In this intensely insightful episode, we delve deep into the futuristic visions as depicted in Revelation 14. Opening with a discussion on Yasser Arafat’s stance on Jerusalem, the episode quickly transitions into an exploration of the Son of Man seated on a cloud with a sharp sickle in hand. This vivid imagery is a prelude to a scene that shakes the soul – the rebellious are crushed in the great winepress of God’s wrath, an awe-inspiring and sobering moment in biblical prophecy.
Yasser Arafat made it clear. First Jericho, then Jerusalem. Make no mistake about what they’re after. But Israel cannot give up Jerusalem. That’s impossible. It’s the eternal city. It’s the city of God. It’s the city that God says, it’s mine. I put my name there. I’ll dwell there. And it’s for my people Israel forever. So they cannot give up Jerusalem. We’re talking a major serious point in the whole peace process. And we’re about to face it.
SPEAKER 02 :
This is Hope for Today. And on today’s program, we take our final look at Revelation 14, verses 14 through 20. The Son of Man is seated on a cloud with a sharp sickle in His hand. The command roars from heaven. thrust in your sickle and weep. The harvest of earth is run. And what follows is a scene so raw, so terrible, it shakes the soul. The rebellious are gathered like grapes and crushed in the great winepress of God’s wrath. Blood flows, judgment falls, and heaven declares that the time has come. But this is not the end of the story. What it is is a doorway into the final outpouring of wrath We’ll see in Revelation chapter 15. Stay tuned as Bible teacher David Hawking brings us day three of The Harvest of the Earth. That’s coming up next on Hope for Today. First though, if this program has blessed your life, just imagine what it means to someone hearing God’s Word clearly taught for the very first time here on radio or perhaps online. Every gift you give, keep that voice of truth alive on the air, pushing back the darkness and pointing people to Jesus and the truth of God’s Word. But we can’t do this without you. Partner with us today by calling 800-75-BIBLE, that’s in the U.S., or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. Bible is 242-53-1400. or give safely online at davidhawking.org. And I’ll have our mailing addresses for you later in the program. Right now, though, here’s David with day three of The Harvest of the Earth, and our text is Revelation 14, 14 to 20.
SPEAKER 04 :
And I looked, and behold, a white cloud. And upon the cloud one sat like the Son of Man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat in the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle and reap, for the time has come for thee to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat in the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped. And another angel came out of the temple, which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, who 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. 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. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even under the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs. We’ve talked about the identity of the one who sat on the white cloud and the instruction given concerning the sharp sickle. Here we have the impact of this judgment, and it is awesome. Verse 19 and 20. Two things. First, the place where these grapes are thrown. The angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress, of the wrath of God. The winepress was trodden without the city or outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even under the horse bridles by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs. That is really awesome. First, the place, the winepress of the wrath of God. It is outside the city. It’s not in the city of Jerusalem. Where was the valley of Jehoshaphat? Right outside the city. That could very well be what is being pictured. We do know over in Revelation 19, look at verse 15. It says, out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword. This is when the Lord returns at the end of the tribulation. That with it he should smite the what? The nation. See? We’re talking the final vengeance of God against the nations. He shall rule them with a rod of iron, and he treadeth, here it is, the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. Who’s doing the stomping in the winepress? An ancient winepress, you dump the grapes in the vat, and the workers take off their sandals, and they literally stomp the grapes, and it pushes the juice down into the vat and strains it. And… The whole wrath of God against all the nations of the world is being pictured there. Who’s treading it out? It’s the Lord Jesus. The winepress, not of grape juice, but of the wrath of Almighty God. And what comes out of it, Revelation 14.20 says, is blood. Awesome sight. Go back to Isaiah chapter 63. Here is the prophecy about our Lord Jesus Christ treading out the winepress of the wrath of God. Chapter 63, verse 1. Who is this that cometh from Edom? Edom is Jordan. With dyed garments from Basra. Basra is on the southeast side of the Dead Sea in Jordan. On the great plateau and plain that stretches out all the way into the Saudi Arabian desert. He comes from Basra, this that is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength. The answer comes, I who speak in righteousness mighty to save. That’s the one who’s coming. He’s asked again, why art thou red in thine apparel and thy garments like him who treadeth in the wine fat? The answer, I have trodden the wine press alone. And of the peoples there was none with me, for I 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. In Revelation 19, when we see the Son of Man coming on the white horse, it says he has a vesture dipped in blood. It is not referring to the blood of the cross. It’s referring to the blood of the winepress of the wrath of God in Revelation 14 and Isaiah 63. This is our Lord Jesus Christ, by the way. Verse 4, For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed has come. And I looked, there was none to help. I wondered that there was none to uphold. Prophet talking. The answer, therefore, mine own arm brought salvation unto me, and my fury it upheld me. I will tread down the peoples in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth. Now, the Messiah is going to come from Basra towards Jerusalem, and his garments will be stained with blood. If you say, when Jesus comes again at the end of the tribulation, where will he come? The standard argument is his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, and then he’ll begin his work. Wrong. His feet stand on the Mount of Olives after he’s done all the conquering. That’s a victory ascent. Ancient monarchs would go on the top of Mount Olives, lift their hands or their swords up high, and declare their conquest of the city of Jerusalem, which you can easily see from Mount Olives. That’s the final. Where does he originally come? Apparently to Basra. Why to Basra? Because all nations of the world will be gathered against Jerusalem, and Zechariah says the Lord will go where they are and fight against them before they ever destroy Israel. God said when he brings Israel back to the land, they’ll come back in unbelief. That’s already happened. He says in Amos 9, 13 to 15, that he will never uproot them out of their land again. And when all nations finally decide that Israel is the problem, and they’re all going to gather against her. right when it seems like Israel has no chance of survival, the Lord God Almighty, the Son of God, our Savior, He who is King of kings and Lord of lords, will come to Basra, where all the troops have settled, and He’ll wipe them out and tread them out in the winepress of God’s wrath. And when He goes up to the top of Mount Olives, His garment is stained with blood. And he has been trampling out the winepress of the wrath of God. It is absolutely one of the most graphic and awesome pictures in the Bible. In Psalm 98.1, it’s a song praising the victory of the Lord when he comes to judge the world. And Psalm 98.1 says, Remember, he doesn’t need anybody to help. He’s going to do it all alone. A lot of people have interesting views here. They’ve got the believers fighting. We’re all coming back with Christ. But I just want you to know that we’re going to be sitting in the grandstands. We are not going to be fighting. The Son of God doesn’t need our help. Why, just to demonstrate that he didn’t need to call them, he looked at all those soldiers, 600 strong in the garden, took one look at them, and they all fell over like dominoes. When they picked themselves back up, then he gave them his hands, let them bind him and take him off for the trial and the crucifixion. He willingly went because he said in John 10, 18, no man takes my life from me. I lay it down to myself. Jesus, he was in total control. It was all under the plan of God. He came to die. He predicted how he would die. He predicted how he would raise from the dead and what day he would, long before it happened. The Lord Jesus was in absolute control. But one day, we’re going to believe it like we don’t believe it now. We think we believe it, but wait till he takes care of all nations of the world by himself. while all the holy angels and all the believers of all the ages are sitting around going, all right, go for it, wipe them out, Lord. And you say right now, oh, I don’t feel that. I think we should be sweet and kind to even tell that to the martyrs who have suffered the vengeance of wicked men all these years because of their faith in Jesus Christ. No, there will be a settling of all accounts. The world thinks they’re getting away with it. No, they’re not. Nobody’s getting away with it. Well, we need to look at verse 9. Before the Lord, for he cometh to judge the earth. With righteousness shall he judge the world and the peoples with equity. It will be fair. It will be just. Go back to Revelation 14. So the place where this is happening is in Basra, that whole area. And that brings me to the picture which this wine press presents in verse 20. We’re told that the blood will flow under the horse bridles by the space of 1,600 furlongs. Now that’s about 182 miles. Let’s round it off and say 200 miles. One furlong is 600 feet. I’m going to give you some viewpoints again. Number one, they say this distance is the distance around Jerusalem that will be affected. In other words, they see it in a rather broad way. Take Jerusalem as a center and go out 182 or almost 200 miles. Well, first of all, I have a problem with that because that puts you into the Mediterranean Sea on one side. But some people see that. Others say, well, no, it means 200 miles in terms of the outside circle around whatever’s going on. You know, I guess that’s possible. Others say, well, no, 182 miles, that’s almost exactly from Dan to Beersheba, which is the way you describe the whole land of Israel. If you look at an ad that the Nation of Israel puts in a lot of magazines inviting you to come to visit, they say from Dan to Beersheba, see the land of Israel. Dan, the northernmost point, Beersheba, the last outpost before you go into the Sinai Desert. So that’s a little less than 200, but about 182 miles. That pretty well captures it. So under this view, the whole land of Israel is the winepress. The blood’s flowing all over the entire land. That’s a possibility. Another possibility is that we know the battle of Armageddon is called Armageddon. That is the hill of Megiddo. Now, that area, the Hill of Megiddo and the Valley of Estralon, or we call it the Valley of Armageddon, it kind of starts a little bit south or a portion of Lebanon, and it sweeps down on the north side of the Mount Carmel mountain range, and it sweeps through having the hills of Samaria on the south and the high plateau plains of Galilee on the north. And the interesting thing is that it goes kind of in a decline, right? As it passes through what we know as the Valley of Armageddon, a very rich farming area, by the way, it goes then down into what’s called the Vale of Jezreel. And that Vale of Jezreel is mentioned in the Bible. And it keeps going down south of the Sea of Galilee, kind of hits that. And what it becomes then is a rift between high plateaus, what we call the West Bank, which I don’t like that term. because it’s emotionally used to support the Palestinian cause. It’s Israel, it’s just the west side of the Jordan River. But these are high banks of the hills of Samaria, and on the east side is the plains of Jordan. And the rift is all the way, that’s by the way the same rift that’s called the African rift. It goes all the way down from the Sea of Galilee into the Dead Sea, which is the lowest part of the face of the earth. And then it even cuts all the way south, clear down to the Gulf of Aqaba and on down into the continent of Africa and so forth. If you see a topographical map, you could see this. Here’s my point. We know that the Lord Jesus comes to Basra, which is at the southern end of the Dead Sea in this rift. Now the lowest point is the Dead Sea, 1,300 feet below sea level. If you come up to the Sea of Galilee, you are 600 feet above sea level. And then you cross all the way to the Mediterranean and you’re at sea level. This whole thing, though it’s not observable during the Valley of Armageddon, this whole thing is literally on a decline. So the hill of Megiddo, Armageddon, is over by the Mediterranean, not too far away. It’s kind of a landmark to mark where the Valley of Armageddon begins. Since it’s called the Battle of Armageddon, I see the wine press as being that entire area from Megiddo down, going kind of east, southeast, all the way to the… Jordan, Jordanian Valley, and then all the way down to the end of the Dead Sea where it would stop. It would dump there. And at the end of that on the eastern slopes is Basra where the Lord comes first, where all the nations will be gathered. The only place where all the troops could be gathered if they’re going to attack Israel like that. My point is that it’s exactly 1,600 furlongs or 182 to 185 miles long. And that explains to me, I like to be literal with the Bible. I like to be literal. If I can be literal, I’ll choose that over any symbolical interpretation. And that can literally happen because of the descent, the blood would flow that way, and it could literally flow up to the horse’s bridles, especially down at the area where all of that is going on as the nations of the world would be gathered to go attack Israel. I think it’s a possibility that it’s a distance between Armageddon and Basra. And putting that together, we do know the Basra passage, Isaiah 63, is referring to the winepress of God’s wrath. And here we’re told the winepress goes on for 1,600 furlongs, or approximately 182 to 185 miles long. Folks, whatever it is, that’s a lot of blood. The Son of God Himself will defeat the nations of the world, smite them, and the blood will flow, and his garments will be stained as he alone will defeat them. When I was a little kid in Sunday school, I had a pastor who was a great preacher of Bible prophecy. He died in 1950. I really loved him. He was just a wonderful man, and he had so many exciting stories about Bible prophecy, and I can remember them telling about the Battle of Armageddon. In fact, I came to know Jesus Christ listening to his sermon on hell. I decided I didn’t want to go. I asked my mother how to keep from going to hell, and she led me to Jesus Christ. But you understand that as a little kid, you try to picture this. Now after all these years, which of course is a relatively short period of time, but anyway, after all these years, looking back, I find myself thinking the same way I did as a child. I used to picture Jesus with his sword and whipping through there, and I could see the tanks and the planes of the enemy, and I saw the planes coming down to the Son of God, and he just went, crash, crash. And he knocked them down and just flicked them with his fingers and just wiped them out. There goes Russia’s army. There goes United States. There goes Europe. There goes them all. Crash, bang, bang, slaughter, blood flying everywhere. You can imagine what you think as a little kid. Man, I saw it all over the place. We’re talking the greatest thing ever. And you know, now I look back and I say, you know, as a little kid, I may have had it right. Because the Bible says the Lord Jesus is going to do it all by himself. And I used to love to tell people, nobody is as big and tough as Jesus. You know, I got that story in my heart, man. I’m going to stick with him, boy. Nobody’s going to get me. He’s on my side. He’s the savior, the king, the conqueror, you know. And, you know, sometimes in your academic, erudite, you know, objective look at all this, you kind of, you know, you’re an adult. You need to be a little more cool, you know. Yeah, well, it, you know, probably a metaphor for it. you know, a worldwide battle. But anyway, you know, you don’t know what to say. You know what I mean? You’re trying to deal with it. You don’t know how to cope with it. All we know is the blood will be all over the garment of Jesus. And it’ll be a reminder to us. You ready for this? That he won. He won. Lord, we thank you for the encouragement of your word that tells us that our Lord Jesus will win. There will be victory. There will be conquest. The kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and we shall rule and reign with him forever. There’s a great burden in our hearts when we think of people who, hearing this, may be finding it so strange and difficult, but in their hearts they know. that if the Lord would come again or they would die, they have no assurance of their relationship to you, to your son, Jesus Christ. God, I pray by your Holy Spirit, you would draw them to put their trust in the Lord Jesus before it’s too late. He’s our Savior from sin and death and hell. The wrath of God, we’ve been delivered through Christ who shed his precious blood for us. Thank you in Jesus’ name. Amen.
SPEAKER 03 :
Have you been born again of the Spirit of God? Because if you haven’t, you will not be entering the kingdom of heaven. Have you opened your heart to Him? Have you? Have you confessed your sin and repented of it and expressed by your confession your faith and belief in the finished work of our Messiah who died for your sin and rose again from the dead and has promised eternal life to all who put their trust in Him? God bless you.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, that’s Bible teacher and author David Hawking, and this is Hope for Today. If you’d like to learn more about what it means to be a Christian according to the Bible, we’d like to send you two resources absolutely free. First is David’s booklet, What is Christianity? And then a Bible study by mail. And that Bible study by mail, that’s going to help you get grounded in God’s Word. Call 800-75-BIBLE, that’s in the U.S., or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. You can also go online, leave us a message there, and request these resources at davidhawking.org. And for everyone listening, here’s Matt to share a very special resource we’re featuring this month on the program.
SPEAKER 01 :
Matt? Are you experiencing a difficult season, an overwhelming challenge, or several? Perhaps someone you know, someone you love, is suffering right now. Matt, it’s easy.
SPEAKER 02 :
It is so easy to be discouraged and defeated. And for a lot of folks, it seems like there’s no hope in sight. Yeah, where’s God in all of this, and does anyone really care? Right. Well, Hope in Difficult Times, this is a great book by your dad, Matt. What a perfect book for the times we’re in right now, what we’ve experienced as a nation, what many of our listeners have told us they’re experiencing. Hope in Difficult Times by David Hawking. It’s all about hope that God’s word provides in abundance.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, it’s not simply whistling in the dark, nor does it promise false comfort in serious times. Hope in difficult times. Jim, it’s a book about getting up when you fall down, starting over. Healing and restoration. It believes in the God of the second chance. Right.
SPEAKER 02 :
Sometimes, Matt, we experience difficulties in our life that we have no part in creating. It just happens. Other times, it’s our own doing. Either way, God is a God of hope, and he cares, and he’s into restoration. He has everything we need in his word, doesn’t he?
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah. And during these times, you know, when you have to press on, look, we all know it’s not going to be easy. You know, people in circumstances may fight against you or, you know, you may just want to give up and all your failures might seem too great to overcome.
SPEAKER 02 :
But the Bible is a book of hope. Romans 8, 24 and 25 puts it this way, for we are saved by hope. But hope that is seen is not hope. For what a man seeth, why doth he yet for? But if we hope for that we see not, then we do with patience wait for it. Hope in Difficult Times by your dad, David Hawking. That’s our featured resource this month. And Matt, it’s just $20.
SPEAKER 01 :
It’s 195 pages of hope.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, yeah. And your purchase will also help the ministry of Hope for Today. And please, please pray for Hope for Today in these challenging times. Consider sending a donation as well. And to get your copy of Hope in Difficult Times, call us at 1-800-75-BIBLE. That’s in the U.S. Or 1-888-75-BIBLE in Canada. And of course, you can also make the purchase online right now at davidhawking.org. And friend, let me ask you this. If these messages, what you hear on Hope for Today, are feeding your soul, what would it mean to others to hear the same word? How many more lives could be touched? And how many more homes could be reached? If you joined with us in ministry on Hope for Today, so do pray for us and prayerfully consider partnering with us in ministry. In the U.S., write to Hope for Today, Box 3927, Tustin, California, 92781. In Canada, write to Hope for Today, Box 15011, RPO, Seven Oaks, Abbotsford, B.C., V2S, 8, P1. Let’s get back to David now for his final comments on today’s lesson.
SPEAKER 03 :
We’re wrapping up Chapter 14. I hope you’ve enjoyed it. And when I say enjoy, I’m not talking about any kind of happiness that so many people are going to be killed or that the blood is going to pour out to the horse’s bridles all over the land of Israel that will be a winepress of the wrath of God. Of course, our hearts are burdened. We don’t want you who are listening now to ever experience this wrath of God. We want you to know the salvation that only our Messiah can give you. He is the way, the truth, and the life, and no man comes to the Father but through Him. It’s time for us to realize that Soon and very soon, our Lord is going to return. We believe that the Lord is going to come for His church before the tribulation begins. We’re going to move into chapter 15 in our next time together. God bless you, and we’ll see you next time.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, thank you, David. And friend, if you missed anything on today’s broadcast or maybe a recent program, you can always catch the latest broadcast for a limited time on our website, davidhawking.org. And do share that link with someone else. A good way to pass on the word of God. Again, that’s davidhawking.org. Click on the radio tab, by the way. You’ll find it right there at the top of the homepage. Well, next time on the program, the scene shifts to heaven itself. John sees a great and awesome sign, seven angels with the seven last plagues, the final outpouring of God’s wrath. The temple in heaven is filled with smoke from the glory of God, and no one can enter until his judgments are complete. It’s a vision of majesty and finality, the closing act of God’s holy justice before the end. That’s Hope for Today.
