By Coty Pinckney

Read Revelation 12 to 15:4 once, then 14:1-15:4 at least two additional times, without referring to notes or commentaries.

(1) Consider verses 1-5. Reread all of Revelation 7, and 5:9. What additional information does chapter 14 give us about the sealing described in chapter 7? Why does God have John see the 144,000 at this point? What purpose does the vision serve? If the 144,000 are literal people, what sex are they? Recall our earlier discussion (week 12). Do these verses in chapter 14 influence your interpretation of the meaning of the 144,000?

(2) What is the significance of the sound of the voice in verse 2? See 1:15 and 10:3-4, and recall our discussion of the latter.

(3) In considering verses 6-12, recall what John has just seen in chapter 13. What is the purpose of the first angel's proclamation? In what sense is the gospel eternal? What is the relationship between verse 8 and the rest of this section? See Jeremiah 51:1-10. What had the Babylonians done to Jerusalem and the Israelites? Why is this important?

(4) Consider verses 9-13. Look again at 13:7-17. Why did the people agree to have the beast's sign put on their foreheads or right hands? What are the temporary consequences of doing that? What are the eternal consequences? Humanity ends up being divided into how many groups? Why is this important for us today?

(5) Compare 14:12 to verse 13:10. How are these verses similar? How are they different? Does the meaning of "the perseverance of the saints" differ in the two verses?

(6) Look at verses 14-20. What is a sickle? What is it used for? Would anyone use a sickle for harvesting grapes? How many times does the sickle swing? What happens the first time? The second? What are these swings of the sickle symbolizing? Consider Matthew 13:24-30.

(7) Now focus on 15:1-4. In verse 2, what does "victorious" mean? Who is victorious? Why is this language used? These people then sing the "song of Moses . . . and the song of the Lamb." In what sense is the following song "of Moses"? Of the Lamb? Look at Exodus 15, and recall the context of that song. How is this context similar?

(8) In verse 4, what is the relationship between fearing God and glorifying Him?

(9) Look back over this section, 12:1 to 15:4. What is the impact of God's judgment? What adjectives are used to describe God's judgment? Do you understand why each of those adjectives is used?

Now read Stedman's sermon on chapter 14 as well as Wilcock pages 131-138. Revise your answers, if necessary, in light of the insights of these two commentators.

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