Albert Barnes Commentary Revelation 14

CHAPTER XIV

ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER

In the previous chapters (12 and 13), there is a description of the woes and sorrows that, for a long period, would come upon the church and threaten to destroy it. It was proper that this gloomy picture should be relieved. Accordingly, this chapter, having much of the aspect of an episode, is included to comfort the hearts of those who would see those troubled times.

There were bright scenes beyond, and it was important to direct the eye to them so that the hearts of the sad might be consoled. This chapter, therefore, contains a succession of symbolical representations designed to show the ultimate result of all these things—"to hold out the symbols of ultimate and certain victory"—Professor Stuart. The symbols are the following:

1. The vision of the hundred and forty-four thousand on Mount Zion, as emblematic of the final triumph of the redeemed (Revelation 14:1–5). They have the Father's name in their foreheads (Revelation 14:1); they sing a song of victory (Revelation 14:2–3); they are found without fault before God's representatives, being in this respect representative of all who will be saved (Revelation 14:4–5).

2. The vision of the final triumph of the gospel (Revelation 14:6–7). An angel is seen flying in mid-heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to all who dwell upon the earth, and announcing that the end is near: a representation designed to show that the gospel will be thus preached among all nations; and when that is done, the time will draw near when the affairs of the world will be concluded.

3. The fall of Babylon, the mighty Antichristian power (Revelation 14:8). An angel is seen going out announcing the good news that this mighty power is overthrown, and that, therefore, its oppressions have come to an end. This, to the church in trouble and persecution, is one of the most comforting of all the assurances that God makes in regard to the future.

4. The certain and final destruction of all the upholders of that Antichristian power (Revelation 14:9–12). Another angel is seen proclaiming that all the supporters and abettors of this formidable power would drink of the wine of the wrath of God; that they would be tormented with fire and brimstone; and that the smoke of their torment would ascend up for ever and ever.

5. The blessedness of all those who die in the Lord; who, amid the persecutions and trials that would come upon the church, would be found faithful unto death (Revelation 14:13). They would rest from their labors; the works of mercy which they had done on the earth would follow them to the future world, securing rich and eternal blessings there.

6. The final overthrow of all the enemies of the church (Revelation 14:14–20). This is the grand completion; toward this all things are tending; this will be certainly accomplished in due time. This is represented under various emblems:

   • The Son of Man appears seated on a cloud, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle—emblem of gathering in the great harvest of the earth, and of His own glorious reign in heaven (Revelation 14:14).

   • An angel is seen coming out of the temple, announcing that the time had come, and calling on the great Reaper to thrust in His sickle, for the harvest of the world was ripe (Revelation 14:15).

   • He who has the sickle thrusts in His sickle to reap the great harvest (Revelation 14:16).

   • Another angel is seen representing the final judgment of God on the wicked (Revelation 14:17–20). He also has a sharp sickle; he is commanded by an angel who has power over fire to thrust in his sickle into the earth; he goes out and gathers the clusters of the vine of the earth, and casts them into the great winepress of the wrath of God.

This whole chapter, therefore, is designed to relieve the gloom of the former representations. The action of the grand moving panorama is stayed so that the mind may not be overwhelmed with gloomy thoughts, but may be cheered with the assurance of the final triumph of truth and righteousness.

The chapter, viewed in this light, is introduced with great artistic skill and great beauty of poetic illustration. In its place, it is adapted to set forth this great truth: that for the righteous, and for the church at large, in the darkest times and with the most threatening prospect of calamity and sorrow, there is the certainty of final victory, and this certainty should be allowed to cheer and sustain the soul.

Verse 1 And I looked. My attention was drawn to a new vision. The eye was turned away from the beast and his image to the heavenly world—Mount Zion above.

And, lo, a Lamb. (See Barnes on Revelation 5:6).

Stood on the mount Sion. That is, in heaven. (See Barnes on Hebrews 12:22).

Zion, literally the southern hill in the city of Jerusalem, was a name also given to the whole city; and, as that was the seat of Divine worship on earth, it became an emblem of heaven—the dwelling-place of God. The scene of the vision here is laid in heaven, for it is a vision of the ultimate triumph of the redeemed, designed to sustain the church in view of the trials that had already come upon it and of those which were yet to come.

And with him a hundred forty and four thousand. These are evidently the same persons who were seen in the vision recorded in Revelation 7:3-8, and the representation is made for the same purpose—to sustain the church in trial, with the certainty of its future glory. (See Barnes on Revelation 7:4).

Having his Father's name written in their foreheads. This shows that they were His. (See Barnes on Revelation 7:3; see also Barnes on Revelation 13:16).

In Revelation 7:3, it is merely said that they were sealed in their foreheads. The passage here shows how they were sealed. They had the name of God so stamped or marked on their foreheads as to show that they belonged to Him. Compare Barnes on Revelation 7:3 and following.

And I heard a voice from heaven. This shows that the scene is set in heaven, but that John, in the vision, was on the earth.

As the voice of many waters. This was like the sound of the ocean, or of a mighty waterfall. That is, it was so loud that it could be heard from heaven to earth. No comparison could express this more sublimely than to say that it was like the roar of the ocean.

As the voice of a great thunder. This was like the loud sound of thunder.

And I heard the voice of harpers. This refers to harpers in heaven, where the song of redemption is accompanied by strains of sweet instrumental music. For a description of the harp, see Barnes on Isaiah 5:12.

Harping with their harps. This means playing on their harps. This image adds new beauty to the description.

Although the sound was loud and swelling, so loud that it could be heard on the earth, yet it was not mere shouting or merely a tumultuous cry. It was "like the sweetness of symphonious harps."

The music of heaven, though elevated and joyous, is sweet and harmonious; and perhaps one of the best representations of heaven on earth is the effect produced on the soul by strains of sweet and solemn music.

And they sang, as it were, a new song. (See Barnes on Revelation 5:9.)

It was proper to call this "new," because it was on a new occasion or pertained to a new object. The song here was in celebration of the complete redemption of the church and was the song to be sung in view of its final triumph over all its foes. (Compare Barnes on Revelation 7:9; see Barnes on Revelation 7:10.)

Before the throne. The throne of God in heaven. (See Barnes on Revelation 4:2.)

And before the four beasts. (See Barnes on Revelation 4:6-8.)

And the elders. (See Barnes on Revelation 4:4.)

And no man could learn that song, etc. None could understand it but the redeemed. That is, none who had not been redeemed could enter fully into the feelings and sympathies of those who were. A great truth is taught here. To appreciate fully the songs of Zion; to understand the language of praise; and to enter into the spirit of the truths which pertain to redemption, one must personally have been redeemed by the blood of Christ.

He must have known what it is to be a sinner under the condemnation of a holy law; he must have known what it is to be in danger of eternal death; he must have experienced the joys of pardon, or he can never understand, in its true import, the language used by the redeemed.

And this is only saying what we are familiar with in other examples. The one who is saved from peril; who is rescued from long captivity; who is pardoned at the foot of the scaffold; who is recovered from dangerous illness; who presses to his bosom a beloved child just rescued from a watery grave—such a person will have an appreciation of the language of joy and triumph that someone who has not been placed in such circumstances can never understand. But of all the joy ever experienced in the universe, as far as we can see, that joy must be the most sublime and transporting which will be experienced when the redeemed stand on Mount Zion above and realize that they are saved.

These are they. In this verse, and in the following verse, the writer states the leading characteristics of those who are saved. The general idea is that they are chaste, they are the followers of the Lamb, they are redeemed from among men, and they are without guile.

Which were not defiled with women. This means they were chaste. The word defiled here determines the meaning of the passage, denoting that they were not guilty of illicit intercourse with women. It is unnecessary to show that this is a virtue everywhere required in the Bible and everywhere stated as among the characteristics of the redeemed. On no point are there more frequent exhortations in the Scriptures than on this; on no point is there more solicitude manifested that the professed friends of the Savior should be without blame. (Compare Barnes on Acts 15:20; Romans 1:24–32; 1 Corinthians 6:18; Hebrews 13:4).

See also 1 Corinthians 5:1; 1 Corinthians 6:13; Galatians 5:19; Ephesians 5:3; Colossians 3:5; 1 Thessalonians 4:3. This passage cannot be adduced in favor of celibacy, whether among the clergy or laity, or in favor of monastic principles in any form; for the thing that is specified is that they were not defiled with women, and a lawful connection of the sexes, such as marriage, is not defilement. (See Barnes on Hebrews 13:4).

The word here rendered defiled—emolunthesan, from moluno—is a word that cannot be applied to the marriage relation. It properly means to soil, to stain, to defile. For example, in 1 Corinthians 8:7 it says, Their conscience being weak, is defiled, and in Revelation 3:4, Which have not defiled their garments.

This word does not occur elsewhere in the New Testament, except in the passage before us. It will be seen at once that it cannot be applied to that which is lawful and proper, and consequently that it cannot be construed as an expression against marriage and in favor of celibacy. It is a word that is properly expressive of illicit intercourse—of impurity and unchastity of life—and the statement is that those who are saved are not impure and unchaste.

For they are virgins (parthenoi). This is the masculine form, but this form is found in later Greek and in the Christian fathers (see Suidas and Suicer, Thesaurus). The meaning of the word, when found in the feminine form, is well understood. It denotes a virgin, a maiden, and consequently, it is used to denote that which is chaste and pure: virgin modesty, virgin gold, virgin soil, virgin blush, virgin shame. The word in the masculine form must have a similar meaning as applied to men, and may denote:

1. those who are unmarried;
2. those who are chaste and pure in general. The word is applied by Suidas to Abel and Melchizedek. "The sense," says De Wette, in loc., "cannot be that all these 144,000 had lived an unmarried life; for how could the apostle Peter, and others who were married, have been excluded? But the reference must be to those who held themselves from all impurity—Unkeuschheit und Hurerei—which, in the view of the apostles, was closely connected with idolatry." (Compare Bleek, Beitr. i. 185.) Professor Stuart supposes that the main reference here is to those who had kept themselves from idolatry, and who were thus pure.

It seems to me, however, that the most obvious meaning is the correct one: that it refers to the redeemed as chaste. This brings into view one of the prominent things in which Christians are distinguished from the devotees of nearly every other form of religion, and indeed, exclusively from the world at large.

This passage, also, cannot be adduced in favor of the monastic system, because:

1. whatever may be said anywhere of the purity of virgins, there is no such commendation of it as to imply that the married life is impure;
2. it cannot be supposed that God meant in any way to reflect on the married life as in itself impure or dishonorable;
3. the language does not demand such an interpretation; and
4. the facts regarding the monastic life have shown that it has had very little pretension to a claim of virgin purity.

These are they which follow the Lamb. This is another characteristic of those who are redeemed—that they are followers of the Lamb of God. That is, they are his disciples; they imitate his example; they obey his instructions; they yield to his laws; they receive him as their Counselor and their guide. (See Barnes on John 10:3 and John 3:27).

Whithersoever he goeth. As sheep follow the shepherd . It is one characteristic of true Christians that they follow the Savior wherever he leads them. Be it into trouble, into danger, into difficult duty; be it in Christian or non-Christian lands; be it in pleasant paths, or in roads rough and difficult, they commit themselves wholly to his guidance, and submit themselves wholly to his will.

These were redeemed from among men. This is another characteristic of those who are seen on Mount Zion. They are there because they are redeemed, and they have the character of the redeemed. They are not there in virtue of rank or blood (John 1:13); not on the ground of their own works (Titus 3:5); but because they are redeemed to God by the blood of his Son. (See Barnes on Revelation 5:9 and Revelation 5:10).

None will be there of whom it cannot be said that they are redeemed; none will be absent who have been truly redeemed from sin.

Being the first-fruits to God. On the meaning of the word first-fruits, see Barnes on 1 Corinthians 15:20.

The meaning here would seem to be that the hundred and forty-four thousand were not to be regarded as the whole of the number that was saved, but that they were representatives of the redeemed. They had the same characteristics which all the redeemed must have; they were a pledge that all the redeemed would be there. Professor Stuart supposes that the sense is that they were, as it were, "an offering peculiarly acceptable to God." The former explanation, however, meets all the circumstances of the case and is more in accordance with the usual meaning of the word.

And to the Lamb. They stood there as redeemed by him, thus honoring him as their Redeemer, and showing forth his glory.

"Follow the lamb": John 10:27. "Redeemed," bought: 1 Corinthians 6:20. "First fruits": James 1:18.

And in their mouth was found no guile. No deceit, fraud, hypocrisy. They were sincerely and truly what they professed to be—the children of God. This is the last characteristic that is given of them as redeemed, and it is not necessary to say that this is always represented as one of the characteristics of the true children of God. (See Barnes on John 1:47).

For they are without fault before the throne of God. The word here rendered without fault—amwmoi—means, properly, spotless, without blemish (1 Peter 1:19). (See Barnes on Colossians 1:22).

This cannot be construed as meaning that they were by nature pure and holy, but only that they were pure as they stood before the throne of God in heaven—having washed their robes, and made them pure in the blood of the Lamb. (See Barnes on Revelation 7:14).

It will be certainly true that all who stand there will be, in fact, pure, for nothing impure or unholy shall enter there (Revelation 21:27).

The design of this portion of the chapter was evidently to comfort those to whom the book was addressed, and, in the same way, to comfort all the children of God in times of persecution and trial. Those living in the time of John were suffering persecution, and, in the previous chapters, he had described more fearful trials yet to come on the church.

In these trials, therefore, present and prospective, there was a propriety in fixing the thoughts on the final triumph of the redeemed—that glorious state in heaven where all persecution will cease, and where all the ransomed of the Lord will stand before his throne. What could be better fitted than this view to sustain the souls of the persecuted and the sorrowful?

And how often since in the history of the church—in the dark times of religious declension and of persecution—has there been occasion to seek consolation in this bright view of heaven! How often in the life of each believer, when sorrows come upon him like a flood, and earthly consolation is gone, is there occasion to look to that blessed world where all the redeemed will stand before God; where all tears will be wiped away from every face; and where there will be the assurance that the last pang has been endured, and that the soul is to be happy forever!