The 144,000 and the Victorious Judgment of the Lamb Part 2
• "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," Thus far, the preaching of the Everlasting Gospel (Rev 14:6-7) and a powerful reminder of the deadness of the Harlot's Religious System, i.e., "Babylon is fallen, is fallen" (Rev 14:8), have been given to all Earth dwellers by the first two angels; but, the third angel's warning is even more personal to his audience of entirely unregenerate mankind. Since the Pre-Wrath Rapture has just removed all the remaining Tribulation Saints, only a portion of lost humanity that remains is "elect-but-still-lost"-- to be saved at the appearance of Messiah Jesus. "Thus saith the LORD GOD, Behold, I will lift up Mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up My standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders" (Isaiah 49:22). The third angel begins a loud warning to all that remains of mankind on the planet-- unhushed by Satan, the Antichrist, the False Prophet, and their minions-- saying, "If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand..." (Rev 14:10). Worship of the Antichrist and reception of the Mark of the Beast (13:11-18) have already been a stark fact of life for nearly 3 1/2 years. When the Faithful God tires of warning humanity of the eternal perils of their present course of actions, then all hope has been removed. "And the LORD said, My Spirit shall not always strive with man" (Genesis 6:3). After the warning stops, only Judgment remains. "God is a Consuming Fire" (Hebrews 12:29). "Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28).
• "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:" Question? With only 8-9 days left in the Tribulation Week, all of the regenerate of mankind Pre-Tribulationally and Pre-Wrath Raptured from the Earth, and only the horrors of the Vial Judgments (Rev 16:1-21) remaining, why now would the angel warn those who have received the Mark of the Beast, about the consequences of receiving that mark? Evidently, the All Wise God expects to see the very Last Fruits to be finally and certainly harvested, for He is "not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2Peter 3:9). But, how so? First, the Almighty never gives anyone the impression that they can continue in present sin, without a "certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation" (Hebrews 10:27), i.e., the "same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God" (Rev 14:10). Even our witness that we are His, is based upon our present loving obedience to Him; whereas, a present disobedience can only be given God's anger, fearful displeasure, and threatening of Eternal Judgment. "3 And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His Commandments. 4 He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His Commandments, is a LIAR, and the Truth is not in him" (1John 2:3-4). "ALL LIARS, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the Second Death" (Revelation 21:8).
Second, the certain consequences of worshipping the Beast and receiving his mark (Rev 14:9) is Eternal Damnation, i.e., "he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb" (Rev 14:10). No one ought to doubt the sincerity of this threat from the God "that cannot lie" (Titus 1:2). "Hath He said, and shall He not do it? or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?" (Numbers 23:19).
Third, this threat, bulwarking the Doctrine of the Justice of the Endless Punishment and Misery of the Wicked, however, does not diminish mercy from the character of the Almighty, especially to those who may yet repent. "I will proclaim the Name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy" (Exodus 33:19). God delights in mercy, for which His people rightly exalt Him. "Who is a God like unto Thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retaineth not His anger for ever, because He delighteth in mercy" (Micah 7:18).
And, finally, the "just-in-time" repentance of the "elect-but-still-lost" Jews and Gentiles will take place as the LORD Jesus Christ begins His descent in the clouds to the Faithless Earth, i.e., "When the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith on the Earth?" (Luke 18:8). These "just-in-time" penitents will be the seed population and citizenry of the Millennial Earth, while all others will simply wail and cry without True Repentance or Faith. "Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the Earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen" (Revelation 1:7).
• "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 enormity of the reprobate Earth dwellers' rejection of the True Christ for the Substitute Christ is measured by the "smoke of their torment [that] ascendeth up for ever and ever" (Rev 14:11). "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient" (Romans 1:28). Because man has such a low estimation of the value of God's Law, they would necessarily esteem His Judgments as nonsense or excessive; but, the Judge of All the Earth "will render to every man according to his deeds" (Rev 2:6). "8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the Truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, 9 tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile" (Rev 2:8, 9).
Those who "have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name" (Rev 14:11), are reprobated by God for their foreseen iniquities from which the Omniscient God knows they will never repent. Charles G. Finney - addressed these reprobated Earth dwellers in 1851.
"Do you ask how I know that the reason why God does not make you willing is, that he sees that it would be unwise in him to do so? I answer, that it is an irresistible inference, from these two facts, that he is infinitely benevolent, and that he does not actually make you willing. I do not believe that God would neglect anything that he saw to be wise and benevolent, in the great matter of man's salvation. Who can believe that he could give his only-begotten and well-beloved Son to die for sinners, and then neglect any wise and benevolent means for their salvation? No, sinner, if you are a reprobate, it is because God foresaw that you would do just as you are doing; that you would be so wicked as to defeat all the efforts that he could wisely, make for your salvation. What a variety of means he has used with you. At one time he has thrown you into the furnace of affliction; and when this has not softened you, he has turned round and loaded you with favours. He has sent you his word, he has striven by his Spirit, he has allured you by the cross; he has tried to melt you by the groanings of Calvary; and tried to drive you back from the way to death, by rolling in your ears the thunders of damnation.
At one time clouds and darkness have been round about you; the heavens have thundered over your head; divine vengeance has hung out, all around your horizon, the portentous clouds of coming wrath. At another time mercy has smiled upon you from above like the noon-day sun, breaking through an ocean of storms. He urges every motive; he lays heaven, earth and hell, under perpetual contributions for considerations to move your stony heart. But you deafen your ears, and close your eyes, and harden your heart, and say, 'Cause the holy one of Israel to cease from before us [Isaiah 30:11].' And what is the inference from all this? How must all this end? 'Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the Lord has rejected them [Jeremiah 6:30]'" (from Chapter 75 "Reprobation" of Charles G. Finney's "Systematic Theology" ).
• "12 Here is the patience of the Saints: here are they that keep the Commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Verse 12 introduces verse 13, both of which are an interlude of peace between the warnings and threatenings to those who "worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark" ( Rev 14:9-11) and the Final Judgments of the "great winepress of the wrath of God" (Rev 14:14-20). Three words stand out in verse 13-- patience, Commandments, and faith. First, the "patience of the Saints" (Rev 14:12) is that attribute of love that "beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things" (1Corinthians 13:7). Patience comes only from the "trying of your faith" (James 1:3), which will be greatly needed by the Tribulation Saints to complete their appointed course of trying, testing, and suffering, that they "may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing" (James 1:4)-- in preparation for Heaven.
Second, keeping the "Commandments of God" (Rev 14:12) is not simply the hallmark of a True Saint, i.e., "My sheep hear My Voice, and I know them, and they follow Me" (John 10:27); but, it represents our joyful opportunity to demonstrate our love for Him, i.e., "Thy Law do I love" (Psalm 119:163). Resisting fidelity to the Antichrist by refusing his mark is an act of the Tribulation Saints' loving obedience to the Commandment, "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me" (Exodus 20:3).
And, finally, the "faith of Jesus" (Rev 14:12) is the Saints' supreme confidence in our LORD and Saviour, Whose Name "is above every name" (Philippians 2:9)-- especially above the name of the Antichrist-- that Jesus will "yet deliver us" (2Corinthians 1:10) from the Antichrist or from dishonouring Him by yielding to temptation. "The LORD knoweth how to deliver the Godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the Day of Judgment to be punished" (2Peter 2:9).
• "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." Normally, we speak about events in a chronological fashion, but we may also need to regress in order to emphasize and develop thoughts that need additional explanation. "Let all things be done decently and in order" (1Corinthians 14:40). Verse 13 speaks of a retrospective, referring to a time before the Pre-Wrath Rapture, where there are still Tribulation Saints awaiting martyrdom or Rapture. "Blessed are the dead which die in the LORD from henceforth" (Rev 14:13) makes special reference to the Martyred Tribulation Saints, giving the Apostle John a third personal message from the Father (Rev 10:4, 8), i.e., a "Voice from Heaven saying unto me" (Rev 14:13). The encouragement is true for all Saints throughout history, but is especially necessary for those who will be martyred, reminding them of the Eternal Blessedness of those that "resist steadfast in the faith" (1Peter 5:9). Later, we are told that those Martyred Tribulation Saints will be numbered among those who will rule and reign with Christ during the Millennium. "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God, and which had not worshipped the Beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years" (Rev 20:4).
A fugitive knows no rest; and, those Tribulation Saints who are not caught after they are converted, will be Pre-Wrath Raptured. "And they heard a Great Voice from Heaven saying unto them, Come Up Hither. And they ascended up to Heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them" (Revelation 11:12). However, the Tribulation Saints that will not be Pre-Wrath Raptured, may not be simply caught at the outset of their conversion to the LORD Jesus Christ, making flight a reasonable alternative before they are caught and executed. "Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter there into" (Luke 21:21). Rest is a luxury that belongs only to those who are beyond the reach of their pursuers.
These martyred "dead which die in the LORD" (Rev 14:13) will ultimately, successfully evade the enemy and will cheat the Second Death of its prey. "55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the Law. 57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our LORD Jesus Christ" (1Corinthians 15:55-57). Not simply rest, but "great recompence of reward" (Hebrews 10:35) awaits the Martyred Tribulation Saints, i.e., they "rest from their labours; and their works do follow them" (Rev 14:13). "And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away" (Isaiah 35:10).
• "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." Christ Jesus, Who is the "LORD of the Harvest" (Luke 10:2), i.e., "in His hand a sharp sickle" (14:14), is also the "Judge of All the Earth" (Genesis 18:25), to Whom the Father "hath committed all judgment" (John 5:22). Here, the Apostle John is directed to gaze upon a white cloud, and "upon the cloud One sat like unto the Son of Man" (Rev 14:14). Painters often depict God surrounded with clouds. "Clouds and darkness are round about Him: Righteousness and Judgment are the habitation of His Throne" (Psalm 97:2). Scripture describes the Almighty as: (1) the "High and Lofty One That Inhabiteth Eternity" (Isaiah 57:15),
(2) flying "upon the wings of the wind" (Psalm 18:10),
(3) the "Blessed and Only Potentate, the KING of Kings, and LORD of Lords" (1Timothy 6:15), and
(4) coming again "with clouds; and every eye shall see Him" (Revelation 1:7). The "golden crown" (Rev 14:14) on the head of the LORD Jesus, can only be seen by the eyes of faith, until the time will come that all must admit-- willingly or unwillingly-- that Jesus "ONLY hath immortality, dwelling in the Light which no man can approach unto; Whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to Whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen" (1Timothy 6:16). "9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a Name which is above every name: 10 that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in Heaven, and things in Earth, and things under the Earth; 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is LORD, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:9-11).
• "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." The Apocalyptic "Harvest of the Earth" (Rev 14:15) will be both a gathering of the Righteous and a separating out of the Wicked. "10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 11 I [John the Baptist] indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but He [the LORD Jesus Christ] that cometh after me is mightier than I, Whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: 12 Whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat [the Righteous] into the garner; but He will burn up the chaff [the Wicked] with unquenchable fire" (Matthew 3:10-12). A repeated theme of the Gospels is that the LORD Jesus Christ is the King of Glory (Psalm 24:7, 8, 9, 10) that will sit upon His Throne, making His enemies His "footstool" (Psa 110:1). "31 When the Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the Throne of His glory: 32 And before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth His sheep from the goats" (25:31-32).
Harvest festivals in Old Testament Israel took place in both the spring and fall. Leviticus 23 outlines Seven Feasts that Jehovah declared which Old Testament Israel was to observe."The feasts are the foreshadowing-- of events that were yet to come. The Seven Feasts of Israel prophetically forecast and outline the main events of Israel's relation to Jehovah"(from our article, "The Appointed Times" , which describes the festivals, their relationship to past and future prophetic events, and boldly asserted a now past May 31, 1998 Rapture date.) "16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: 17 which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ" (Colossians 2:16-17). The fall feasts yet point to the fulfilment of the Pre-Wrath Rapture (Feast of Trumpets a.k.a. Rosh HaShanah), the Second Coming of Christ (Day of Atonement a.k.a. Yom Kippur), and the Inauguration of the Millennial Reign of the LORD Jesus Christ (Feast of Tabernacles), making the harvest festivals a time of anticipation. "Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her Appointed Times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but My people know not the judgment of the LORD" (Jeremiah 8:7).
• "16 And He that sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the Earth; and the Earth was reaped." The following is taken from our editorial series "From the Editor's Desktop", "Love and Vengeance" (in its entirety): John the Beloved informs us that "He that sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the Earth; and the Earth was reaped" (Revelation 14:16). It may be difficult for the human mind to imagine, but the Almighty's judgment of the Earth is in keeping with the Eternal Law of Love. "If ye fulfil the Royal Law according to the Scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well" (James 2:8). Not so strange to say, but the Eternal God only demands of man what He is willing to give Himself. And, the righteous demand of God's Moral Law has always been supreme love and consideration for God (for it is only right and fitting) and an equal love of our neighbour as ourselves. "Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind... and... thy neighbour as thyself" (Matthew 22:37, 39). So then, when Christ the Judge harvests the Earth, He may, without divorcing Himself of Perfect Love, say, "Vengeance is Mine; I will repay" (Romans 12:19).
A great failure of Professed Christianity, is not to properly distinguish between the two kinds of love-- disinterested benevolence and complacent love-- that God employs in the administration of His vast Moral Government. The nineteenth century American evangelist Charles G. Finney used the terms disinterested benevolence and the love of complacency to make the distinction Disinterested benevolence would be represented in the Scriptures with the love that God demonstrates to all men, regardless of their character-- evil or good. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have Everlasting Life" (John 3:16). The good will of God towards man is disinterested(free of bias or self-interest) benevolence in that "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).
Further, the term complacent love or the love of complacency has virtually lost its meaning in the 21st Century. Complacent or complacency now has the negative connotation of being self-satisfied or unconcerned, while the nineteenth century used the term complacent to encompass the positive idea of resting in a satisfied way upon something. Scripturally, God manifests complacent love towards only the Godly, i.e., He rests in a satisfied way upon the right character of the righteous. "He that hath My Commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him" (John 14:21). And, when man demonstrates True Obedience to God, it is the love of complacency, for man is then demonstrating his satisfaction with the character of the God that he obeyed. "If ye love Me, keep My Commandments" (Rev 14:15).
It is appropriate, then, to say that God loves complacently only those who love and obey Him. "23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love Me, he will keep My Words: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make our abode with him. 24 He that loveth Me not keepeth not My Sayings: and the Word which ye hear is not Mine, but the Father's which sent Me" (John 14:23-24). Then, to equate the love of God, i.e., the love man ought to have toward God, with our obedience to God, is to describe why God can approve and rest in our character, which is complacent love. "For this is the love of God, that we keep His Commandments: and His Commandments are not grievous [i.e., unbearably burdensome]" (1John 5:3).
So then, how can the God of Love be also the "LORD God to Whom Vengeance Belongeth" (Psalm 94:1), reaping the Earth in the Apocalypse? Since the Almighty has manifested Himself in His Son as the "Saviour of the World" (1John 4:14), it is unequivocal that "God so loved the world" (John 3:16) with a disinterested benevolence, giving to the good and to the evil the Gift of His Son. But, since "all men have not faith" (2Thessalonians 3:2) and "many" (Matthew 7:13), ultimately, will be cast "into outer darkness" (Rev 22:13), then God does not cease to love the damned with a disinterested benevolence. But, He never did love these finally damned with the love of complacency, because there was never anything in them, in which He could approve of their character, i.e., these wicked never repented. "37 But though He had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed NOT on Him: 38 that the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, LORD, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the LORD been revealed? 39 Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, 40 He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them" (John 12:37-40).
• "17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in Heaven, he also having a sharp sickle."
"Another [Greek, allos, another of the same kind] angel" (Rev 14:17), again, refers to another angel of the same kind as verse 15, i.e., the angel which said to the Son of Man to thrust in His sickle and reap. Multiple angels are described as having a part in the Final Harvest of the Earth, because they are messengers [Greek, aggelos, translated as angel or messenger], transporting a message of judgment, which translates into their execution of the command to judge the Earth. "The harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels... The Son of Man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His Kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity" (Matthew 13:39, 41).
Since God's Word is depicted as a "sharp sword" (Revelation 19:15) proceeding out of the mouth of the Son of Man, Whose "Name is called The Word of God" (Rev 19:13), and "with it He should smite the nations" (Rev 19:15), then the angelic bearers of that message become the effective tools of the execution of that judgment. "1 He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand. 2 And, behold, six men [i.e., angels] came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar.
3 And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon He was, to the threshold of the house. And He called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer's inkhorn by his side; 4 and the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. 5 And to the others He said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: 6 Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house" (Ezekiel 9:1-6).
• "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."
Verse 18 describes "another angel" , which had "power over fire". Jehovah is a "Consuming Fire" (Deuteronomy 4:24), and "His angels spirits, and His ministers [i.e., angels] a flame of fire" (Hebrews 1:7). Just as the Angel of the LORD, which was the Pre-Incarnate Christ, ascended into Heaven with the flame from off the altar, i.e., "For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward Heaven from off the altar, that the Angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar" (Judges 13:20), this angel of the Apocalypse (Rev 14:18) deals with the holiness of the sacrifices to God, i.e., he "had power over fire" (Rev 14:18). "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" (Romans 12:1). Fire represents the cleansing, purging, and acceptance of the sacrifice by God.
"And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces" (Leviticus 9:24). The Bema Seat Judgment of the Saints will not reveal the sinfulness of the Saints' works, but the worth of all that is done by the Saints, while in the flesh, for the purpose of reward-- not punishment. "13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. 14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire" (1Corinthians 3:13-15
This angel "from the altar" (Rev 14:18) instructs the angel previously described in verse 17, "that had the sharp sickle" (Rev 14:18), saying, "Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the Earth; for her grapes are fully ripe" (Rev 14:18). The Almighty must be instructing the angel as to the appropriateness of the timing of this Judgment, for it would take a Mind of Omniscience to know how to deal with the ungodly and wicked, without destroying the Godly, at the same time. "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? 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? 29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares [i.e., the ungodly], ye root up also the wheat [i.e., the Godly] with them. 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" (Matthew 13:27-30). For the comfort of the Godly in these Last Days, the "LORD knoweth how to deliver the Godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the Day of Judgment to be punished" (2Peter 2:9).
• "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 may be viewed by the modern reader as very poetic or figurative that the Apostle John records that the "angel thrust in his sickle into the Earth, and gathered the vine of the Earth" ( Rev 14:19), but it is most certainly a more accurate description than any attempt by an uninspired writer of a humanly unimaginable event. "8 For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the Earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8-9). Negatively, the "vine of the Earth" (Rev 14:19) describes the world with its interconnected groupings of wicked man together with his evil fruit. "31 For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges. 32 For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter" (Deuteronomy 32:31-32). Even the righteous are described as part of the Living Vine of the LORD Jesus Christ, but have no part in this "vine of the Earth" (Rev 14:19). "I am the Vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing" (John 15:5).
The very fact that the harvested vines with their fruit are cast "into the great winepress of the wrath of God" (14:19) indicates that the harvest does not expect to produce the excellency of the "wine of Lebanon" (Hosea 14:7); but instead, it knows that it will yield the "wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation" (Rev 14:10). This is also known as the "wine of astonishment" (Psalm 60:3), the "wine of violence" (Proverbs 4:17), and the "wine of the condemned" (Amos 2:8). Asaph the Psalmist declared that the dregs of the winepress would be consumed by the wicked (as well as themselves being pressed for the yield). "For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and He poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the Earth shall wring them out, and drink them" (Psalm 75:8). The close of chapter 14 of the Apocalypse is the definitive picture of the Judgment of the Lamb as viewed from the winepress of His Wrath. "Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him" (Psalm 2:12).
• "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 "city" (Rev 14:20) undoubtedly refers to Jerusalem, for it and its Godly inhabitants will again make it the "apple of [Jehovah's] eye" (Lamentations 2:18). "And give Him no rest, till He establish, and till He make Jerusalem a praise in the Earth" (Isaiah 62:7). The "blood of the grapes" (Genesis 49:11) has figuratively described the pressed juice of the grapes, but here it actually describes the blood of formerly living human beings, who have been slain in the judgments surrounding the Second Coming of the LORD Jesus Christ. "I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with Me: for I will tread them in Mine anger, and trample them in My fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon My garments, and I will stain all My raiment" (Isaiah 63:3). The LORD God has never taken pleasure in the death of the wicked. "Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?" (Ezekiel 33:11).
However, at this time (Rev 14:20), the death of the wicked will purge humanity of sin; and, the Almighty will defend the purity and integrity of the City or the Great House that He has invited all men to dwell in-- which invitation, only His children have accepted. "24 Therefore whosoever heareth these Sayings of Mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25 and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26 And every one that heareth these sayings of Mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it" (Matthew 7:24-27). Blood will come out of the winepress "even unto the horse bridles" (Rev 14:20). Some speculate that the blood of slain men at Armageddon will yield a flow of blood deep enough to come up to the bridle of a horse, while others conjecture that it represents only a liberal splattering of blood. However the LORD brings His Word to pass, we are assured that the life of humanity will be liberally dissipated in this Judgment, for the "life of the flesh is in the blood" (Leviticus 17:11).
A "thousand and six hundred furlongs" (Rev 14:20) is the distance in which the blood will flow "unto the horse bridles" (Rev 14:20). A furlong, according to "Easton's Bible Dictionary" (1897), is "a stadium, a Greek measure of distance equal to 606 feet and 9 inches [or, 606.75 feet]". 1,600 furlongs would then be the equivalent of 183.86 miles. What do we believe to be the manner of the LORD Jesus Christ's Second Coming? (1) Christ will descend to the Mount of Olives, just as He previously ascended from it. "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 . 12 Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a Sabbath day's journey [i.e., approximately 2,250 feet, or less than half a mile]" (Acts 1:11-12). "3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle. 4 And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south" (Zechariah 14:3-4).
(2) Christ will then pursue His enemies, slaying them, down to Bozrah. Bozrah lies approximately 18 miles southeast of the Dead Sea in the mountain district of Petra, according to the "Davis Dictionary of the Bible", and it is approximately 58 miles southeast of the Mount of Olives. "6 The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea. 7 And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness" (Isaiah 34:6-7). And,
(3) Christ will then continue His pursuit and slaying of His enemies from Bozrah to Megiddo-- Megiddo being the ancient city close by the final conflict at Armageddon-- traveling approximately another 128 miles. "1 Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in His apparel, travelling in the greatness of His strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. 2 Wherefore art Thou red in Thine apparel, and Thy garments like Him that treadeth in the winefat? 3 I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with Me: for I will tread them in Mine anger, and trample them in My fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon My garments, and I will stain all My raiment. 4 For the day of vengeance is in Mine heart, and the year of My redeemed is come. 5 And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore Mine own arm brought Salvation unto Me; and My fury, it upheld Me. 6 And I will tread down the people in Mine anger, and make them drunk in My fury, and I will bring down their strength to the Earth" (Isaiah 63:1-6). Combining the distances from the Mount of Olives to Bozrah of 58 miles with the distance from Bozrah to Megiddo of 128 miles, is a distance of 186 miles, which is approximately the same as 1,600 furlongs (Rev 14:20).