The Harvest.

THE HARVEST (Rev. 14: 6 – 20)


We are now shown the great ingathering of the harvest: those to life & those to death.
Three angels go forth bringing proclamations of the judgments to come.


The 3 Proclamations

Life - God`s hand of mercy is still stretched out to those who will repent.

`Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven,
having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth –
to every nation, tribe, tongue, & people –

saying with a loud voice,
“Fear God & give glory to Him,
for the hour of His judgment has come;
& worship Him who made heaven & earth, the sea & springs of water.


Destruction - Those who have followed the false religion will see it destroyed.

And another angel followed, saying,
“Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city,
because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.”


Death - Those who follow & worship the Global leader will suffer the wrath and judgment of God.

Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice,
“If anyone worships the beast & his image,
& receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand,
he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God,
which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation.

He shall be tormented with fire & brimstone in the presence of the holy angels
& in the presence of the Lamb.
And the smoke of their torment ascends forever & ever;
& they have no rest day of night, who worship the beast & his image,
& whoever receives the mark of his name.”
(Rev. 14: 6 – 11)

THE JUDGE

God the Father & the Holy Spirit declare the blessing upon those who do not follow the `beast.` Though they die, because they trust in God they will have eternal life.

`Here is the patience of the saints;
here are those who keep the commandments of God & the faith of Jesus.
Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me,
“Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on,”
“Yes,” says the Spirit,
“that they may rest from their labours, & their works follow them.”`
(Rev. 14: 12 & 13)


Now we are shown a pictorial representation of Christ as the Judge of all the earth. The different symbols help us to understand who He is & what he is about to do.

`Then I looked, & behold,
a white cloud, & on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man,
having on His head a golden crown,
& in His hand a sharp sickle.`
(Rev. 14: 14)


One like the Son of Man – The Lord Himself put forward this title which implies the widest range of relationship including all the peoples of the earth. (Luke 19: 10 Matt. 20: 28)


A white cloud – Here the Son of Man is `covered` in light, His glory.

White – Gk. `leukos` from `luke,` light. Cloud – Heb. `arab,` covering.


A golden crown – The crown here is the Victor`s crown – overcoming the enemy.

Crown – Gk. `stephanos` a honorary wreath,


A sharp sickle – This is a gathering hook especially for harvesting & gives a clear picture of Christ executing the judgment upon all mankind.


`And another angel (Christ) came out of the temple,
crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud,
“Thrust in Your sickle & reap, for the time has come for you to reap,
for the harvest of the earth is ripe.”


So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth,
& the earth was reaped.`
(Rev. 14: 15 & 16)



Thus we see Christ the mighty Victor, crowned & clothed in glory. He received the authority from the Father (out of the Temple) & then He executed the judgment upon all mankind - those to life & those to death (reaping the harvest).

The Harvest

An angel is now shown coming out of the temple in heaven with another sickle. This picture shows that the judgment is from the Father. Another angel is then shown coming out from the altar, which indicates Christ`s great sacrifice (altar) & the execution of the judgments (fire).

`Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven,
He also having a sharp sickle.

And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire,
& He cried with a loud cry to Him who had the sharp sickle, saying,
“Thrust in your sharp sickle & gather the clusters of the vine of the earth,
for her grapes are fully ripe.”`
(Rev. 14: 17 & 18)


These activities culminate in a dreadfully final picture of the earth as drenched in blood.


`So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth
& gathered the vine of the earth,
& threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
And the winepress was trampled outside the city,
& blood came out of the winepress,
up to the horses` bridles, for 1600 furlongs.`
(Rev. 14: 19 & 20)


The Prophet Joel gives us more details of this terrible Day. The city is Jerusalem & the valley where the world`s armies have been gathered is the valley of Jehoshaphat. It is here that Christ judges the nations.

”Let the nations be wakened, & come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
For there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations,
Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe,
Come, go down; for the winepress is full,
the vats overflow – for their wickedness is great.”
(Joel 3: 12 & 13)