Revelation 14:14-20

Jesus wears the crown and carries the sickle

Welcome and Introduction

It is the crown on the head of Caesar Augustus which gave him the authority to call for a census of the known world. The decree traveled in the highways and hedges ushering people to their city of origin to give an account of themselves in an act of submission to Rome’s authority.

Among the weary travelers headed to the city of David Bethlehem were a Virgin with child and her soon to be husband. Exhausted, weary from travel, and entering the city so filled with people that there was no place to lay their heads, with one exception. The exception was anything than exceptional. A stable, a barn, a feed lot would have to do. They brought to Bethlehem no monetary prosperity, personal accolades, or credentials… only a soon to be but not yet born son who was miraculously conceived not by human effort but as God’s gift to them and humanity.

Born in Bethlehem and placed in the trough made cradle. God with us in a cradle. He was unlike other children placed in cradles as this child was God in flesh who not possessing a sinful nature as inherited from Adam and His physical parents would for the entirety of His life be sinless.

His authority always questioned, His words always twisted, and His life always scrutinized. By what authority was asked do you do miracles, and in whose name do you attribute your kingdom. He was despised and rejected. He like caesar held a crown on His head but not because of His royal identify as understood and recognized, but rather as a result of His rejection as a means of humiliation; the crown of thorns.

The humility of the cradle is the pathway to the humiliation of the cross. Stripped, beaten, mutilated, and crucified outside of Jerusalem at the place of the skull is the sinless, perfect, righteous, son of God. Placed in a borrowed tomb and secured with the authority of Rome’s crown and seal.

Three days later He, the second person of the trinity; Jesus of Nazareth rose from the dead trampling sin; and defeating not just earthly enemies but death as well. Upon His resurrection and through the gifting of the third person of the trinity, the Holy Spirit, the church was established. She She is emboldened by the resurrection of Christ and embodies His sacrifice, by persevering through faith in His work alone for salvation.

He after revealing himself to these people of the way ascended back to heaven to inherit the name above every name, and the crown of glory, majesty, and authority, of which all authority in heaven and on earth operates under. He intercedes for us and mediates on our behalf so that in Him and through Him we might become the righteousness of God through faith.

He descended to the cradle, endured the cross, and ascended to heaven and will soon return. He will gather and judge. He will appear in the clouds and upon His return it will be eternally too late. His future descending will not be like His first for He will come with a crown on His head and sickle in His hand to harvest and reap. Everything that is spiritually laid bear before Him now by His authority will physically and categorically be laid bear in His presence.

So now let us be resolved no longer to linger in our sin charmed by the world’s delight, but worship in Spirit and truth King Jesus who will trample the enemy and deliver us from the domain of darkness of which we sense now and will soon witness with our eyes.

Message

His name is Joel. He was a prophet some seven to eight hundred years before the birth of Christ. He declares more than any other Old Testament prophet a particular phrase in His prophecy. “The day of the Lord” He warns, exhorts, and comforts God’s people. He warns of God’s judgement in particular ways which will become similar to John’s expressions here in Revelation. It is most likely Joel’s words John had in mind when He wrote Revelation 14:14-20.

Listen to Joels’ Joel 3:12–16 “12 Let the nations stir themselves up and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. 13 Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Go in, tread, for the winepress is full. The vats overflow, for their evil is great. 14 Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. 15 The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. 16 The Lord roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth quake. But the Lord is a refuge to his people, a stronghold to the people of Israel.”

In our text today you will see that it is Jesus who wears the crown and carries the sickle.

Revelation 14:14–20 “14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand.

15 And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.”

16 So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped.

17 Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle.

18 And another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.”

19 So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.

20 And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse’s bridle, for 1600 stadia”

The harvest metaphor is used by Jesus on multiple occasions during His earthly ministry. You’ll recall in Matthew 9:37 “37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;”

Another example of Jesus’ use of this metaphor is in Matthew 13:24–30 “24 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ””

John in this particular text echoes Joel and points us to the great reality of who Jesus is and what His second coming will include. It serves us today as in Joel’s as a warning.

There has been some discussions through the years as to who is actually administering the harvest. Is this Jesus or an angel. While I think there is merit to this conversation, Id say the point remains that it is Jesus to whom every soul gives an account thus the point remains the same that He is executing the judgment by virtue of His own hand or administration of the angels.

There are two types of harvest mentioned in the text and two types of people of whom are harvested.

First, Every believer will lay prostrate at the harvest of God. 14-16

Verses fifteen and sixteen comprise the harvest of what I believe to be believers or christians. The sharp sickle in the hand of the one who holds all authority in heaven and earth will lay down with clear distinction those who belong to Him.

Sickle

To reap is to lay down that which is to be gathered. The instrument used is sharp and severs. There are several aspects of verse fifteen Id like to point out.

Notice that the angels message comes from the temple of heaven. I believe this to signify that even God’s judgment through the authority of His son’s reaping is an act of worship. It is a declarative act by which all believers under His power lay prostrate.

Notice that it takes place in the hour of reaping when the earth is fully ripe. There is a definitive time in the future when these events will take place. It will be that the sovereign God who is executing His will on earth will determine that it is time to harvest. A farmer harvest at a specific time and so it will be with the final harvest of God.

I believe this picture of the harvest to be one not of salvation but of Judgment or an accounting given. It also should be noticed that with this first harvest there is no mention of what takes place after the sickle has completed its work. There is not separating, gathering, or mention of whats takes place after the reaping which I believe serves as part of the evidence for this being an accounting of God’s children in judgment.

This is pictured in Romans 14:10–12 “10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” 12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.”

If you are a born again believer then your past, present, and future sins, are forgiven; however there is a sense in which we will give an account of ourselves to God. It seems to me that we will arrive to God’s throne as believers; guiltless before God through Christ, and yet the evidence that we are in Christ will be accounted for in His records of our lives. I sense this is when and where the conversation will take place by those who profess to have been religious, exercised the name of Jesus, and Jesus responds with I never knew you. Our judgments of people and ourselves should be held against a Godly standard, be Christ Centered, and Righteously truthful. The record will indicate for many that they did things for God yet were never in Christ. The file of our lives when produced at the throne of God will reveal our deeds proving we are believers, or the motive and reality of our hearts were dead to God.

It seems to me that this accounting to God for the believer will not be the producing of things that we’ve done for Him that saved us but rather evidences produced from His saving us. The basis of this accounting also seems to be connected with eternal rewards according to our faithfulness.

10,000 Sermon Illustrations A Reward for Results

After a preacher died and went to heaven, he noticed that a New York cabdriver had been given a higher place than he had. “I don’t understand,” he complained to St. Peter. “I devoted my entire life to my congregation.” “Our policy is to reward results,” explained St. Peter. “Now, what happened , Reverend, whenever you gave a sermon?” The minister admitted that some in the congregation fell asleep. “Exactly,” said St. Peter. “And when people rode in this man’s taxi, they not only stayed awake, they prayed

The Scriptures teach that the happiness or blessedness of believers in a future life will be greater or less in proportion to the service of Christ in this life. Those who love little, do little; and those who do little, enjoy less. 

— Charles Hodge

Every Unbeliever will be the subject of God’s divine wrath upon His reaping. 17-20

The second angel brings forth the sickle and ushers our minds toward a second picture of this final harvest and reaping of God. Its pictured in the grape harvest. This picture that is painted in our minds is a unsettling one. It is of grapes being severed in clusters, gathered, placed in the winepress and trampled under foot.

Notice that these grapes are not placed, but thrown into the winepress. This action is not one of delicacy or mercy, but rather a determined, deliberate, and definitive moment of extinguishing evil with righteous harshness unlike has ever been witnessed.

Our God is righteously and fiercely angry at evil. His anger is kindled by His own Holy righteousness and burns in the thought of rebellion, evil devices, and depraved evil of men who defy His holy demand.

Examine the scriptures and you’ll find the righteous anger of God in the flood of Noah, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the death of Nadab and Abihu. God’s anger we are told is righteously slow in Psalm 145, not immorally impulsive. He doesn’t fly off the handle, but instead methodically, meticulously, and mercilessly administers His authoritative word of Judgment upon every system, structure, and person, who opposes HIm. See the harshness of Holy judgment in our text and let it grip you and awaken your heart to what God will do to His enemies.

Winepress

As the grapes are gathered and thrown into the wine press and trampled under the feet of servants to squeeze every drop of liquid from the meat of the grape will be the enemies of God under foot. Dare you suppose that you might fight against a trampling like that? Dare you assume that the file of your life’s good deeds will be sufficient to save you from a foe so powerful should you find yourself in the winepress of His judgment?

May you fall on God’s mercy today in the slowness of the worlds impending judgment and plead that He save you by grace and pardon your guilt. The wide road of worldliness will conclude with the winepress of trampling. It will be undeniable, unavoidable, and grace unavailble when the judgment falls; for as the juice rises in the bowl at the trampling of the grapes so will the blood at the destruction of the enemies of God.

The text says it will be likened to the equivalency of a horses bridle and 184 miles. When the troops and enemies of God gather at the battle of armageddon there will be only one decision or declaration. God alone is sovereign.

There will be no room, time, or opportunity for repentance or recanting at the valley of decision. This is pictured as taking place outside of the city in verse 20.

In Leviticus 16 there is a gross yet beautiful picture. God instructs Moses to inform the priests of how the day of atonement sacrifice is to be administered. A bull is to be sacrificed for the sins of the priest, two goats selected for the people. One will serve as the payment for the sins of the people and the other will serve as a scapegoat. After one is killed the bloody hands of the priest were placed on the head of the live goat and that goat is then led into the wilderness. Outside the camp is sin and inside the camp forgiveness.

In Matthew 27 verse thirty two begins with these words… As they went out. There you’ll find the narrative of the crucifixion of Christ. Outside the city the hand of a holy God poured out the full cup of wrath on Jesus for sin. Every detail finished for the forgiveness of sin on a hill so that when the enemies of God gather in the valley they will gather without excuse and be trampled without mercy.

It is why we trust God in this day of decision. You must, you have to, you have no other option than to choose this day who will serve and worship. The slowness of God’s anger will not always be in your life. Surrender and submit why their is a decision to be made.

Psalm 23 “A Psalm of David. 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”