This message includes two main subjects found in Rev. 14: the harvest (Rev. 14:14-16) and the great winepress (Rev. 14:17-20). The harvest will be the reaping of God’s people, and the winepress will be the reaping of the evil-doers. There are three peoples on the earth today — the Jews, the believers, and the unbelievers. The Jews and the believers are God’s people, but the unbelievers mainly are evildoers. The sealing of the Jewish remnant was covered in the vision in Rev. 7:1-8. Thus, in chapter fourteen there is no mention of the Jews, but only of the believers and the unbelievers. The firstfruit, those who ripen earlier, will be taken to Mount Zion in the heavens before the great tribulation. However, the majority of God’s crop, that is, the majority of the believers, will still be on earth after the rapture of the firstfruit and will eventually become the harvest.
Verses 15 and 16 say, “And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, Send forth Your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe. And He who sat on the cloud thrust His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.” The harvest of the earth is God’s people on earth, the believers in Christ (1 Cor. 3:9). At His first coming to the earth, the Lord sowed Himself into His believers (Matt. 13:3-8, 24). All the believers since that time who have received Him as the seed of life have become the crop of God on earth. Those who ripen first will be reaped as the firstfruit to God before the great tribulation, as indicated in verses 1 through 5. The majority will ripen with the help of the sufferings in the great tribulation and will be reaped near the end of the tribulation. Hence, the reaping mentioned in verse 16 will be the rapture of the majority of the believers who will be left on the earth to pass through most of the great tribulation, because this reaping will transpire after Antichrist forces people to worship him and his image (v. 9).
The reaping of the crop depends upon its ripeness. Those who ripen earlier will be the firstfruit, and the majority who ripen later will be the harvest. In Matthew 13:39 the Lord Jesus indicated that the crop will be harvested at the completion of this age (Gk.). We have not yet reached the completion of the age; this age is still continuing. At the completion of the age, the field of God will be reaped. Before the time of this reaping, the firstfruit will be ripened and raptured.
According to the type in the Old Testament, the firstfruit was reaped and brought into the temple of God for God’s enjoyment (Exo. 23:19). But when the harvest, the majority of the crop, was reaped, it was taken into the barn, between the field and the farmhouse. By this we see that the firstfruit will be taken to God’s house — to Mount Zion in the heavens — and that the harvest will be taken to the air. Not long after the firstfruit is taken to the Lord Jesus in the third heaven, He will leave the heavens and descend to the air, where He will remain for a period of time. According to the prophecy in 1 Thessalonians 4, the harvest will be raptured to the air. Most Christians merely understand the rapture in a general way according to 1 Thessalonians 4. They do not see anything regarding the rapture of the man-child and of the firstfruit.
Revelation 14 covers two kinds of raptures, the rapture of the firstfruit and the rapture of the harvest. The picture in typology portrays this very vividly. In ancient times the early wheat, the firstfruit, was reaped first, and the harvest was reaped later. As everybody knows, a picture is better than a thousand words. In this picture there is no ambiguity and no ground for argument. We simply must take the pure word according to the picture of the firstfruit and the harvest. We are awaiting the rapture of the firstfruit. Those who do not share in this will probably be included in the harvest.
According to chapter fourteen, the rapture of the harvest will take place after Antichrist’s persecution of religion. After the rapture of the firstfruit, the beast, Antichrist, will compel people to worship him and his image. He will also persecute the believers. This will be the great tribulation. The rapture of the firstfruit will be prior to the great tribulation, whereas the rapture of the harvest will be toward the end of the great tribulation. Hence, all the saints included in the rapture of the harvest must pass through the greater part of the great tribulation.
Verse 14 says, “And I saw, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud One sitting like the Son of Man, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand.” The harvest will be reaped by Christ as the Son of Man. He came as the Son of Man to sow the seed, and He will come again as the Son of Man to reap what He has sown.
At His coming back, the Lord Jesus will still be the Son of Man. As the Son of Man He is qualified to execute God’s judgment on everyone (John 5:27). At this time He will no longer be wrapped, or concealed, in the cloud, but will be sitting on the cloud. This means that He will no longer be hidden; His coming will be public. Prior to this, His coming was hidden, but now it will be open and visible. In 10:1 Christ was still clothed with the cloud, whereas here He is on the cloud. This corresponds to 1 Thessalonians 4:17 and indicates that the Lord’s coming back is now made public.
Verse 14 also says that He will have “a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand.” The golden crown on His head indicates that the Lord is the One crowned with glory (Heb. 2:9). The sharp sickle in His hand indicates that He is the One who reaps God’s field.
Verse 15 says, “The harvest of the earth is ripe.” To be ripe is to have all the earthly water dried out. The suffering of the great tribulation will be like the parching sun, drying the earthly waters from the believers who will be left on the earth in the great tribulation that they may ripen. Before this time, the harvest will still be green. No farmer would reap a green crop. All the field must ripen. When the field has ripened, the time of the harvest will come.
In verse 15 an angel says, “Send forth Your sickle and reap,” and verse 16 says, “He who sat on the cloud thrust His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.” The sickle in these verses signifies the angels sent by the Lord to reap the harvest (Matt. 13:39). At the time of His coming, the Lord Jesus will send His angels to take the believers out of the field.
The harvest will be raptured at the sounding of the seventh trumpet, the last trumpet (1 Cor. 15:51-52; 1 Thes. 4:15-17). The sounding of the seventh trumpet will last throughout eternity. This rapture will transpire near the beginning of this trumpet.
After hearing about the earlier overcomers and about the later, quicker overcomers, you may think that all the believers will be overcomers, and you may wonder who will be included in the harvest. Recently I heard that in the United States there are fifty million regenerated Christians. Thus in the United States alone there will be tens of millions for the Lord Jesus to reap.
It is not easy to understand the Bible. Do you believe that the whole earth, including Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Australasia, and Europe, will be under the rule of Antichrist? No, that certainly will not be the situation. Antichrist will be the Caesar of the Roman Empire, and the Roman Empire does not encompass the whole earth. It will probably include the greater part of western Europe and possibly a part of North Africa and eastern Asia. Surely Russia will not be under the rule of the Roman Empire; neither will Australasia, China, India, or the United States.
I am burdened to share with you some matters for which, strictly speaking, I can find no ground in the Bible. Although I do not like to say anything without having biblical ground, there are some things in my heart which I truly believe are of God, yet which are not mentioned in the Bible. According to biblical prophecy, Antichrist will have dominion over only the territories of Europe, Asia Minor, Palestine, and North Africa. Furthermore, Antichrist will not be a communist. One proof of this is in Revelation 18, which shows that Antichrist’s capital, Rome, will be a center of capitalism. The record of that chapter, which even speaks of selling souls, or people, is a record not of communism, but of capitalism. The whole earth is under God’s sovereign control. I believe that the United States will be fully preserved by God until the Lord comes back. As I have already mentioned, I believe that the United States will be the wilderness spoken of in Revelation 12. It will be a place of safety and shelter for so many refugees. Out of the tens of millions of Christians in the United States, not many will be overcomers. Certainly they will not be killed by Antichrist, because the United States will not be in Antichrist’s territory. Since the United States will be a place of safety and refuge, the Christians in this country will not become the quick overcomers. Instead, they will be in the harvest.
When you hear this, you may wonder how the believers in America will ripen. You may think that because America is a safe place, the Christians here will continue to be loose and sloppy. Suppose you are a Christian living in the United States during the time of the great tribulation. If you are witnessing the fulfillment of the prophecies we have considered in these messages, will you still stubbornly and foolishly refuse to love the Lord? The firstfruit will have been raptured, and the report of this will make headline news. Antichrist will be persecuting the Jews and Christians in Europe. In the light of all this, will you still continue to take the United States as your merry land? Moreover, many European Christians will flee to the United States to escape the persecution of Antichrist. The wings of the great eagle will fly them into the wilderness. Those who do not escape will be martyred and thereby become the quick overcomers. Certainly by that time every Christian on earth will be sobered and stirred to love the Lord. Many who are criticizing us today may then receive the help of our present testimony.
At the end of this age a war will be fought at Armageddon. According to the prophecies relating to this war at Armageddon and according to the present world situation, there will be four sources of military might on earth: one from the north, Russia; another from the east, the land of the rising sun; still another from Europe, the territory of Antichrist; and the last from the United States. Armies from three sources of military power will gather at Armageddon, but the American forces may not be included. The tendency of today’s world situation is preparing the way for the war at Armageddon. But America will be a safe place, a wilderness, for God’s people.
During the great tribulation Christians will be persecuted, and many will be martyred. But a good number of God’s people will flee to the United States and thus will be included in the harvest. The knowledge of fulfilled prophecies and the report of current events will motivate them all to seek the Lord and to love Him intensely. They will all realize that the Lord Jesus will come back in not less than three and a half years. Hence, everyone will grow in life and mature.
Revelation 16:15 says, “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he who watches and keeps his garments, that he may not walk naked and they see his shame.” This word will be spoken close to the pouring out of the seventh bowl. Even at this late date, the Lord will issue a warning that He is coming as a thief. This proves that, even after the rapture of the harvest, which will be before the first six bowls, there will still be some believers on earth. These will be the gleanings (Lev. 23:22). According to the type in Leviticus, there are the firstfruit, the harvest, and a small quantity of the crop left in the field called the gleanings. The events in chapter sixteen take place after the harvest, which is in chapter fourteen. Chapter sixteen tells us that seven bowls will be poured out, mainly upon the kingdom of Antichrist. After the sixth bowl, the Lord will give a warning to the believers still on earth after the harvest to be watchful and to keep their garments. These will be that part of the crop which will still be left on earth after the harvest. Therefore, some Christians will be the firstfruit, the majority will be the harvest, and a small number will be the gleanings.
In order to know the Bible, we must put various portions of the Word together like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. When we do this, we see a clear and complete picture. The Bible uses certain symbols to represent nations. For example, Persia is represented by a ram and ancient Greece by a goat. Even the meaning of the Aegean Sea is the sea of goats. Ancient Babylon was symbolized by a lion. Recent archeological discoveries in Babylon have included ancient relics with figures of lions on them. Revelation 12 speaks of a great eagle. Based upon the fact that in the Bible animals are used to symbolize nations, we may ask what nation is symbolized by an eagle. The answer, of course, is the United States. This is no accident. Rather, it surely is God’s sovereign wisdom. In God’s sovereignty the forefathers of this country chose an eagle as the national symbol. Although there is not a verse in the Bible saying that the eagle symbolizes the United States, I believe that, in God’s sovereignty, the eagle in that chapter does refer to this country. This is the reason I believe that the United States will be the wilderness in Revelation 12 and serve as a refuge for God’s escapees.
It is much easier to understand biblical prophecy today than it was fifty years ago. Many years ago I studied the predicted re-formation of the nation of Israel. In 1948 I saw this take place with my own eyes. As we all know, in 1967 the city of Jerusalem was returned to the Jews. Today the world situation is focused on the Middle East. Now I am living in the country of the great eagle. Although there are many sinful things in the United States, nevertheless, with the exception of the nation of Israel, there is no other country that has been formed according to God’s Word. I have a copy of the first Constitution of the United States. It is composed of verses from the book of Exodus. Furthermore, each session of Congress opens with a prayer. I was present for such an opening prayer in 1958. Although that prayer was formal, it was still quite good. Moreover, the words, In God we trust, are engraved upon our coins. In the Bible, all the other nations are symbolized by beasts. But there is one country, the United States, that is symbolized by an eagle, not by a beast.
When we were on chapter eight, we saw that the third part of the earth will be damaged by a series of supernatural calamities (8:7-12). I do not believe that these calamities will affect the United States. The third part of the earth is that region wherein people blaspheme God and oppose Him the most. I mention this because I believe that God will use the United States to preserve His weaker people. How merciful He is!
How happy I am that the Lord has sent His recovery to this country! I believe that local churches will be established in the leading cities of all fifty states. These genuine churches will direct God’s people back to His economy. Firstly, the churches will produce the living firstfruit. Secondly, they will be used to care for the Christians during the great tribulation. Many refugees will flee to the United States. At that time, no one will oppose or criticize the local churches. Rather, many may come to the local churches.
Two matters are sovereign of the Lord. The first is that He has prepared the United States to be a great eagle, and the second is that He has sent His recovery to this country. During the great tribulation Christians certainly will no longer pay attention to the Catholic Church, to the denominations, or to the free groups. Rather, they will say, “There is no time to waste. Let us take God’s way.” God’s way is the local churches. Hallelujah, we are in the local churches! Hallelujah, we are in the United States! We are in the genuine church life and we are in the country of the great eagle. I was deeply saddened by the loss of mainland China. I truly loved the work there. But how I praise the Lord that He has brought me to the country of the great eagle and that I am in the genuine church life here. Praise Him for sending His recovery to this country!
Verses 18 and 19 say, “And another angel came out of the altar, having authority over the fire, and he cried with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, Send forth your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripened. And the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth and cast it into the great winepress of the fury of God.” In the Bible the Jews are likened to the fig tree (Matt. 24:32), the believers to wheat (Matt. 13:25, 30), and the wicked Gentiles to the grapevine (Rev. 14:19), which is a false vine, the counterfeit of the true vine made up of Christ and His members (John 15:1-6). The Lord Jesus said, “I am the true vine,” because the unbelievers are the imitation vine made by Satan.
We have seen that God uses the fig tree to symbolize the nation of Israel. Although the fig tree has no outward blossom, flower, or glory, it is full of nourishing fruit. This is what Israel should be in God’s economy. However, today Israel does not have any fruit. When the Lord Jesus went to Jerusalem the last time, He came to a fig tree. He was hungry and desired nourishment. Because He could receive no nourishment from the fig tree, He cursed it (Mark 11:12-14). That was a shadow of the Lord’s cursing the unfruitful Jewish nation.
In God’s wisdom wheat symbolizes the Christians, the church. Wheat seeds were sown into the earth directly by the Lord Jesus as the Son of Man. Wheat has a very small blossom, but when it is ripe, it is full of grain to produce fine flour for God’s meal offering to satisfy both God and man. Praise the Lord that we Christians are the wheat growing in the field!
After the wheat has been harvested, the unbelievers, likened in the eyes of God to grapes, will be reaped. This will take place at the end of the great tribulation.
The great winepress will be the judgment at the valley of Jehoshaphat (Joel 3:9-16). The third chapter of Joel tells us clearly that the Lord will gather all the armies of the nations to the valley of Jehoshaphat (also called Kidron), which is joined by the valley of Hinnom and which is between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives. In ancient times people buried unclean things there. King Asa of Judah burned his mother’s idol in that place (1 Kings 15:13). Hence, unclean and idolatrous things were buried in this valley.
The great winepress of the fury of God (v. 19) will be the war at Armageddon (16:12-16), where all the worldly forces will be gathered and where the Lord with His army of overcoming saints will fight against them and destroy them (19:11-21; Joel 3:9-13; Isa. 63:1-6). The title Armageddon is composed of two words. The first, ar, means “mount” and the second, Mageddon, is the name of Megiddo, meaning “slaughter.”
We have pointed out that, according to the Bible and according to today’s world situation, armies from three sources will converge at the war of Armageddon. These sources are Europe, Russia, and the East. The sources of Russia and the East can already be identified, but the source from Europe and Asia Minor is not yet settled. The countries in this region are waiting for a strong leader, who may become Antichrist, to appear. I am assured by the study of prophecy that Antichrist will either come from the land of Greece and Macedonia or be of Greek descent. This powerful leader will move in the direction of Egypt, Syria, and Israel, the beautiful land. Due to the vast oil wealth in the Middle East, this area has already become the crucial focus of international relations. Under the Lord’s sovereign arrangement, this may be one of the causes of the war at Armageddon.
Zechariah 14 indicates that when the Lord Jesus comes back, He will set His feet upon the Mount of Olives, causing this mountain to split in half and providing a way for the besieged Jews to escape (Zech. 14:4-5). In Acts 1 we are told that the Lord Jesus, who ascended from the Mount of Olives, will return in the same way that He ascended. This means that He will come back to the Mount of Olives near the valley of Jehoshaphat. The gathering of the worldly forces is likened to the gathering of ripened grapes into the great winepress. When the Lord sees all the worldly armies gathered together at the war of Armageddon, that will be the time for Him to tread the winepress.
Before the grapes are gathered into the great winepress, they will be fully ripened (v. 18). In order for wheat to ripen, its water content must be dried up. But the ripening of grapes is just the opposite: the grapes must be filled with water. Whether you are wheat or a grape depends upon whether you are dried up or filled with the earthly water. If your ambition is to gain more earthly water, then you are living like the grapes, not like the wheat.
The grapes will be gathered and cast into the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God (v. 19; 16:12-16). The Lord will gather the evil worldly forces into one place for Him to tread this great winepress. By treading this great winepress, the Lord will destroy the evil worldly forces.
The great winepress will be trodden by Christ (Isa. 63:1-6). Verse 20 says, “And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress up to the bridles of the horses for a thousand six hundred stadia.” The city here is the city of Jerusalem, and the horses correspond to those in 19:18. The blood that comes out of the winepress will form a river one thousand six hundred stadia long (about one hundred eighty-two miles). This is the distance from Bozrah (Isa. 63:1) to Megiddo (Rev. 16:16). This river of blood will be so high that it will reach the bridles of the horses. The Hebrew word rendered blood in Isaiah 63:3 means juice. Even the garments of Christ will be stained with this blood. From Bozrah to Megiddo will be a long, bloody river. This treading of the winepress will be the judgment of the Lord Jesus exercised upon Antichrist and all his forces. Armies from the north, the west, and the east will be gathered like ripened grapes into the winepress. This is the clear word of prophecy.
This treading of the great winepress will close the great tribulation and also complete this age. This is a great matter.
