Revelation 14:11

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. FOREVER AND EVER - `unto ages of ages.' NO REST DAY NOR NIGHT. Contrast the same said of the four living creatures in heaven. "They rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy," etc.: yet they do "rest" in another sense: they rest from sin, sorrow, weariness, weakness, trial, and temptation (): the lost have no rest from sin, Satan, terror, torment, and remorse. The mediaeval idea of devils tormenting men, and men blaspheming God forever, is unscriptural. Every word of rebellion shall be eternally silent, every act of evil repressed (cf. )....

6-13 The progress of the Reformation appears to be here set forth. The four proclamations are plain in their meaning; that all Christians may be encouraged, in the time of trial, to be faithful to their Lord. The gospel is the great means whereby men are brought to fear God, and to give glory to him. The preaching of the everlasting gospel shakes the foundations of antichrist in the world, and hastens its downfal. If any persist in being subject to the beast, and in promoting his cause, they must expect to be for ever miserable in soul and body. The believer is to venture or suffer any thing in obeying the commandments of God, and professing the faith of Jesus. May God bestow this patience upon us. Observe the description of those that are and shall be blessed: such as die in the Lord; die in the cause of Christ, in a state of union with Christ; such as are found in Christ when death co...

Verse Revelation 14:11. _THE SMOKE OF THEIR TORMENT_] Still an allusion to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha....

AND THE SMOKE OF THEIR TORMENT - The smoke proceeding from their place of torment. This language is probably derived from the account of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Genesis 19:28; “And he (Abraham) looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.” The destruction of these cities is regarded as an emblem of the destruction of the wicked, and the smoke that ascended from them as a representation of what ascends from the place where the wicked suffer forever. See the notes on Jude 1:7. ASCENDETH UP - Continually rises from that world of woe. FOR EVER AND EVER - See the notes on...

EXPOSITION REVELATION 14:1 AND I LOOKED; _and I saw, _indicating a fresh phase of the vision (cf. Revelation 4:1, etc.). Having described (Revelation 12:1. and 13.) the trinity of enemies with which Christ and his people contend, the vision now passes on to depict the blessedness in store for the faithful Christian, and, on the other hand, the final fate of the dragon and his adherents. We are thus once more led to the final judgment. And just as in the former vision, after the assurance of the salvation of the faithful (Revelation 7:1.), came the denuncia

AND THE SMOKE OF THEIR TORMENT ASCENDETH UP FOR EVER AND EVER,.... That is, the smoke of that fire which torments them will for ever arise; or, in other words, there will be no end of their torment; hence their misery is called everlasting fire, everlasting punishment, and everlasting destruction, Matthew 25:41 and smoke being very troublesome and distressing, is mentioned to set forth the very uncomfortable state of the wicked; and so it is used by Jewish writers: hence we read of תנן גהנם, "the smoke of hell" r, with which the eyes of the wicked will be filled in the world to come: AND THEY HAVE NO REST, DAY NOR NIGHT; the fire of divine wrath which tortures them is never quenched, and the worm of conscience which gnaws them never dies: this is directly contrary to a notion of the Jews, that the wicked in hell have rest sometimes; they talk of angels blowing away the

Revelation 14:1. _And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb_ John always writes of Jesus as the «Lamb.» His Lord is to him in his sacrificial character always «the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world» by the shedding of his blood. «I looked, and, lo, a Lamb» Revelation 14:1. _Stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. The Revised Version has it, «having his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads.» Now they are known to be the Lord's; on earth that fact was questioned, but his name is written on their foreheads now. Sometimes they themselves had to question it, but now it is apparent to all, the distinguishing mark is stamped upon their brow:_ «havi

NO REST Contrast (Revelation 4:8)....

CHAPTER 14 Grace ancient _ 1. The Lamb and the 144,000 (Revelation 14:1)_ 2. The everlasting gospel (Revelation 14:6) 3. Fall of Babylon anticipated (Revelation 14:8) 4. Wrath for the worshippers of the beast (Revelation 14:9) 5. The blessed dead (Revelation 14:12) 6. The harvest and the vintage (Revelation 14:14)...

THE VISION OF THE THREE ANGELS. Revelation 14:6. an eternal gospel: it is doubtful whether gospel is here used in its technical sense. It probably means a proclamation of good news. The proclamation here is one which urges men to fear and worship God in view of the coming judgment (_cf._ Mark 1:15). Revelation 14:8. Babylon: there can be no doubt that Babylon here means Rome. There are traces in other apocalyptic literature of the same usage of the word. FORNICATION: probably in a metaphorical sense to denote idolatry. Revelation 14:9. worshippeth the beast: a reference to Emperor-worshi