Revelation Chapter 14, Part 3

[Pastor Dave Honey]

Reaping the Earth's Harvest and the Grapes of Wrath!

 

Revelation 14:14
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.

Throughout scriptures, clouds represent the presence of God. In the imagery presented here, we find that the One who is like the Son of Man is Jesus Christ Himself! The imagery of the Lord sitting on the cloud seems to fulfill the prophecy from Daniel, chapter seven.

Daniel 7:13-14
13 "I was watching in the night visions,
And behold, One like the Son of Man,
Coming with the clouds of heaven!
He came to the Ancient of Days,
And they brought Him near before Him.
14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom,
That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
Which shall not pass away,
And His kingdom the one
Which shall not be destroyed.

This first of two harvests is also understood to be the grain harvest. It represents the seven bowl judgments which will take place just prior to the Lord's return and the establishment of His Millennial kingdom. This is the last time that Jesus refers to Himself as the "Son of Man." It is an interesting contrast from the first time when He had nothing...

Matthew 8:20
And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."

He has come wearing a stephanos, a victor's crown. It is a crown of triumph! Jesus has come as a triumphant victor with a sharp sickle to mow down His enemies!

Revelation 14:15
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."

This angel has come to deliver a message from God the Father to God the Son! The message? the time has come to take it all back! Remember in chapter five when the Son, or the Lamb to the scroll from the Father? He was given the title deed to earth and all creation! Well, now it appears that we are seeing that accomplished!

At first read one might think that Jesus is preparing to harvest new believing souls for His Kingdom, but looking closer we see that this is a scene of judgment! The world is clearly divided at this point and Jesus is about to use His sickle of His righteous judgment to mow down His enemies and cast them into everlasting damnation! On a personal note, I would say that His anger is fueled by His broken heart and although He cannot look upon those who He is now reaping through the a blood stained lens of redemption, His vision of those who hate Him must certainly be softened through His own tears!

Revelation 14:16
So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.

I can remember sitting in the hospital with a woman who was watching her brother die as a result of a life of alcoholism. I can still feel her anger as she explained that she had five other siblings who she had sat with in death for very similar reasons. She would become the soul survivor of her family. On more then one occasion she was called on to make that dreaded end of life decision and pull life support from a few of her siblings!

Here we see Jesus Who is now pulling life support on maybe millions of those whom He loves, because they have made a clear decision to deny their spiritual life and choose death apart from God! Nothing more to do, Jesus did it all! He paid the ransom required by sin; He paid with His own life! God was willing to sacrifice His one and only Son so we might have eternal life with Him, but the decision is ours alone! We must make our free will choice between life or death, between sin or salvation!

1 Thessalonians 5:8-10
8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

 

Won't you please consider these following words and pray them from your heart as you read them?

"Lord Jesus, I come before you and acknowledge that You are Lord and God! I know that I am a sinner and I have sinned against You. Your word tells me that You became flesh and dwelt with us, so that You might die on a cross for the forgiveness of sin! I now repent of my sin, indeed, I run from my sins and into Your arms! Please forgive my sins and come into my heart! I want You to be my Lord and my savior! Thank You Jesus!"

Revelation 14:17
Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.

If you're keeping track, this is the fifth angel to come on the scene so far in chapter fourteen. This angel also comes out of the temple, but unlike the fourth angel, this time the angle carries the sickle!

The first harvest or the grain harvest represented the seven bowl judgments. The bowl judgments are the final set of seven judgments preceding the Lord's victorious return! This next angel will initiate the "Grape Harvest", or the "Battle of Armageddon!"

Revelation 14:18
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."

This sixth angel, who also comes with a directive, probably from the father, is uniquely equipped! He is given power over fire! He has come from the altar, the same altar mentioned in chapter six;

Revelation 6:9-11
9 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" 11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.

This altar was also mentioned in chapter eight;

Revelation 8:3-5
3 Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. 4 And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel's hand. 5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.

The angel calls in a loud voice to thrust in his sickle and gather the clusters. Clusters of grapes represent unsaved sinners. His command is in response to those under the altar (chapter six) and the prayers of the saints (chapter eight). That the clusters of grapes are ripe, does not mean that they are useful, on the contrary, the word ripe is referring to the wickedness of the unrepentant peoples of the earth that they are bursting with wickedness and unrighteousness!

Revelation 14:19
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.

Gathering the vine of the earth is interpreted a the existence of the earth. Unrepentant sinners from the whole earth will be gathered and cast into the great winepress of the wrath of God. The winepress is symbolic of God's wrath.

The action of this angel is synonymous with the action of Jesus as He crushes the nations in chapter nineteen;

Revelation 19:15
Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

Revelation 14:20
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.

No matter how Jesus directs the flow of blood, it will always go the distance;

Isaiah 63:1-2
1 Who is this who comes from Edom,
With dyed garments from Bozrah,
This One who is glorious in His apparel,
Traveling in the greatness of His strength? —
"I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save."
2 Why is Your apparel red,
And Your garments like one who treads in the winepress?

As Jesus returns, He is careful to protect Jerusalem from the bloodshed and the effects of the "Battle of Armageddon!" Whether blood runs four to five feet deep from the Valley of Armageddon one hundred and eighty miles south from Jerusalem to Bozrah in Edom, or the slaughter will splatter the blood of millions to the height of the horse’s bridal is not nearly as important to me as the bloodbath we will ultimately choose to be associated with. Jesus will have fought two incredibly bloody battles as a result of both His first and second comings!

 

The first battle He fights is on the cross of Calvary. He shed His blood to defeat our greatest enemy, sin!

The second battle Jesus fights (actually He doesn't fight the battle, He simply ends it), we see here at the Valley of Armageddon as He defeats the Antichrist, the false prophet and all of His human and demonic enemies!

Jesus Christ is a mighty and undefeated warrior! He is also our gentle savior and best friend. It is hard to understand why anyone would reject Him, let alone hate Him. He gave His life for His friends, you and I! He didn't have to, but He chose too!

 

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