Chapter 14

Chapter 14 is more or less a preview of what is to take place during the last half of this tribulation period.  There are many ways to go in this chapter and several outlines that could be used but I will just use the outline given in the bible. It is an outline of subject matter or topics.

Verse. 1 “And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Zion, and with Him a hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.  

The first topic we see is found in verses 1-5. This is the topic of the 144,000. There is no reason to believe these 144,000 are different than those in chapter 7:4-8, where it is very clear that these are Jewish men from the twelve tribes of Israel.

Let me quote to you from the Holman Concise Commentary. I give you this only to show why it is important to choose your commentaries carefully.   He states and I quote; “First is another vision of the 144,000. The 144,000, as before, are the full number of the people of God. It is certainly a reference to Christians, for they were purchased from among men and offered as first fruits to God and the Lamb.” This is another instance of spiritualizing the Word of God where it is unwarranted. God’s word is clear as to who these 144,000 are.

Here in these verses we find out about their character. We also must note that these 144,000 are shown in a later period of this time period.

This special group of Jewish men were sealed by God before the seventh seal was opened (Revelation 7), and now they are seen on Mount Zion with the Lord Jesus Christ. Contrast this picture to the one described in Revelation 13: the followers of “the beast” whose mark is on their foreheads (Revelation 13:16). God always has His faithful people, no matter how wicked the world may become.

I am aware that the Jehovah’s Witness claim that they or at least their leaders are the 144,000 described here. But as Romans 3:4 tells us, “Let God be true, but every man a liar.”

Some commentators such as the Bible Knowledge Commentary suggest that these 144,000 are not evangelists sent into the world teaching and preaching the gospel of the kingdom. But Jesus tells us in Matthew 24:14 these words “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”

We must also note that it was first given to the Jews to handle the oracles of God Romans 3:1 and 2 What advantage then hath the Jew? Or what profit is there of circumcision? 2 Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.” Later, due to the Jews rejecting Christ, it is given to the church. With the church now gone, God again turns to the Jews in the person of these 144,000. Personally, I believe that these are the ones God will use, commission and protect for this purpose.

It says here in verse 1 that they were or will be standing on Mount Zion, with the Lord Jesus, the Lamb.

This tells me two things; One that this is a scene or preview of Christ’s return in judgment, as the rest of this chapter informs us. I believe that these men will be gathered from all the nations of which they are evangelizing, to be with Jesus when justice is served.

The second thing that this tells me is that because they are sealed with the Fathers name written in their foreheads, they are protected from all harm of the Anti-Christ.

Verse 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:

The voice here is no doubt the voice of God. Scripture does not give any indication as to what this voice is saying. It would be useless to speculate. It goes on to say that John also heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps. They obviously were singing along with playing their harps.

Verse 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.”

Not only are the 144,000 standing, but they are also singing. Because of the special experiences they had during the Tribulation, they have a new song to sing that others cannot share.  They are accompanied by heavenly harps and other heavenly voices. It is encouraging to know that one day our sorrows will be transformed into songs; our earthly tribulations into heavenly music.

Here again it would be in vain to try to speculate on what this song was. There is a reference back in chapter 5:9-10, but the words of that song of praise to the Lamb and to God is written.

This is a new song being sung by an unidentified group of singers and only the 144,000 could understand it. As I said earlier, this chapter is a preview of events in short detail that will take place in the remainder of this book. This song no doubt is sung just after the return and victory of the Jesus over the world demonic powers, and just prior to the Millennial Kingdom.

In the next two verses we find the character of these 144,000.

Verses 4 and 5 “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 first-fruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth were found no guile; for they are without fault before the throne of God.”

First, they are virgins, undefiled with women (verse 4). “These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins.”

Before anyone think that somehow marriage defiles a person, we need to remember that it was God that created a woman and brought her to Adam in marriage. These men that are “undefiled with women” are undefiled because they have not been married or committed fornication. Hebrews 13:4 reminds us this, “Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled, but whoremongers and adulterers will judge.”

There is also a spiritual connection.  The sin of the earth-dwellers in that day will be spiritual fornication (14:8; see James 4:4 and Exodus 34:15).

Marked with their Father’s name, and not the name of the Beast, these believing Jews will be spiritually separated and dedicated wholly to Christ. Instead of worshiping the Beast, they follow the Lamb. They will become the nucleus of the Jewish kingdom, the “first-fruits” of the harvest to follow. These men will be loyal to Christ, following Him, the Lamb, wherever He goes or leads. They will continually praise and witness in truth and without deceit. They will have a sterling character and commitment to the Lord, giving them the needed strength to stand against the Antichrist’s demonic program.

Verses 6 and 7 begins another topic that has caused much misunderstanding. It is the “everlasting gospel.”

 “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,

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, we see the proclamation of this everlasting gospel in verse 6 and in verse 7 we see its content.

To properly understand this verse, we need to see and differentiate between three different and distinct gospels in the New Testament.

First is the gospel of the kingdom first preached about by John the Baptist (Matthew 3:1-13) and

Jesus (4:23, 9:35, 24:15). The gospel of the kingdom is the good news that because the King/ Messiah had arrived as proclaimed by John the Baptist; the kingdom that God had ordained that Jesus should rule over was at hand. This is the kingdom that was promised to the nation of Israel in many places in the Old Testament. This was a promise from God that He would set up the Messiah as King over Israel and sit on the throne of David and by the Jews rule the world for a thousand years.

If the Jewish nation had accepted Jesus as their Messiah/ King, then the kingdom would have been immediately ushered in. But because they rejected their true Messiah and crucified Him, it was put on hold. This was foreseen by God and allowed Him to turn to the Gentiles with His offer of salvation.

This new thing being proclaimed by the church was and is the Gospel of Salvation. The Gospel of the Kingdom will again be preached by, in my opinion, the 144,000 just before the Lord returns.  The Gospel of Salvation, we are all familiar with this gospel. It is found in 1 Corinthians 15:1thru 4.

It is by this good news that we all are saved. This is the Good News that Jesus Christ, the rejected King died on the cross for our salvation. This form of the Gospel is described in many ways. It is called the Gospel of God Romans 1:1 “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God.” because it has its source in the love of God John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  Its character is grace. Its subject is Christ; and it is the power of God unto salvation. It is also a glorious gospel 1 Timothy 1:11 “According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.” 2 Corinthians 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” Hebrews 2:10 “For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.” because it speaks of Him who is in the glory, and has been glorified, and who is bringing many sons to glory.

It is also called the gospel of peace, because it makes peace between the sinner and God; peace with God Romans 5:1 “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:” and brings peace to the soul; peace of God, Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.   

It first began to be preached on the day of Pentecost. Because the Jewish people had rejected Christ; Jesus began a new thing, the Church. It was to the Church that Jesus gave the great commission to preach the good news of salvation by grace through faith in the work of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection. 

Now we find here in our scripture text the Everlasting Gospel. Today, God uses people to give His message; but in that last period of judgment, He will use an angel as well.

“The everlasting Gospel” presents God as the Creator, not the Savior, and warns that judgment is coming. It calls men to fear God and give glory to Him, not to the Beast and Satan. The suggestion is that all who will honor God will be saved. Sad to say, men worship and serve the creature, not the Creator Romans 1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more that the Creator, who is blessed for ever.  Amen.” This is God’s final call to a world deluded by Satan.

This message by an angel is in addition to the Gospel of the Kingdom being preached by the 144,000.

The angel was commissioned to bring his message to every group of people on the earth. Because of the word “gospel,” some have felt that this was a message of salvation or the good news of the coming kingdom. The context, however, seems to indicate otherwise, for the message is one of judgment and condemnation. The angel announced, “Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come.” So, the “eternal” message seems to be a message of God’s righteousness and judgment rather than a message of salvation, or the hope in a future kingdom.

As noted before, the word gospel means good news. This certainly does not sound like good news to the world and it is not in many ways, however, just because mankind does not want to heed this gospel does not mean that it is not good news. It is good news to the many being persecuted by the Anti-Christ; and it will be good news to those in heaven that were asking “how long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” (6:10).

We follow the event of the angel announcing coming judgment and the proclamation to worship, fear and give glory to God alone, with another angel with an equally important message for the world.

Verse 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.”  

We find the mention of Babylon in chapters 16:19-18:24. There it is more fully described. This verse is anticipatory of Babylon’s final fate, so we will defer any details until we reach those verses.  I do want to say in advance that just as Babylon of old was the fountainhead of idolatry, so is mystery Babylon today the mother of all false religious teaching in Christianity. In the time of the end, it will be headed up in one great false church. That worldly church, which has proved so unworthy and false to her Lord, is to be broken absolutely to pieces, to be utterly destroyed.  

We will have more on that in a later lesson.

The judgment and fate of all who worship the beast by receiving his mark verses 9 thru 11.

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,  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; 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.

This judgment also is announced by an angel. This is the third angel commissioned to bring a message from heaven.

I like what the Bible Knowledge Commentary has to say about these verses, and I quote, “A third angel followed with another judgment that worshipers of the beast and his image who receive his mark will be objects of God’s wrath and will be destined for eternal torment along with Satan, the demon world, and all unsaved people. The everlasting character of this judgment is stated plainly in verse 11: The smoke of their torment rises forever and ever, and they will have no rest. Those who keep God’s commandments and are faithful to Him will need patient endurance (verse 12; 13:10). The doctrine of eternal punishment, though unpopular with liberal scholars and difficult to accept, is nevertheless clearly taught in the Bible. Jesus and the Apostle John say more on this subject than does all the rest of the Bible.  End of quote.

By these verses at least two major sects of “Christianity” are refuted.

The first one is held by the Jehovah’s Witness. Their first leader, Charles Taze Russell, after a debate with some so called Christian leaders made the comment and boast that he had just put out the fires of hell.  That is still one of the main doctrines of that cult. It may be added that this is one of their main drawing cards into their sect. It does appeal to those that are lost and yet have a fear of hell.  These verses show clearly that there is still a fire that is unquenchable waiting on those that reject the free offer of salvation.

We need to remember that God appeared in a burning bush to Moses and it says that it was not consumed. That tells me that God can either create a fire that burns and not consumes, or that He can create a soul that is not consumed by that fire, in this case the first in a human’s situation, preferably the latter. After all, we know that the soul of man is eternal.

The second major doctrine held by many today, is the doctrine of purgatory. We do not find this doctrine taught anywhere in the bible. These verses dispute this doctrine. Once delivered to this burning fire, there is no hope of escape. God’s patience, grace and mercy had reached its limits. Just as in the days of Noah, time had run out and judgment had rained down. Once again this is a doctrine dreamed up by man and inspired by Satan to deceive mankind into believing that there is a second chance after death for entry into heaven. Remember what Jesus told the rich man in hell? “And besides this there is a great gulf fixed so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot: neither can they pass, to us, that would come thence.

This is a most awful and awesome warning. Any person who worships the Beast, and receives his mark in forehead or hand, their doom is sealed forever, and they shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the Holy Angels and of the Lamb, and the smoke of their torment shall ascend forever and ever, and they shall have no rest day or night in eternity.

If eternal punishment is taught nowhere else in the Bible it is taught here, and if here, why is it not true as to other classes of sinners? Just think of the horror of remorse in the Lake of Fire, as these worshippers of the Beast shall recall the mark they received as it was imprinted on their forehead or right hand with their own consent because of their desire to enrich themselves in the markets of their day. Perhaps they will retain that mark throughout eternity as an ever reminding token of who they chose to follow. At the Great White Throne of Judgment, these Christ rejecting, God hating people will stand there with the mark they were so proud to own just a short time before. I’m sure that they wished there was some way to remove or hide the mark from the one sitting on the Throne of Judgment. What sorrow, what agonizing fear and remorse will be felt.  

What an awesome responsibility the Lord has placed on His church. And there is no plan B.

What a burden we that are saved should have for unsaved people. Will it stir us to witness? We have a responsibility to tell others, but that is where our responsibility ends. They must make the decision. That is their responsibility. They need to accept Jesus as their Savior to escape this judgment; they need to do nothing except to reject it to face it.

We see quite a different outcome for those that have obeyed the gospel of salvation in verses 12 and 13

“Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. 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 labors; and their works do follow them.”

This is covered in chapters 21 and 22..

This passage is often quoted in regard to God’s general blessings on all Christians who die in the Lord, and rightfully so, but the context indicates that the blessing is especially for those who die in the Great Tribulation. For them it is a blessed release from persecution, torture, and trial and deliverance into the glorious presence of the Lord.

This is a message of assurance and hope to those who will be trying to endure the trials of the Tribulation Period. God does not want believers to be afraid to die, it is a blessing to die in the Lord Psalm 116:15 “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints” but still most of us do not want to die before our time.

 A time will come during the Tribulation when it will be better for the saved to die than to live. They will leave their grief and torment behind, enter heaven, and rest in the presence of God where their deeds will follow them. This, obviously, is far better than taking the mark and suffering eternal damnation in hell.

This is a clear result of the decision that everyone has to make. This would be some verses that would be very helpful in witnessing to a lost person. It needs to be clearly shown the difference between the condition and destiny of the lost person and that of the saved.

This is a message that is too often neglected and ignored by many churches and pastors today.

Perhaps it is time to go back to the old time fire and brimstone preaching. The eternal destinies of people depend on it.

Verse 14 “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.”

This verse is not saying that there was an angel or anything else that was like the Son of man. There was, and is, and never will be anyone or anything like Jesus, God incarnate. What this is saying that John saw Jesus in the fashion or form with which John had known Him on earth, as the Son of man.

This verse also speaks of a sharp sickle. The purpose of this sickle is explained in the next verse:

Verse 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.”

Here we see that Jesus is instructed to reap the earth because it is ripe for judgment. It is fully grown. The Greek word here for fully is “acme” and as we know it means at its highest point. This tells us that those on earth that followed the beast (the Anti-Christ), and the harlot (Babylon the false religion), had reached the fullness and height of sin and rejection of God, and Christ, and by ignoring the warnings had come to fullness for judgment. They were fully ripe for God’s judgment.

This is the first of two harvests of wicked souls here in this chapter, the second one is found in verses17 thru 20.

We will read them now so that we can compare the two.

Verse 17 “And 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, 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. 19 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. 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 (200 miles).

These are two separate reaping’s because they are given at two separate times by two different angels.

The first reaping is that of the ungodly people that had received the mark of the beast or Anti-Christ. We need to remember that it is because not everyone is among the armies of the Anti-Christ. These will be the civilians that have rejected the Lord world- wide.

The verses 15 and 16 are primarily spoken to those that are affected by the seven vial (bowl) judgments, which will follow in chapters 15 and 16.

This first reaping is found in verses 14 thru17 and this reaping will take place during the last half or last three and a half years of this time period. It also will not be an instantaneous event, but rather over the prolonged period of judgment. Many questions concerning this particular reaping will be answered in chapters 16 thru18.   Of course, all mankind left on the earth, that have taken the mark, will take part of the vial (bowl) judgments. However, there is a furthering of judgment for those that attempt to overthrow God and the Lamb at Armageddon which will be the armies of the world. In other words, this reaping is for the whole world, and it is done in stages using the vial judgments.

Verses 17 thru 20 are speaking of the reaping at the end of the battle of Armageddon and it happens suddenly and swiftly.                                

This first reaping will be brought about by the last seven plagues or vials or bowls of judgment. These plagues will be described in more detail in chapter 16, with their effect in chapters17 and 18. This reaping will claim many lives of people that have taken the mark of the beast and sworn allegiance to him.

This second reaping will occur at the very end of this Tribulation Period and will end with the coming of Jesus from heaven with His saints. This reaping will be done by the Lord Jesus Himself and will end all opposition to Him.  There are several portions of scripture that deal with this particular reaping and I think it helpful if we spend some time there.

This second reaping is for the judgment of the nations. It is spoken about in many places in the Bible; This reaping will take place in chapter19 and will conclude or fill up God’s indignation against sin. I believe that it is important that we look at several of these prophecies.

Joel 3:9-16 “Proclaim ye this among the Gentile; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near, let them come up:10 Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. 11 Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. 12 Let the heathen be weakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. 13 Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, set you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. 14

Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. 15 The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. 16 The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.”

Zechariah 12:2-3 “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, (surrounding nations?)  when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. 3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut to pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.

Now skip down to verses 8-9 “In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them. 9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

Zechariah 14:1-13 “Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. 2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. 4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. 6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: 7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass that at evening time it shall be light. 8 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be. 9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one. 10 And all the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin’s gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate and from the tower of Hananeel unto the King’s winepresses. 11 And men shall dwell in it and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited. 12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. 13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the Lord shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbor, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbor.

Daniel 2:40-45 “And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.  41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes,, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.  42 And as the toes of the feet were part o iron, and part of clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another even as iron is not mixed with clay. 43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. 44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. 45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation.

Ezekiel 38:8-23. This chapter is divided into three sections:

1. Verses 1-6 These verses identify the nations taking part in the invasion. There is much disagreement on who these modern day nations are, but I think it is important to note that to a large degree that most of, if not all are Islamic.

2. Verses 7-17 describes the invasion of Israel, and Jerusalem in particular.

3. Verses 18-23 the destruction of this vast army.

Revelation 16:12-21 This event will take place at the pouring out of the vial of the sixth angel. We will study that more in depth when we get there.

One more extremely important portion of scripture that has a lot of relevance on this subject.

Verse 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.”

The Bible Knowledge Commentary says this about this verse, “While this distance may be literal and may designate the area of judgment as around the city of Jerusalem, it is of course impossible for the blood to reach a height where it would touch horses’ bridles. What this affirms is a tremendous bloodletting in which blood is spattered as high as the bridles of horses. This is a graphic picture of a great slaughter.”

This verse is a fulfillment of Isaiah 63:1-4 “Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozah? This that is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. 2 Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? 3 I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments; and I will stain all my raiment. 4 For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.