This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently, obeying his commands and maintaining their faith in Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deeds follow them!” Then I saw a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was someone like the Son of Man. He had a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Then another angel came from the Temple and shouted to the one sitting on the cloud, “Swing the sickle, for the time of harvest has come; the crop on earth is ripe.” So the one sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the whole earth was harvested. After that, another angel came from the Temple in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. Then another angel, who had power to destroy with fire, came from the altar. He shouted to the angel with the sharp sickle, “Swing your sickle now to gather the clusters of grapes from the vines of the earth, for they are ripe for judgment.” So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and loaded the grapes into the great winepress of God’s wrath. The grapes were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress in a stream about 180 miles long and as high as a horse’s bridle.
Sorting out the imagery John uses
may have been easier for those raised on farms.
The whole issue of “harvest” is alien to me. The only time in my life when I tried to have
a vegetable garden, I invested in seed, fertilizer, a tiller, and many days of
work and watching; my “harvest” was one sickly-looking cucumber, a couple of
tiny tomatoes, and a summer squash no bigger than your pinky finger. By my math it came out to around $48 per
veggie. I went back to Food Lion the
next day!
John wrote that the angel thundered
the crop is ready…ripe…get the
sickle! The harvest is two-fold. The first
is started by the angel coming from the temple, carrying the Father’s message
from the throne room to Jesus, the “Son of Man” sitting on the cloud. This image comes right after the encouragement
of patience to the saints; they who die in the Lord
will be in this harvest as those whom Paul wrote will be in the first
resurrection[1]. There is nothing fearful in this,
as it is God’s promise of firstfruits. After
Jesus’ resurrection He told the disciples that they would never be away from
His presence or providence. That
includes death. This is why the
Scriptures refer to those who have died in Christ as
“sleeping” – it is a picture of what will happen. Eventually you awaken from sleep to a new
day. This “harvest” is that day when the
dead in Christ are called out of the graves.
This is a harvest of life!
There is a second angel, possessing
the power to destroy. The angel (not
Jesus) also has a sickle for a ripe harvest.
This is the time of judgment for sin.
The second resurrection is a second death. Those who have rejected Christ in this life
will embrace an eternity of being rejected at the judgment seat in Heaven. The full weight of sin will be born by those
who choose to remain apart from Christ, the One who came to bear our sin. But, for those who accept Christ’s offer of
forgiveness here on earth, there is no condemnation, no judgment or
punishment. They participate in the first resurrection, never to suffer or die again.
Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years. Revelation 20:6
Let’s
Pray Together:
Father, we are thankful for the promise of forgiveness and eternity of life. We are also fearful for our loved ones, neighbors, and many around the world who are caught in unbelief. Help us to effectively carry the message of your holy child, Jesus, that others might believe, and be saved. Lord, in Your mercy…
For You Today
If
there is one thing I do know about harvest, it is that the signs are unmistakable. To the skilled farmer/gardener, when the signs
are there, it is time, and there is no time to waste. God’s vineyard is awaiting that harvest, some
to joy in the presence of their longed-for Lord…and, sadly, the rest to the winepress.
You
chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today.
Have a blessed day!
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