9-22-2019 Time for Harvesting Revelation 14:14-20
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Introduction:
It is the middle of harvest season and autumn officially starts tomorrow. Eldon has inundated me with delicious tomatoes, zucchini, carrots, and cucumbers. Truly, it is time to harvest. When we consider the Bible, God has a lot to say about harvesting. The word harvest appears over 75 times throughout Scripure and is even implied several more times. Jesus, speaking with His disciples, applies the act of harvesting to evangelism:
Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.
This is the harvest of the earth and it’s fruit lasts for eternity. This harvest season even lasts all year. BUT, the season is not eternal—there is one last harvest time recorded in the Book of Revelation.
Transition:
The harvest of the earth is composed of two visions that continue the judgment theme from 14:6–13: the grain harvest (vv.14–16) and the grape harvest (vv.17–20). Both these units (14:6–13 and 14:14–20) are linked not only by the theme of judgment but also by the mention of seven angels (14:6, 8, 9, 10, 15, 17, 18) — This is the message of the angels.
Jesus, the Gentle Lord, meek and mild—always showing love— right? NO, not always. This is one of several passages in Revelation reminding us that Jesus is the Judge as well as the Savior, a truth consistant throughout the New Testament (e.g., [[Matt. 10:33; John 5:22]]).
For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son,
but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
Jesus is the Lamb of God who was slain but also the Lamb with seven horns and seven eyes, symbolic of his perfect strength and penetrating insight.
So let’s read about this last harvest
Scripture Reading:
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 1,600 stadia.
The central interpretive question, much debated by commentators, is whether the first vision depicts the gathering of the righteous at the return of Christ or whether both visions portray God’s judgment of the wicked. Both theological truths are affirmed elsewhere in Revelation, but the meaning of both harvests in this passage is difficult to discern completely.
Jesus is both the sacrificial Lamb and the conquering Ram (Rev. 17:14). The wrath that condemns the wicked comes from both YHWH and the Lamb. Disregarding passages like this morning’s, it would then be easy to create a Jesus in our own idealistic image. Usually this results from a selective reading of the full biblical text or reliance upon a one-sided view of the Son. The danger with such a view is that we might begin to think that Jesus exists simply to meet our needs. But the Lord of lords refuses to be tamed.
Transition:
So to balance our view to a more biblical view of Jesus we must consider both harvests spoken of here:
I. The grain harvest (14:14–16)
I. The grain harvest (14:14–16)
The first of the two earth harvests, is the Grain:
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.
The “son of man” image is drawn from Daniel 7:13 and refers to the risen Christ in both Revelation 1:7, 13, and the present text. Just as the son of man is seen “coming with the clouds of heaven” in Daniel, so here Jesus is seated on a cloud—well… isn’t that quaint? sitting on a white fluffy cloud. No, because He demonstrating His power and glory as both Redeemer and Judge. He wears a golden crown, symbolizing his sovereign kingship, and the “sharp sickle” represents an instrument of judgment.
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.”
This angel is not commanding Jesus to commence the reaping but is simply delivering the message from God (i.e., from “the temple”). But what is the “harvest” in this first vision?
Who are the ones being harvested? two options really: 1 is the righteous being harvested, the other is the condemned.
Those favoring a harvest of the righteous in vv14–16 make the following observations:
the action is taken by Jesus rather than an angel as in verse 17,
the image of a grain harvest is used elsewhere in a positive light (e.g., Matt. 9:37–38; John 4:34–38),
the description of the 144,000 as “firstfruits” in 14:4 points to a greater harvest to come, and finally
in the second vision, the grapes are harvested and then trampled, while in the first vision the grain is only harvested, not winnowed or threshed or burned.
While these observations are significant and this interpretation may be correct, the view that both visions portray judgment seems plausible also for a couple reasons:
the “time” or “hour” (14:15) of reaping occurs ten times in Revelation, usually with reference to the judgment of the wicked (3:3, 10; 9:15; 11:13; 14:7, 15; 17:12; 18:10, 17, 19).
both passages are patterned after Joel 3:13, a verse set in a chapter that describes God’s judgment of the nations:
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.
The mention of “sickle” in both visions also suggests that both visions depend upon Joel 3. The Joel passage is “the only OT passage where harvesting with a ‘sickle’ is spoken of figuratively.”
If both visions here indicate judgment, this doubling would point to the severity of the punishment. The judgment of 14:6–20 then stands in contrast to the fate of the righteous already established in 14:1–5.
I tend to lean on the view that it is the righteous because of the more natural differences between the two accounts. Plus, this would make more sense as to it personally being Jesus:
So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped.
This, then, is coforting! Jesus comes to gather His sheep, call His children!
We can entrust ourselves to a just God
We can entrust ourselves to a just God
If you were to print out all the “junk” email and collect all the snail-mail offers you receive over the course of a week. The stack will be high and the lies outrageous. We are offered perfect health in pill form, money for nothing, and real estate for a dime.
Most of us understand this. Over time, we can become cynical of any offer that comes into our email in-box. But we can be sure of the Lord and his promise to balance the scales someday. Every one of his promises will be proven true! After all, the most important one, the promise of his Son, certainly has been.
Transition:
So there is the first of the last harvest. But to better balance our view of Jesus & judgment, let's finish this last season:
II. The grape harvest (14:17–20)
II. The grape harvest (14:17–20)
The second harvest is not pleasant
Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 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.”
“another angel came … And another angel”
YHWH now sends yet another angel as an agent of judgment, again he too holds a sharp sickle. And again, another angel comes from the heavenly altar to instruct the first angel, perhaps suggesting that YHWH sends judgment in response to the prayers of his people for vindication.
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.”
“ the angel who has authority over the fire ” —Who is that?
Fire is symbolic of judgment throughout the Bible.
One day God will come to judge
One day God will come to judge
Quote: Mere Christianity, by C. S. Lewis.
God will invade. But I wonder whether people who ask God to interfere openly and directly in our world quite realize what it will be like when He does. When that happens, it is the end of the world. When the author walks onto the stage the play is over. God is going to invade all right: but what is the good of saying you are on His side then, when you see the whole natural universe melting away like a dream and something else—something it never entered your head to conceive—comes crashing in; something so beautiful to some of us and so terrible to others that none of us will have any choice left? For this time it will be God without disguise; something so overwhelming that it will strike either irresistible love or irresistible horror into every creature. It will be too late then to choose your side.
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.
The “wrath of God” refers to God’s holy and righteous condemnation of sin and evil. God’s wrath is both a present reality (Rom. 1:18; 1 Thess. 2:16 ) and a future certainty (Rom. 2:5,8; 1 Thess. 1:10; 5:9). The unrepentant wicked will experience God’s wrath, whereas God’s people will never experience his wrath (Rom. 5:9; 1 Thess. 1:10; 5:9).
Revelation uses two primary words for wrath:
orgē (Rev. 6:16, 17; 11:18; 14:10; 16:19; 19:15) and
thumos (12:12; 14:8, 10, 19; 15:1, 7; 16:1, 19; 18:3; 19:15). Ironically, thumos is also used to describe the wrath of Satan that leads to the persecution of God’s people (12:12, 17).
The focus in Revelation, however, is on the wrath of God, which is poured out on the unrepentant from every walk of life, on those who “destroy the earth” (11:17–18), on those who worship the beast and his image (14:9–10), and on Babylon the Great (16:19). In general, God’s wrath is reserved for the wicked who have deliberately opposed YHWH and His people. God’s wrath is His full expression of his righteous and holy character in the face of injustice and evil, and stands as the counterpart to his covenant love.
The coming day of judgment is real
The coming day of judgment is real
History: At the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre in Rwanda, the story of the Hutus’ genocidal rampage against the Tutsis in 1994 is told in excruciating detail. Panel by panel, object by object, one is exposed to the dangers of the mob run amok.As one journeys through, a terrible insight emerges: the killers didn’t consider the consequences of their actions. This is clear in the photographs, the statistics, and the firsthand testimonies. They were focused only on the moment. They never imagined that one day their faces would be on display, their names forever stained, and their infamy memorialized for the ages. The prospect of future justice never crossed their minds.Whether we know it or not, our lives right now are being marked for a coming day of judgment. The things we have done, causes we have loved, and time we have spent will be known, and we will give an account.
And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse’s bridle, for 1,600 stadia.
In biblical times, after the grapes were harvested they were trampled in a winepress, a small pit covered with plaster. The grape juice would run through a channel at one end of the pit leading to a storage vessel. Figuratively, the winepress represents God’s judgment on his enemies (Isa. 63:3; Joel 3:13; Lam. 1:15). In Revelation 19:15 it is Jesus himself who “treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.”
From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.
This trampling occurs “outside of the city,”
And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse’s bridle, for 1,600 stadia.
“outside the city”
a sign of separation from the covenant people [[Heb. 13:12]]
So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.
and the graphic description of the amount of bloodshed only adds to the horror of the image.
And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse’s bridle, for 1,600 stadia.
“blood flowed… for 1,600 stadia”
The distance of “1,600 stadia” is close to 200 miles
So What?
So What?
This passage reminds us that Revelation communicates through pictures. Trying to find a scenario where a river of blood could flow five feet high for two hundred miles misses the point. Rather, the river of blood is of the horrific consequences of the wrath of God. What does that mean to us today?
1. God will vindicate his people by judging the unrighteous.
1. God will vindicate his people by judging the unrighteous.
Those who seem to have the most difficult time with God’s condemnation of the wicked are those who have suffered very little injustice and persecution. “Everyone just needs to be nice,” they seem to believe. But those who have been cruelly oppressed and violated by evil cry out for God to set things right. This passage reinforces God’s promise to judge evil and to vindicate his children, and Revelation as a whole affirms God’s justice. God will not allow evil to go unpunished. He will call for the blood of those who have shed the blood of his people. Many people attending today have suffered abuse, violence, and injustice. We need to know that God is not going to sweep everything under the cosmic rug and pretend that nothing bad really happened. We need to know that God is holy and righteous and will not allow evil to win. We are not to take our own revenge, but the monsters will not get away with it. The terrible images of judgment burn into our imaginations the reality that judgment is coming. YHWH will make things right. And those who have suffered will be comforted as God himself wipes away their tears and assures them of no more death or crying or pain (21:4).
2. Believers should adopt the appropriate attitude toward the coming judgment.
2. Believers should adopt the appropriate attitude toward the coming judgment.
The first point of application needs to be followed closely with a caution. Judgment is a somber reality and not something to be taken lightly or wielded as a weapon in theological arguments. Our attitude about the reality of judgment is as important as our theological view since this attitude will determine how our doctrine is lived out. Judgment is God’s business. We make judgments to be sure, but we cannot set ourselves up as the Judge, since God alone decides a person’s eternal destiny (Matt. 10:28). Our job is to entrust ourselves and our circumstances to God and to remain faithful to Jesus in spite of the suffering. When it comes to judgment especially, it seems crucial not to confuse God’s role with our role. This passage offers an opportunity to teach on the reality of hell and the coming judgment, as well as the appropriate attitudes believers should have in light of these sobering realities. What’s Paul’s attitude about the destiny of his fellow Jews in Rom. 9:2–3?
that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.
So What?
So What?
IN Conclusion:
▪ Jesus is not only the Lamb of God who gave himself for our sins; he is also the exalted Christ who will return as Judge.
▪ Christians who are faithfully enduring opposition can rest assured that God will judge evil and vindicate his children.
▪ Those who rebel against God and persecute his people will experience the terrible wrath of God at the last judgment.