Monday, July 20, 2020

Harvest of the Earth

 
Monday, July 20, 2020

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. 
May God have mercy and grant us all the courage to deliver this message to a world that may not have long to wait for the sickle.
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today.  Have a blessed day!
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Title Image:  Pixabay.com  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©
For other posts on this text:  Harvest Time and When You Have a King for a Friend and Blood River

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