The Battle Begins
The vision chapter 14 gives us is like something out of the movie Braveheart. John’s audiences should picture themselves standing at the entrance of a deep valley with tall hills on each side.
On the left are the forces of Babylon; the dragon, with her beasts from the land and sea (Rev 13), gathered in defiance and vying for power over creation.
On the right, the forces of the Lamb, which are described in the first paragraph of chapter 14:
Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. 3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.
(Re 14:1–3)
The Lamb and the 144000 (the product of 12 x 1000, a way of saying “all allegiant to the Lamb”) gather opposite Babylon. They have no weaponry, armor, nor a warrior among them. Instead, they walk behind a gentle lamb and their weapon is nothing more than a song of allegiance to no one but the Lamb.
We see the tension between earthly power—represented by the beast and the dragon—and the humble, sacrificial way of the Lamb. This chapter isn’t just about apocalyptic visions or cryptic symbolism; it is about the invisible battle raging all around those early Christians. They see themselves in those 144,000 who stand behind the lamb and sing. And they see Rome in the image of the Dragon and the Beasts. As far as they are concerned, they will share the fate of the Lamb, which they believe —against all odds and logic, will be victorious.
The Song of Resistance
But what song do they sing? Verse 3 tells us that “no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.” My guess is that this is a reference to the song in chapter 7, where we first meet the 144,000 and witness them singing their song, which goes like this:
“Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” (Re 7:10)
It is the message sung in direct opposition to Rome, who propagandized the people from one end of the empire to the other to believe that Rome was the great savior of them all. True Romans sang songs about how Rome had brought peace to the world, lifted them up out of a world of war, and united the cities of the ancient Mediterranean, saving them from a life of misery and suffering.
But the Christians didn’t believe that Rome had saved anyone; rather, they had terrorized the nations into submission, which is very different than bringing peace.
Peace comes only through acts of love, acts that transform enemies into siblings. Peace comes only through the way of Jesus.
In the Roman Empire, this song is treasonous, but it is also true.
The Three Angels
As the armies of the Beast and the Lamb gather in preperations for war, three winged messengers take flight over the scene, like propagandists riding out before the great battle:
The First Angel - Declares an “eternal gospel” (V6).
The Second Angel - Declares the fall of Babylon (V7).
The Third Angel - Declares that all who follow the beast will share its fate (V9).
This scene describes in terifying detail the fate that will become the enemies of the Lamb; they:
will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.” (Re 14:9–11)
Its tempting to read passages like this through modern eyes, and often readers have one of two reactions to the perceived violence in the text: we either use passages like this to condemn the Bible outright as a book of outdated and violent ideas, or we use it to justify our own violent actions towards our percieved enemies. Responsible readers know that Revelation was not written to teach us about the ethics of violence (for that, we should head over to Matthew 5-7). Instead must we read Revelation from the view of the 1st century church, instead of our own 21st century vantage point.
Johns audience were likely to realize that verses 9-11 are a combination of two passages from the Old Testament. The first being from the prophet Isaiah:
“For the Lord has a day of vengeance, a year of retribution, to uphold Zion’s cause. Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch, her dust into burning sulfur; her land will become blazing pitch! It will not be quenched night or day; its smoke will rise forever. From generation to generation it will lie desolate; no one will ever pass through it again.” (Isaiah 34:8-10)
And the second is Jeremiah:
“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: ‘Take from my hand this cup filled with the wine of my wrath and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. When they drink it, they will stagger and go mad because of the sword I will send among them.’” (Jeremiah 25:15-16)
Indulgent Poetry
Both of these passages were originally written to lash out against the city of Babylon, who had enslaved and brutally oppressed the Israelite people. When we read a passage like this, we must imagine the brutality with which Babylon imprisoned the Israelites. These are the ancient songs of outcry at injustice, calling out for God to reign down the same violence upon their enemies that was leveled against them. This is dissident poetry. And whats more, this is the passage that Jewish people often quoted when they were in fear of being destroyed by their enemies. Jesus himself quoted this passage in the garden of Gathsemane (Mt 26:39) as he was about to be arrested, tortured, and crucified. In this way, Jesus became a symbol of Israel, taking the exile of their idolatries upon himself and, like the Israelites being carted away to Babylon, Jesus declares he has been forsaken.
These were the words and prayers of abused Israel, and John gives them back to the churches in their time of great suffering. It speaks to the trauma and anxiety of what horrible atrocities they endured and John incorporates it into their story to provoke enthusiasm about God bringing justice to those who suffer.
Johns poetry is indulgent. It joins them with their ancestors and envisions, with them, the barbarity of the nations as it boomerangs back upon themselves in destruction, leaving the righteous Lamb followers to remain in Gods Kingdom forevermore.
It envisions their enemies building an edifice of evil that, in turn, destroys themselves. And isn’t that, in the end, how the Bible talks about sin?