Lesson 44
Revelation
Chapter Fourteen
Snapshots of the Victory
of Christ
Rev
14:14-20 Preview
of Armageddon Campaign;
1. 14:14-18 The Reapers; The Executors or
administers of God's wrath
#1 Lord 14:14-16 #2 Angels 14:17-20
2. The Reasons Given: vs:15,
18 revolves around "harvest is
ripe"
3. Result Great Judgment
carried out vs:19-20
First Reaper = Christ vs:14-16
- know this by the description; "son of man"
no def article
The term son of man then emphasizes that what John
saw had the nature, quality of humanity; and homoios
says that is not the complete pkg. there is more!
This use, the last time it appears its in the context of the judgment associated with His 2nd
advent.
Then His poverty was in view; Now it is His power and right to
judge.
* Other indicators in vs:14 that identify this "son of man" as Christ.
- There is an association
with a cloud; In
His 2nd advent Christ is identified with clouds; Dan
- That He is wearing a
"golden crown";
- That the sickle is
sharp, speaks
to the nature of the judgment; that it
will be a searching, discriminating judgment; its severe!
Vs:15 speaks to one important issue really; Now is the time;
"the hour
to reap has come," Now is the
appropriate time!
* The strong implication
is that God has a calendar of events; and that there are certain events that
make the outpouring of His wrath appropriate.
Tonight is not the time!
This aspect of God being
a where, when, how kind of God is reflected by Christ when He says that "I
am the way the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father but through
Me."
Says that if you don't come through Him, by faith
in Him, then you don't come to God, you can have no relationship with Him now
or in eternity.
* Notice that there are
two reasons given here for the appropriateness of the judgment; that is that the
WHEN is here;
1st "the hour to reap has come," time is appropriate because God is ready.
2nd "the harvest of the earth
is ripe." the earth is ready.
* The rebellion against
God with the resulting degeneration of the moral condition reaches the point
that God's Justice must act.
** The Parable of the
Wheat and the Tares in Mt 13 casts light on what we find here in our context.
In Mt 13 the Son of man is the sower,
in Rev 14 He is the reaper.
- parable; Matt
** What is one of the
basic principles seen through out Scripture;
Always a period of grace; a period of time replete
with warning before judgment!
Next
in vs: 17 The judgment shifts to Angels as
Reapers;
Note also the Change of imagery here; from harvesting
to the wine press;
Now check Isa 63:1-5
for parallels.
That the sickle is sharp, (vs:17,18)
speaks to the nature of the judgment; that it will be a searching,
discriminating judgment; and its severe!
"and
another angel, the one who has power (evxousi,a) over fire, came out from
the altar;"
- would take this as
referring to the same angel as we saw back in 8:3-5; takes
us back to the altar of incense; picture
of the prayers of the saints rising to God;
This is an exhortation, a
call to get with the judgment.
Vine is used in the OT many times to refer to
- What we are seeing is
judgment because the vine is producing the fruit of wickedness and corruption
and rebellion.
Check the figures used in:
Hos. 10:1-2; Joel 3:1-2; 11-17 note the parallel
with Rev.
14:19-20
The Great wine press; pictures the execution of Judgment
- This action is what is
detailed in
- This passage speaks
prophetically as does ch-19, of the events that follow
the return of Christ to the earth.
It is reassuring to the saints of the day, that
though they may be suffering greatly, some even be martyred;
God's ultimate justice will prevail, the wicked
will be judged and the saints will be rewarded