The Book of Revelation

Word Study

"gospel," Greek euangelion (εὐαγγέλιον). The word means good news, glad tidings, the announcement of God's saving message; it is the same word Jesus and the apostles use for the Gospel of salvation. Here, in the very midst of the darkest judgments, an angel flies "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." And notice its content in this hour: "Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth." When the whole world is being pressed to worship the beast and its image, the everlasting gospel calls all people back to the one true God, the Creator. This is the heart of the matter: worship belongs to the God who made heaven and earth, and to Him alone, the God who was manifest in flesh in Jesus Christ.

"everlasting," aionion, in the "everlasting gospel," euangelion aionion. It is called "everlasting" (aionion) because it is God's one, eternal, unchanging good news, the same in every age, from Eden's promise to the final harvest, and it goes to every people on earth without exception. Even under the shadow of wrath, God's mercy still calls; the gospel still goes out; the door of repentance still stands open to every nation. So euangelion aionion reminds us that God's saving message is eternal and universal, and that in the last hour, as in every hour, the call is the same: fear, glorify, and worship the one Creator God, revealed in Christ.

Explanation

Against the beast and its mark stands the Lamb on Mount Zion with the 144,000, who bear "his Father's name written in their foreheads" -- the true seal against the counterfeit mark. They sing a new song, redeemed and following the Lamb wherever He goes. Three angels proclaim the everlasting gospel, the fall of Babylon, and the doom of those who worship the beast, while a voice pronounces, "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord." The chapter answers chapter 13's pressure with the security of those who belong to the Lamb: the mark of the beast leads to wrath, but the name of God on the forehead leads to rest, and "their works do follow them."

Gospel Focus

Against the beast and its mark, chapter 14 opens with a scene of victory: "a Lamb stood on the mount Sion," and with Him the redeemed, "having his Father's name written in their foreheads." This is the deliberate answer to the mark of the beast: where the beast branded his own with his name, the Lamb's own bear the name of God. And for the Apostolic reader this is precious, for the Father's name is the name of Jesus, the name of the one God revealed in flesh; those who are His are marked by His name, sealed and owned by the one Lord (compare 22:4). They sing "a new song... no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed", the song of redemption, known only to those who have been redeemed. They "follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth," pure and faithful, "the firstfruits unto God." Then three angels proclaim the message of the hour. The first carries "the everlasting gospel" to "every nation," calling all to "Fear God... and worship him that made heaven, and earth", worship the Creator, not the beast. The second announces the certain doom of the world system: "Babylon is fallen, is fallen." The third warns solemnly that all who "worship the beast and his image" and take his mark will "drink of the wine of the wrath of God." The two ways are set starkly before every soul: the Lamb's name or the beast's mark, the Creator's worship or the beast's, life or wrath. And to those who choose the Lamb at great cost comes strengthening: "Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Then the tender benediction: "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord." Even if faithfulness costs them their lives, they are blessed; they "rest from their labours," and "their works do follow them." To die in the Lord is not defeat but blessing. The Lamb stands on Zion, and His own are safe.

Word Study

"the Son of man," Greek huios anthropou (υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου). "Son of man" was Jesus' favorite title for Himself, and it is drawn directly from Daniel's vision: "one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven... and there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him" (Daniel 7:13-14). It speaks both of His true humanity, He is genuinely man, and of His divine glory and universal dominion, for Daniel's Son of man is worshiped and reigns forever. Here that vision is fulfilled: "one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle." Christ appears as the crowned King and the reaper of the earth's harvest. This is the risen Jesus, God manifest in flesh, now exalted, coming "with the clouds" (compare 1:7) to gather and to judge. He is the one who was slain as the Lamb, and He is the one who reaps as the King; the Saviour and the Judge are the same Lord. The harvest has two aspects: the ingathering of the ripe grain (the redeemed gathered home) and the treading of the winepress (the judgment of the wicked). Both belong to the Son of man, for the God who saves is the God who judges. So huios anthropou unveils the crowned Christ of Daniel's prophecy, truly man and truly the reigning Lord, who comes on the clouds to bring history to its harvest.

Explanation

The chapter ends with a double harvest: the Son of man, crowned and seated on a white cloud, thrusts in His sickle to reap the earth, and an angel gathers the grapes into "the great winepress of the wrath of God." The imagery is severe -- blood flowing to the horses' bridles -- portraying the finality and thoroughness of the judgment on a world ripe in rebellion. The gentle Lamb is also the reaping Judge; His patience has an end. History is moving toward a harvest, and every life is ripening toward one of two ends -- gathered to God, or trodden in the winepress of His wrath. The vision sobers and warns even as it comforts the faithful.

Gospel Focus

The chapter closes with the harvest of the earth, the image of history reaching its appointed end. "One... like unto the Son of man" sits on "a white cloud," crowned with gold and holding "a sharp sickle." This is Christ Himself, the crowned King of Daniel 7, coming to reap. At the angel's cry, "the harvest of the earth is ripe," He thrusts in His sickle "and the earth was reaped." A ripe harvest is a gathering long awaited; when the grain is ready, the reaping comes, and God's purposes are neither early nor late. Then a second, more terrible image follows: another angel gathers "the clusters of the vine of the earth," whose "grapes are fully ripe," and casts them "into the great winepress of the wrath of God." The winepress "was trodden without the city," and blood flows in a staggering flood. This is the fierce and final judgment of the impenitent, ripe in their wickedness, trampled in the wrath of God (compare Isaiah 63:1-6, where the LORD Himself treads the winepress). Two harvests, then: the grain gathered home, and the vine of the wicked trodden in wrath. The same Lord presides over both. For the Apostolic reader this is a sober and settling truth. History is going somewhere; it is ripening toward a harvest, and the Son of man will reap it. There is no endless delay, no escape from the day of ingathering. And the harvest divides: the redeemed, marked with the Father's name, gathered to the Lamb on Zion; the beast-worshipers, ripe in rebellion, gathered to the winepress. The message could not be more urgent or more merciful: the everlasting gospel still calls today, fear God, give Him glory, worship the Creator revealed in Jesus, and be gathered as ripe grain to the Lamb, not trodden as the vine of wrath. The Son of man is coming to reap. Be ready.