Revelation 14-Son of Man, swing Your sickle!

The Harvest of the Earth

14And I looked and saw a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was One like the Son of Man,c with a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand.

15Then another angel came out of the temple, calling in a loud voice to the One seated on the cloud, “Swing Your sickle and reap, because the time has come to harvest; for the crop of the earth is ripe.” 16So the One seated on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

What exactly is being harvested here?

And who is doing the harvest?

“One like the Son of Man” speaks of Jesus.

“with a golden crown on His head” This is a crown of victory!

“How different it will be to see him with a crown of gold upon his head from what it was to see him wearing that terrible crown of thorns which the cruel soldiers plaited, and thrust upon his brow! The word used here does not usually refer to the diadem of power, but to the crown won in conflict; and it is very remarkable that it should be said that, when Christ comes to judge the world, he will wear the garland of victory, the crown which he has won in the great battle which he has fought. How significant of his final triumph will that crown of gold be about those brows that were once covered with bloody sweat when he was fighting the battle for our salvation!” (Spurgeon)

“Swing Your sickle and reap, because the time has come to harvest; for the crop of the earth is ripe.” 

Sickle: a short-handled farming tool with a semicircular blade, used for cutting grain, lopping, or trimming.

“It must be remembered that evil has its harvest as well as good. There is a harvest of misery and woe, – a harvest for the gathering, binding, and burning of the tares, – as well as for the gathering of the wheat into the garner of heaven.” (Seiss)

Sickle and harvest are farming terms used to describe how Jesus judges man. During crop harvest special care is taken to gather the “tares”.

Tare: (in biblical use) an injurious weed resembling wheat when young (Matt. 13:24–30).

“The crop of the earth is ripe”

Jesus is going to harvest the earth and separate the “saved” (wheat) from the “unrepentant sinners” (tares).

The question is, will you be wheat or a tare?

Blessings, David 

Revelation 14-The glorious dead!

12Here is a call for the endurance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

13And I heard a voice from heaven telling me to write, “Blessed are the dead—those who die in the Lord from this moment on.”

“Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labors, for their deeds will follow them.”

Here is a distinction of the saints who are slaughtered from this point on while keeping the faith. They will “rest”, they are glorious dead.

“These are the only glorious dead . . . they die in the cause of God, they die under the smile and approbation of God, and they die to live and reign with God for ever and ever.” (Clarke)

“for their deeds will follow them.”

Our work for Jesus and His Kingdom will also follow us to heaven. 

Do you remember the parable of the coin?

Matthew 25:14-30

What will you do with yours?

Blessings, David 

A Bitter Cup. Genesis 40:1-8 NLT

Joseph clearly had reasons to be bitter. He was betrayed by his own brothers, made a slave in a foreign country, lied about and placed in prison. We never hear of him grumbling or complaining. Instead, we hear Joseph still had compassion for those around him. He noticed the chief cup-bearer and baker looked upset and cared enough to ask why.  

What about you? Are you bitter from what life has thrown at you? Do you grumble and complain? Or do you look outside of yourself and have compassion on those around you? 

The best way to take the focus off of yourself is to look to those around you. Go see who you can be a blessing to today. 

Genesis 40:1-15 NLT 

1 Some time later, Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer and chief baker offended their royal master.  2 Pharaoh became angry with these two officials,  3 and he put them in the prison where Joseph was, in the palace of the captain of the guard.  4 They remained in prison for quite some time, and the captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, who looked after them. 

5 While they were in prison, Pharaoh’s cup-bearer and baker each had a dream one night, and each dream had its own meaning.  6 When Joseph saw them the next morning, he noticed that they both looked upset.  7 “Why do you look so worried today?” he asked them. 

8 And they replied, “We both had dreams last night, but no one can tell us what they mean.” 

“Interpreting dreams is God’s business,” Joseph replied. “Go ahead and tell me your dreams.” 

Blessings, Cecilia

Revelation 14-The third angel!

9And a third angel followed them, calling in loud a voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image, and receives its mark on his forehead or hand, 10he too will drink the wine of God’s anger, poured undiluted into the cup of His wrath. And he will be tormented in fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11And the smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever. Day and night there will be no rest for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”

““If anyone worships the beast and its image, and receives its mark on his forehead or hand,”

Anyone means anyone! This is not accidental acceptance, this is willingly! It’s no different than burning incense to Caesar. 

Who is your lord?

Mordecai only had one Lord and refused to bow to Haman. 

Who do you bow to?

Do not drink the wine of God’s anger!

Look what awaits those that worship the beast! “he will be tormented in fire and brimstone”, “the smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever.”

“Day and night there will be no rest for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”

There is a fork in the road, one way you receive God’s mark or the other way you receive the mark of the beast. 

Who are you bowing and burning incense to?

Blessings, David 

Just Ask. Genesis 39:19-23 NLT

When God wants to use someone, no-one can stop Him. No matter how difficult the situation gets, God still is in control. Joseph has gone from the pit to the palace to the prison and God's not done with him yet. 

Joseph's brother's tried to stop God's plan for Joseph. God used him anyway. Potiphar's wife couldn't get what she wanted so she tried to ruin Joseph. Potiphar could have executed Joseph but he put him in prison instead. Even in prison, Joseph prospers. God blessed Joseph anyway. 

You can't stop God. Whether you're in a pit or a palace or a prison, if God wants to bless you, He can. He will. Just ask. 

Genesis 39:19-23 NLT 

20 So he took Joseph and threw him into the prison where the king’s prisoners were held, and there he remained.  21 But the LORD was with Joseph in the prison and showed him His faithful love. And the LORD made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden.  22 Before long, the warden put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened in the prison.  23 The warden had no more worries, because Joseph took care of everything. The LORD was with him and caused everything he did to succeed. 

Blessings, Cecilia

Revelation 14-The second angel!

8Then a second angel followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great,b who has made all the Gentiles to drink the wine of the passion of her immorality.”

“Prophetically, ‘Babylon’ sometimes refers to a literal city, sometimes to a religious system, sometimes to a political system, all stemming from the evil character of historic Babylon.” (Walvoord)

Spiritual immorality. Look around you today, are they drinking the wine of the passion of immorality?

We just had a young man go into a school and kill at least seventeen teenagers. Who’s wine was he drinking? It wasn’t Gods! It’s safe to say he was drinking the wine of the passion of immorality. He was doing the work of Satan.

Don’t blame the tool, blame ourselves for voting in godless self serving leaders. 

The Bible is chock full of examples to what happens when nations turn from God and “drink the wine of the passion of her immorality”.

He removes His hand of protection.

Pray for a revival! 

Blessings, David 

An Uncomfortable Decision. Genesis 29:6b-20 NLT

We all sin everyday, if not in action, in our head with evil thoughts. A pastors wife told me she believed some sin is worse in God's eye's then other sins. Her reasoning was some sin is specified in the Bible. Adultery, murder , pride, theft, etcetera. I don't agree. If I filled out that "favorite quote" space in my Facebook profile it would say "Sin is sin, no matter the size." 

If only we thought about the ramifications of our sin before we moved forward in sin. A shattered family, a destroyed reputation, financial disaster, death. 

What about the sin of not doing something we know we should? The sin of omission. Peter sinned when he denied Jesus. What about that urging to pray with someone or share the love of Jesus. Isn't that the same as Peter's denial  when we stay quiet?

What about when doing the right thing costs us dearly? It cost Joseph his security, his stature, his comfort but he did what was right and God blessed him for it. 

It's so easy to sin, it's much harder to do the right thing when faced with discomfort as a result. But if you stay true and faithful to God, He will reward you for it. 

Genesis 29:6b-20 NLT 

6b Joseph was a very handsome and well-built young man,  7 and Potiphar’s wife soon began to look at him lustfully. “Come and sleep with me,” she demanded. 

8 But Joseph refused. “Look,” he told her, “my master trusts me with everything in his entire household.  9 No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.” 

10 She kept putting pressure on Joseph day after day, but he refused to sleep with her, and he kept out of her way as much as possible.  11 One day, however, no one else was around when he went in to do his work.  12 She came and grabbed him by his cloak, demanding, “Come on, sleep with me!” Joseph tore himself away, but he left his cloak in her hand as he ran from the house. 

13 When she saw that she was holding his cloak and he had fled, 14 she called out to her servants. Soon all the men came running. “Look!” she said. “My husband has brought this Hebrew slave here to make fools of us! He came into my room to rape me, but I screamed. 15 When he heard me scream, he ran outside and got away, but he left his cloak behind with me.”

16 She kept the cloak with her until her husband came home. 17 Then she told him her story. “That Hebrew slave you’ve brought into our house tried to come in and fool around with me,” she said. 18 “But when I screamed, he ran outside, leaving his cloak with me!”

19 Potiphar was furious when he heard his wife’s story about how Joseph had treated her. 20 So he took Joseph and threw him into the prison where the king’s prisoners were held, and there he remained.

Blessings, Cecilia