are rather warnings of what is at hand, visions of what is impending— vouchsafed to John, and here recorded for the comfort and guidance of believers in all ages.
Revelation 14:6-76And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, 7Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. (Revelation 14:6‑7)
A “day of grace” always precedes judgment. This is shown in the following words: “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, [In the correct reading the word “dwell” is not the same as that hitherto noticed as having a moral force. The reason for the change lies probably in the fact that the proclamation has an universal importance.] and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters” (vss. 6-7). On the very surface it is clear that this is not the gospel of the grace of God. It contains, indeed, but two things; first, a command to fear God and to give glory to Him in the prospect of coming judgment; and, secondly, an appeal to men, on the ground of creation relationship, to worship the Creator. Doubtless it is termed the everlasting gospel, because, apart from all special revelations of God, as to Israel and to Christians, and hence beyond all dispensations, God has ever borne to men the relationship of a Creator to His creatures, and as such is entitled to their reverence and adoration. (Compare Rom. 1:18-2318For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 19Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. 20For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. (Romans 1:18‑23).) But man has utterly failed in his responsiblity as a creature and consequently is, on that ground alone, exposed to judgment. (Another has said, “The everlasting gospel is the Seed of the woman that shall bruise the serpent’s head; that is, the declaration that the Lord shall destroy with power when He comes in judgment. It is the announcement that the hour of His judgment is come, the unchanging good news from the beginning and onward.”)
Then, “there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication” (vs. 8). The moral character of Babylon and the details of her judgment are found in Revelation 17-18. Any remarks therefore will be reserved till these portions of the book are reached, contenting ourselves now with calling attention to the fact that Babylon represents the religious corruptress of the earthand is in fact what Rome has ever been, and what Babylon will yet more manifestly be after Laodicea is rejected as God’s responsible witness on the earth. Then she will be “the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth,” (Ch. 17:5) and it is on her as such that her righteous doom is here proclaimed.
The civil power comes next under the eye of God, and hence there follows the third angel, “saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name” (vss. 9-11). What a contrast between God’s thoughts and those of man! On earth men may agree to cast off all fear of God, to profess to ignore His very existence and to accept the rule of Satan; but the time is coming when God will intervene, and this solemn warning is written for all who will heed it, that judgment, if delayed, will surely fall upon all who accept the yoke and servitude of the beast. It is instructive, moreover, to note in a day when universalism is so popular, even among professing Christians, the character of the judgment. True that it falls upon a class; but if there were only some who will have to endure their punishment for “ages of ages” and who will “have no rest day nor night,” (vs. 11) the contention that there is no such thing as “eternal punishment” is utterly disproved. Note also that wherever man takes God’s place in the soul, wherever men concede to man what belongs to God alone, there is morally the same guilt as that on which these terrible judgments are here pronounced.
It is easy to understand that the faith of the saints in this terrible time of the display of Satan’s power will be subjected to no ordinary test. It is in view of this that the Spirit of God adds, “Here is the patience [endurance] of the saints: they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus” (vs. 12). (The words “here are” before “they that,” as in the English version, should be omitted. The last clause of the verse is simply descriptive of the character of the saints.) These saints are, in fact, the Jewish remnant, those who cleave to the commandments of God as given in the old dispensation and who believe in Jesus as the coming Messiah in spite of the pretensions of the antichrist. Tried to the utmost, their constancy will be seen in their holding fast to the Word of God, and to their faith in Jesus all through this period of darkness and of the frightful energy of evil.
Coupled with this, another class, or a class from among these, comes into view. To keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, and consequently to refuse to render homage to the beast or to his image, will be to incur the penalty of death, and as a consequence many will suffer martyrdom. (See Rev. 20:44And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (Revelation 20:4).) Now death to Jewish saints would be the loss of their special blessings connected with the hope of the coming of their glorious Messiah, of the establishment of His kingdom in power, and of His dominion from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth. (Compare Psa. 884I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength: (Psalm 88:4).) It is concerning this class, and the frustration of their earthly hopes, that John receives a special commandment from heaven to write, “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them” (vs. 13). Man may be permitted to curse, and to put them to death; but God declares that they are blessed. All who have ever died in the Lord are blessed; absent from the body, they are present with the Lord; but the blessedness of this scripture applies to those whose hopes are not heavenly but earthly, to those who look for blessings on earth under Emmanuel rather than to be with Him in heaven. Cut off from the earth, they are blessed of God, and the Spirit declares it so that they may have rest from their labors; and while not permitted to see the fruit of their activities on earth, their works shall follow them in heaven. There they will, by God’s special grace, reap the reward of their toils. Further, it is revealed (Rev. 204And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (Revelation 20:4)), that they will have the special privilege of being included in the first resurrection, and thus, to be sharers with the heavenly saints in reigning with Christ as seen in verses 4-6. There is another possible interpretation of these words. Immediately following, we have the coming of the Lord in discriminating judgment; and it may be that the blessing pronounced upon those who have died in the Lord [so they are divinely estimated] during the sway of the antichrist, refers to their public owning and recompense as seen in Revelation 204And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (Revelation 20:4). The reader must examine and weigh these interpretations.
The close is once more reached in the next vision. (See Rev. 11:15-1815And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. 16And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, 17Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. 18And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. (Revelation 11:15‑18).) The Man-child, caught up to God’s throne, now returns in judgment; and the judgment He will execute is of a two-fold character, here described under the figures of a “harvest” and a “vintage.” First, we have the description of the Reaper: “And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle” (vs. 14). Both the manner of His advent— on the cloud—and the title —the Son of Man— proclaim unmistakably the person of the Reaper. It is the rejected Jesus who, refused by the Jews when presented to them as the Messiah, took up the wider title of the Son of Man (See Psa. 86O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them. 7But the Lord shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment. 8And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness. 9The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. (Psalm 9:6‑9), Matt. 16:20,2720Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ. (Matthew 16:20)
27For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. (Matthew 16:27)), under which all things are put under His feet. The “golden crown” (vs. 14) not only speaks of His royal dignity, but also of the glory of that divine righteousness according to which everything will be both tested and judged, while the “sickle” (vs. 14) announces the immediate object of His return. He took the servant’s place when down here for the accomplishment of the will of God, so when He comes to execute the judgment written He will still occupy the same position. It is on this account that an angel is introduced, as coming out of the temple, and “crying with a loud voice to Him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in Thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for Thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe” (vs. 15).
There is something sublime in the simple statement of obedience to this command: “And He that sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped” (vs. 16). As to the character of the judgment here indicated, it may aid the reader to consult Joel 3:9-179Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: 10Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. 11Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. 12Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. 13Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. 14Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. 15The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. 16The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. 17So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more. (Joel 3:9‑17) and Matthew 13:36-4336Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. 37He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; 38The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; 39The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. 40As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. 41The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; 42And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. (Matthew 13:36‑43). Two or three points may be noticed. It is the earth that is reaped, and hence it is men as men, not the Jewish nation especially, that are in question. Secondly, the angel who cried to Him that sat on the cloud, “Thrust in Thy sickle ... and reap,” (vs. 16) came out of the temple. The judgment therefore was to proceed according to the revealed character of Him whose habitation it was. Bearing these points in mind, it is easily understood that the judgment is of a discriminating character, gathering the wheat into His garner, and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire. The Scriptures deal constantly with this aspect of the appearing of our Lord and Savior. In some of the similitudes of the kingdom of heaven in Matthew 1336Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. 37He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; 38The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; 39The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. 40As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. 41The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; 42And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. (Matthew 13:36‑43) it is found; so also in chapter 25, where the Lord, as the King, will gather all nations before the throne of His glory, and separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats (Matt. 25:31-4631When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. (Matthew 25:31‑46)).
The scene that follows, while related to the preceding one, has a different character. “And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to Him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in Thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in His sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God” (vss. 17-19). The first question to be answered is as to the angel that appears here as the executor of judgment. There cannot be a doubt that, although He is not named, it is also the Son of Man; for, as we read elsewhere, the Father hath committed all judgment unto the Son, hath given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man (John 5:22-2722For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: 23That all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father which hath sent him. 24Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. 25Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. 26For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; 27And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. (John 5:22‑27)). But He is here seen only as an angel, not merely in accordance with the symbology of the book, but because He comes as the divine instrument of God’s will in judgment upon the vine of the earth, and hence, in this case, comes out for this purpose from the temple, from God’s immediate presence. He is seen as the Son of Man when the judgment relates to the Gentiles, but here as an angel when the Jews are prominent before the mind. For what, we may now inquire, is set forth by the vine of the earth? The figure is familiar. Israel was a vine, brought out of Egypt, and planted in Canaan (Psa. 803Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day. 4For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob. 5This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out through the land of Egypt: where I heard a language that I understood not. 6I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were delivered from the pots. 7Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder: I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah. 8Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me; (Psalm 81:3‑8)), but when God looked for it to bring forth good grapes, nothing was found, notwithstanding all the culture it had received, but wild grapes (Isa. 5:1-71Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: 2And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. 3And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. 4What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? 5And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: 6And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. 7For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry. (Isaiah 5:1‑7)). It was on this account that Christ Himself replaced Israel, before God, as the vine: He became the true vine, of which His own were the branches (John 151I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 6If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 7If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. (John 15:1‑7)). The vine of the earth therefore will be that which should have borne fruit for God; and is in the scene before us, inasmuch as it is the object of judgment, apostate Judaism with which the Gentiles, as we know, will be allied.
The character of the judgment is shown by the words, “the great winepress of the wrath of God.” (vs. 19) It is thus unsparing judgment (see Isa. 63:1-41Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. 2Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? 3I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. 4For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. (Isaiah 63:1‑4)) upon Messiah’s adversaries in connection with the establishment of His kingdom. (See, for example, Zech. 141Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. 2For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. 4And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. (Zechariah 14:1‑4); Rev. 191And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God: 2For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. 3And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever. 4And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia. (Revelation 19:1‑4).)
One thing more is to be gleaned from the last verse: “And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs” (vs. 20). The term “without the city” indicates undoubtedly that the neighborhood of Jerusalem is the locality of this unmitigated vengeance. The prophet Joel agrees (as well as Isaiah and Zechariah) when he combines in one verse both the harvest and the vintage judgments (Joel 3:2-132I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. 3And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink. 4Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head; 5Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things: 6The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border. 7Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompence upon your own head: 8And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off: for the Lord hath spoken it. 9Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: 10Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. 11Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. 12Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. 13Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. (Joel 3:2‑13)). He specifies the valley of Jehoshaphat as the place where the nations, as well as the apostate Jews, with whom they will be associated, will be judged. The terrible character of the vengeance of that day is seen in the awful, if symbolic, statement concerning the blood that came out of the winepress, reaching unto the horse bridles, and extending to 1,600 furlongs; that is, as some have observed, to the whole length of the Holy Land.