In this compelling episode of Hope for Today, David Hawking guides us through the vivid imagery of Revelation 14. We delve deep into the vision of the Son of Man seated on a white cloud, armed with a sharp sickle ready for the harvest, signifying God’s impending judgment on the rebellious nations of the earth. Revelation 14:14-20, chronicles this monumental moment, highlighting the patience and sovereignty of God as the earth reaches the brink of judgment, ripe for harvesting.
You know, some people have come to the opinion that when you die and, quote, go to heaven, that what you actually do is you sit on a white cloud with a harp and you just kind of play all day. Now, where do you get that? You may laugh a little bit, but people get that from the book of Revelation. Here our Lord is sitting on a white cloud. Well, he’s going to come in the clouds of glory, the Bible says.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, it’s a blessing to have you with us for the Thursday broadcast of Hope for Today. On our last program, we heard the heavens shake with warnings and judgments. But now, Revelation 14, 14 to 20. In this passage, the Son of Man appears crowned with glory, a sharp sickle in his hand. The earth, it’s ripe. The angels cry out, it is time to reap. The people of the earth, rebellious, unrepentant, ripe for judgment. They’re gathered together like grapes and cast into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And when that press is crushed, it isn’t juice that flows, it’s blood. Today, David Hawking takes us straight into the Word of God for day one of his message, The Harvest of the Earth. Don’t go anywhere. Just before we get started, let me remind you about our daily devotional, Meditations in the Psalms. This is a short, powerful way to start your day in God’s Word, drawing encouragement and strength straight from the Psalms. You can check it out online on the homepage of davidhawking.org. Meditations in the Psalms. Check it out. Let’s join David for day one of The Harvest of the Earth in Revelation 14, verses 14 through 20.
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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 on 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 on 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. Now this is the third vision of chapter 14 that has given us a panoramic picture of the tribulation period. The opening vision was in verses 1 to 6 of the 144,000 on Mount Zion. The second one is in verses 6 to 13, and it involves three angels and a voice from heaven. The third one is in verse 14, and I looked and behold, a third vision, again with three angels involved in this vision. Now to break it down, we’re going to look first at the identity of the one who sat in the white cloud. I don’t think there’s any doubt about who this person is, but apparently some folks don’t believe that this is Jesus Christ. I think this is Jesus Christ. I don’t think there’s any question about it. Remember that John 5.24 says that all judgment is given into the hands of the Son. John 5.27, rather. And Christ is the one before whom we shall all stand and be judged. And I think this is a clear testimony to that fact. Let me give you four things right out of verse 14 that I think point clearly to the fact that this is Jesus Christ who’s going to exercise judgment in this world. what I think is describing the bloodbath of the battle we call Armageddon at the end of the tribulation, or what is described in the parables as being the harvest at the end of the age. The final harvest is not here, people coming to Christ. The final harvest here is God’s judgment on all the nations of the world. Now, four things about the identity of the one who sat on the cloud. Number one, his human personality. It says in verse 14, he is like the Son of Man. Now, the definite article the is not in the Greek text, and this has caused some people to say that it’s not Jesus, that if it was Jesus, it would be the Son of Man. It is the in English, but it’s not in Greek. It’s just a Son of Man. But I think the point is the humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn back to chapter 1, please, and look at verse 13. His human personality. It is not an angel. It is clear in the text of Revelation 14 that this person is distinct from the angels who are also mentioned in the text. Well, then who is it? I think there’s no choice but that it is Jesus Christ, our Lord. And it teaches us very, very much about his personal involvement in the battle we know as Armageddon and the judgment we know as the final harvest at the end of the age, the end of the Jewish age, which is the end of the tribulation. In chapter 1, verse 13, in the opening vision of Jesus Christ, John turned and saw seven golden candlesticks, verse 12, and in the midst of the seven candlesticks, one like the Son of Man. Again, one like a Son of Man. It’s like his humanity is being presented. Jesus is God in human flesh. The word became flesh and dwell among us. At his resurrection, when he appeared to his disciples, he said, A spirit hath not flesh and bones as you see me have. The Lord Jesus Christ is a real human being, and he still has a human body and will be in that human body for all eternity. We have an everlasting revelation of the Son of God in bodily form so that you and I can easily identify with him. His human personality is mentioned to distinguish him from all the angelic creatures. Back to Revelation 14. A second thing I would point out is his moral purity. He sits on a white cloud. By the way, I couldn’t help but contrast this with where the harlot woman sits. Look at chapter 17, verse 1. Here we have the one like a son of man sitting on a white cloud. But look where the woman sits. It says, come here and I’ll show unto thee the judgment of the great whore or harlot that sitteth upon many waters. Chapter 17, verse 15 says, the waters which thou sawest where the harlot or prostitute or whore sitteth are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. And here we have him sitting on a white cloud. A cloud represented the Shekinah glory of God as it came down over the tabernacle or the temple. It indicates the awesome, majestic presence of God. But here it’s a white cloud. I think the issue is purity. Go to the book of Daniel, please. Daniel in the Old Testament, chapter 7. And look at verse 13. Here’s a prediction of the coming Messiah. As a matter of fact, the very phrase in the New Testament used a lot by the writer Luke, that Jesus is the Son of Man. For instance, Luke 19.10 says, The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost. The term the Son of Man, if you’re Jewish, is a messianic term. It’s referring to the Messiah. It comes out of Daniel 7.13. It says, I saw in the night visions… And behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven and came to the Ancient of Days. And they brought him near before him. There was given to him dominion and glory and a kingdom that all people, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. So you see, the language is a similar language to what’s in Revelation 14. And I think we’re talking about the Lord Jesus. Look at Revelation chapter 1 and verse 7. The whole picture of the second coming of Christ in power and great glory is often pictured with clouds. We read in Revelation 1, 7. Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him. And they also pierced him, and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, amen. Back to chapter 14. The identity of this one who sits on the cloud, one, a human personality, and two, moral purity pictured by the white cloud. Remember in Revelation 7, 14, the multitude who are saved out of the tribulation are clothed in white clothes. raiment that’s been washed in the blood of the Lamb. In chapter 19, verse 8, when we’re invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb, it speaks about the saints in white linen, clean and white, picturing the righteousness of the saints. Our Lord is the all-righteous One. We stand in His righteousness, the white cloud picturing moral purity. The third thing I see here in Revelation 14, verse 14, is His great power. Not only that he has a human personality and moral purity, but his great power. It says on his head is a golden crown. Now the golden crown is the crown of somebody who is king or ruling. You don’t give a golden crown to just any old person. And we’re talking here about the Messiah coming to rule and to reign. Revelation 19, 12 and 16 says there’ll be many crowns on his head. But the fact that this says a golden crown, we know he’s a conquering king. He’s a monarch ruling over all. His great power is pictured and conquering and in control. The fourth thing I notice in verse 14 would be his awesome purpose. The whole point of this vision is captured in that one statement. In his hand is a sharp sickle. It’s important, is it not, to see the contrast between the Son of God in the Gospels and the Son of God in the book of Revelation. In the Gospels, we have the gentle Savior touching people with his hands and healing them. The sweetness of Christ is everywhere. In the gospel, we have those hands pierced as he’s nailed to a cross. But my friends, in the book of Revelation, In his hand is first the seven-sealed scroll that deals with all the judgments of the tribulation from Revelation 5. And now we see in his hand a sharp sickle assigned to all those who know farming were ready to reap the harvest. Only the harvest is not people coming to Christ. The harvest is the judgment of all the nations of the world. So his awesome purpose The purpose of the Lord during the tribulation is to judge. The psalmist cried out, he cometh to judge the whole world. And in righteousness he will judge and make war. Yes, the same Savior who walked the hills of Galilee and went to the cross and died for our sins, he is the one who will come and judge the entire world. It will be a different Jesus that we will see that day than we have seen in the Gospels. Now go back to verse 15. In verse 15 to 18 of chapter 14, we have the instruction that is given concerning the sharp sickle, and it involves three things. We have, first of all, the reason for this instruction. What is the instruction? Thrust in the sickle and reap. What’s the reason? Verse 15, for the time is come for thee to reap for the harvest of the earth and is ripe. Back up to chapter 6, verse 17 of Revelation. Chapter 6, verse 17. What’s actually happening here at the end of chapter 14 is something that’s been said through the book already. Chapter 6, verse 17 says, For the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand? Look at chapter 10, verse 6. Chapter 10, verse 6. This person stands with one foot on the earth, one foot on the sea, this strong angel, and swore by him that liveth forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, verse 6 of chapter 10, and the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things which are in it, that there should be time no longer, or delay no longer.” So what’s the reason for the instruction in chapter 14? Thrust in the sickle, reap the harvest. Why? Because the time has come. There will be time no longer, says the angel in chapter 10, verse 6. When the seventh angel begins to sound, you know you’re at the end of the tribulation. The seven last plagues are coming in the last three and a half years, and they will culminate in the great battle of Armageddon and the wine press, of God’s wrath will be on this earth. It’s very interesting. Hebrews 9.27 says, It’s appointed unto man once to die, but after this, the what? Judgment. Oh, I know that refers to the great white throne judgment where all unbelievers will stand. Or perhaps for believers to the judgment seat of Christ in heaven during the tribulation. But can it not also be a statement? It’s appointed unto man once to die. We’ll all die on time. And after this is the judgment, meaning the judgment of the entire world. That all men need to understand the judgment is coming. The judge is coming. So the reason behind this instruction, the time has come, the time that all the Hebrew prophets predicted. But he also says that the harvest of the earth is ripe. Let me point out two things to you here that might help us to understand what’s being pictured. Number one, the condition of the harvest. We are told that it’s ripe. The word for ripe is to dry up or wither in Greek. What it is is a testimony to the patience of God. You know, in the midst of this awesome scene of judgment, there is that sweet breath of fresh air, the patience of God. So what we see nestled in this text is the patience of God. It is ripe, not meaning the time when you normally harvest. It means the farmer has already let it go too long. It is now dry and withered up. For instance, when the fig tree withers up in the parable and teaching in the Gospels, it’s the same word. Turn to James chapter 5. Look at verse 3 and 4. It says, Your gold and silver are cankered or rusted, and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. You have heaped treasure together for the last days. Now look at this next one. Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth, and the cries of them who have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. back to Revelation 14. What we have pictured here is God’s tolerance, God’s patience. It’s saying really on the basis of justice, we should have had the tribulation period back there in 1960 or 1930 or 1820 or back in 1710. But the truth is God’s patience, his long suffering has let it go on now to where it’s withered and dried. It has passed. being a time for reaping. And I think that’s a very important point to understand. The Bible says my spirit will not always strive with man. Genesis 6.3. That’s talking about a generation that was destroyed at the time of the flood. The same flood that is used by Jesus to illustrate the tribulation period. My friends, people heard the message. It was preached. Judgment is coming. And they didn’t do anything about it. What happened to that entire generation, which probably was a greater population than we have today? Because of longevity and the multiplicity of children that are mentioned in the genealogies that could have been in the billions. What happened to that first civilization? It’s gone. It all perished. Every last one of them. Why? Because they didn’t believe the message that judgment is coming. Enoch preached. And he said, judgment is coming. The Lord is coming with 10,000 of his saints to execute judgment against the ungodly. But they wouldn’t listen to him. He named his son Methuselah. When he dies, it will come. The year of Methuselah’s death was the year of the flood. Right on the nose. But no one would believe. And God likens that flood to the tribulation period when multitudes also experiencing the long suffering, the patience of God. Why, even in the tribulation, he sends two witnesses. In the tribulation, 144,000 Jews will preach the gospel. But many in that generation will not listen and they will perish exactly like they did in the flood. I ask you, are you presuming upon the patience of God? Do you say, hey, tomorrow, like Pharaoh did, tomorrow I’ll reconsider. Do not presume on God’s graciousness. His spirit will not always strive with man. Have you had opportunities to get right with God? Have you had opportunities to turn to the Lord? God’s spirit will not always strive. Payday someday. Judgment is coming. When this passage pictures that tremendous event of God’s judgment in the world, it pictures a harvest that is now far beyond the time of reaping, reminding us that God is so gracious, so loving. There’s no reason at all to explain this except one thing, that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. What a marvelous, gracious, loving God we have. But do not presume that God will never bring it. It’s coming. And we believe very soon.
SPEAKER 02 :
That’s Bible teacher David Hawking, and this is Hope for Today. David will be back in a moment or two to close out today’s time in the Word. Just before that, Matt’s here, and we want to share a powerful resource that’ll bring hope into your heart.
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Today, 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.
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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? 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.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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But the Bible is a book of hope. Amen. 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… It’s just $20.
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It’s 195 pages of hope.
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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. If you’d like to get a copy of Hope in Difficult Times, a powerful book, get in touch with us. We also have the original sermon notes for this current radio series in Revelation, David’s sermon notes available for you for the entire series, or you can get the entire series on MP3 audio or on DVD. For any of these resources, call us at 800-75-BIBLE, that’s in the U.S., or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. You can also order online at davidhawking.org. And Fred, if you believe in what we’re doing here at Hope for Today, proclaiming God’s word without compromise, would you consider supporting this ministry, joining with us in ministry through prayer or financial gifts or both? Your prayers, your donations, keep Hope for Today on the air and online, reaching even more people with the truth of Scripture. Every gift you give makes it possible for us to continue broadcasting the Word of God without compromise to strengthen believers to reach the lost and to lift high the name of Jesus in these difficult days. Tell us you’re praying or make a donation by mail at Hope for Today, Box 3927, Tustin, California, 92781. In Canada, write to Hope for Today, Box 15011. RPO Seven Oaks, Abbotsford, BC, V2S 8P1. Or call us at 1-800-75-BIBLE, that’s in the US, or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. Bible is 242-53. And here’s David with some additional thoughts on what we’ve studied today.
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Well, thanks for listening today. I hope you’re enjoying our study. We’re talking about the harvest of the earth, and it’s not a message of salvation, but a message of God’s judgment upon planet earth. And that’s one thing we need to face when we’re telling people about the coming of the Lord. In the tribulation period, there’s going to be judgments. Three sets of them mentioned in Revelation— and terrible tragedies, and the death of millions. Oh, may your heart be committed totally to the Messiah of Israel, the only one who can save you from sin, death, and hell. He is the one who died and paid for your sin. He is the one that rose again the third day. He told His disciples in John 14, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also. What a wonderful promise. Of course, Thomas was confused. He said, Lord, we don’t know where you’re going, and how can we know the way? And our Lord answered him and said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh unto the Father but by me. Oh, I pray that all of you listening to these messages have come to know and love and be committed to the Messiah of Israel, our blessed Lord Yeshua, Jesus Christ our Lord. God bless you and plan to be with us for our next study.
SPEAKER 02 :
Thank you, David. Next time on Hope for Today, we return to Revelation 14, 14 to 20, where John sees the Son of Man seated on a cloud with a sharp sickle in his hand. We’ll study further how the earth is ripe for harvest, the grapes are gathered, and the winepress of God’s wrath is trodden outside the city. It’s a scene of finality, of judgment that cannot be escaped. but it also reminds us that God is just, holy, and faithful to His Word. Well, do join us as this message continues next time on Hope for Today.
