Revelation 14:12- 20 “Here is a call for the endurance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. And 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.”
2020 has been one of those years nobody wants to live over again! So much suffering! So much loss! And yet, throughout all of these problems, there have been those who have persevered and whose faith has shown brightly. Thanks to Facebook, I have been following the saga of a missionary family in Senegal. Four weeks ago, the husband/father was doing some home repairs when he fell three stories to a cement floor! The family had to send this man to a small local clinic, from which he was transferred to a hospital in Dakar, then to a hospital in Paris, and finally to Jacksonville, Florida. Miraculously, this man escaped with rib fractures and minor damage to his spine and some other injuries that are resolving. But reading the wife’s posts has been incredibly uplifting! Despite all the fear and all the life – threatening possibilities, this family’s faith has been a beacon of hope. Truly, those who live in the Lord leave deeds that live on and inspire others. This does NOT mean that we earn our way into heaven. Barclay says,“When you leave this earth, all that you can take with you is yourself. If you come to the end of this life still one with Christ, you will take with you a character tried and tested like gold, which has something of his reflection in it; and, if you take with you to the world beyond a character like that, blessed are you.”
Revelation 14:14 – 20 “And I looked and saw a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was One like the Son of Man, with a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. Then another angel came out of the temple, crying out 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.” So the One seated on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested. Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. Still another angel, with authority over the fire, came from the altar and called out in a loud voice to the angel with the sharp sickle, “Swing your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the vine of the earth, because its grapes are ripe.” So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and gathered the grapes of the earth, and he threw them into the great wine press of God’s wrath. And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and the blood that flowed from it rose as high as the bridles of the horses for a distance of 1,600 stadia. (184 miles or 296 kilometers.)
For thousands of years, the prophets have been foretelling a time when God would bring a final judgment. The prophet Joel said, “Let the nations be roused and advance to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit down to judge all the nations on every side. Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the wine press is full; the wine vats overflow because their wickedness is great.” In Mark 4:26-29 Jesus tells his disciples, “The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed on the ground. …And as soon as the grain is ripe, he swings the sickle, because the harvest has come.” Now John sees these prophecies being fulfilled.
Jesus is the Son of Man with the golden crown. In Matthew 24:36 Jesus tells his disciples,”No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Now an angel comes from the heavenly temple and gives Jesus the permission to to gather his own people who love him. At the same time, an angel with a sickle is also given a similar order by an angel with authority over the perpetual fire in the heavenly temple. This angel is to harvest those destined for judgment.
Why the description of the blood? This amount of blood is sufficient to fully cover the nation of Israel. This judgment will include the whole land and will be absolutely complete.
What are we to do with these visions? These visions have stood the test of time and of scholarship. You can choose to believe or to ignore these visions. But remember that Jesus warned his disciples that the Kingdom of Heaven would come like a thief in the night, without any warning. None of us knows how much time we have left; the only time we have is now. The Book of Revelation is full of warnings and promises: warnings to those who refuse to worship God and promises for those who do choose to follow Him. Joshua gave a challenge to the Children of Israel, “Choose this day whom you will serve…but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)
PRAYER: Father God, thank you for loving us so much that you sent Jesus to us as a baby, to live and die as a sinless man, the perfect blood offering for our sins. Lord, help each one who reads this to choose to serve you! In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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