Advance of the Gospel (3) - Harvest of the Earth

The proclamation of the gospel leads to the great harvest of the earth. John saw Jesus sitting on a cloud a sickle in his hand. An angel is given a sickle to go out and harvest the earth.

I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested (Rev 14:14-16).

When the Time of Distress are complete, the harvest on earth will be ripe. Jesus will send out his gospel messengers to bring in the harvest. Many Christians assume that a great harvest will occur just before Jesus returns. This is wrong. The great harvest comes after the Fullness of the Jews and it brings in the Kingdom of God.

While the angel was harvesting the earth, John saw another angel gathering grapes from the earth and throwing them into a winepress.

The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia (Rev 14:19-20).

This is a symbolic presentation of the power of the gospel. The grapes represent the deeds of men. Many of them are sinful and deserve God’s wrath. The winepress outside the city is the cross on which Jesus paid the penalty for sin and turned away that wrath. As the sins of the world are taken to the cross, forgiveness flows out into all the earth. The blood of Jesus is said to be effective to a distance of 1600 stadia. 1600 equals 4 times 10 squared. 4 represents the earth and 10 is completeness, so 1600 represents the blood of Jesus being effective into the fullness of the earth.

After his vision of the earth being harvested, John saw those who had been victorious in suffering standing on a sea of glass and praising God. They were singing the song of Moses and the Lamb.

Great and marvelous are your deeds,
Lord God Almighty.
Just and true are your ways,
King of the nations.
Who will not fear you, Lord,
and bring glory to your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship before you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed (Rev 15:3-4)

These words come to fulfilment when the law of Moses and the gospel of Jesus are brought together in unity by the Spirit of God. When the nations see the glory of God’s Kingdom, they will all surrender and worship God.

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea (Hab 2:14).