This chapter can be somewhat confusing because the first five verses should have been a part of the preceding chapter, that is chapter 13.  It opens with a snapshot of our triumphant Lord standing at Jerusalem accompanied by 144,000 of His Elect who have the seal, or mark, of His Father in their foreheads.  These are presented as a comparison to those who accepted the mark of the beast in chapter 13.  Beginning in verse 6 the subject changes and we see the first of three angels, each preaching the gospel to the world, and each having a different message.

Let's get into it and see what falls out.

Rev. 14:1  And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.

This has to be after Jesus Christ appears because His foot won't stand on the Earth until then.  The 144,000 are with Him, they are His perpetual retinue and stand ready to serve Him continually.  They are those closest to Him in His government.

In chapter 13 we studied about the mark of the beast, and now here we see the mark, or seal, of God.  Notice that it is said to be in the forehead just like the mark of the beast was in those who cooperated and worked for Antichrist and his beast system.  In other words, it is in their minds, it is the way they think, and what they do based on that thinking.  Related to this is that in the forehead, or more correctly, just behind the forehead or brow, is where the seat of our will is located, in the two frontal lobes of the brain.  These 144,000 have seen the light, repented, and have set their will in stone to serve God and be loyal, even unto death.  That is what is meant by having His name written in their foreheads.

Rev. 14:2  And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:

Rev. 14:3  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 from the earth.

Substitute understand for learn.  Anyone can learn and memorize words if they read or hear them enough, but understanding what the words to this song mean is given only to some.  Understanding is not given to everyone at this time, but the time is coming when all shall understand.  Look at what Jesus told His disciples when they asked about His speaking to the crowds in parables.

Matt. 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?

Matt. 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

Rev. 14:4  These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

Rev. 14:5  And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.

That ends the first part of chapter 14.  Now we continue with a new subject.

Rev. 14:6  And 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,

Rev. 14:7  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.

First, he implores us to to honor and respect God.  We should worship Him, and the old saying that the highest form of worship is obedience is certainly applicable here, but we should also love Him and honor Him.  Then, he warns us that the hour of His judgment, the great and terrible day of the Lord, is immediately upon us.  The last clause instructs us to worship the Creator.  We should return to the beginning (start in Genesis) and consider the Creator who made us and all that is.

Why is he saying these things?  There has to be a problem or he wouldn't be saying them with a loud voice.  It is because the people of the Earth have fallen prey to deception and have been literally brainwashed into accepting the traditions of men, but worst of all, they either already worship the great false god     Antichrist, or are in danger of doing so.  Our Father expects more than this from us, in fact, He demands and absolutely requires more.  But, to do what He says you must get away from religions which are nothing more than traditions of men, and come out of Babylon.

Further, our secular institutions of learning, where most of us receive our formal education today, don't believe in a Creator God and this has caused many problems, or abominations, as the King James translators might have stated it.  Look at what the Bible says about the Creation in the following verse.

Gen. 1:31  And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

And what about today?  Are we still violating the creation, or ecological environment?  Absolutely!  We still crossbreed everything, to the extent that original species may be unrecoverable.  What about cloning?  It is the ultimate unnatural replication of species.  Likewise, DNA manipulation, or gene splicing, is so commonplace now that an estimated 60% or more of the processed foods available in our supermarkets contain DNA altered ingredients.  With respect to this, have you noticed how hard and tasteless some of the fruits and vegetables are now?

John tells us in the first verse of chapter 21 of this same book of Revelation that the present ecology will pass away and a new creation will take place.  That means that the one we know now will be totally destroyed during the great and terrible day of the Lord.  Small wonder, if it is all corrupted and worthless!

The things that I have just stated are not digressive.  They are germane to the the message of this angel, and he is addressing these things with a loud voice.  Can you hear it?

Rev. 14:8  And 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.

This angel is issuing an indictment against the religious and cultural institutions that fill the Earth today, especially those within western civilization.  Her name is Babylon, which translated basically means confusion, and that is a good description for the religious hodgepodge that fills our culture today, much of which originated in ancient Babylon.  Compare this fallen woman with the virtuous woman of chapter 12.  She, the fallen woman, will be discussed further in chapters 17 and 18 where she is described as a whore.

The word fallen, mentioned twice here as a double witness or double condemnation, is translated from the Greek word pipto (Strong's No. 4098) and means to fall, as in fallen from a higher place, like Lucifer.  She has fallen away from God just as he did, and like him, she is bad to the bone.  It is also translated as fail once in the KJV, and so it is that Babylon the Great is a fallen flawed entity among men which is doomed to failure.  Learn more of her in chapters 17 and 18.

In the beginning, when we were created and placed here in the flesh, God never mentioned anything about religion.  He loved us and wanted us to love Him in return, and just like a loving father He instructed us on how we should live in the flesh.  His instructions were not grievous, but were filled with wisdom because they came from the One who had created us.  Who better to know how we should conduct ourselves in the flesh, or in the spirit for that matter.  He commanded us to learn His precepts, to remember them and teach them to our children and our neighbors.  What did we do with them?  We promptly neglected them and lost sight of the truth.

So today we are in a real mess because we have allowed this fallen woman to pervert what God had told us by adding to and taking away while substituting her own ways.  Realistically speaking, the religious institutions that exist today are really nothing more than corporations, some quite large, and are run just like all the other corporate businesses throughout the Earth.  They are growth industries pure and simple.  God clearly shows within the pages of His Word that He hates the religions that Satan and man have created.  We have made the commandments of God of none effect by our traditions and He hates them with a purple passion, as we say.

This book of Revelation is a compendium of those events leading up to and surrounding the day of the Lord.  We should stay focused on that even though at this juncture we are on the subject of religion.  Let's go to the book of Amos and see how God ties the two together.

Amos 5:18  Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light.

Amos 5:19  As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.

Amos 5:20  Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?

Amos 5:21  I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.

Amos 5:22  Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.

Amos 5:23  Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.

Matt. 15:1  Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,

Matt. 15:2  Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.

Matt. 15:3  But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?

Matt. 15:4  For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.

Matt. 15:5  But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;

Matt. 15:6  And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.

Matt. 15:7  Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,

Matt. 15:8  This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.

Matt. 15:9  But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Rev. 14:9  And the third angel followed them, 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 first clause should read:  And another, a third, followed them.  In chapter 13, I mentioned the golden image in Daniel 3 and how it was a type of the image of the beast. The three Hebrew friends of Daniel were thrown into the fiery furnace because they wouldn't worship the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.  He is an Old Testament type for Antichrist, and the fiery furnace is a type for his tribulation (temptation) that occurs at this time.  Hananiah (Shadrach), Mishael (Meshach), and Azariah (Abednego) would not worship the image and they were delivered up for prosecution.  They refused to worship anyone or anything but the true God and they were thrown into the furnace.  Please remember that the flames didn't so much as singe the hair on their head.

Be like them and don't fear the furnace if and when you are delivered up.  Don't worship the image and don't volunteer yourself into the service of Antichrist because that is receiving the mark of the beast.  I hope that is clear to you.

Rev. 14:10  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:

As to the fire and brimstone, preachers used to preach about it, but you don't hear it much anymore and to be totally honest with you, they may not have really understood what they were preaching about anyway.  What is this fire and brimstone?  Here it is literal and means the magma and rocks of the Earth's crust.  The Earth is going to receive massive destruction from a natural catastrophe.  Study my lessons, Sodom, Lot, And The End Of This Age, and Jericho, Rahab, And The Return Of Christ for more on this subject at ourfathersword.org.

The huge hailstones mentioned in Revelation 8:7, 11:19, and 16:21 are relative to this awful conflagration and they are not made of ice, they are molten fiery rocks and pieces of the Earth's crust (and possibly some of its mantle) falling back after being blown high up into the air.  Hailstones made of ice never weigh more than a few ounces, but these weigh upwards of a hundred pounds or more.  Hailstones from a thunderstorm are never fiery but these are, and come accompanied by brimstone (generally rocks containing sulfur, but in this case burning rocks of any kind).  The end of this age will not be pretty.  Go back up and read Amos 5:18 again.

Rev. 14:11  And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever 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

Do you want peace of mind through all this?  Of course you do.  Worship God then and refuse to worship anyone or anything else.  You are being set up to receive the mark right now.  You are constantly being taught that Jesus is coming soon, but they fail to tell you that the first Jesus to appear is a fake.  Remember, if you are still here in the flesh, the real Jesus has not yet appeared.

Rev. 14:12  Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

Rev. 14:13  And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

Notice carefully the last clause of the verse.  Your works are the only thing that you can carry from this life to the next, and your reward will be based on them.  That statement will be alarming to some, but don't get all worried and upset if you don't have many works right now.  There will be plenty for you to do in the near future if you continue to study and prepare yourself now.  By doing these things you are already performing preliminary works in anticipation of the big job ahead.

Other works you can do now is tell your friends about Our Father's Word and where to find it on the Internet.  Tell them to point their browser to www.ourfathersword.org.  You can also pray for it's success.  Those are good works.  There are others out there doing similar works, some on a very large scale.  If you run across them do the same for them.  You shall know them by their fruits (Matt. 7:16-23).

Okay, that is all on the three evangelizing angels.  Now we begin something new.

Rev. 14:14  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.

Rev. 14:15  And another angel came out of the temple, 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.

Rev. 14:16  And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.

This is our old enemy pretending to be the Son of man and he is going to mightily impress those who have been brainwashed to receive him.  He is going to reap their very souls, that is, their hearts and minds.

Rev. 14:17  And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.

Rev. 14:18  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.

Rev. 14:19  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.

Rev. 14:20  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.

Want to know who is riding these horses?  If you can't wait to find out then jump ahead and read Revelation 19:11-21.

God bless with understanding of His word.