Revelation 14:10 Komentář

After an account of the great trials and sufferings which the servants of God had endured, we have now a more pleasant scene opening; the day begins now to dawn, and here we have represented, I. The Lord Jesus at the head of his faithful followers (Rev 14:1-5). II. Three angels sent successively to proclaim the fall of Babylon and the things antecedent and consequent to so great an event (Rev 14:6-13). III. The vision of the harvest (Rev 14:14, etc.).

INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION 14 This chapter contains three visions; one of the Lamb on Mount Zion, another of the three angels preaching against Babylon, and the third of the harvest and vintage. The vision of the Lamb is in Rev 14:1, which is no other than Christ, described by his similitude, as a Lamb; by the place where he was, Mount Zion; by his position there, standing, and by the company that were with him, whose number were 144,000, and their character, his Father's name written on their foreheads; at the same time a voice was heard from heaven, comparable to the sound of many waters, of thunders, and of harps: and a song sung which none learn but the above number with the Lamb, Rev 14:2, who are described by their purity, chastity, and strict adherence to Christ; by their redemption through him; by their being the firstfruits of God and of the Lamb, and by their integrity and unblemished character, Rev 14:4; next follows the account of the three angels; the first comes with the everlasting Gospel, to preach it to all men, loudly calling upon all to fear and worship God, and give glory to him, since he is the Creator of all, and the hour of his judgment is come, Rev 14:6; the second proclaims the fall of Babylon, with the reason of it, Rev 14:8; and the third denounces the wrath of God upon the worshippers of the beast in the most public manner, and that for ever, Rev 14:9; and this vision is closed with some expressions, showing that, till this was done, the patience of the saints would be tried, and the true worshippers of the Lamb be discovered, and comforting them with an assurance of that rest that remains after death for the faithful followers of Christ, Rev 14:12; after this is the vision of the harvest and vintage of the earth. The reaper is described by his form, like the son of man; by his seat, a white cloud; by a golden crown on his head, and by a sharp sickle in his hand, Rev 14:14; who is called upon by an angel out of the temple to make use of his sickle, and reap, because the time of reaping was come, the harvest being ripe, Rev 14:15, upon which he thrusts in his sickle, and reaps the earth, Rev 14:16; after this, another angel appears out of the temple, with a sharp sickle, to whom another angel from the altar, that had power over fire, calls to make use of his sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine, since the grapes were fully ripe, Rev 14:17; upon which he thrusts in his sickle, and gathers them, and casts them into the winepress of divine wrath, which being trodden, blood comes out of it to the horses' bridles for the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs, Rev 14:19.

The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God,.... Which is a just punishment for their sin; that as such have drank of the wine of the wrath of Rome's fornication, Rev 14:8 so they shall now drink of the wine of God's wrath; it is usual in Scripture to express the punishment God inflicts upon wicked men by his wrath, and by the wine cup of his fury; and their suffering such punishment, by their drinking of it; see Jer 25:15 so , "the wine of wrath", is a phrase used by the Jews (q): which is poured out without mixture, into the cup of his indignation; sometimes called a cup of fury and of trembling, Isa 51:17 and is sometimes said to be full of mixture, Psa 75:8 of various ingredients of wrath and fury; and the words may be rendered here, "which is mixed without mixture": and though it seems to carry in it a contradiction, yet is true in different senses; it may be said to be mixed as wine with various sorts, which is the stronger, and sooner inebriates and intoxicates; or in allusion to the cup the Jews gave to malefactors, to stupefy them, when going to execution, which had various things put in it for that purpose; See Gill on Mar 15:23 and so designs the several ingredients in the cup of divine indignation, or the several ways in which God expresses his wrath; and yet it is without mixture; it is judgment without mercy, pure wrath, without the least allay; not so much as a drop of cold water granted, or the least your shown, or any mitigation of fury for a moment: and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone: in allusion to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, which are now a burning and a sulphurous lake, called Asphaltites, and is an example, pattern, and similitude of the vengeance of eternal fire, Jde 1:7 and hence the beast and false prophet are said to be cast into such a lake, Rev 19:20 and here their followers will be punished; which is expressive of the horrible torments of hell, and the dreadful punishment of the antichristian party there; see Psa 11:6 and what will aggravate their misery is, that it will be in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb; the latter will be their Judge, and will condemn them to everlasting burnings, and pronounce the sentence on them; and the former will be the executioners of it; they will gather them out, and sever them from the righteous, and cast them into the furnace of fire, and will be spectators of their punishment, and rejoice at it; and the sight of their power and glory will increase the torment of the sufferers. (q) Zohar in Gen. fol. 51. 4.

And he says that he will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed undiluted in the cup of His anger. The glorious David also remembers this cup and the wine, saying that "a cup is in the hand of the Lord, full of wine mixed undiluted, and he inclined from it to this: but the cluster of its vintage was not emptied; all the sinners of the earth shall drink." (Ps. 74:9) He says that the wrath of God is wine, not making the metaphor from joy but from darkening and from the change by which those controlled by the wrath of God are restrained. He says of the mixed thing that it is undiluted. That is, mixed in an undiluted way; for the wrath of God has been mixed with generosity and goodness, it has been mixed undiluted; for there is no equality between anger and goodness, but generosity far outweighs. For if there were equality of both the wrath of the righteous and the goodness, not every living thing would have endured. Knowing this, the prophet said, "If iniquity be observed, Lord, Lord, who will stand before you?" (Ps. 130:3) But since goodness is diverse in the cup of God beyond righteous anger, he again spoke mysteriously, saying: "Merciful is the Lord and just, and our God has mercy." (Ps. 116:5) Having arranged his justice in the middle, so that, by the surrounding compassion being constrained and not forgiven, it may work its proper effects; and this is proper to justice, to give to each according to merit. Having once remembered the wine and therefore called forth the anger, he persisted in that course and named the cup the portion given by the hand of God to sinners. But someone may perhaps say, how do you call the mercy of God many in that judgment at the time when the vision delivered to us, having descended a little, declared that the punishments of those being punished are eternal?

Certain heretics withdraw from us because of their evil belief, while with a different depravity of morals, others turn aside from our traditions, and in addition there are yet others ordained to perish from both faith and morals. Here in summary fashion he includes all those among the living who have the inscription of the beast on their forehead or on their hand. Here the cup of wrath must not only be understood as the one of which the Lord spoke, “He must endure God’s wrath” showing original sin, but also the cup that he mentions to the arrogant Jews, when he says, “You will die in your sin,” indicating the merit obtained through their accursed actions.… It says that they will be tormented in the sight of the Lamb for whose condemnation they suffer, whom they haughtily condemned and over whose members they inappropriately pretended to be masters. They will also be tormented in the sight of his angels who know by God’s revelation that they are paying a just penalty.

It says that should anyone bow down to the beastlike antichrist and pursue an ungodly life like his, and should anyone proclaim him to be God in word and deed—for the mark given on the forehead and upon the hand would show this—that person will share with [the antichrist] in the drinking of the revenge-filled cup, which is unmixed and devoid of any divine mercy because of the justice of the judgment. And this cup is of wine poured from different punishments because of the diversity and variety of evils that were freely chosen. He aptly calls this torment the “wine of wrath,” since it follows upon the wine of godlessness, which inebriates those who drink of it, for “in that way by which one sins shall one also be punished.”

And he also shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, etc. By saying, "And he also shall drink," he shows that there is another who drinks, so that he does not separate the one who, although visibly not mingling with the nations, yet under the name of Christ worships the same beast. Justly, however, those who offer the cup of the wrath of fornication are struck down by the cup of the Lord, not so that, according to Jeremiah, they may vomit out the malice of their hearts and be cleansed, but so that they perish condemned, falling into eternal death.

And he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone, etc. The saints reigning with the Lord can always see the punishment of the wicked, so that they may give greater thanks to their Redeemer, and sing the mercies of the Lord forever. For the torments of the wicked seen do not sadden those agreeing with the just Judge, just as the rest of Lazarus, seen buried in the flames, could not refresh the rich man.

The Lamb on mount Sion, and his company and their character, Rev 14:1-5. The angel flying in the midst of heaven, with the everlasting Gospel, Rev 14:6, Rev 14:7. Another angel proclaims the fall of Babylon, Rev 14:8. A third angel denounces God's judgments against those who worship the beast or his image, Rev 14:9-11. The patience of the saints, and the blessedness of them who die in the Lord, Rev 14:12, Rev 14:13. The man on the white cloud, with a sickle, reaping the earth, Rev 14:14-16. The angel with the sickle commanded by another angel, who had power over fire, to gather the clusters of the vines of the earth, Rev 14:17, Rev 14:18. They are gathered and thrown into the great winepress of God's wrath, which is trodden without the city, and the blood comes out 1600 furlongs, Rev 14:19, Rev 14:20.

The wine of the wrath of God - As they have drunk the intoxicating wine of idolatry or spiritual fornication, they shall now drink the wine of God's wrath, which is poured out into the cup of his indignation. This is an allusion to the poisoned cup, which certain criminals were obliged to drink, on which ensued speedy death. See on Heb 2:9 (note). Shall be tormented with fire and brimstone - An allusion to the punishment of Sodom and Gomorrha for their unnatural crimes. Presence of the holy angels, and - of the Lamb - These being the instruments employed in their destruction; the Lamb - the Lord Jesus Christ, acting as judge.

THE LAMB SEEN ON ZION WITH THE 144,000. THEIR SONG. THE GOSPEL PROCLAIMED BEFORE THE END BY ONE ANGEL: THE FALL OF BABYLON, BY ANOTHER: THE DOOM OF THE BEAST WORSHIPPERS, BY A THIRD. THE BLESSEDNESS OF THE DEAD IN THE LORD. THE HARVEST. THE VINTAGE. (Rev. 14:1-20) a--A, B, C, Coptic, and ORIGEN read, "the." Lamb . . . on . . . Sion--having left His position "in the midst of the throne," and now taking His stand on Sion. his Father's name--A, B, and C read, "His name and His Father's name." in--Greek, "upon." God's and Christ's name here answers to the seal "upon their foreheads" in Rev 7:3. As the 144,000 of Israel are "the first-fruits" (Rev 14:4), so "the harvest" (Rev 14:15) is the general assembly of Gentile saints to be translated by Christ as His first act in assuming His kingdom, prior to His judgment (Rev 16:17-21, the last seven vials) on the Antichristian world, in executing which His saints shall share. As Noah and Lot were taken seasonably out of the judgment, but exposed to the trial to the last moment [DE BURGH], so those who shall reign with Christ shall first suffer with Him, being delivered out of the judgments, but not out of the trials. The Jews are meant by "the saints of the Most High": against them Antichrist makes war, changing their times and laws; for true Israelites cannot join in the idolatry of the beast, any more than true Christians. The common affliction will draw closely together, in opposing the beast's worship, the Old Testament and New Testament people of God. Thus the way is paved for Israel's conversion. This last utter scattering of the holy people's power leads them, under the Spirit, to seek Messiah, and to cry at His approach, "Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord."

The same--Greek, "he also," as the just and inevitable retribution. wine of . . . wrath of God-- (Psa 75:8). without mixture--whereas wine was so commonly mixed with water that to mix wine is used in Greek for to pour out wine; this wine of God's wrath is undiluted; there is no drop of water to cool its heat. Naught of grace or hope is blended with it. This terrible threat may well raise us above the fear of man's threats. This unmixed cup is already mingled and prepared for Satan and the beast's followers. indignation--Greek, "orges," "abiding wrath," But the Greek for "wrath" above (Greek, "thumou") is boiling indignation, from (Greek, "thuo") a root meaning "to boil"; this is temporary ebullition of anger; that is lasting [AMMONIUS], and accompanied with a purpose of vengeance [ORIGEN on Psa 2:5]. tormented . . . in the presence of . . . angels-- (Psa 49:14; Psa 58:10; Psa 139:21; Isa 66:24). God's enemies are regarded by the saints as their enemies, and when the day of probation is past, their mind shall be so entirely one with God's, that they shall rejoice in witnessing visibly the judicial vindication of God's righteousness in sinners' punishment.