diff --git a/core/modules/entity/lib/Drupal/entity/DatabaseStorageController.php b/core/modules/entity/lib/Drupal/entity/DatabaseStorageController.php
index 2634041178170544db51dbf96ae7a0511ceca5fe..ff82234110a40a000a2f97c3b3c3c21c70817014 100644
--- a/core/modules/entity/lib/Drupal/entity/DatabaseStorageController.php
+++ b/core/modules/entity/lib/Drupal/entity/DatabaseStorageController.php
@@ -317,8 +317,8 @@ class DatabaseStorageController implements EntityStorageControllerInterface {
       $query->fields('revision', $entity_revision_fields);
 
       // Compare revision id of the base and revision table, if equal then this
-      // is the current revision.
-      $query->addExpression('base.' . $this->revisionKey . ' = revision.' . $this->revisionKey, 'isCurrentRevision');
+      // is the default revision.
+      $query->addExpression('base.' . $this->revisionKey . ' = revision.' . $this->revisionKey, 'isDefaultRevision');
     }
 
     $query->fields('base', $entity_fields);
diff --git a/core/modules/entity/lib/Drupal/entity/StorableBase.php b/core/modules/entity/lib/Drupal/entity/StorableBase.php
index 57bf352b93882ea8e4666b51ebb23192348d6694..d959146378c534c5af3e37a492259c3f33aef92d 100644
--- a/core/modules/entity/lib/Drupal/entity/StorableBase.php
+++ b/core/modules/entity/lib/Drupal/entity/StorableBase.php
@@ -41,11 +41,11 @@ abstract class StorableBase implements StorableInterface {
   protected $enforceIsNew;
 
   /**
-   * Indicates whether this is the current revision.
+   * Indicates whether this is the default revision.
    *
    * @var bool
    */
-  public $isCurrentRevision = TRUE;
+  public $isDefaultRevision = TRUE;
 
   /**
    * Constructs a new entity object.
@@ -278,9 +278,9 @@ abstract class StorableBase implements StorableInterface {
   }
 
   /**
-   * Implements Drupal\entity\StorableInterface::isCurrentRevision().
+   * Implements Drupal\entity\StorableInterface::isDefaultRevision().
    */
-  public function isCurrentRevision() {
-    return $this->isCurrentRevision;
+  public function isDefaultRevision() {
+    return $this->isDefaultRevision;
   }
 }
diff --git a/core/modules/entity/lib/Drupal/entity/StorableInterface.php b/core/modules/entity/lib/Drupal/entity/StorableInterface.php
index 820fdc752288a239785af21b5085229684843532..c0935c70288ffc6f082e9e6b8bd203bfb1dcfda9 100644
--- a/core/modules/entity/lib/Drupal/entity/StorableInterface.php
+++ b/core/modules/entity/lib/Drupal/entity/StorableInterface.php
@@ -209,10 +209,10 @@ interface StorableInterface {
   public function getRevisionId();
 
   /**
-   * Checks if this entity is the current revision.
+   * Checks if this entity is the default revision.
    *
    * @return bool
-   *   TRUE if the entity is the current revision, FALSE otherwise.
+   *   TRUE if the entity is the default revision, FALSE otherwise.
    */
-  public function isCurrentRevision();
+  public function isDefaultRevision();
 }
diff --git a/core/modules/field/modules/field_sql_storage/field_sql_storage.module b/core/modules/field/modules/field_sql_storage/field_sql_storage.module
index 69e8bda6e000ca3ccf14e9f09bcc58aa1f691d8e..f6f86890a38b1aca3f296b5e9eff2d6bf0b8e41a 100644
--- a/core/modules/field/modules/field_sql_storage/field_sql_storage.module
+++ b/core/modules/field/modules/field_sql_storage/field_sql_storage.module
@@ -400,11 +400,18 @@ function field_sql_storage_field_storage_write($entity_type, $entity, $op, $fiel
       // Delete all language codes if $entity->$field_name is empty.
       $langcodes = !empty($entity->$field_name) ? $field_langcodes : $all_langcodes;
       if ($langcodes) {
-        db_delete($table_name)
-          ->condition('entity_type', $entity_type)
-          ->condition('entity_id', $id)
-          ->condition('langcode', $langcodes, 'IN')
-          ->execute();
+        // Only overwrite the field's base table if saving the default revision
+        // of an entity.
+        // @todo: Remove the method_exists() check from this 'if' statement
+        // once issue #1616930 has been resolved. This is currently needed to
+        // prevent errors in the Field module tests.
+        if (!method_exists($entity, 'isDefaultRevision') || $entity->isDefaultRevision()) {
+          db_delete($table_name)
+            ->condition('entity_type', $entity_type)
+            ->condition('entity_id', $id)
+            ->condition('langcode', $langcodes, 'IN')
+            ->execute();
+        }
         db_delete($revision_name)
           ->condition('entity_type', $entity_type)
           ->condition('entity_id', $id)
@@ -453,7 +460,14 @@ function field_sql_storage_field_storage_write($entity_type, $entity, $op, $fiel
 
     // Execute the query if we have values to insert.
     if ($do_insert) {
-      $query->execute();
+      // Only overwrite the field's base table if saving the default revision
+      // of an entity.
+      // @todo: Remove the method_exists() check from this 'if' statement
+      // once issue #1616930 has been resolved. This is currently needed to
+      // prevent errors in the Field module tests.
+      if (!method_exists($entity, 'isDefaultRevision') || $entity->isDefaultRevision()) {
+        $query->execute();
+      }
       $revision_query->execute();
     }
   }
diff --git a/core/modules/node/lib/Drupal/node/Node.php b/core/modules/node/lib/Drupal/node/Node.php
index fd3454e94c51a1270fbcdae95a76f887f3ba27b7..70086424a2bbfddbe6663f46612321d73f423cda 100644
--- a/core/modules/node/lib/Drupal/node/Node.php
+++ b/core/modules/node/lib/Drupal/node/Node.php
@@ -29,6 +29,16 @@ class Node extends Entity {
   public $vid;
 
   /**
+   * Indicates whether this is the default node revision.
+   *
+   * The default revision of a node is the one loaded when no specific revision
+   * has been specified. Only default revisions are saved to the node table.
+   *
+   * @var boolean
+   */
+  public $isDefaultRevision = TRUE;
+
+  /**
    * The node UUID.
    *
    * @var string
diff --git a/core/modules/node/lib/Drupal/node/NodeFormController.php b/core/modules/node/lib/Drupal/node/NodeFormController.php
index c5763e8ec479dc3629f5248fdd48a13201e0a346..f43988b3e48527593c8b3d633834212b3eb8efb9 100644
--- a/core/modules/node/lib/Drupal/node/NodeFormController.php
+++ b/core/modules/node/lib/Drupal/node/NodeFormController.php
@@ -147,6 +147,18 @@ class NodeFormController extends EntityFormController {
       );
     }
 
+    $form['revision_information']['isDefaultRevision'] = array(
+      '#type' => 'checkbox',
+      '#title' => t('Set as default revision'),
+      '#default_value' => 1,
+      '#access' => user_access('administer nodes'),
+      '#states' => array(
+        'visible' => array(
+          ':input[name="revision"]' => array('checked' => TRUE),
+        ),
+      ),
+    );
+
     $form['revision_information']['log'] = array(
       '#type' => 'textarea',
       '#title' => t('Revision log message'),
diff --git a/core/modules/node/lib/Drupal/node/NodeStorageController.php b/core/modules/node/lib/Drupal/node/NodeStorageController.php
index ee475465ba93c2f8c3bdb9724d01de973f032b35..4e17d418837845b4153c4cca1da0f7e3c91906fc 100644
--- a/core/modules/node/lib/Drupal/node/NodeStorageController.php
+++ b/core/modules/node/lib/Drupal/node/NodeStorageController.php
@@ -100,7 +100,16 @@ class NodeStorageController extends DatabaseStorageController {
       }
       else {
         $op = 'update';
-        $return = drupal_write_record($this->entityInfo['base table'], $entity, $this->idKey);
+        // Update the base node table, but only if this revision is marked as
+        // the default.
+        if ($entity->isDefaultRevision()) {
+          $return = drupal_write_record($this->entityInfo['base table'], $entity, $this->idKey);
+        }
+        else {
+          // @todo, should a different value be returned when saving an entity
+          // with $isDefaultRevision = FALSE?
+          $return = FALSE;
+        }
       }
 
       if ($this->revisionKey) {
@@ -139,19 +148,19 @@ class NodeStorageController extends DatabaseStorageController {
 
     if (empty($entity->{$this->revisionKey}) || !empty($entity->revision)) {
       drupal_write_record($this->revisionTable, $record);
-      db_update($this->entityInfo['base table'])
-        ->fields(array($this->revisionKey => $record->{$this->revisionKey}))
-        ->condition($this->idKey, $entity->{$this->idKey})
-        ->execute();
+      // Only update the base node table if this revision is the default.
+      if ($entity->isDefaultRevision()) {
+        db_update($this->entityInfo['base table'])
+          ->fields(array($this->revisionKey => $record->{$this->revisionKey}))
+          ->condition($this->idKey, $entity->{$this->idKey})
+          ->execute();
+      }
     }
     else {
       drupal_write_record($this->revisionTable, $record, $this->revisionKey);
     }
     // Make sure to update the new revision key for the entity.
     $entity->{$this->revisionKey} = $record->{$this->revisionKey};
-
-    // Mark this revision as the current one.
-    $entity->isCurrentRevision(TRUE);
   }
 
   /**
@@ -263,7 +272,12 @@ class NodeStorageController extends DatabaseStorageController {
    * Overrides Drupal\entity\DatabaseStorageController::postSave().
    */
   function postSave(StorableInterface $node, $update) {
-    node_access_acquire_grants($node, $update);
+    // Update the node access table for this node, but only if it is the 
+    // default revision. There's no need to delete existing records if the node
+    // is new.
+    if ($node->isDefaultRevision()) {
+      node_access_acquire_grants($node, $update);
+    }
   }
 
   /**
diff --git a/core/modules/node/lib/Drupal/node/Tests/NodeRevisionsTest.php b/core/modules/node/lib/Drupal/node/Tests/NodeRevisionsTest.php
index 6b1b14112353eb071880419a3b1fb8c2966dd8e3..cf0970aa215b7aa5ae74d0ecf520d0141b4079b0 100644
--- a/core/modules/node/lib/Drupal/node/Tests/NodeRevisionsTest.php
+++ b/core/modules/node/lib/Drupal/node/Tests/NodeRevisionsTest.php
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ class NodeRevisionsTest extends NodeTestBase {
 
     // Create and login user.
     $web_user = $this->drupalCreateUser(array('view revisions', 'revert revisions', 'edit any page content',
-                                               'delete revisions', 'delete any page content'));
+                                               'delete revisions', 'delete any page content', 'administer nodes'));
     $this->drupalLogin($web_user);
 
     // Create initial node.
@@ -75,8 +75,8 @@ class NodeRevisionsTest extends NodeTestBase {
       $this->assertText($log, t('Log message found.'));
     }
 
-    // Confirm that this is the current revision.
-    $this->assertTrue($node->isCurrentRevision(), 'Third node revision is the current one.');
+    // Confirm that this is the default revision.
+    $this->assertTrue($node->isDefaultRevision(), 'Third node revision is the default one.');
 
     // Confirm that revisions revert properly.
     $this->drupalPost("node/$node->nid/revisions/{$nodes[1]->vid}/revert", array(), t('Revert'));
@@ -86,9 +86,9 @@ class NodeRevisionsTest extends NodeTestBase {
     $reverted_node = node_load($node->nid);
     $this->assertTrue(($nodes[1]->body[LANGUAGE_NOT_SPECIFIED][0]['value'] == $reverted_node->body[LANGUAGE_NOT_SPECIFIED][0]['value']), t('Node reverted correctly.'));
 
-    // Confirm that this is not the current version.
+    // Confirm that this is not the default version.
     $node = node_revision_load($node->vid);
-    $this->assertFalse($node->isCurrentRevision(), 'Third node revision is not the current one.');
+    $this->assertFalse($node->isDefaultRevision(), 'Third node revision is not the default one.');
 
     // Confirm revisions delete properly.
     $this->drupalPost("node/$node->nid/revisions/{$nodes[1]->vid}/delete", array(), t('Delete'));
@@ -112,6 +112,44 @@ class NodeRevisionsTest extends NodeTestBase {
       '%title' => $nodes[2]->label(),
       '%revision-date' => format_date($old_revision_date),
     )));
+
+    // Make a new revision and set it to not be default.
+    // This will create a "forward revision."
+    $edit = array();
+    $langcode = LANGUAGE_NOT_SPECIFIED;
+    $new_body = $this->randomName();
+    $edit["body[$langcode][0][value]"] = $new_body;
+    // Save this as a forward revision.
+    $edit["revision"] = TRUE;
+    $edit["isDefaultRevision"] = FALSE;
+    $this->drupalPost("node/$node->nid/edit", $edit, t('Save'));
+    $this->drupalGet("node/$node->nid");
+    $this->assertNoText($new_body, t('Forward revision body text is not present on default version of node.'));
+
+    // Get the highest vid for this node.
+    $versions = db_select('node_revision', 'nr')
+      ->fields('nr', array('vid'))
+      ->condition('nid', $node->nid)
+      ->orderBy('nr.vid', 'DESC')
+      ->range(0,1)
+      ->execute()
+      ->fetchCol();
+
+    $forward_revision_vid = $versions[0];
+
+    // Verify that the new body text is present on the forward revision.
+    $this->drupalGet("node/$node->nid/revisions/" . $forward_revision_vid . "/view");
+    $this->assertText($new_body, t('Forward revision body text is present on forward version of node.'));
+
+    // Verify that the forward revision vid is greater than the default
+    // revision vid.
+    $default_revision = db_select('node', 'n')
+      ->fields('n', array('vid'))
+      ->condition('nid', $node->nid)
+      ->execute()
+      ->fetchCol();
+    $default_revision_vid = $default_revision[0];
+    $this->assertTrue($forward_revision_vid > $default_revision_vid, 'Forward revision vid is greater than default revision vid.');
   }
 
   /**
diff --git a/core/modules/taxonomy/taxonomy.module b/core/modules/taxonomy/taxonomy.module
index a772e0259be4a3d410a46958bc178e9694f1ae49..2582acbb706c21ad38a84b8e599dee96b69fd5f9 100644
--- a/core/modules/taxonomy/taxonomy.module
+++ b/core/modules/taxonomy/taxonomy.module
@@ -1580,7 +1580,7 @@ function taxonomy_build_node_index($node) {
     }
   }
   // We only maintain the taxonomy index for published nodes.
-  if ($status) {
+  if ($status && $node->isDefaultRevision()) {
     // Collect a unique list of all the term IDs from all node fields.
     $tid_all = array();
     foreach (field_info_instances('node', $node->type) as $instance) {