Judgment of non-believers will one day occur. This devotional reading looks at what the harvest will look like.
Nuggets
- All people will one day removed from the earth.
- Jesus, the Son of Man, will come in glory.
- Since Jesus is the One sitting on the cloud, He is the one swinging the sickle.
- Judgment in the form of the harvest is coming.
- Judgment will be a bloody vengeance.
There is coming a time when God will judge both the sin and sinners. I know. That goes against the definition some have of a loving God.
But the God of love is also the God of wrath. One day, His patience is going to run out.
Let's Put It into Context
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Devotions in The Harvest of the Earth series
Let's Put It into Context #2
Long ago, prophets told of the coming judgment.
- “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” (Joel 3: 13 ESV).
- “For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time when it is trodden; yet a little while and the time of her harvest will come” (Jer. 51: 33 ESV)
Jesus described this judgment in the Parable of the Weeds. Luckily, this is one of the parables that Jesus explained.
“Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, ‘Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.’ He answered, ‘The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear” (Mt. 13: 36-43 ESV).
- The field didn’t have weeds when it was planted (v. 24).
- Sin came in stealthily and the one who planted it left (v.25).
- Harvest of the grain and the weeds happen together (v.29-30).
This has always confused me. I grew up on a farm. The grain isn’t harvested, then the weeds.
The farmer does it all at once.
Why can we think the Rapture is going to happen years before the harvest?
Coming on a Cloud
“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” (Rev. 14: 14 ESV)
All people will one day removed from the earth.
A White Cloud
Jesus, the Son of Man, will come in glory.
The Son of Man was a title Jesus used while He was on earth. “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Lk. 19: 10 ESV).
It came from the Book of Daniel. “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed” (Dan. 7: 13-14 ESV).
We’ve previously talked about Jesus showing up on a cloud. “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen” (Rev. 1: 7 ESV).
This was prophesied, too. “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man …” (Dan. 7: 13 ESV).
But we said when we were looking at Revelation 1: 7 that we weren’t sure if Daniel was talking about the Second Coming or the ascension. That may even be Jesus’ presentation to the Father as the only One Who is worthy to open the scrolls (Rev. 5: 6-7 ESV).
There are some other verses that talk about the Second Coming and coming on a cloud.
- “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” (Lk. 21: 27 ESV).
- “And Jesus said, ‘I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of Heaven’” (Mk. 14: 62 ESV).
- “Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Mt. 25: 30-31 ESV).
The Matthew 25: 30-31 verses do talk about the Second Coming.
That the cloud is white is significant. It symbolizes the purity of Jesus.
The cloud isn’t the only symbol of dignity for the Son of Man. He will also be wearing a golden crown.
Some of us may feel that the sickle is a symbol of destruction. Really, the sickle is a symbol of power. The wielder has the authority to swing it.
Think about it. We say God’s wrath will be unleashed on the Day of the Lord.
If it were to be a symbol of destruction, it probably would have been a sword. The sickle is more an instrument of harvest than destruction.
Sitting and Swinging
“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.’ So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped” (Rev. 14: 15-16 ESV)
Since Jesus is the One sitting on the cloud, He is the one swinging the sickle.
Jesus Himself is going to be doing the harvesting.
Conway tried to say that this verse isn’t really addressing timing. It’s focus — to him — is the separation.
In other words, Conway is saying that the harvest is the Rapture.
Well, the next couple of verse may seem to back up that interpretation.
Another Another Angel and Another Another Another Angel
“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’” (Rev. 14: 17-18 ESV)
Judgment in the form of the harvest is coming.
Two more angels show up on the scene. Both comes from the temple, one specifically from the altar.
One has a sickle. The other is in charge of the fire.
Ooo, baby. Harvesting is more than a one-person job. Dad drove the combine. Mom drove the truck that took the grain to the elevator. Oh, yeah. When we were little, my sister and I got to go along for the ride.
Resource
Conway thought that the angel described in verse 17 is going to the judge. I don’t see that.
In fact, God’s Word tells us differently the way I read it. “For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him” (Jn. 5: 22-23 ESV).
I agree the judging is different work than the harvesting. I am just not sure I know how that is all going to shake out.
When we look at the sheep and the goats being separated in Matthew 25: 31-46, Jesus is sitting on His throne. If the Church is raptured years before the harvest, hasn’t that separation already taken place?
This is where we get the visual of Jesus swooping in and saying, “Tom, Sally, and Elaine are mine. There is no judgment to be handed down here.”
Why did the angel from the altar have responsibility for the fire? That is because the altar always has a fire going on it. “Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out” (Lev. 6: 13 ESV).
Remember, there are souls under that altar (Rev. 6: 9). When the fifth seal is opened, they question how long it will be until the harvest.
Since it is time, the angel in charge of the fire is sent to assist.
Gathered and Threw It into the Great Winepress of the Wrath of God
“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. 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” (Rev. 14: 19-20 ESV)
Judgment will be a bloody vengeance.
Ooo, baby. We are talking vengeance now. God’s wrath is going to be unleashed.
It isn’t going to be select sections. The harvest will be “… across the earth …” (Rev. 14: 19 ESV). “Before him will be gathered all the nations …” (Mt. 25: 32 ESV).
So many people in today’s society are calling for judgments to be brought down. They are calling for people to be treated the same way.
One day, it will, and they will. And worldview people aren’t going to like it one bit.
Making the Connections #1
If Conway is right, and verses 14-16 are the Rapture being called the harvest, it really isn’t about the process but the quality of the harvest.
Resource
Let’s look at Isaiah 9: 3. “You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil” (Isa. 9: 3 ESV).
The sheep are going to be glad when the separation comes. The goats — not so much.
But then, we get the joy of the Lord at conversion, don’t we? At least, we should.
God is going to wait until the right time to harvest. He is going to wait until all who will submit to Him will be saved.
This also means that the inward transformation of the saints will be complete. All those who are living at the time will be sanctified to maturity.
Making the Connections #2
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Gen. 1: 27 ESV)
God made us to be exactly like Him — except we are not gods, and we certainly aren’t Sovereign God. He made us to have His moral character.
Mankind kept the moral character after the sin. But it became tarnished.
That is why we can’t get to Heaven only by being good people. The character part isn’t the issue. The tarnished part is.
Look what Tuck said.
“A moral being is one that can [recognize] a distinction between good and evil, and, when the distinction is seen, can choose for itself which it will have, the good or the evil. But a moral being must be put into such circumstances as will offer it the choice between good and evil. And substantially the test amounts to this: good is doing what is known to be the will of the Creator: evil is doing the will of the moral being himself, when that is known to be not the will of the Creator.”
Resource
Having a moral character isn’t about how we interact with others — earthly moral character. It is about how we interact with God — spiritual moral character.
It is going to take traversing the full Sanctification Road to forge that true moral character. It isn’t an instantaneous event.
Tuck made an interesting observation. He said this moral character is the only thing that survives with us as we enter eternal life.
Tuck said that it is that it is a full-out war to gain that moral character. It is an unceasing struggle in which we have to keep vigilant.
If we don’t have the moral character that will differentiate between good and evil — or choose to do evil if we do — we aren’t going to make the Rapture. We will be part of the harvest.
Making the Connections #3
Growing grain is a very good visual image of what God intends for us.
The church that Pastor Steve, Adam, and I minister in is an hour away. All spring and summer we have been watching the corn and soybeans grow.
We saw the harvesting of the wheat. As I write, farmers are now in the process of harvesting the corn and soybeans.
What happened during those months we observed?
- The seed had to be planted in fertile ground.
- The seed had to sprout and become a plant.
- The plant had to grow until it was mature enough to form the ear of corn or bean pod.
- The kernels of corn and bean inside the pod had to grow and mature.
- The corn stalk had to die, and the leaves on the bean plants had to die and fall off.
- Then, and only then, could the farmer take his machinery and gather the corn and beans.
- The grains’ usefulness doesn’t end with the harvest.
How does that apply.
- Someone has to tell us, and we have to hear the gospel message.
- That hearing has to open our hearts to accept that we need salvation and can only get it through Jesus Christ our Lord.
- We have to grow our faith.
- We have to become mature enough to become teachers of the gospel message to others.
- We have to be fully mature in His Word to be ready for the Rapture.
- We have to wait for Him to begin the harvesting process.
- We will be used to worship God and support His children throughout eternity.
Making the Connections #4
Ooo, baby! Stoughton said a mouthful.
We think people die prematurely. They can be anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of decades old, and we think they are gone to soon.
They died exactly when they were supposed to die.
We don’t know the reason. Maybe it was judgment for the wicked.
But for God’s children, their death will never be premature. They won’t be called home until they are ripe.
Let’s let Stoughton explain. He wrote,
“Fitness for heaven, be it remembered, consists not in the particular state of mind in which a man may happen to be when the death-stroke overtakes him. It does not depend upon his being in a state of religious consciousness. No; it depends upon the habits in previous life, upon the principle of his previous history. Nor shall we be dismissed till we have had full opportunity of doing all that the Master intends us to do.”
Resource
We will be called home when our spiritual moral character shows we are ready and we have done all God has called us to do here.
Stoughton said that length isn’t the deciding factor. Depth and breadth are.
It truly is quantity over quality.
God never looses the sheep that truly believes and lives for Him.
How Do We Apply This?
- Honor Jesus as the Son of Man, King and Judge of the world.
- Humble ourselves before Him.
Make sure that we are His subjects. - Understand that, while Jesus could come to destroy, He is coming to harvest.
- Be well versed in the fate that awaits those who do not ABCD — and make sure we are not one of them.
- Distinguish between earthly moral character and spiritual moral character.
- Be vigilant as we traverse the Sanctification Road.
- Discern and resist evil.
- Pray.
- Hope in God.
Resources
Father God. Lord, on day You will come to harvest the earth. We pray all will be genuinely following You. We know that there will be many who do not. Lord, Your Will be done. Amen.
What do you think?
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