คร่ำครวญ 1:16
Many thanks to Philip Pope for the permission to use his 2003 translation of the English King James Version Bible into Thai. Here's a link to the mission's website: www.thaipope.org
Apocalypse Revealed # 612
612. REVELATION: CHAPTER 14
1. Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father's name written on their foreheads.
2. And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps.
3. They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and before the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth.
4. These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.
5. And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God.
6. Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth - to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people -
7. saying with a loud voice, "Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water."
8. And another angel followed, saying, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her licentiousness."
9. Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and its image, and receives its mark on his forehead or on his hand,
10. he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed with pure wine in the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.
11. And the smoke of their torment will ascend forever and ever; and they will have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name."
12. Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus (Christ.)
13. Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, "Write: 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.' " "Yes," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, for their works follow them."
14. Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle.
15. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, "Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the hour has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth has dried."
16. So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.
17. Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
18. And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, "Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are ripe."
19. So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vintage of the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
20. And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses' bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs.
THE SPIRITUAL MEANING
The Contents of the Whole Chapter
The New Christian Heaven, described in verses 1-5. The gospel concerning the Lord's advent preached, and a new church then, verses 6, 7, 13. An exhortation for people to forsake the faith divorced from charity that grips today's church, verses 9-12. An examination and exposure of those people, revealing that their works are evil, verses 14-20.
The Contents of the Individual Verses:
| Verse Contents | Spiritual Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1. Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, | The Lord now present in a new heaven formed of Christians who acknowledged Him as God of heaven and earth, and had doctrinal truths received from Him through the Word. |
| having His Father's name written on their foreheads. | The acknowledgment among them of the Lord's Divinity and of His Divine humanity. |
| 2. And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, | The Lord speaking through the new heaven with Divine truths, |
| and like the voice of loud thunder. | and out of Divine love. |
| And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps. | A confession of the Lord from a glad heart by spiritual angels in the lower heavens. |
| 3. They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and before the elders; | A celebration and glorification of the Lord in His presence and in the presence of the angels of the higher heavens. |
| and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand | No other Christians could understand and so acknowledge out of love and faith that the Lord alone is God of heaven and earth but those received by the Lord into this new heaven. |
| who were redeemed from the earth. | They are people who could be regenerated by the Lord and so be redeemed in the world. |
| 4. These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. | They did not adulterate the church's truths or defile them with the falsities of their faith, but loved the truths because they are true. |
| These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. | They are conjoined with the Lord through love and through faith in Him, because they lived in accordance with His commandments. |
| These were redeemed from among men, | The same here as before [verse 3] . |
| being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. | The commencement of a Christian heaven that acknowledges one God in whom is the Trinity, and acknowledges that the Lord is that God. |
| 5. And in their mouth was found no deceit, | They do not speak with cunning or with a purpose to persuade people of falsity and evil, |
| for they are without blemish before the throne of God. | because they are governed by truths springing from goodness from the Lord. |
| 6. Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth | An announcement of the Lord's advent, and of a new church to descend from Him out of heaven, |
| - to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people - | to all people who, owing to religion, are prompted by goods, and owing to doctrine are guided by truths. |
| 7. saying with a loud voice, "Fear God | An admonition not to do evil, because it is to act against the Lord. |
| and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; | An acknowledgment and confession that all the Word's truth comes from the Lord, and that everyone will be judged in accordance with it, |
| and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water." | and that the Lord alone is to be worshiped, because He alone is the Creator, Savior, and Redeemer, and because the angelic heaven and the church and everything in them originate from Him alone. |
| 8. And another angel followed, saying, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, | The Roman Catholic religion has now been dispelled with respect to its dogmas and doctrines, |
| because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her licentiousness." | because by profanations of the Word and adulterations of the church's goodness and truth, it has led astray all the people it was able to bring under its dominion. |
| 9. Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, | Still more from the Lord concerning people caught up in faith divorced from charity. |
| "If anyone worships the beast and its image, and receives its mark on his forehead or on his hand, | People who acknowledge and accept the doctrine of justification and salvation by faith alone, affirm it, and live in accordance with it, |
| 10. he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed with pure wine in the cup of His indignation. | falsify the Word's goods and truths and steep themselves in a life in accordance with their falsification of them. |
| He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11. And the smoke of their torment will ascend forever and ever; | Their love of self and the world and the ensuing lusts, and stemming from these a conceit in their own intelligence, and torment in hell because of them. |
| and they will have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name." | The continuing state of vexations in people who acknowledge and accept that faith, affirm it, and live in accordance with it. |
| 12. Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. | By temptations or trials induced by vexations, a person belonging to the Lord's church is explored as to his character in respect to his life in accordance with the Word's commandments and to his faith in the Lord. |
| 13. Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, "Write: 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.'�" | A prediction by the Lord concerning the state of people after death who will belong to His New Church, that they will have eternal life and happiness. |
| "Yes," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, | The Word's Divine truth teaches that people who afflict their soul therefore and crucify their flesh will have peace in the Lord, |
| for their works follow them." | according as they have loved and believed and so have done and spoken. |
| 14. Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, | The Lord in relation to the Word. |
| having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. | The Divine wisdom emanating from His Divine love, and the Divine truth in the Word. |
| 15. And another angel came out of the temple, | The angelic heaven. |
| crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, "Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the hour has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth has dried." | A supplication by angels in heaven to the Lord to bring things to an end and execute judgment, because the church had now reached its last state. |
| 16. So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped. | The end of the church, because it no longer had any Divine truth in it. |
| 17. Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. | The heavens of the Lord's spiritual kingdom, and the Word's Divine truth in them. |
| 18. And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, | The heavens of the Lord's celestial kingdom, which are prompted by the goodness of love received from the Lord. |
| and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, "Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes of the vine of the earth, | The Lord's operation from the goodness of His love through the Word's Divine truth into the works of charity and faith among people belonging to the Christian Church, |
| for her grapes are ripe." | because the Christian Church has reached its last state. |
| 19. So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vintage of the vine of the earth, | The end of the present Christian Church. |
| and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. | An examination of the character of the people's works, revealing that their works were evil. |
| 20. And the winepress was trampled outside the city, | The examination was made in accordance with Divine truths in the Word, to discover the character of the works that flowed from their church's doctrine regarding faith. |
| and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses' bridles, | The violence done to the Word by their dreadful falsifications of truth, and the consequent understanding of it so closed up that it was scarcely possible for anyone any longer to be taught by it, and so to be led by the Lord through Divine truths, |
| for one thousand six hundred furlongs. | being nothing but the falsities accompanying evil. |
THE EXPOSITION
14:1 Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand. This symbolizes the Lord now present in a new heaven composed of people in the Christian churches who acknowledged the Lord alone as God of heaven and earth, and had doctrinal truths springing from the goodness of love received from Him through the Word.
This and the rest of what is said in this chapter is symbolically meant by "I saw." The Lamb means the Lord in respect to His Divine humanity (no. 269). Mount Zion symbolizes a heaven where the inhabitants are people impelled by love toward the Lord, as described below. One hundred and forty-four thousand symbolizes all those people who acknowledge the Lord alone as God of heaven and earth and have doctrinal truths springing from the goodness of love received from Him through the Word (nos. 348ff.).
We described these people in chapter 7, but there we were told that they were sealed on their foreheads, being thus distinguished and separated from the rest. Here we are now told that they were gathered together and a new heaven formed of them.
[2] The heaven that is the subject here is a heaven composed of Christians from the time the Lord was in the world, and formed of those who approached the Lord alone and lived in accordance with His commandments in the Word by shunning evils as sins against God.
This heaven is the new heaven from which the holy Jerusalem, or New Church, will descend on earth (Revelation 21:1-2). The heavens that existed before the Lord's advent are above it and are called the ancient heavens. The people in them also all acknowledge the Lord alone as God of heaven and earth. Those heavens communicate with this new heaven through influx.
[3] People know that the land of Canaan symbolizes the church, because the Word existed there, and by it the Lord was known. Moreover, in the middle of it was the city of Zion, and below it the city of Jerusalem, both situated on the mountain. Zion and Jerusalem symbolized, therefore, the innermost elements of the church. And because the church in the heavens goes hand in hand with the church on earth, therefore the church in both places is meant by Zion and Jerusalem - Zion meaning the church as to love, and Jerusalem the church as to its accompanying doctrine.
The mountain is called Zion, because a mountain symbolizes love (no. 336).
[4] That Mount Zion symbolizes heaven and the church where the Lord is worshiped can be seen from the following passages:
I have anointed My King on... Zion. I will declare the decree: ..."You are My Son, today I have begotten You. ...I will give You the nations for Your inheritance...." ...Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish... Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him. (Psalms 2:6-8, 12).
Get up into the high mountain, O Zion, you who bring good tidings... Say..., "Behold, the Lord Jehovih is coming with might...." (Isaiah 40:9-10)
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! ...Behold, your King is coming to you, just and having salvation... (Zechariah 9:9, cf. Matthew 21:2, 4-5)
Cry out and exult, O inhabitant of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst! (Isaiah 12:6)
The redeemed of Jehovah shall return... to Zion with singing... (Isaiah 35:10)
Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! ...behold, I am coming to dwell in your midst... (Zechariah 2:10-11)
Who shall give in Zion the salvation of Israel? (Psalms 14:7; 53:6)
(The Lord Jehovih will) lay in Zion a testing stone... And (then) your covenant with death will be annulled... (Isaiah 28:16-18)
My salvation shall not linger. I will give salvation in Zion... (Isaiah 46:13)
He will come to Zion, a Redeemer... (Isaiah 59:20)
...Jehovah Zebaoth will reign on Mount Zion... (Isaiah 24:23)
Jehovah loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things shall be proclaimed in you, O city of God! ..."This one was born there." ..."All my springs are in you." (Psalms 87:2-3, 6-7)
...Jehovah has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling place. "This is My resting place forever; there I will dwell...." (Psalms 132:13-14)
Let the children of Zion exult in their King. (Psalms 149:2-3)
(Arise, O Jehovah) and have mercy on Zion; ...the set time has come... (Declared shall be) the name of Jehovah in Zion..., when the peoples are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve Jehovah. (Psalms 102:13-16, 22-23)
Out of Zion... God will shine forth. Our God shall come, and... He shall call to heaven above, and to the earth...: "Gather My saints together to Me...." (Psalms 50:2-5)
And so on elsewhere, as Isaiah 1:27; 4:3-5; 31:4, 9; 33:5, 20; 37:22; 52:1; 64:10; Jeremiah 6:2; Lamentations 4:2; Amos 1:2; Micah 3:10, 12; 4:1-3, 7-8.
Many passages mention the daughter, or virgin, of Zion, which does not mean some daughter or virgin there, but the church in respect to its affection for goodness and truth, like the bride of the Lamb (Revelation 21:2, 9; 22:17).
The daughter, or virgin, of Zion symbolizes the Lord's church in the following places: Isaiah 1:8; 3:16-26; 4:4; 10:32; 16:1; 37:22; 52:2; 62:11; Psalms 9:14; and elsewhere.
Exodus 32
1
When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron, and said to him, "Come, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we don't know what has become of him."
2
Aaron said to them, "Take off the golden rings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them to me."
3
All the people took off the golden rings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron.
4
He received what they handed him, and fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it a molten calf; and they said, "These are your gods, Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt."
5
When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation, and said, "Tomorrow shall be a feast to Yahweh."
6
They rose up early on the next day, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
7
Yahweh spoke to Moses, "Go, get down; for your people, who you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves!
8
They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it, and have sacrificed to it, and said, 'These are your gods, Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.'"
9
Yahweh said to Moses, "I have seen these people, and behold, they are a stiff-necked people.
10
Now therefore leave me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them, and that I may consume them; and I will make of you a great nation."
11
Moses begged Yahweh his God, and said, "Yahweh, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, that you have brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?
12
Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, 'He brought them forth for evil, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the surface of the earth?' Turn from your fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against your people.
13
Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, 'I will multiply your seed as the stars of the sky, and all this land that I have spoken of I will give to your seed, and they shall inherit it forever.'"
14
Yahweh repented of the evil which he said he would do to his people.
15
Moses turned, and went down from the mountain, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand; tablets that were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other they were written.
16
The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tables.
17
When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, "There is the noise of war in the camp."
18
He said, "It isn't the voice of those who shout for victory, neither is it the voice of those who cry for being overcome; but the noise of those who sing that I hear."
19
It happened, as soon as he came near to the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing: and Moses' anger grew hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands, and broke them beneath the mountain.
20
He took the calf which they had made, and burnt it with fire, ground it to powder, and scattered it on the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.
21
Moses said to Aaron, "What did these people do to you, that you have brought a great sin on them?"
22
Aaron said, "Don't let the anger of my lord grow hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil.
23
For they said to me, 'Make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we don't know what has become of him.'
24
I said to them, 'Whoever has any gold, let them take it off:' so they gave it to me; and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf."
25
When Moses saw that the people had broken loose, (for Aaron had let them loose for a derision among their enemies),
26
then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, "Whoever is on Yahweh's side, come to me!" All the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him.
27
He said to them, "Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, 'Every man put his sword on his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate throughout the camp, and every man kill his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.'"
28
The sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.
29
Moses said, "Consecrate yourselves today to Yahweh, yes, every man against his son, and against his brother; that he may bestow on you a blessing this day."
30
It happened on the next day, that Moses said to the people, "You have sinned a great sin. Now I will go up to Yahweh. Perhaps I shall make atonement for your sin."
31
Moses returned to Yahweh, and said, "Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made themselves gods of gold.
32
Yet now, if you will, forgive their sin--and if not, please blot me out of your book which you have written."
33
Yahweh said to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.
34
Now go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you. Behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless in the day when I punish, I will punish them for their sin."
35
Yahweh struck the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.
