Differing Destinies
12/16/25 Bible Thought (Revelation 14)
Where we will spend eternity is far more important than any earthly factor of this life alone.
A Look at Revelation 14
In the midst of judgments and coming wrath, beasts and angels, in Revelation 14, we see an essential aside that should spur us towards faithful endurance for Christ.
A great reaping takes place. The Son of Man puts His sickle down into the earth for the final harvest, securing His own, whereas an angel then gathers the rest of humankind to be trodden like grapes in the winepress of God’s wrath (Rev. 14:14-20).
The picture of final judgment is truly sobering because it issues in the end. Not only the end of time, but the end of life for individuals who have real destinies afterwards.
These eternal destinies are the focus of this chapter.
In the previous vision, we saw the beast and its image being worshipped by all nations at the False Prophet’s beckoning. Any who wouldn’t receive the mark of the beast were forbidden from buying or selling, and anyone whose name was not written in the book of life worshipped the beast (Rev. 13:8,17).
It’s certainly nice, even essential to earthly life, to be able to buy and sell—but what happens afterwards? This is a far more important topic.
One scholar puts this so pointedly, “The alternative is also abundantly clear: worship God and suffer earthly death or worship the beast and suffer eternal death.”[1]
Believers can get all worried about the mark of the beast. People can fear what is coming in the end. Yet, the ending after the end is what matters most.
Differing Destinies
In Revelation 14, the apostle John sees a vision of differing destinies. There are those who experience eternal rest, and there are those who experience eternity without rest.
The doctrine of eternal punishment is highly offensive to many in the modern era. It appears to many that the punishment doesn’t fit the crime. Isn’t eternal torment a bit overkill? I mean, we may understand it being applied to someone like Hitler, but for the average nonbeliever whose sins were comparatively fewer and less significant, it seems a bit unfair. Right?
What is absolutely essential for us to remember is who these crimes were perpetrated against.
I don’t remember where I first heard this idea, but it has been helpful for me. Sin ultimately is directed at God (see Gen. 39:9). As such, sin is cosmic treason and rebellion against the Creator. It is the holiness and perfection of the offended party, God, that calls for such retribution.
While the exact imagery in apocalyptic literature can be difficult at times to interpret, what is clear is that these destinies are unending.
John sees those who worshipped the beast drinking the wine of God’s wrath in full strength (Rev. 14:10). With this, the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest (Rev. 14:11). These are both present indicative statements. That is, they are ongoing things. There are a number of ways John could have put an end to this picture, but he didn’t. Apparently, there is no end. Day and night—a merism that encompasses an entire day—forever, they have no rest.
Contrasting this, we see that the redeemed are blessed, for they “may rest from their labors” (Rev. 14:13).
The knowledge that martyrdom would issue in eternal rest while rejecting Christ would issue in eternity apart from rest are essential truths to uphold any who would defy the beast and refuse its mark.
These things in mind, again, John issues a call for faithfulness: “Here is a call for the endurance of the saints” (Rev. 14:12).
Bringing it Home
Death brings a one-way ticket, and there are only two potential destinations.
It is sobering. It is uncomfortable. But seeing the end is one means by which God keeps His own.
If we look to the end after the end, all suffering of the present will be shown for what it truly is: a light momentary affliction that prepares for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison (2 Cor. 4:17).
Challenge for Today:
The thought of death, for the believer, should bring about thoughts of eternal bliss and rest. Yet, how often do we consider the alternative that is likewise clear in God’s Word?
[1] Grant R. Osborne, Revelation: Verse by Verse, Osborne New Testament Commentaries (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016), 244.
Timely and relevant. Thank you.