A Two-way Street

Series on Revelation

II The Viewpoint

C Cycle Three, Seven Symbolic Histories

3 The Promise

Text: 14:14-16

Introduction

There are two visions at the end of chapter 14. They are both concerned with the final judgment. In verses 14-16 we have the first harvest, and this harvest has a double aspect. I know this because Jesus taught it during his earthly ministry. In Matthew 24 he is telling his disciples that they must be watching because “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” And when he describes the day in verses 29-31 he says, Immediately after the distress of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. There is absolutely no question but that Jesus is describing the final judgment with its accompanying cosmic upheavals and he is also talking about the salvation or rapture of His elect children. Thus the two events coincide. That is what is being described in our text. The final judgment and the resurrection occur simultaneously. This has been the view maintained by the church for centuries in spite of certain modern theories that disagree. For example the Westminster Confession of Faith speaking of that “unknown” day says, “The end of God’s appointing this day is for the manifestation of the glory of His mercy, in the eternal salvation of the elect; and of His justice, in the damnation of the reprobate, who are wicked and disobedient. For then shall the righteous go into everlasting life, and receive that fullness of joy and refreshing, which shall come from the presence of the Lord: but the wicked, who know not God, and obey not the Gospel of Jesus Christ, shall be cast into eternal torments, and be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power.” This is also what Jesus says in Matthew 25:31-33, When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Thus this harvest of the wheat and the tares is a two way street leading either to salvation or damnation. Revelation uses two different verbs for gathering grain in verse 15 and garnering grapes in verse 18. We shall now look at this judgment as a trustworthy judgment, a timely judgment, and a thorough judgment.

I A Trustworthy Judgment

We read in verse 14, I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one “like a son of man” with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. There is no question that although this individual on the white cloud is not identified as Christ, he is surely meant to represent our Lord. One writer called these angels the functional equivalent of Christ. He has a crown and the image used is taken directly from Daniel’s vision in chapter 7 of his prophecy. Daniel has described a judgment scene and then he says in verses 13 and 14, In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. Since this figure is intended to represent Christ there is no question that His judgment is equitable and perfect. So we read in Luke 16:15, He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.” Jesus knew what was in men’s hearts.

II Timely Judgment

We are told in verse 15 that this is a timely judgment, Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe. You will notice that an angel comes directly out of the temple or, in other words, from the throne of God. This has caused some interpreters difficulty because they cannot understand why an angel would be telling Jesus to thrust in the sickle. The answer is, I believe, quite simple if we remember that Jesus said of this day that no man or angel and not even the Son knows the day and hour. The angel is simply a messenger from the throne bringing a message from the Father to the Son and telling Him the hour has come. This is consistent with other Scriptures. What Jesus taught while he was on earth, John now teaches in a symbolic apocalyptic manner. Thus will come about the final division, the final judgment, the final consignment of the destinies of men. According to the Westminster Confession of faith, “As Christ would have us to be certainly persuaded that there shall be a day of judgment, both to deter all men from sin; and for the greater consolation of the godly in their adversity: so will He have that day unknown to men, that they may shake off all carnal security, and be always watchful, because they know not at what hour the Lord will come; and may be ever prepared to say, Come Lord Jesus, come quickly. Amen.” There is, unfortunately, a significant number of people that constantly insist on predicting when this day will come. It is a never ending procession of fools that insist on disregarding the plain teaching of our Lord that nobody knows. Jesus taught that men would be taken unawares at His coming like the people taken by the flood in Noah’s day. In Matthew 24:42-44 he says, Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

III Thorough Judgment

Verse 16 says, So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested. The purpose of this present life is preparation for the harvest. These are solemn and momentous words, “the earth was harvested.” Every soul alive and dead proceeds to his eternal destiny. None is omitted. No elect child of God is lost, no rebellious sinner escapes punishment. This is the final hour in which all is consummated. The important thing here is that the Church is raised into glory; the believers escape the forces of the devil and his minions in a mighty Exodus through the glory cloud to the other side; the martyrs are victorious; and the harvest of souls is ended forever. Are you ready? I ask because the most important thing we can learn from a text like this is the importance of being ready. When the command comes and the sickle swings, there is no retreat. A young man stated his qualifications for a job as a farmhand. The farmer was puzzled when he said, “I can sleep when the wind blows,” but he hired him. A few days later they awoke to a violent storm. Checking things out they found that the shutters securely fastened; a supply of logs next to the fireplace; the farm implements safe in the storage shed; the tractor in the garage; the barn properly locked. Then the farmer understood the young man’s words, “I can sleep when the wind blows.” Because the farmhand was loyal and faithful when the skies were clear, he was prepared for the storm when it broke. When the wind blew, he had no fear. He was able to sleep in peace. Thus being ready not only involves watching as Jesus often said, but it also involves tending to the details of being safe. As sinners we can only do this by repentance and faith in Jesus, and truly following Him This is a thorough judgment by the one who sees all. No mere man can avoid condemnation in this court without an adequate attorney and there is only one. As we read in I John 2:1 and 2, My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. In saying that Jesus is the righteous one John is telling us that there is a way for us to be declared righteous in the righteousness of Christ. When we trust in Him, His righteousness is put to our account. So wrote Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf in his hymn,“Jesus, thy blood and righteousness My beauty are, my glorious dress; ‘Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed, With joy shall I lift up my head. Bold shall I stand in thy great day; For who aught to my charge shall lay? Fully absolved through these I am—From sin and fear, from guilt and shame.” This is the most important truth in life. You know the book of Revelation can be a complex book, but that is mostly because people make it so. It was, after all, written to reveal, not conceal. It was also written for real Christians living at the end of the first century and everyone else down through the Christian era. The most important thing to be gleaned from it are the promises of salvation and of course the threats of destruction for the unrepentant. Along with these we have pictured the misery of those who reject God and the blessings for those who follow the Lamb. Revelation is a banner of truth around which we can rally in a lost and dying world. Sadly there are many people who do not know where they are going, where they have been or where they are. They are like Peanuts’ Charlie Brown. In a Peanuts comic strip, there was a conversation between Lucy and Charlie Brown. Lucy said that life is like a deck chair. Some place it so they can see where they are going; some place it so they can see where they have been; and some place it so they can see where they are at present. Charlie Brown’s reply: “I can’t even get mine unfolded.” I hope your chair is unfolded.