Sunday, January 26, 2020

The Revelation of Christ – Part 34: Harvesting the Earth


The Revelation of Christ – Part 34:
Harvesting the Earth
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
House of Faith Church | www.PS127.org | www.TruthDigest.org

This Document is a Sermon Outline, you may hear the full audio of the actual sermon by following the link Online Audio Files located above for this, and other Full Sermon Audios.  For a complete list of Sermon Outlines, visit TruthDigest.org or Truth Digest on facebook; for our Official Church website, visit PS127.org, or find us on facebook at House of Faith Church

SERMON INTRODUCTION
The Book of Revelation, or the Revelation of Christ, is the most challenging book in the bible.

Because of this fact, many avoid it or ignore it altogether. Some fear lack of understanding; others afraid to misinterpret, which I guess it is better to avoid than dive in and get it completely wrong.

Many times, when a new believer comes to me for direction, they want to jump right into Revelation and find out what’s to come.

This is equivalent to deciding one day to learn Mandarin and sitting down to author a novel in Chinese that very same day.

Or, a kindergartener learning how to count, and then trying to calculate quantum mechanics calculations.

The words in Revelation have caused much debate on rapture, judgment, even some who claim John was writing about the events in his day in code rather than Jesus Christ revealing to him about the coming events and Judgment.

A special blessing is promised to those who read Revelation.

Although it may be a difficult book, we could all use a special blessing, reading this is good for us all, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, we will take the Revelation of Christ in small portions and gain understanding, little by little.
 
SERMON SERIES

THE THINGS WHICH SHALL BE – The Coming Judgment
Part 10 – The Throne of God
Part 11 – The Scroll and Seven Seals
Part 12 – The Lamb is Worthy
Part 13 – The First Seal

Part 14 – The Second Seal
Part 15 – The Third Seal
Part 16 – The Fourth Seal
Part 17 – The Fifth Seal

Part 18 – The Sixth Seal
Part 19 – The 144,000 Sealed
Part 20 – The Great Multitude
Part 21 – The Seventh Seal
Part 22 – Trumpets 1-4
Part 23 – The 5th Trumpet (1st woe)
Part 24 – The 6th Trumpet (2nd woe)
Part 25 – The Mighty Angel
Part 26 – The Two Witnesses 
Part 27 – The 7th Trumpet and 3rd Woe 
Part 28 – The Woman and the Dragon I
Part 29 – The Woman and the Dragon II
Part 30 – The Beast out of the Sea
Part 31 – The Beast out of the Earth
Part 32 – The Lamb and the 144,000
Part 33 – The Three Angels

TODAY’S SERMON - THE THINGS WHICH SHALL BE – The Coming Judgment
Part 34 – Harvesting the Earth

SCRIPTURE READING

Revelation 14:14-20

14 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. 15 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.” 16 So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

17 Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, “Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine, because its grapes are ripe.” 19 The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. 20 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.


          I.      THE SON OF MAN
a.   I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man
                                     i.   The Lord now appearing as “Jesus” who was previously appearing as the Lamb who appeared to have been slain

                                    ii.   He was the Lamb who had been slain when opening the seals of the great scroll, and now, He appears as the Lion
1.   In Revelation 5:5, we read this about Jesus: “Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered.” Jesus is the Lion of Judah.

                                   iii.   The Lion now stands before the earth with all authority in Heaven


b.   with a crown of gold on his head

                                     i.   This is the Victors Crown
1.   The victors crown is the symbol of victory given to the winners in the Greek games or a contest.  It is a reward or a prize. 
a.   2 Timothy 2:5

                                    ii.   We are told of 5 crowns in scripture

1.   The Incorruptible Crown - I Corinthians 9:25
a.   this crown would be the first level a believer would attain to.  This crown indicates mastery over the sin nature. The Corinthians are being urged to run the Christian life in such a way as to receive the reward in the end.  Here the emphasis is in self-control. 

2.   Then Crown of Righteousness – 2 Timothy 4:7-8
a.   The second level of crowns goes to those who live righteously in this world while they look forward to Christ’s return.  They are those who are not captivated by this world, but hunger and thirst after righteousness.
  
3.   The Crown of Life – James 1:12; Revelation 2:10
a.   The third level to attain to is to proceed in God’s plan for your life while enduring trials.  The believer who moves forward in God’s call and assignment in the face of difficulty, even martyrdom, will receive this crown. 

4.   The Crown of Joy – Philippians 4:1; I Thessalonians 2:19
a.   This crown is for those who lead others to Christ or demonstrate fruitfulness by influencing others towards righteousness.  

5.   The Crown of Glory – 1 Peter 5:4
a.   The greatest achievement is to fulfill your calling and finish the work God gave you to do.  The scripture reference is speaking to pastors who finish their work faithfully, but this crown is not only for pastors.  It is for anyone who finds and fulfills their assignment God has given them. 

b.   Including the completion of Christ’s assignment from the Father

                                                                         i.   Luke 2:49 "Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?"

                                                                        ii.   John 4:34 “"My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”

                                                                       iii.   John 19:28b; 30b “…knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled”; “…Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

c.   and a sharp sickle in his hand.
                                     i.   The true reaper, not of vain imaginations (The Grim Reaper), but in all Truth and actuality, Jesus, the Victor, the Judge of all creation, sickle in hand to harvest for judgment.


         II.      THE FOURTH ANGEL
a.   Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud
                                     i.   Not a command, but declaration for mankind (John’s) sake


b.   Remember the three angels from last week
                                     i.   The outline or index of Revelation
                                    ii.   1) Proclaim everlasting Gospel
                                   iii.   2) Predict the Fall of Babylon
                                   iv.   3) Predict the warning of submitting to the Beast
                                    v.   This 4th angel declares the Lord’s reaping of mankind


c.   “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.”
                                     i.   So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

                                    ii.   This is Armageddon, the last battle between good and evil before the Day of Judgment. A hill of Megiddo, an archaeological site on the plain of Esdraelon, south of present-day Haifa in Israel.

                                   iii.   Why is the harvest of the earth ripe? Because evil has reached its zenith, a tactical move was made in full force against the Lord and his people, and the last person who will ever make Jesus their Lord and Savior has done so.


        III.      TWO MORE ANGELS APPEAR
a.   Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle.
                                     i.   Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle,

                                    ii.   “Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine, because its grapes are ripe.”

                                   iii.   Three is the mark of significance, fullness of task, just as Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one, complete and perfect, so too is the harvesting of the earth.


b.   The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath.
                                     i.   The “winepress” refers to the assembled nations that will gather in the Valley of Jehoshaphat (meaning literally “The Valley of Yahweh Judges”)

                                    ii.   The “trampling outside of the city” refers to the actual battle that ensues.


c.   They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press (The Valley), rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia (6,600 furlongs)
                                                 i.   
                                    ii.  
                                   iii.   1,600 stadia, or 6,600 furlongs is 961sq ft or 21 Acres
                                   iv.   Horses bridle is approximately 4 foot tall X 21 Acres = approximately 27,633,667 gallons of blood

                                    v.   A person has about 1 ½ gallons of blood, making this about 18 million dead
1.   Right now, there are 327 million people in the U.S.
2.   Even if this number was doubled to 36 million dead it is very believable

                                   vi.   Death in Historic wars
1.   5 million died in Moorish Wars 534-548
2.   36 million died during Tang Dynasty in China 755-763
3.   40 million died in Mongol Conquest 1206-1368
4.   100 million died in Taiping Rebellion 1850-1864
5.   30 million in WWI
6.   85 million in WWII

                                  vii.   Jehoshaphat Valley, at 200m x 700m approximately, will hold this volume of blood, water and bodies from the battle.

                                 viii.   18 million dead at Armageddon is a conservative estimation as far as I am concerned, and it could easily be more.



CONCLUSION –
Armageddon may be the last battle between good and evil, but it did not include the entirety of humanity left on earth.
Next week we will look at the Seven Vials of the last plagues

NEXT WEEK: The Last Seven plagues




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