Revelation 14:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.

NIV: they, too, will drink the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.

NASB: he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.

CSB: he will also drink the wine of God's wrath, which is poured full strength into the cup of his anger. He will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the sight of the holy angels and in the sight of the Lamb,

NLT: must drink the wine of God’s anger. It has been poured full strength into God’s cup of wrath. And they will be tormented with fire and burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb.

KJV: 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:

NKJV: he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into 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.

The third angel tells what will happen to the beast's followers. Every one of them will be the object of God's full wrath. God is depicted as pouring out His judgment like undiluted wine into the cup of His anger. Psalm 75:8 states: "For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and he pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs."

Here, the wine of God's wrath is described as "full strength." It was common in prior eras to mix "straight" alcoholic liquids, such as wine, into fairly large amounts of water. Undiluted wine was considered sour, strong, and distastefully bitter. By analogy, unrepentant sinners will find it extremely difficult to drink the wine of God's wrath. According to Revelation 14:10, every unrepentant sinner will be vexed with fire and sulfur. The worshipers of the beast chose to follow the Devil, and they will follow him into judgment in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:7–15). The holy angels and Jesus, the Lamb, will observe the judgment of those who worship the beast.

Revelation 14:6–13 reports what three angels announce. The first angel declares God's imminent judgment on Babylon, but first he proclaims the eternal gospel throughout the world. It appears that God gives earth's inhabitants one last chance to repent before He executes His judgment. The second and third angels pronounce judgment on the kingdom of the beast and his worshipers. Revelation 15:1—18:24 fills in the details of the predicted judgments. A voice from heaven encourages those who obey God and maintain steadfast in faith in Christ. The voice pronounces blessing upon those who lay down their lives for Christ.

This chapter distinguishes two groups of people: those who believe in Jesus during the tribulation and those who worship the beast. John sees the Lamb, Jesus, and the 144,00 sealed Jewish servants of God standing together on Mount Zion. The scene anticipates the end of the tribulation with the 144,000 celebrating their victory over the beast. Heaven, too, celebrates their triumph. The eternal good news of salvation reaches the ends of the earth, calling upon everyone to turn to God or face His judgment and announcing the collapse of commercial Babylon and the eternal punishment of the beast, whose image so many unbelievers worshiped. This impending judgment is cause for believers to stay loyal to the Lord. Many believers will face martyrdom, but their temporary suffering does not compare with the eternal suffering worshipers of the beast will experience. When Christ returns to earth, the destruction of the wicked will be so complete that blood will flow so high it will reach a horse's bridle.

This chapter continues a segment of Revelation which deviates from the chronological account of the end times. These events occur at the end of the tribulation, when Christ returns to defeat all the remaining wickedness on earth. This event is given more details in chapter 19. In Acts 14:19–22 we learn that Paul and Barnabas returned to the cities of Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, where they strengthened the believers. They encouraged the believers by saying believers must endure many tribulations before they enter the kingdom. Revelation 14 and 15 offer similar encouragement to stay loyal to Christ in the face of persecution. Chapter 16 resumes a step-by-step account of the end times.

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''