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Revelation

About this book
Chapter 14

1 Then I looked, and here was the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him were 144,000, who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2 I also heard a sound coming out of heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder.⁠ Now the sound I heard was like that made by harpists playing their harps, 3 and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one was able to learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4 These are the ones who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from humanity as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb, 5 and no lie was found on their lips; they are blameless. 6 Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, and he had an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language, and people. 7 He declared in a loud voice: “Fear God and give him glory because the hour of his judgment has arrived, and worship the one who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water!” 8 A second angel followed the first, declaring: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great city! She made all the nations drink of the wine of her immoral passion.”⁠ 9 A third angel followed the first two, declaring in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and takes the mark on his forehead or his hand, 10 that person will also drink of the wine of God’s anger that has been mixed undiluted in the cup of his wrath, and he will be tortured with fire and sulfur in front of the holy angels and in front of the Lamb.⁠ 11 And the smoke from their torture will go up forever and ever, and those who worship the beast and his image will have no rest day or night, along with anyone who receives the mark of his name.”⁠ 12 This requires the steadfast endurance of the saints—those who obey God’s commandments and hold to their faith in Jesus. 13 Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: ‘Blessed are the dead, those who die in the Lord from this moment on!’” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “so they can rest from their hard work, because their deeds will follow them.” 14 Then I looked, and a white cloud appeared, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man!⁠ He had a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 Then another angel came out of the temple, shouting in a loud voice to the one seated on the cloud, “Use your sickle and start to reap, because the time to reap has come, since the earth’s harvest is ripe!”⁠ 16 So the one seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped. 17 Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he, too, had a sharp sickle. 18 Another angel, who was in charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to the angel who had the sharp sickle, “Use your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes off the vine of the earth, because its grapes are now ripe.”⁠ 19 So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and gathered the grapes from the vineyard of the earth and tossed them into the great winepress of the wrath of God.⁠ 20 Then the winepress was stomped outside the city, and blood poured out of the winepress up to the height of horses’ bridles for a distance of almost 200 miles.⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare Ezekiel 43:2 and Revelation 14:2

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

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Summary

Revelation’s description of a voice like the sound of rushing waters recalls Ezekiel’s description of divine glory entering the temple with a similar overwhelming sound. Both use this language to describe divine power and authority.

Passages

Ezekiel 43:2

Hebrew Bible
1 Then he brought me to the gate that faced toward the east. 2 I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east; the sound was like that of rushing water, and the earth radiated his glory. 3 It was like the vision I saw when he came to destroy the city, and the vision I saw by the Kebar River. I threw myself face down. 4 The glory of the Lord came into the temple by way of the gate that faces east. 5 Then a wind lifted me up and brought me to the inner court; I watched the glory of the Lord filling the temple.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Ezekiel

Revelation 14:2

New Testament
1 Then I looked, and here was the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him were 144,000, who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2 I also heard a sound coming out of heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. Now the sound I heard was like that made by harpists playing their harps, 3 and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one was able to learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4 These are the ones who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from humanity as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb, 5 and no lie was found on their lips; they are blameless.
92–96 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Revelation

References

"... The last book of the New Testament compares the voice to some sort of reality eleven times: a bugle (Revelation 1:10, 4:1), the sound of many waters (Revelation 1:15, 14:2), thunder (Revelation 6:1, 14:2), the sound of carriages led by many horses rushing to war (Revelation 9:9), the onomatopoeia ὡςκιθαρῳδῶν κιθαριζόντων ἐν ταῖς κιθάραις αὐτῶν (Revelation 14:2) and a great crowd (Revelation 19:1 and the parallel sixth verse) ... The comparison of “voice” to “the sound of many waters” makes one think of such a visualization that is incapable of drowning out sound. This is a very expressive force. At the same, time, this voice takes control over all sounds that appear in the surroundings; it dominates yet at the same time fully absorbs one’s attention, not allowing it to escape its experience or message. Thus it is impossible for someone who encounters “the voice as the sound many waters” to not hear it or to evade it. The force of phonetics is simply too great. In the Hebrew Bible, the tying of the voice to the sound of many waters takes place in Jeremiah 51:55; Ezekiel 1:24, 43:2; Psalm 93(92); the Septuagint avoids this form in Ezekiel 43:2, while it uses it in the psalm of voice (Psalm 29[28]:3). Because the fragment of Jeremiah’s prophecy and Psalm 93 make the described voice concrete by describing it as a noise made by waves and rivers, only the texts of Ezekiel and Psalm 29(28) will be analyzed. The latter situates God’s voice above immense waters; however, it does not associate it with noise. At the same time, it refers back to the above-mentioned semantic bank: the aspect of rule and power, victory and control over history ..."
Joanna Nowińska, “‘The Voice as the Sound of Many Waters’ in the Book of Revelation in Light of Old Testament Semantics: A Threatening Message, or One of Beauty?” Ruch Biblijny i Liturgiczny 70.1 (2017): 53–68.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Ezekiel 43:2 and Revelation 14:2

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