GETTING THE MESSAGE/When Christ comes
The passage we are looking at, Revelation 14:14-20, gives us visions of two different harvests at the end of the age, when Christ comes. The first harvest in verses 14-16 is Christ gathering his people. John sees a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.
The common way for Jesus to identify himself was by using the title son of man. In Daniel 7, Daniel saw that with the clouds of heaven came one like a son of man to the Ancient of Days, and he was given an everlasting kingdom. In Matthew 24, Jesus said that the tribes of the earth will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
The clouds signify that the glory of God will be upon Christ when he comes. The golden crown is a victor’s crown. He comes to gather his people as their Redeemer King. He will overcome all their and his enemies. The sickle means he is going to reap from earth his portion, those who belong to him. He paid the price necessary for their redemption.
In John 12, near the time he would die, Jesus said: “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, Truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” The fruit Jesus gathers is from those who believe in him. He makes vessels of mercy that they will do deeds of faith in his name, acts than honor God.
In Matthew 13, Jesus explains the parable of the wheat and the weeds by saying that when the Son of Man comes, he will send his angels to separate his people from all causes of sin and law-breakers. But until then, they will live side by side in this world. When harvest time comes, the Lord will know who are his.
How can we know we belong to Christ? We must have a sound foundation of faith in Christ. When he says things like “you must hate your life” or “lose your life” (John 12) to follow me, he is saying that your own way is going away from God, the way of death. Every soul has a heart that resists God until they come to Christ. It is then he knows the life of faith is the only true life.
Christ cleanses us from all sin that we may find our good in communion with him. As both God and man, Christ is all we can desire and possess. He possesses all divine perfections to an infinite degree. He has infinite love, compassion, and resources to render his people blessed. God is best known in Christ. It is sweet to get water from this fountain.
Verses 17-20 show us how wide a gulf there is between those whom Christ comes to gather as his own, and those who are gathered by the angels to suffer the wrath of God. Could there be a greater divide? John sees another angel coming from the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. Another angel comes from the altar, who has authority over the fire, and he instructs the angel with the sickle to gather the grape harvest of the earth.
The altar represents the justice of God. The altar was where the lamb of sacrifice was laid to atone for sin. The fire represents judgment; God is a consuming fire. God knows every sin and what every sin deserves. The grapes on the earth are men ripe with the iniquities of Babylon. The sin of that city is described in chapter 18. The grapes are thrown into the winepress of God’s wrath.
In verse 20, the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse’s bridle, for 1600 stadia. The language is symbolic of complete judgment all over the earth for those outside the city. There are none who are exempt from judgment except those who belong to the city. What can a man give in exchange for his soul?
The city is Mt. Zion, the eternal city of God, which we saw in Revelation 14: 1. There the Lamb is with his people, all who have the name of the Lamb and the name of his Father upon their heads. When Christ comes in glory, he comes to judge the world, but his people will still be his people when wrath is poured out upon the earth.
In this passage, you can see the value of salvation. If Christ and all his benefits are yours, you have great reason for joy and gladness of heart. And to honor his name while you may.
The Rev. Chris Shelton is pastor of Union’s First Presbyterian Church.