Revelation 14

Literally, “Mount Zion,” another name for Jerusalem. Scholars debate whether this scene takes place on earth or in the New Jerusalem of heaven, described in Revelation 21. Bible verses can support either view, it seems. On earth: Psalm 2:6. In heaven: Hebrews 12:22. John’s reference in Revelation 14:2 to hearing a voice from heaven, however, seems to suggest the voice comes from a different place. That would put the 144,000—whoever they are—on planet Earth, though some popular theories about their identity suggest they had been martyred. See the footnote for Revelation 7:4 about who the 144,000 may have been.

There’s no widespread agreement about who the 144,000 represent. Some educated guesses: Jews devoted to God, Christian martyrs who held on to their faith through the Great Tribulation (an anticipated time of intense persecution), Jewish Christians, Christians whether they are Jewish or non-Jewish, non-Jewish Christians because most of the Jewish people rejected Christianity. The number may not be literal, but a symbol of “complete,” as in God saving all the people who hold on to their faith. Twelve is a number, like seven, that represented completeness. Square it, 12 times 12, to get 144—that becomes an even more powerful symbol of completeness. Multiply that by 1,000, which is another number that symbolizes completeness, and we get 144,000, which is quite enough completeness to get the point across. That said, some take the number literally. Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that 144,000 Christians will help Jesus rule in heaven. That might seem like a lot, but the United States federal government employs about two million full-time workers to help lead and maintain the nation.

Some scholars say John is describing separate sounds. Perhaps a thundering followed by the harp-like choir of 144,000. Others say it’s one overpowering crush of volume and harmony. You had to be there.

Some say this is the “new song” in Revelation 5:9-10. Others say, “new” means new. This is a different new song, possibly one John couldn’t understand since he didn’t write down the lyrics.

Some scholars identify the four beings as cherubim who the prophet Ezekiel said carried God’s throne out of the Jerusalem Temple before the city fell to Babylonian invaders in 586 BC (Ezekiel 10:18-20). They had four faces, with eyes looking in all four directions. Some say the idea of creatures like this positioned near a throne sounds like the winged lions and sphinxes of the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Egyptians. The images in John’s vision may have made more sense to him because he was familiar with these earlier and similar images.

The 24 leaders (literally, “elders”) weren’t necessarily older adults, but people who held positions of authority in ancient Israel. Scholars can only guess who these people were. Among the many guesses: (1) Representatives of Israel and the church, with 12 from the dozen tribes of Israel and 12 of Jesus’s disciples. (2) Leaders of the 24 divisions of Israel’s musicians (1 Chronicles 25). (3) Christian martyrs. (4) Jewish leaders from Old Testament times.

Literally, “redeemed from the earth.” The vague phrase could also refer to “earth” as the sinful world that had resisted God.

Literally, “These are the ones who didn’t defile themselves with women; they are virgins.” This could sound like John is saying the 144,000 are all men (sorry, ladies) who never got married or who never had sex with a woman or who got married but never committed adultery. Those are among the educated guesses of scholars. Other scholars suggest John was talking about spiritual adultery through worshiping idols or worshiping the Roman emperor or perhaps getting caught up in heretical worship practices involving Jezebel (Revelation 2:20) and pagan practices involving the mother of all prostitutes: Babylon, meaning Rome (Revelation 17:3-9). Old Testament writers often described idolatry as adultery (Jeremiah 13:27). The entire book of Hosea feeds off that theme.

By “firstfruit,” John may have meant that the 144,000 souls are just a sampling of the harvest to come through the hard days of the end times. Other possibilities: (1) They are the first wave of Christians; those folks were Jews. (2) They represent the best of humanity, since the firstfruit that Jews brought to the Temple priests were the best of their first harvest (Exodus 23:19).

Literally, “They’re blameless.” The Greek word describes an animal free of defects and fit to serve as a sacrificial animal, which is a gift to God. Jews were to offer only the best animals in sacrifice, ones they considered worthy as an offering to Almighty God.

“Babylon” became a code name for Rome after Rome leveled Jerusalem in AD 70. The Babylonian Empire had done the same thing in 586 BC.

The phrase “the wrath of the LORD” (Ezekiel 7:19, New American Standard Bible) shows up a lot in the Old Testament prophets, when they warned people to stop their incessant sinning.

Literally, “son of man.” This is a title Jesus used a lot to describe himself. In the Jewish Bible the phrase contains hints of divinity in some passages and humanity in others—perhaps a perfect phrase for describing someone Christians would say was fully God and fully human. Hint of the divine: the prophet Daniel “saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven” (Daniel 7:13, New Living Translation). Hint of the human: God often described Ezekiel as a mere mortal by using the phrase “son of man” (Ezekiel 2:1, New Living Translation).

A sickle is a farming blade that’s curved and was used to hand-cut wheat, barley, and other crops.

It sounds like a fulfillment of Joel 3:13: “Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe” (New Living Translation). Some scholars say they see in this a metaphor of judgment and punishment through destruction and death, as though the world is experiencing its last gasp before dying.

It sounds like another reference to Joel 3:13: “Tread the grapes, for the winepress is full. The storage vats are overflowing with the wickedness of these people” (New Living Translation).

Some say they see this as a reference to the thousands of Jews that Roman invaders crucified outside Jerusalem’s city walls when they besieged and destroyed Jerusalem in AD 70.

Could be about 4.5 feet (1.5 meters).

Literally, 1,600 stadia. Each stadion was about 600 feet (185 meters). So, the measurement was about 180 miles (290 km). That’s roughly the distance of the most livable stretch of ground in what is now Israel and Palestinian Territories, from Mount Hermon in the north to the southern tip of the Dead Sea. Some students of the Bible say they see in these high numbers an exaggerated, symbolic way of describing Rome’s invasion of the Jewish homeland, culminating in the siege and destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. An eyewitness historian, Josephus, put the Jewish body count at 1.1 million. Others say it points to an end-time battle in the Jewish homeland.