Leithart
David Chilton points out (Days of Vengeance, 359-60), this central section itself has an intriguing structural significance, linking to the scene of the Lamb in heaven (5:6-11):
| Revelation 5 | Revelation 14 |
| I saw a Lamb standing (v. 6) | I looked, and behold, a Lamb was standing (v. 1) |
| between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders (v. 6) | before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders (v. 3) |
| the twenty-four elders having each one a harp (v. 8) | the voice . . . was like harpists harping their harps (v. 2) |
| they sang a new song (v. 9) | they sang a new song (v. 3) |
| He purchased us for God from every tribe and tongue and people and nation (v. 9) | These have been purchased from among men as firstfruits for God (v. 4) |
The parallels are too obvious to be accidental. The scene in chapter 5 is the Lamb’s first appearance. He suddenly appears in heaven to open the scroll by breaking the seals; there he is surrounded by living creatures, elders, and angels.
By the time we get to chapter 14, the setting has changed, as has the Lamb’s entourage. Instead of being in heaven, he is on earth, on Zion. And instead of being surrounded by angels, he is surrounded by 144,000 saints who have learned the new song of heaven.
This connection reinforces a point that can be proven on other grounds: The harvest of the 144,000 are God’s answer to the cry of the martyrs. They complete the full number of martyrs, and so prepare for the Lord’s final vengeance against those who drink their blood.
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