Revelation 14:14-20
Reaping the Earth’s Harvest
14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. 15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” 16 So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.
Reaping the Grapes of Wrath
17 Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
18 And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.” 19 So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs.
After the world system set against God and His Christ falls with a resounding victory of judgment, the harvest of souls will follow right behind. John observed the vision of the end coming with the Son of Man in the clouds wearing His sovereign crown of absolute authority and power over all creation. He held a sickle in His hand as a representative tool of gathering the harvest (Mark 4:29) from the food vines ripe and ready to be taken. Another angel followed right behind Him with a sharp sickle to gather the unrighteous and unbelieving into God’s mighty winepress of vengeance to satisfy His wrath on their sin (Joel 3:13-14) against those who deny and defy His authority and gospel of deliverance from that wrath against sin. This winepress will extract every drop of cosmic rebellion against the Creator as represented by the immense flow of bad grape juice seen as blood covering the earth in that area of approximately 184 miles. This reaping of the earth in the end is the judgment and mercy of the Lord God and the Lamb shown in a vague way to us that we might comp and appreciate the majesty and holiness of our righteous Lord God Almighty, Creator and ruler of Heaven and earth in which we all live and move and have our existence (Acts 17:28) by His hand and leave. If we humble ourselves to flee sin and turn from it to follow Him, trusting and receiving the person and work of God’s Son (John 1:12), we will be harvested and kept in His presence; if we reject and refuse the gospel work and person of the Lamb of God who alone can cover our sins with forgiveness by unmerited grace and love, then we will join the bad vine and feel the full pressing judgment (Matthew 13:39-40, 41-42) of this winepress of God instead of (Matthew 13:43) shining in the sun of the Son in whose vine of righteousness we will stand until harvested (John 15:5-6) to be brought before our Maker to live forever (Job 19:25-27) at last! We who know and are now in Him eagerly (Romans 8:23, 25, Philippians 3:20-21, Hebrews 9:28) anticipate the harvest of God’s wrath and grace to stand with Him in full assurance and perseverance by His mercy in the Lamb sacrificially slain for our atonement and redemption for His pleasure to drink as good wine and not sour wine spilled as our blood instead of His upon the earth for our sins. The sickles are coming. Which harvest will you be in?
No comments:
Post a Comment