Midweek Bible Study and Praise: Revelation 14:14-20

Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, whatever time of day that you're visiting here -- Welcome! There's so much confusion in the world today. But we can know one thing for certain -- He reigns supreme!

Click on the link below and meditate on His goodness as our Heavenly Father.

https://vimeo.com/459732309

Heavenly Father, let our minds truly see You for who You are as spoken in Your Word. Let our spirits connect with You in this time of peaceful reading and reflection. Teach us to use our whole selves to serve You. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen

The Harvest of the Earth
14  Then I saw a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was someone like the Son of Man. He had a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. 

15  Then another angel came from the Temple and shouted to the one sitting on the cloud, "Swing the sickle, for the time of harvest has come; the crop on earth is ripe." 

16  So the one sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the whole earth was harvested. 

17  After that, another angel came from the Temple in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. 

18  Then another angel, who had power to destroy with fire, came from the altar. He shouted to the angel with the sharp sickle, "Swing your sickle now to gather the clusters of grapes from the vines of the earth, for they are ripe for judgment." 

19  So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and loaded the grapes into the great winepress of God's wrath. 

20  The grapes were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress in a stream about 180 miles long and as high as a horse's bridle. NLT

Commentary

(the following commentary is from www.easyenglish.bible/bible-commentary/revelation-lbw.htm)

"Verse 14 After the three angels had gone, John saw a white cloud. A person sat on the cloud. He was like a son of man. The phrase ‘like a son of man’ means that this was Christ (Revelation 1:13; Daniel 7:13).

Christ wore a gold crown on his head. This showed that he had overcome his enemies. He had the power to do what he came to do. Like someone who harvests crops, he had a sharp tool in his hand. This means that Christ will be the judge of all people.

Verses 15-16 An angel came out from the temple in heaven. God sent him with a message to the Son of Man. The angel said with a loud voice, ‘The time has come. The harvest of the earth is ripe and ready. Go and gather it.’

This message meant that the time of the end had come. The Lord would rescue his own people. But he would punish the rest of the people.

The evil deeds of the people on the earth could not grow worse. The Lord had to deal with it. So, Christ gathered the wicked people as someone harvests a crop. The account of this event is in chapters 19 to 20.

Verses 17-18 God sent two more angels. They came from the temple and the altar. The first one had a sharp tool for the harvest. The other one had command over the fire.

Fire destroys what remains after the harvest. God sent the angels to punish the people on the earth.

The angel of fire shouted to the other angel. He told him to use his sharp tool. The grapes were ripe. They were ready for harvest.

The grapes meant the evil people whom the Lord would punish. They had refused Christ and they followed Antichrist.

Verses 19-20 When people make wine, they put the ripe grapes in large buckets. Then they step on the grapes until all the juice comes out. They use the juice to make the wine that they drink.

The angel with his sharp tool harvested the grapes of the whole earth. He threw them into a large bucket. Then God squeezed the grapes as men step on natural grapes. But these grapes meant the people with whom God was angry. So, in fact, John was describing the deaths of these people. This is why John saw blood flow from the grapes instead of juice.

This was an awful thing. John tried to show us how terrible it was. A deep river of blood flowed from the people. It was about five feet deep and flowed for 200 miles. God was very angry. He punished and he killed all those wicked people.

It was outside the city where Jesus died. God punished this vast crowd of people outside the city. That city was Jerusalem."

Lord, hear the private prayers of our hearts today. Guide us, comfort us, strengthen us, and bless us so that we may carry Your love into the world. We give You all our praise and thanks. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done. In Jesus' name, Amen and amen.

Have a blessed day and remember Whose you are.

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