The Final Reaping

Tonight, in Revelation 14, we see the coming of the Reaper. As you recall, Revelation chapter 1, verse number 3, the blessing given to those who read and Hear the Word of God and do the Word of God, it says, for the time is near. In other words, the time is next. This is the next event on the prophetic calendar, the coming of the king. And when he comes, he's coming to judge man. He's coming to set up his kingdom and to rule and to reign forever. And I ask you the question this evening: are you ready for his rule?

Are you ready for him to re? The text this evening will give us unbelievable imagery of that return. Let me read it for you: Revelation 14, verse number 14.

And I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, having a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. And another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud: Put in your sickle and reap, because the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped. And another angel came out of the temple, which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle.

And another angel, the one who has the power over fire, came out from the altar. He called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, Put in your sharp sickle, and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because they're grapes. Are ripe. And the angel swung his sickle to the earth, and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the wine was trodden outside the city, and blood came out from the winepress up to the horses' bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles.

The imagery here is something that we need to study, something that helps us understand the coming of the king with righteous judgment. We know that he's coming to judge. We saw that in verse number 7 when it said that judgment has come. We've been looking at Revelation chapter 14, trying to understand that at the very end of the tribulation, Christ is appealing once again to man with an angel that flies am heaven. Preaching an eternal gospel to fear God and to worship only Him. Because judgment is coming.

Another angel comes and talks about the fall of Babylon. Another angel comes and talks about the punishment. Given to those who take the mark of the beast upon their forehead. And then last week we studied about that time in which God blesses the dead. Those who have persevered, those who have been faithful to the wor of God, and have kept the faith in their God. But now we come to verse number 14 of chapter 14, and we begin to see the wrath of God being poured out upon mankind. It's an impression that a judgment, unlike the world has ever seen, the greatest bloodbath in the history of the world, is now upon us.

As we study it, we realize that Satan is already ruling the earth. The abomination of desolation has taken place. He has chased Israel out of Jerusalem, or the nation of Israel, the Jewish people, out of Jerusalem, that is, the believing remnant. They are hiding away. Thousands, maybe millions of Christians have already been slaughtered, and more will be slaughtered in days ahead. And we understand that, as we've studied the book of Revel, that there has been much turmoil upon the face of the earth because of the judgments of the bull and the seals.

But what's going to happen in verses 14 and following is something that has already been given as a warning. It has already been spoken of throughout the Bible. People have been warned for centuries about the coming wrath of God. All that to say that when you come to Revelation chapter 14. It's already been spoken of. It's already been prophesied. People have already heard it. So now, when you come to Revelation chapter 14, you begin to see it unfold before your eyes. And tonight we will see the final reaping.

We will see it in the grain harvest, and we will see it in the grape harvest. You say, well, why are there two visions of the same thing? Well, we've already shown you many visions of the end time. Isaiah saw it, Joel saw it. Christ prophesied about it. Paul spoke about it. Peter spoke about it. The apostles spoke about it. There's a wrath com. So tonight we're going to see the unfolding of that vision as John sees it on the island of Petmus and how God reveals it to him. But I want you to notice that there are really two components to the end.

The first component centers around the bold judgments, and we'll draw that parallel for you. And that's the grain harvest. And the second harvest, the grape harvest, centers around the battle of Armageddon.

The day in which Christ returns to judge the world and to set up his kingdom. Let's look at them together.

First of all, the grain harvest. That's in verses 14 to 16. And the outline is the same. There are three points: the reaper, the ripeness. And the results. We will look at that this evening with you.

First of all, the reaper. The text says in Revelation 14, verse number 14, and I looked. That familiar phrase we have read over and over again in the book of Revelation. And I looked, and behold, Amazement, wow, un what I saw. John says, if you were able to see what I saw, you would be amazed. He says, Behold. A white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a Son of Man, having a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. The white cloud. This imagery we've seen before, back in the book of Daniel, the seventh chapter, the thirteenth verse.

Daniel said, I kept looking in the night, visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven, one like a son of man was coming. And it came up. To the ancient of days, and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom that all the peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away, and his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed. And in his hand is a sharp sickle. The reaper has arrived. The sharp Sickle, that long curved bl, razor sharp, that farmers would use to sweep.

And it would cut the grain at ground level. They would just take it and whoosh, and it would all just f over. Very simply, because of the sharpness of the sickle. And the imagery here is very graphic. For the Son of Man comes with the sickle in his hand, because when he sweeps the sickle over the earth. It's over. It's complete. The judge has arrived. The reaper, number two, the right in verse number fifteen.

And another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, Put in your sickle and reap, because the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth Is ripe. Notice this is another angel.

This is the fourth angel in this chapter. Angels enact the judgment of God. Read Matthew 23, verses 37 to 43. This angel comes from the temple. Where is the temple? What temple does he come from? Well, if you read verse number 17, it says, And another angel came out of the temple, which is. In heaven. So there is a temple in heaven. This is not the temple that's been rebuilt and that is on the earth during the time of the tribulation. This angel comes from the temple that is in heaven. That is, he comes from the dwelling place of God.

The temple in heaven is that which signifies the holy presence of God. And so this angel comes directly from God's presence and with a loud voice, again that word loud is used, loud to demonstrate authority, urgency, and power. No more delays. No more grace, no more mercy, for now it is over. It's complete. Put in your sickle and reap because the hour to reap has come. So, with urgency, with fervency, the angel says, Now is the time. God the Father has given direct orders to God the Son. Now is the time.

Now is the time to judge the earth. Sweep the sickle. Thus, man in his rebellious state will per. And now it's over. Your chance to be saved is complete. The sickle is to sweep the earth. Thus we have the results. That's verse number 16. And he who sat on the clouds swung a sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped. That means it's over. It's done. Judgment is complete. In Matthew 25 terms, the goats are destroyed. In Matthew 13 terms, the tares have been separated and are destroyed. The sheep And the wheat, according to Matthew 25 and Matthew 13 terms, they're kept.

But the goats and the tares are destroyed. Their judgment is complete. And I believe this inc the seven-bowl judgment. I belie the final sweeping of the sickle is the pouring out of the seven bowls of judgment. What a tragic, tragic result. But let's move to number two in Revelation 14, the grape harvest.

And I believe somehow this too could include the bold judgments, but I believe it specifically looks At the coming of Christ, that ends in Armageddon. And let me show that to you.

First of all, the Reaper, verse number 17. And another angel came out of the temple, which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. Another angel, the fifth angel. So both the Lord and angels have instruments of judgment. The Lord comes on a cloud, Son of Man, with a sickle in his hand. Another angel comes. He too has a sickle in his hand. Angels play a key role in Judgment. We've seen it already in the book of Revelation with the four horsemen. In Revel chapter 6, they beckon them to come. With the seven trumpets, the angels blow them.

With the defeating of Satan and demons, the angels defeat them in Revelation chapter 12. The seven bowls are poured out by angels, so angels are involved in the judgment of God upon the world. But let's move to number two, the right, verse number eighteen.

And another angel, this is the sixth angel. The one who has power over fire came out from the altar, and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp circle, saying, Put in your sharp sickle, and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe. The sixth angel is identified. This is a specific angel. This is the angel who has power over fire. Wow. He comes from the altar. What's the altar? And what's the power over fire? Turn back with me, if you would, to Revel 6 for a moment.

Revelation 6, verse number 9: fifth seal being broken. John says, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and because of the testimony which they had maintained. They cried out with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true! Wilt thou refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth. As you recall, the brick and the fifth seal centered around the cries of those who had been sl. During the tribulation period, the martyrs who had given their life for Jesus Christ, for God.

And they cry out with a loud voice, How long, O Lord, holy and true, wilt thou refrain from judging and avenging our bl? That's the same altar in Revelation 14. Now go to Revelation chapter 8 for a moment. Revelation chapter 8, verse number 3: And another angel came and stood at the altar holding a golden censer. Same altar. And that he might add to it the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar, which was before the throne, and the smoke of the incense with the prayers of the saints. Went up before God out of the angel's hand.

And the angel took the censer and he filled it with fire of the altar and threw it to the earth. And there followed peals of thunder and sounds and flashes of lightning and an earthquake. When you come to Revelation 14, there is an other angel, another angel who has power over fire. Who comes from the altar? This is a reminder of God's judgment upon the unbelievers in answer to the prayers of those who were martyred during the tribulation. Fire, I believe, represents the judgment of God. Matthew 3::1 speaks about how when the Son of Man comes, he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

When the Son of Man came the first time, he came to baptize man with his comfort. When he comes the second time, he comes to baptize man in his condemnation to destroy man.

As you recall when the priest would go into the temple and go into the holy place and raise the censer from the brazen altar. As those who were on the outside of the temple were lifting up prayers to God, and the smoke would ascend up inside the holy place, and the ascending smoke would represent the prayers of the Jewish nation as they would go up to the nostrils of God. So what you have is graphic imagery of these people who are in heaven at this altar praying before God. That he who is holy, he who is true, he who is righteous, would enact his vengeance upon the earth.

This now is the fulfillment of that prayer. This now is the judgment upon the earth that's coming. In response to the prayers of the saints who have prayed, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And the angel says with a loud voice, Take your sharp sickle. Put it in and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth because her grapes are ripe. Cut them off. Sever them from their earthly existence because they are ripe. They are in their prime. This is a different word. This is not the fact that they are overly right, but they are at the point where they are bursting with their juices, their juices of wickedness.

their juices of rebellion. The earth has come to the point where their wickedness has swelled to the point of being so juicy that it's time for judgment to be enacted upon their lives. And so they are ripe for judgment. The result, verse number nineteen. And the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth. And threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God. And the wine press was trodden outside the city. And blood came out from the winepress up to the horses' bridles for a distance of two hundred m.

The imagery here again is very graphic. If you've ever seen a wine press, it was a large carved-out piece of stone. And beneath that was a similar stone, and between the two was connected a tr. And the workers would stand in that top one and begin to trample on the grapes. And as they trampled on the grapes, the juices would run down into the bottom trough. And you would note that when these people would begin to trample on the grapes, that the juice from those grapes would splatter. All around them and upon themselves.

And the redness of the juice would even look like blood because it was so deep in color. And what you have in Revelation chapter 14 is the imagery of the splattering of grapes. And the splattering of blood through the land of Israel, because the great day of God's wrath has come. All the armies are all the enemies that are left, the people that have survived the plagues of the seals, the bowls, the trumpets. We'll gather together. We read it earlier in Revelation 16 at a place called Har, which is the city of Megidd.

That's in the north, and down through the plain of Es, that stretched down through the valley of Jehoshaphat. all the way to Boz, which Isaiah spoke of, which is down below the Dead Sea in the southern part of Jordan. That great land that stretches from Esderlon to Edom. The nations of the world will gather together. And when they gather together, we'll study this in great detail in Revelation 16: they will gather together to f against God. An amazing scene. At that point, God's angel puts a sickle in, and the grapes are harvested, and the crushing begins.

Notice the text says, and the winepress was trodden outside the c. The holy city itself will not be affected. Only those out the city. Zach 14, Daniel 11, Joel 3. Speaks of the protection of Jerusalem. The battle will be around Jerusalem. The city itself will be spared. But when the angel Swipes the sickle across the earth. The blood splatters everywhere. We have to answer this question. How deep is that blood, and how far is that blood? Flow. It says up to the horse's bridles for the distance of 200 miles.

If you were to stand in the plain of Es, up near the Tell of Meg, Wake your way down through the valley of Jehoshaph, which is called the Valley of Decision or the Kid Valley. Make your way down to the southern part of Jordan down to Edom. You would note that it's approximately 200 m. I am led to believe that the slaughtering of millions of people. Have no reason to think that there will not be millions of people at that time coming against our Lord and they being slaughtered. The question comes, is that valley which is many miles wide and many, many miles long, will it be filled four feet deep with blood for 200 miles?

Maybe. I would then think that it would deal specifically more with the splattering of blood that is four feet deep, and that for 200 miles. As the sickle itself swipes across rebellious mankind, blood splatters all through the valley, at least four feet de. Maybe there will be a trough. When we get to Revelation 16, I'll speak about that a little bit. Maybe there will be a trough. That will go all the way down through the valley, that will be four feet deep, and will run with the blood of those who rebelled against God.

I don't know necessarily, but I do know this: the judgment will happen exactly as the Bible says, and the king will reign.

I wonder. If you were here at this time, hopefully you won't be, but if you were, would you end up in the Valley of Decision? Having God Himself make His decision upon your life. We know where the world's going. We need to call people to a decision. We need to call them to a point in their lives where they say, yes, I will follow God, or no, I won't. Because we know where the world's going, it should urge us. It should move us to get people to respond. I trust that as you have heard this evening about the grain harvest and the grape harvest, that God will work in your life.

That you might talk to people that do not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and beckon them to come to Jesus Christ. Plead with them to come to the Master. You know, it's amazing to me how we parallel Wednesday nights with Sunday mornings. This Sunday morning we're going to talk about the tragedy in the Twin Cities, Sad and Gomorrah. On how there was a decision that needed to be made with Lot's sons-in-law. And they made their own decision. And the judgment of God came upon Sodom and Gomorrah.

And maybe God's trying to tell us something. Maybe God's trying to tell you something. Maybe God's trying to tell us all something. Maybe He's trying to say, you know what? Do you know for certain that if you die tonight, you'd spend eternity with God? Do you know for certain? Without a shadow of a doubt. And if you do know for certain, what are you doing to make sure that others know for certain? What are you doing? Are you telling them? Are you compelled to tell them? I hope that you are. Let's pray.