Rev 14:13-20 Part 2, The Angel Thrust in His Sickle into The Earth

[Study Aired February 23, 2025]

Rev 14:13  And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.
Rev 14:14  And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
Rev 14:15  And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
Rev 14:16  And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.
Rev 14:17  And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
Rev 14:18  And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
Rev 14:19  And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
Rev 14:20  And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

We ended our last study quoting this very profound verse of scripture:

Joh 20:21  Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

If Christ has sent us “as My Father has sent me”, then we need to know what Christ’s Father sent Him to accomplish. So why did the Father send Christ and what was Christ expected to accomplish for His Father?

Here is the answer to that all important question:

Joh 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but [God sent His Son into the world] that the world through him might be saved.

In this study we will point out the similarities between this 14^th chapter and chapter 7. Chapter 7 and chapter 14 both begin with the revelation of “144,000” firstfruits who are distinguished from a great multitude which no man could number:

Rev 7:4  And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.

In the ninth verse we encounter another group “of all nations and kindreds and tongues” which is so large that “no man could number” them.

In Revelation 14 the first thing we see is this same 144,000 who are in this chapter identified as “the firstfruits unto God and the Lamb”:

Rev 14:1  And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.
Rev 14:2  And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:
Rev 14:3  And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
Rev 14:4  These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

The ‘firstfruits’ signify those who are the first to be raised to life and rule with Christ in His kingdom for 1000 years. That is why Christ likens all of His parables to “the kingdom of heaven”.

Mat 13:33  Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

Mat 13:44  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.

Mat 13:45  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:

Mat 13:47  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:

Mat 13:52  Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.

Mat 20:1  For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.

Mat 22:2  The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,

These 144,000 “firstfruits unto God and The Lamb” are signified in Christ’s parables by the lost sheep that was found and celebrated, more than and before the ninety and nine sheep “which needed no repentance.” The 144,000 firstfruits are signified by the prodigal son who was repentant, and was also celebrated before the elder son who needed no repentance. The 144,000 firstfruits unto God and the Lamb are signified by the laborers in the Lord’s vineyard who were hired at the last hour and got paid first with the same wages as those who had worked all day. Each of these parables contains the same two groups. Those two groups are 1) the first, and 2) the last:

Mat 20:16  So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen. [To be in “the resurrection of life, the blessed and holy… first resurrection”, Joh 5:27-29, Rev 20:6]

1Co 15:47  The first man is of the earth, earthy [and will be given life last]: the second man [who is raised from the dead first] is the Lord from heaven.

In this 14^th chapter these two separate groups are both in the process of being judged. Both judgments are signified by the work of three angels. The first three angels judge the 144,000, and we are informed in the order they are presented to us… the first angel proclaims “the hour of His judgment is come” (1Pe 4:17), the second angel proclaims that “Babylon is fallen is fallen”…

Rev 14:9  And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
Rev 14:10  The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
Rev 14:11  And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

The next two verses tell us who this group signifies:

Rev 14:12  Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
Rev 14:13  And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

The second three angels mention none of these things which all apply only to those who are being judged in “this present time” (Rom 8:18), before the thousand-year reign while the beast and the false prophet are given to control the earth. We are specifically told that the process of the judgment of the first three angels is “the patience and faith of the saints who keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus:

Rev 14:12  Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

The judgment of the first three angels concludes with this very encouraging proclamation:

Rev 14:13  And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

There we have it. Those who are judged in this process of judgment, which is what the number three signifies: Numbers Three in Scripture

Numbers in Scripture: Three The Process of Spiritual Completion Through Judgment

The second ‘three angels’ are introduced in an entirely different way:

Rev 14:14  And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
Rev 14:15  And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
Rev 14:16  And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.
Rev 14:17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
Rev 14:18  And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
Rev 14:19  And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast [it] into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
Rev 14:20  And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand [and] six hundred furlongs.

First we are told that John sees a white cloud. Then we see “the Son of Man seated on the cloud wearing a golden crown “and in His hand a sharp sickle.”

The next verse, verse 15, introduces us to the first of the second three angels of this 14^th chapter. This first angel tells “the Son of Man” to “Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” Notice that this first angel and the second angel both “came out of the temple”. This second angel, just like The Son of Man sitting on the cloud, also has “a sharp sickle.” Then the third angel with power over fire comes out from the altar and tells the second angel which came out of the temple with a sharp sickle that he, too, must thrust in his sharp sickle and reap:

Rev 14:18  And another angel [the third angel] came out from the altar, which had power over [the lake of] fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
Rev 14:19  And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast [it] into the great winepress of the wrath of God.

It is easily demonstrated that both the cloud and the temple signify the 144,000 firstfruits who are resurrected at the beginning of the thousand years and who reign the earth with Christ for a thousand years:

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

Job 36:29  Also can any understand the spreadings of the clouds, or the noise of his tabernacle?
Job 36:30  Behold, he spreadeth his light upon it, and covereth the bottom of the sea.
Job 36:31  For by them [the clouds] judgeth he the people; he giveth meat in abundance.

Heb 12:1  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses [the typical saints], let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

Mat 24:30  And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven [“By them He judges the people” Job 36:31] with power and great glory.

Now we understand that the cloud upon which the Son of man sits is His “great cloud of witnesses” (Heb 12:1), and we understand that the temple out of which the first two angels come signifies our hearts and minds where the Lord dwells (1Co 3:15-16). What does the altar out of which this third angel comes signify? The altar always signifies the cross of Christ where we lay down the life of our old man and upon which we are crucified with our Lord “for His body’s sake, which is the church” (Col 1:24).

Is “the Son of Man” on this white cloud the Savior of this world? Of course He is. Nevertheless Christ Himself tells us that He is sending us into this world just as His Father sent Him to save this world. Putting John 3:17 together with John 20:21 makes 1 John 4:17 mean a lot more to us:

1Jn 4:14  And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.
1Jn 4:15  Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.
1Jn 4:16  And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
1Jn 4:17  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is [vs 14, sent to be the savior of the world], so are we in this world.

Did Christ send us into this world to be saviors of sinners? What do the scriptures say?

Oba 1:21  And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.

Joh 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but [God sent His Son] that the world through him might be saved.

Joh 20:21  Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

“Mount Zion” is a symbol for God’s elect, and God’s elect are His agents for bringing mercy and life to all men. Let’s read it again:

Eph 3:9  And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly [places] might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

Remember this verse quoted above:

Rev 21:17  And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

Here in Revelation 14:17 is “a man that is… the angel.”

Rev 14:14  And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
Rev 14:15  And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
Rev 14:16  And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.
Rev 14:17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
Rev 14:18  And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
Rev 14:19  And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast [it] into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
Rev 14:20  And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand [ and] six hundred furlongs.

The first two angels “come out of the temple which is in heaven.” The third angel comes out from the altar with the power over fire.  The phrases ‘out of’ the temple and ‘out from’ the altar, are both translated from the single Greek word ‘ek’, G1537. It is properly translated as either ‘out from’ or ‘out of’.’ Both the temple and the altar signify the Lord’s elect who are being crucified with Him daily. We have demonstrated over and over that “ye are the temple of God.” We have demonstrated that these angels are redeemed, resurrected men who are also reapers:

Mat 13:39  The enemy that sowed them is the devil [via his ministers with two horns like a Lamb, but speaking as a dragon]; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

Rev 19:10  And I fell at his feet to worship him [the angel]. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Rev 22:8  And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
Rev 22:9  Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

Rev 21:17  And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

It is “the church” who dies with Christ for the sins of the world who also shows these things to “all men”, just as Christ showed them to John.

Eph 3:9  And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly [places] might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, [“These things” of Rev 22:8]

We will pause here and continue in our next study to see the differences in these two sets of three angels, and we will also take note of all they have in common.

Rev 14:13-20 Part 1, The Angel Thrust His Sickle Into The Earth

[Study Aired February 21, 2025]

Rev 14:13  And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed [are] the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.
Rev 14:14  And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud [one] sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
Rev 14:15  And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
Rev 14:16  And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.
Rev 14:17  And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
Rev 14:18  And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
Rev 14:19  And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast [it] into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
Rev 14:20  And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand [and] six hundred furlongs.

Introduction

Here we are in the verses before us today, right after being told that “the hour of God’s judgment is come” (Rev 14:7). We are now being told that those who die in the Lord are blessed. Then the very next verse tells us that the Son of Man has come with a crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. So it is quite clear that “the hour of God’s judgment” is integrally connected with our death and “the harvest of the earth”.

Heb 9:27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

According to this verse, death must precede judgment, not follow judgment. So let us remember that this is all leading up to the revelation of what comprises the seventh trumpet, and let us never forget that these are all words which are proceeding out of the mouth of God, which we are all to “read, hear and keep” (Rev 1:1, Mat 4:4, Rev 1:3). In these verses before us today, because we know that these are words that we are to “read, hear and keep” (Rev 1:3), we will see that both Christ, and we as His Christ, are the agency for the reaping of the harvest of the earth.

1Co 6:2  Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1Co 6:3  Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

Now let’s look at what we are to keep as we are brought to see the revelation of this seventh trumpet that is “beginning to sound.”

Rev 14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

There are two forms of death mentioned in scripture. The one is physical death, and the other is spiritual death to the things of this world. Physical death, from Christ’s perspective, is not death at all. It is merely taking a nap, and it is referred to in scripture as “sleeping” or being “asleep”. Spiritual death, on the other hand, has two applications of its own. One is positive, as when we are the first to “die in the Lord”, and one is negative, as when we are given part in “the second death.”

Here is what are we told of those who ‘die in the Lord’… “the dead in Christ”:

1Th 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
1Th 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
1Th 4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord [the same as being “dead in Christ”].

To God physical death is not an issue, except as the loss of God’s saints is a loss to those in this world involved in grieving that death.

Php 1:21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Php 1:22 But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not.
Php 1:23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
Php 1:24 Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.

Here are the scriptures which demonstrate that, from God’s perspective, physical death amounts to nothing more than a temporary nap.

Mat 9:24  He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.

Joh 11:11  These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
Joh 11:12  Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.
Joh 11:13  Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.
Joh 11:14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
Joh 11:15  And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.

Christ first tells His disciples “Our friend Lazarus is asleep”, and in the same breath He tells them that “Lazarus is dead.” “Howbeit He spake of his death”, qualifies what Christ meant by the word ‘sleep’ in this instance. If death is nothing more than being asleep, who then is dead to God and His Son? The answer is that no one is permanently dead to God, and those are the words of our Lord Himself:

Luk 20:37  Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
Luk 20:38  For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.

The fact that Christ did say… “Lazarus is dead” demonstrates that He acknowledges that ‘death’ is indeed a temporary, necessary “experience of evil” which He is using to humble all of mankind:

Ecc 1:13 I applied my heart to inquiring and exploring by wisdom concerning all that is done under the heavens: it is an experience of evil Elohim has given to the sons of humanity to humble them by it. (CLV)

Then who is really dead in our Lord? Here again is Christ’s perspective on who is really dead:

Mat 8:22  But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.

So then, those who our natural man considers to be alive without Christ, are spiritually dead, and those who our self-righteous, Babylonian brothers count as dead in the street of their great city, are spiritually alive to Christ. Here is how Christ frames His perspective towards what is and what is not ‘life’.

Mat 10:39  He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

How do we go about “losing our life for Christ’s sake?” Does “losing our life for Christ’s sake” have anything to do with physical death? Well, if we “endure to the end” the answer is yes. However, Christ considers Himself and all who are “in Christ” to being “crucified with [Him]” (Gal 2:20), and to be “dying daily” for Him (1Co 15:31) while we are yet physically living. Christ considers us to be living only if we are in Him.

1Co 15:31  I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Here is what the Lord Himself tells us:

Mat 16:24  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, [Be crucified with Him] and follow me.

Rom 6:3  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

1Th 3:8  For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.

So while physical death is certainly included as the subject of Revelation 14:13, so is spiritual death to the things of this world. “The hour of His judgment” of Revelation 14:7 follows the death, crucifixion and losing of life spoken of in all of these verses. All the saints who have “endured to the end” in all the generations since Christ, considered themselves to have died with Christ long before the end of their physical life, and now they are simply “sleeping” and waiting for Christ to raise them up from that temporary condition. So we are told:

Ecc 7:1  A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.

Psa 116:15  Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.

Ecc 7:15  All things have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness.

Joh 12:23  And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.
Joh 12:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Joh 12:25  He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
Joh 12:26  If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.

Who is Jesus answering in John 12:25, and what is the request to which He is responding?

Joh 12:20  And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast:
Joh 12:21  The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus.
Joh 12:22  Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus.

“If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be.” That is how we “see Jesus”. That is the only way we will ever ‘see’ Him. It is not for the benefit of those “certain Greeks” only, but for our benefit also that Christ tells Andrew and Philip:

Joh 12:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Joh 12:25  He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

In other words, no man can see Christ at any time but those who have first died to “life in this world.” Only then does the true revelation of Jesus Christ begin to come into our spiritual vision.

Heb 9:27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

Our ‘death’ to “life in this world” must precede our judgment. That is what the scriptures teach, and those are words which we must keep. Here is a very healthy spiritual view of this whole subject of life and death:

Php 1:20 According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.
Php 1:21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

When that becomes our true perspective on the subject of life and death, then we are ready and prepared to be reaped and judged and to “see Christ.” Then after we have been reaped, we can and will be used by God to reap others with and for our Lord.

Eph 3:9  And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

“Now… by the church” is what Christ in and through “His Christ” (Act 4:26; Rev 11:15; Rev 12:10) is “now” in this life doing within those whom the holy spirit is ‘dragging’ to the Christ, revealing to them “by the church the manifold wisdom of God.”

Joh 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw [G1670: ‘helkuo’, drag] him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Here in the “Son of Man with a sharp sickle”, and “another angel with a sharp sickle” is part of this manifold wisdom of God, which is “now… being made known by the church… to all men”. Here is how those who are “crucified with Christ” are reaped by Christ:

Rev 14:14  And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
Rev 14:15  And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
Rev 14:16  And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.

This obviously is Christ. It is Christ who will “return with the cloud of witnesses”, and that ‘cloud’ on which He sits is “His Christ… His body… His witnesses”:

Act 4:26  The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

Rev 12:10  And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

Daniel saw Christ “coming with the clouds of heaven”:

Dan 7:13  I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.

‘A cloud received [Christ] out of the sight’ of His apostles:

Act 1:9  And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
Act 1:10  And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
Act 1:11  Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

What do these clouds symbolize? The apostles were far too spiritually immature to understand that the cloud which received Him out of their sight signified them as “His body” and His “witnesses”:

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

Heb 12:1  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

Clouds in scripture are the symbol of those in whom Christ dwells and who are faithful to the Word, and witness of the Truths of God’s Words, and with whom the Lord will rule this world for a thousand years:

Job 36:29  Also can any understand the spreadings of the clouds, or the noise of his tabernacle?
Job 36:30  Behold, he spreadeth his light upon it, and covereth the bottom of the sea.
Job 36:31  For by them judgeth he the people; he giveth meat in abundance.

Christ is “the Son of man.” It is Christ who has “a golden crown on His head”, and it is Christ who has “a sharp sickle in His hand” and is told by “the angel out of the temple… to reap for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” You and I are that temple (1Co 3:16-17). You and I are that “angel [messenger]” out of that temple.

Rev 21:17  And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

If for one moment we forget that we are to keep these words written in these verses, we will lose our focus on where and when this harvest is taking place, and we will fail to realize that “the hour of God’s judgment is come” within us.

Rev 14:7  Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

“The hour of His judgment is come” mentioned in verse 14 is the same as “the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God” in 1 Peter 4:17. This “hour of His judgment” is the same as this “harvest of the earth” within us here in verse 15. It is all one and the same event, which takes place within each and every believer before he can enter into the temple of God. If we lose this inward focus, we will forget that 2,000 years ago “the time was [also] at hand to keep the things written in this book”, and we, too, will fall into the damning doctrine of placing all of the things written in this book out there in the future, upon the last generation of mankind which happens to be left standing on this earth when our Lord makes His appearance to resurrect His firstfruits and to give them the rulership of this earth for a symbolic “one thousand years.”

On the other hand, if it is given to us to maintain this focus, then these following verses, which all “proceed out of the mouth” of our Lord, will take on a new and wonderful and personal application:

Mat 13:24  Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven [within us: Luk 17:20-21] is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field [Our lives in this world], Mat 13:38 “… the field is the world” [or damnable false doctrines]:
Mat 13:25  But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares [damnable false doctrines] among the wheat, and went his way.
Mat 13:26  But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
Mat 13:27  So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
Mat 13:28  He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
Mat 13:29  But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
Mat 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

The “good seed” in this and all parables, are the good words of the kingdom and “the children of the kingdom” who bring that good word:

Mat 13:19  When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it] not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

“The wicked one… catches away the good seed” by planting tares [lies] in with the good seed. The lying doctrines are tolerated in our lives “until the harvest” or until the “hour of His judgment is come.” That is why we have “the hour of His judgment” and “the harvest of the earth” in the same few verses here in Revelation 14. Here are these two verses side by side:

Rev 14:7  Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

Rev 14:15  And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
Rev 14:16  And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.

Who keeps all these things? Where is all of this to happen? When is this all to take place? When is the day of our judgment?  When do we begin to ‘die’ so the hour of His judgment will begin? We are not left to guess:

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein [that is who and where these things are all to be kept]: for the time is at hand [Right now is when these things are to be kept].

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

Mat 24:32  Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
Mat 24:33  So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it [judgment] is near, even at the doors.
Mat 24:34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mat 24:35  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

Let’s remember that “the Son of Man” told us that He was sending us “as My Father hath sent me”, and let us realize just how monumental was the purpose for which His Father Christ sent into this world:

1Ti 1:15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

Is that what Christ has sent us to do also? Is it? Here are His own words:

Joh 20:21  Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

There were “many things” the apostles were not mature enough to receive until long after Christ had been crucified and was resurrected, and our part in the fiery sacrifice of the Lamb of God for the salvation of all men is one of those “many things”:

Rom 6:3  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Rom 6:5  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.

Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

We will pause here and continue to seek to know what all is involved in accomplishing what Christ has sent us to accomplish Him in our next study.

The Book of Joel – Chapter 3:7 – 16

[Study Aired October 12^th 24]

We left last week’s Study hanging on the Lord’s question in Joel 3:4, “Will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompence me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head”?

Christ, the Lord of the Old Covenant, confronted Israel for their Sodom, Greco-Tyrian-Epicurean pursuit of neighbouring ideologies and doctrines that promised endless pleasure without pain instead of embracing the eternal life offered by Christ’s word. Of course, we know in hindsight that the yet-to-come enigmatic holy spirit and Christ’s faith would conclusively solve that sorry condition.

“Epicureanism is a system of philosophy founded around 307 BCE based upon the teachings of Epicurus, an ancient Greek philosopher. Epicurus was an atomist and materialist, following in the steps of Democritus. His materialism led him to religious scepticism and a general attack on superstition and divine intervention. Epicureanism was originally a challenge to Platonism, and its main opponent later became Stoicism. It is a form of hedonism insofar as it declares pleasure to be its sole intrinsic goal. However, the concept that the absence of pain and fear constitutes the greatest pleasure, and its advocacy of a simple life, make it very different from hedonism as colloquially understood.

Hedonism refers to the prioritisation of pleasure in one’s lifestyle, actions, or thoughts. The term can include a number of theories or practices across philosophy, art, and psychology, encompassing both sensory pleasure and more intellectual or personal pursuits, but can also be used in everyday parlance as a pejorative for the egoistic pursuit of short-term gratification at the expense of others.” – Wikipedia.

1Jn 2:15  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 
1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 
1Jn 2:17  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

And so, God rhetorically demands of Israel and us how our Epicurean doctrines of substitutionary death that today’s Babylonian Christians likewise subscribe to will advance us when Israel, ever since being in Egypt, failed miserably while pursuing those very same Epicurian lusts!?

The Israelites entered the promised land under Joshua forty years later, in 1406 BC. The northern tribes called Israel, were deported by the Assyrians in 721 BC . The southern tribes, called Judah, were exiled by the Babylonians; the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and left it desolate in 586 BC. Apparently, and from that account, Israel resided in the Promise Land for 820 years. The number 8 + 2 classically for Israel represents judgement and is the process of going through the eight to become circumcised of the spirit and the new beginnings, the New Man in Christ’s commands and not in our fabled Epicurian Hedonistic ways focusing on our will rather than Christ’s.

“And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition” – Rev 17:11 . That is us, the Beast, sitting on God’s throne claiming unwittingly and consciously that we are God! We thus go into perdition, and it is the best thing that could happen to us. We are not perfected in the flesh; we are to “die daily” (1Co 15:31).

The following verses, outwardly to the non-spiritual man, don’t sound too Epicurian-Hedonistic to me, promising an easy life without chastisement.

1Co 15:19  If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
1Co 15:20  But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
1Co 15:21  For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
1Co 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23  But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
1Co 15:24  Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 
1Co 15:25  For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 
1Co 15:26  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
1Co 15:27  For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
1Co 15:28  And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
1Co 15:29  Else what shall they do which are baptised for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptised for the dead?
1Co 15:30  And why stand we in jeopardy every hour? 
1Co 15:31  I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

Of course, Israel and Judah’s excile potently represents our spiritual progression from our Old Man to the New Man in Christ. Hence, our Lord begins to answer his question where he charges us of selling our birthright to Greco/Sodom-like sensualities.

Rom 8:4  That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 
Rom 8:5  For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 
Rom 8:6  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Rom 8:7  Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

Significations:

Joe 3:7  Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompence upon your own head: 

The obvious question that springs to mind is, who is the “them” in Joel 3:7? Remember the shocking realisation that scriptures are overwhelmingly for the Bride of Christ alone and not for greater Israel in the north of her inheritance. Consequently, in verse 6, the scripture identifies the “them” as greater Israel whom the Priests of God represented by “Judah and the children of Jerusalem“ in the south, sold to their enemies, the Assyrians! It is the Priests of God in Judah and Jerusalem who have dealt treacherously with her sisters in the north. Because the Priests pillaged the Lord of his silver and gold and sexually/spiritually perverted the Lord’s word by not righteously judging Israel in the north, Israel was exiled to Assyria. The Lord’s act of “raising them [Greater Israel] out of the place whither ye have sold them [to Grecian/Epicurean idologies], and will return your recompence upon your own head” means that a remnant will return “recompence” upon the Priest’s heads because they used the Lord’s power and commandments for their lusted Epicurian wealth that pleased the nation far more than her Lord’s word. Consequently, the “recompense”, ‘the bountiful dealing, the fulness of God’s wrath’ is upon the Priests of God, even to this day with his Bride, which she is learning to receive joyously (Luke 8:13-15).

A shocking outward parallel is increasingly happening this very day since the U.S. Federal Reserve in the early 1900s was privately confiscated by the same symbolic Jews underhandedly claiming the God of the Old Covenant’s name via the British Empire, to which the USA and the West remain subservient ~ “She” is becoming increasingly “hated” and by all accounts it seems it won’t be long before she is “burnt with fire” (Rev 17:6-16).

It is the treacherous Priests of Judah, represented as Jerusalem, who sold themselves to every Grecian doctrine by turning a blind eye to greater Israel’s sins, thus corrupting and leavening the entire nation. The Priests took their Lord’s silver and gold into ‘their temples’ and fastened their idols to their hearts, which condemned the entire nation of Israel to exile. Hence, the Lord returns the Priest’s “recompense” H1576 – meaning, ‘dealing, benefit’ upon themselves. For not faithfully teaching the Lord’s commandments, Joel 3:8 says that all of Israel’s coming exile is on Judah and Jerusalem’s heads that we see today is upon our heads of the Bride, the Heavenly Jerusalem, anytime we similarly steal the Lord’s silver and gold.

Joe 3:8  And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off: for the LORD hath spoken it. 

It is our Lord, via his created lying servant, Satan (Job 26:13), whom he gives power to our former Babylonian selves, the crooked priests we were, to sell our children to Jewish traditions in Babylonian Christianity. Our children and anyone who suffered to hear our false rhetoric twisting our Lord’s silver and gold into idols of our hearts they sequentially sold to the Christian world of greasy grace, the Sabeans, in every corner of the Earth collectively called Babylon the Great (Rev 17:5).

Definition: Sabeans H7615 = drunkard or he who is coming 1. the people of the nation of Sheba. H7614 – Sheba = seven or an oath n pr m 1. son of Joktan and a descendant of Seth 2. son of Raamah, grandson of Cush, and a descendant of Ham 3. son of Jokshan, the son of Abraham by Keturah n pr loc 

4. a nation in southern Arabia.

Any scriptural reference to Sheba overwhelming represents the ‘complete’ (Number 7) satiation of wealth attained through the trade of the world’s rich material wealth as represented by Tyre in all of Ezekiel 27:1-36 mirroring the fullness of our spiritual hedonistic ways.

Eze 27:21-27  Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar, they occupied with thee in lambs, and rams, and goats: in these were they thy merchants.
Eze 27:22  The merchants of Sheba and Raamah, they were thy merchants: they occupied in thy fairs with chief of all spices, and with all precious stones, and gold. 
Eze 27:23  Haran, and Canneh, and Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad, were thy merchants.
Eze 27:24  These were thy merchants in all sorts of things, in blue clothes, and broidered work, and in chests of rich apparel, bound with cords, and made of cedar, among thy merchandise.
Eze 27:25  The ships of Tarshish did sing of thee in thy market: and thou wast replenished, and made very glorious in the midst of the seas. 
Eze 27:26  Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters: the east wind hath broken thee in the midst of the seas.
Eze 27:27  Thy riches, and thy fairs, thy merchandise, thy mariners, and thy pilots, thy calkers, and the occupiers of thy merchandise, and all thy men of war, that are in thee, and in all thy company which is in the midst of thee, shall fall into the midst of the seas in the day of thy ruin.

Those verses mirror us spiritually by Babylon the Great, the Great Whore in Revelations 18:1-24 and are highly recommended to read.

Continuing…

Joe 3:9  Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: 

It is the Priests of God today, his Elect, who prepare for war to proclaim the seven plagues and vials of God’s wrath upon themselves, as seen in Revelations chapters 15 and 16. They came into the Temple, the very Bride of Christ herself, to give and receive within herself the meanings of these plagues and vials.

Rev 15:1  And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.

For a thorough understanding of Revelations, please, as you are spiritually led, begin in Revelations chapter 1 in the following link with access to all other studies in Revelations:

https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/revelation-11-2-read-hear-and-keep-these-words/

These events in the chapters of Revelation 15-16 about Babylon the Great and the Great Whore parallel what Joel 3:10 begins to prefigure with the 1,000-year rule under the ‘rod of iron’. Since Isaiah 2 speaks about the ‘last days’ when the ‘mountain of the Lord is established’, it is speaking about the Resurrection to Judgement, the Lake of Fire, when the entire world will be saved.

Isa 2:4  And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

However, the 1,000-year rule is a type and shadow of the Resurrection to Judgement, where there will not be any more war physically or spiritually since nobody is converted or judged but ruled unyieldingly, as does a spiritually inflexible rod of iron. Yet, at the end of the One Thousand Year rule under the rod of iron, Satan is released from prison, and Babylon the Great symbolised as Gog and Magog, resurfaces to make war with the Saints for the very last time ever!

Rev 20:7  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8  And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Rev 20:9  And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Rev 20:10  And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

War is a God-designed mechanism of the flesh common to highly varying degrees of ferocity in all beasts of the field and no more violently expressed than by the machinations of man’s vile evil spirit of intent. Subsequently, the purpose of war for the righteous spirit should be war equally as ferocious upon all doctrines opposing the word of God within his chosen Elect.

Joel Chapter 3 primarily points to judgement and then the Resurrection of the Elect, the First Fruits of God, and covertly then the reverse order of Resurrection and judgement for the Gog and Magog of humanity since Adam in the Lake of Fire.

Ecc 3:18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.

Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Rev 13:4 And they [Mankind, the Beasts] worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

2Pe 2:12 But these, [Mankind, the Beasts] as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;

Rev 13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast [the same Beast] rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
Rev 13:2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

For those given to see that they are but beasts in transition to being the very spiritual sons of God, they make war within and beat those guileful instruments of war opposing God’s word into ministries, bringing forth the fruit of our Lord’s Kingdom within.

Isa 2:3  And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
Isa 2:4  And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Isa 2:5  O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.

Here is a paradoxical statement opposing physical war and advancing spiritual warfare in Luke 22:35-38:

Luk 22:35  And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip [bag of food provisions], and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing. 
Luk 22:36  Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse [Money, his own righteousness in decline], let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. 
Luk 22:37  For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end.
Luk 22:38  And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, It is enough.

For the warfare of the New Covenant, we are armed with the Lord’s food and wine of his spirit, teaching and feeding us spiritual righteousness that directly corresponds to the physical warfare and symbolised ideologies represented by each instrument of war. As we well know, we now fight with the spiritual sword of the Lord’s word with every aspect of the physical mechanisms of war, spiritually.

Eph 6:10  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might (Eph 4:6).
Eph 6:11  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Eph 6:13  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, [practice committing to all the Lord’s commandments] to stand. 
Eph 6:14  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 
Eph 6:15  And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Eph 6:16  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Eph 6:17  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God:

That verse answers the incongruous statement in Luke 22:36, he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one, meaning to sell all your previously held Babylonian doctrinal lies and by the Lord’s word, sell it not and now fight fairly in spirit and truth with the sword of His word in prayerful supplications day and night (Eph 6:18).

Eph 6:18  Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Eph 6:19  And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
Eph 6:20  For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Joe 3:10  Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. 
Joe 3:11  Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD. 
Joe 3:12  Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. 

There is one event to all of mankind, although in his order of salvation. All of Israel, meaning Babylonian Christianity, inclusive of the embryonic Elect of God, has been in bed with the hedonistic heathen, not necessarily using physical implements of war, but their evil spiritual equivalence in our dastardly dealings with each other having twisted the Lord’s word to suit a more Epicurean and pain-free life. It all happens not in the dusty literal Valley of Jehoshaphat, full of dry bones, but in our whitewashed tombs within, heavy with the stench of decay.

Mat 23:25  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. 
Mat 23:26  Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. 
Mat 23:27  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. 
Mat 23:28  Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
Mat 23:29  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,
Mat 23:30  And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
Mat 23:31  Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. 
Mat 23:32  Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
Mat 23:33  Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? [Age-lasting Gehenna fire].
Mat 23:34  Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:
Mat 23:35  That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
Mat 23:36  Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. 

And that “this generation” spoken of in the last verse is the Elect of God filling up behind the afflictions of Christ within themselves, the first fruits who foundationally believed in Christ.

Being at war in Christ’s spirit against our lusts of the flesh and mind is our judgement of ourselves by his commandments. It brings forth a personal harvest in each joint comprising the Bride of Christ, thus building up the Body, the Temple she is.

1Co 11:31  For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
1Co 11:32  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

Consequently, and for the Bride, she is being judged today in preparation for the hope of being in the First Resurrection as her Lord’s Wife. Since she and all people are appointed to die once, the Lord’s budding wife will not suffer judgment in the Resurrection to Judgement, the Lake of Fire. The Lake of Fire is where the heathen in Joel 3:12, meaning all of mankind since Adam is then “wakened” from their ‘sleep’ of death in the valley of Jehoshaphat to be judged.

The following verses contain a little more baffling mystery regarding the negative and spiritual aspects of spiritual warfare that land each person in his designated order of salvation.

Joe 3:13  Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.
Joe 3:14  Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. 

The Lord’s Bride is depicted as the first of the first fruit, and Christ is that very first fruit with which she subsequently is his harvest and inheritance, and he is hers.

Jer 8:20  The [First fruit] harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we [Babylon/the world] are not saved. 
Jer 8:21  For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me.
Jer 8:22  Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?

The Bride of Christ is reflecting upon her not being chosen by her will but by her Lord’s will. She thus looks back at her sisters, astonished at her election since she, symbolically as the five wise virgins, fully consume the balm of Gilead, her Lord’s spiritual understanding, in the way she walks in harmony with and in him. Consequently, the ‘health of the daughter of her elder sisters in Babylon’, are not in their order of being “recovered” until the Resurrection to Judgement.

Pro 3:9  Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:

Jas 1:17  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
Jas 1:18  Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we [the Bride] should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures [all mankind].

The main wheat harvest in Palestine was subject to the much more general and assured rainfall, spiritually meaning that its harvest is for Gog and Magog that will overflow the barns and vats of wickedness for judgement in the Lake of Fire, the “valley of decision” where every sole ever to be conceived will assuredly ‘make a decision’ to acknowledge their sins before Christ and his Christs. For Babylonian Christians, inclusive of all religions and ideologies of every man and woman, it will be a day of thick darkness and gloom since everyone’s conscience will condemn them, thus blackening their self-assumed brightness of Epicurean, Grecian and Sodom-like academia. This is represented as the Last Great Day, the Eight Day of the Feast of Tabernacles.

Joe 3:15  The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. 
Joe 3:16  The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.  

Particularly for those Jews who believe in Christ, which is Babylonian Christianity, the Book of Joel causes them immense elation since their focus is on their unconscious self-righteousness, believing that they are the Elect of God who will be saved in their fabled one and only Resurrection. Accordingly, and because of their sun, another Jesus, and the Moon, their harlot churches they will realise too late are darkened, and their multitude, being the stars of heaven as numerous as the sand of the sea, are blackened of understanding. To their horror, the Lord will appear with a great roar as he reveals the Heavenly Jerusalem in his Bride, now his Wife, coming in the heavens in great power and might.

2Pe 3:10  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
2Pe 3:11  Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
2Pe 3:12  Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

(Rev 11:18  And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged [to give their imaginary “recompense”], and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.)

2Pe 3:13  Nevertheless we [The Elect of God], according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

And so, if we refuse to soberly see the significance of the dry bones in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, they will become the bones of his chosen Elect alongside her elder sisters, if we turn back from progressing toward perfection in Christ and become the “very Elect” (Mat 24:24). Hence, it is impossible for the “very Elect” in any way to render Christ “recompense” (benefit, ‘bountiful fruit’) for his service to advance the Kingdom within by not following his every commandment. Ironically and most miserably, those in the Lake of Fire will render a “recompense”, meaning a harrowing acknowledgement of their sins before Christ and his Christs.

Php 2:5  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 
Php 2:6  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 
Php 2:7  But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
Php 2:8  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Php 2:9  Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
Php 2:10  That at the name of Jesus every knee should [will] bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
Php 2:11  And that every tongue should [will] confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

Lord, hurry the consummation!

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Rev 14:13  And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed [are] the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.
Rev 14:14  And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud [one] sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
Rev 14:15  And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
Rev 14:16  And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.
Rev 14:17  And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
Rev 14:18  And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
Rev 14:19  And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast [it] into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
Rev 14:20  And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand [and] six hundred furlongs.

Introduction

Here we are in the verses before us today, right after being told that “the hour of God’s judgment is come” (Rev 14:7), we are now being told that those who die in the Lord are blessed. Then the very next verse tells us that the Son of Man has come with a crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. So it is quite clear that “the hour of God’s judgment” is integrally connected with our death and “the harvest of the earth”.

Heb 9:27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

According to this verse death must precede judgment, not follow judgment. So let us remember that this is all leading up to the revelation of what comprises the seventh trumpet, and let us never forget that these are all words which are proceeding out of the mouth of God, which we are all to “read, hear and keep” (Rev 1:1, Mat 4:4 and Rev 1:3). In these verses before us today, because we know that these are words that we are to “read, hear and keep” (Rev 1:3), we will see that both Christ, and we as His Christ, are the agency for the reaping of the harvest of the earth.

Now let’s look at what we are to keep as we are brought to see the revelation of this seventh trumpet that is “beginning to sound.”

Rev 14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

There are two forms of death mentioned in scripture. The one is physical, and the other is spiritual death to the things of this world. Physical death, from Christ’s perspective, is not death at all. It is merely taking a nap, and it is referred to in scripture as “sleeping” or being “asleep”. Spiritual death, on the other hand, has two applications of its own. One is positive, as when we “die in the Lord”, and one is negative, as when we are given part in “the second death”.

What are we told of those who “die in the Lord”?

1Th 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
1Th 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
1Th 4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

So physical death is being “asleep in Christ” and is the same as being “dead in Christ”. To God physical death is not an issue, except as the loss of God’s saints is a loss to those in this world involved in grieving that death.

Php 1:21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Php 1:22 But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not.
Php 1:23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
Php 1:24 Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.

Here are the scriptures which demonstrate that from God’s perspective, physical death amounts to nothing more than a temporary nap.

Mat 9:24  He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.

Joh 11:11  These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
Joh 11:12  Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.
Joh 11:13  Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.
Joh 11:14  Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
Joh 11:15  And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.

Then who is really dead in our Lord? Here again is Christ’s perspective, on who is really dead:

Mat 8:22  But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.

So then, those who our natural man considers to be alive are really dead, and those who our natural man considers to be dead, are really alive to Christ. Here is how He frames His perspective towards what is and what is not ‘life’.

Mat 10:39  He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

How do we go about “losing our life for Christ’s sake? Does “losing our life for Christ’s sake have anything to do with physical death? Well, if we “endure to the end” the answer is yes. But Christ considers Himself and us to have been crucified and dying while we are yet living, and He considers us to be living only if we are in Him. Here is what we are told:

Mat 16:24  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Rom 6:3  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; y et not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

1Th 3:8  For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.

So while physical death is certainly included as the subject of Rev 14: 13, so is spiritual death to the things of this world. “The hour of His judgment” of Rev 14:7 follows the death, crucifixion and losing of life spoken of in all of these verses. All the saints who have “endured to the end” in all the generations since Christ, considered themselves to have died with Christ long before the end of their physical life, and now they are simply “sleeping” and waiting for Christ to raise them up from that temporary condition. So we are told:

Ecc 7:1  A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.

Psa 116:15  Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints

Ecc 7:15  All things have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness.

Joh 12:23  And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.
Joh 12:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Joh 12:25  He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

Who is Jesus answering, and what is the request He is answering?

Joh 12:20  And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast:
Joh 12:21  The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus.
Joh 12:22  Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus.

It is not for the benefit of those “certain Greeks”, but for our benefit that Christ tells Andrew and Philip:

Joh 12:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Joh 12:25  He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

In other words, no man can see Christ at any time but those who have first died to “life in this world”. Only then does the true revelation of Jesus Christ begin to come into our spiritual vision.

Heb 9:27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

Our death to “life in this world” must precede our judgment. That is what the scriptures teach, and those are words which we must keep. Here is a very healthy spiritual view of this whole subject of life and death:

Php 1:20 According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.
Php 1:21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

When that becomes our true perspective on the subject of life and death, then we are ready and prepared to be reaped and judged and to “see Christ”. Then after we have been reaped, we can and will be used by God to reap others with and for our Lord.

Eph 3:9  And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

“Now… by the church” is what Christ in His Christ is “now” in this life doing within those whom the holy spirit drags to the Christ, revealing to them “the manifold wisdom of God”.

Here in the “Son of Man with a sharp sickle”, and “another angel with a sharp sickle” is part of this manifold wisdom of God, which is being “now… being made known by the church… to all men”. Here is how those who are “crucified with Christ” are reaped by Christ:

Rev 14:14  And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
Rev 14:15  And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
Rev 14:16  And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.

This obviously is Christ. It is Christ who will “return with the cloud of witnesses”.

Dan 7:13  I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.

Act 1:9  And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
Act 1:10  And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
Act 1:11  Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

What do these clouds symbolize? They are the symbol of those in whom Christ dwells and who are faithful to the word and witness of the Truths of God’s Words.

Heb 12:1  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset [us], and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

Christ is “the Son of man”. It is Christ who has “a golden crown on His head”, and it is Christ who has “a sharp sickle in His hand” and is told by “the angel out of the temple… to reap for the harvest of the earth is ripe”. You and I are that temple (1Co 3:16-17). You and I are that “angel [messenger]” out of that temple.

Rev 21:17  And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

If for one moment we forget that we are to keep these words written in these verses, we will lose our focus on where and when this harvest is taking place, and we will fail to realize that “the hour of God’s judgment is come” within us.

Rev 14:7  Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

“The hour of His judgment is come” mentioned in verse 14 is the same as “the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God” in 1Pe 4:17. This “hour of His judgment” is the same as this “harvest of the earth” within us here in verse 15. It is all one and the same event, which takes place within each and every believer before he can enter into the temple of God. If we lose this inward focus, we will forget that 2,000 year ago “the time was at hand to keep the things written in this book”, and we, too, will fall into the damning doctrine of placing all of the things written in this book out there in the future, upon the last generation of mankind which happens to be left standing on this earth when our Lord comes to resurrect His firstfruits and to give them the rulership of this earth for a symbolic “one thousand years”.

On the other hand, if it is given to us to maintain this focus, then these following verses which all “proceed out of the mouth” of our Lord will take on a new and wonderful and personal application:

Mat 13:24  Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven [within us: Luk 17:20-21] is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field [Our lives in this world, Mat 13:38 “… the field is the world” or damnable false doctrines]:
Mat 13:25  But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares [ damnable false doctrines] among the wheat, and went his way.
Mat 13:26  But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
Mat 13:27  So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
Mat 13:28  He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
Mat 13:29  But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
Mat 13:30  Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

The “good seed” in this and all parables, are the good words of the kingdom and “the children of the kingdom” who bring that good word:

Mat 13:19  When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it] not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

“The wicked one… catches away the good seed” by planting tares [lies] in with the good seed. The lying doctrines are tolerated in our lives “until the harvest” or until the “hour of His judgment is come”. That is why we have “the hour of His judgment” and “the harvest of the earth” in the same few verses here in Revelation 14. Here are these two verses side by side:

Rev 14:7  Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

Rev 14:15  And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
Rev 14:16  And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.

Who keeps all these things? Where is all of this to happen? When is this all to take place? We are not left to guess:

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein [that is who and where these things are all to be kept]: for the time is at hand [ this is when these things are to be kept].

But “the Son of Man” told us that He was sending us “as My Father hath sent me”. For what purpose was Christ sent into this world by His Father?

1Ti 1:15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

Is that what Christ has sent us to do also? Is it? Here are His own words:

Joh 20:21  Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

Are we really sent into this world to be saviors of sinners? What do the scriptures say?

Oba 1:21  And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.

“Mount Zion” is a symbol for God’s elect, and God’s elect are His agents for bringing mercy and life to all men. Let’s read it again:

Eph 3:9  And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly [places] might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

Remember this verse quoted above:

Rev 21:17  And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

Here in Rev 14:17 is “a man that is… the angel”.

Rev 14:17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
Rev 14:18  And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
Rev 14:19  And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast [ it] into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
Rev 14:20  And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand [ and] six hundred furlongs.

This angel “comes out of the temple which is in heaven”. We have demonstrated over and over that “ye are the temple of God”. We have demonstrated that the angels are men who are also reapers:

Mat 13:39  The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

Rev 19:10  And I fell at his feet to worship him [the angel]. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Rev 22:8  And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
Rev 22:9  Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

Rev 21:17  And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

It is “the church” who shows these things to “all men”.

Eph 3:9  And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly [places] might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, [“These things” of Rev 22:8]

We have demonstrated over and over that “God dwells in you”, that He “dwells in the heavens”, and “He dwells in His people”.

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

Psa 103:19  The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.

Psa 115:3  But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.

Psa 123:1 <A Song of degrees.> Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.

“God dwells in you… God dwells in the heavens”. God must perform the miracle of blinding our spiritual eyes to keep us from seeing that the heavens are within His people.

Luk 17:20  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

This angel that “gathers the vine of the earth” with the very same sharp sickle that Christ uses is Christ’s Christ. This team is also known as “the Lord and His Christ”,

Act 4:26  The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

One of Christ’s many titles is “the mighty God”.

Isa 9:6  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

And so once again we see this same team which will harvest the clusters of the earth in this verse:

Rev 12:10  And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

So “the Son of Man” harvests us and “casts us into the winepress of the the wrath of God”. This is the same wrath of God, which we will later hear of as the seven plagues of the seven angels. ‘The vision is one.’ (Gen 41):

Rev 15:1  And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.

Gen 41:25  And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do.

The dragon is that old serpent the devil, and we are his children and his angels who wage war against our Lord, as our inward armies. This is all “war in the heavens” where, as the children of “our father the devil”, we withstand “the Son of Man” when He comes to harvest us and separate the Truths of His Word in us, from all the tares of Babylon within us. This has all been revealed to us earlier in chapter 12:

Rev 12:7  And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
Rev 12:8  And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
Rev 12:9  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Rev 12:10  And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

In the process, our old man is destroyed and the blood and his flesh is fed to “the fowls of heaven”, and blood flows for 1600 furlongs “unto the horse bridles”.

The temple of our God is in the kingdom of our God, and that “salvation, strength, and kingdom of our God and the power of His Christ” cannot be entered into until the seven plagues of the seven angels are fulfilled within us. This “hour of the judgment of our God” upon all the sins of our flesh which accompany the lies of Babylon within us, is what “the days of the voice of the seventh angel when he shall begin to sound” are leading us into.

What is the Biblical significance of 1600 furlongs? 16 is two times 8. Two is the number which signifies the witness we bear for our Lord while in these vessels of clay. “The 8th is of the seven” is the beast that “is not”, and even though he is a new man, he is still in a vessel of clay, or flesh, which cannot inherit the kingdom of God, and must “go into perdition”.

Rev 17:11  And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

But our number is 1600, and 1600 is 2 times 8 times 100. 100 is the perfection of the flesh which cannot inherit the kingdom of God, even if it is the flesh of Jesus Christ.

1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Here now are these same verses of Rev 14:13-20, repeated in Rev 19:

Rev 19:10  And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: [this is the angel with the sharp sickle that comes out of the temple of God] for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
Rev 19:11  And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
Rev 19:12  His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. [This is the Son of Man with the sharp sickle and a golden crown upon His head]
Rev 19:13  And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. [ This is the blood that comes to the horses bridle]
Rev 19:14  And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. [this is the Lord’s Christ, who gathers the clusters of the earth and places them in the Lord’s winpress of His wrath]
Rev 19:15  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations [this is the same thing as “a sharp sickle with which to harvest the earth in “the hour of the Lord’s judgment”]: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God [the exact same “winepress of the wrath of God” of Rev 14:19].
Rev 19:16  And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
Rev 19:17  And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
Rev 19:18  That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. [the same “all men” of Rev 13, who “receive the mark, name, number and imageof the beast”]
Rev 19:19  And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
Rev 19:20  And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
Rev 19:21  And the remnant were slain with the sword [or “sharp sickle”] of him that sat upon the horse, which sword [or sharp sickle] proceeded out of his mouth [the seed that fell in good ground in Mat 13:23]: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh. [Our own flesh as “the wicked” of Mat 13:19]

Mat 13:23  But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

We are not one or the other. Rather we are first the wicked, and unfruitful, and then we are “that which bears fruit”. We “live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Mat 4:4).

Summary

We have seen that our end is better than our beginning, and our death is better than our birth. We also saw that being “dead in Christ” is also a spiritual statement concerning dying to “life in this world” and living our new life as a “living sacrifice unto God”.

Rev 14:13  And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

We have seen that Christ is the Son of Man upon a white “cloud of witnesses” who harvests His firstfruits.

Rev 14:14  And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud [one] sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
Rev 14:15  And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
Rev 14:16  And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.

But we have also seen that the Son of Man, who is Christ, has His own Christ, who, instead of coming on a cloud is said to “come out of the temple in heaven”. It is through this, “our Lord’s Christ”, that Christ will “gather the clusters of the earth” with the same sharp sickle, which is nothing less than the “sharp two edged sword… which is the Word of God”.

Rev 14:17  And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
Rev 14:18  And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.

We have seen that the “winepress of the wrath of God” of these verses, is the same “wrath of God” contained in the seven plagues of the seven angels which must be fulfilled in every man who would enter into the temple of God in heaven (Rev 15:1 and 8).

Rev 14:19  And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.

Finally we saw that the 1600 furlongs of blood, as 2 times 8 time 100, symbolize the perdition of our flesh. We saw that the number 2, as the symbol of our witness for Christ, is contained within that number 1600 as a multiple of 8, which symbolizes our new man, who, even though “we have Christ in us as earthen vessels” those ‘earthen vessels’ symbolized by the number ten and its multiple of ten times ten or 100, still “cannot inherit the kingdom of God” and must “go into perdition”.

Rev 14:20  And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

Next week, Lord willing, we will discover the meaning of the sea of glass mingled with fire, and we will discover what the significance getting the victory over the beast, his image, his mark, and the number of his name is. We will also discover the Biblical significance of “having the harps of God”. Most importantly we will see the connection between the wrath of God, and the “manifesting of His judgments.”

Rev 15:1  And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.
Rev 15:2  And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, [and] over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.
Rev 15:3  And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous [are] thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true [are] thy ways, thou King of saints.
Rev 15:4  Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for [thou] only [art] holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.