Welcome to the Banner of Truth broadcast. This program is brought to you by the Free Reformed Churches of North America. Your host is Pastor Jack Schuman, pastor of the Emmanuel Free Reformed Church of Abbotsford, British Columbia. And now, here is Pastor Jack Schuman. We are continuing our series on the book of Revelation. And I invite you to turn with me to Revelation chapter 14, as we read the verses 17 through 20. And these verses also form the text for the sermon. Let us hear the word of God. Then 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 he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle saying, thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth for her grapes are fully ripe. So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth and threw it into the great wine press of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress up to the horse's bridles for 1,600 furlongs. Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete." So far the reading of the Holy Word of God. May the Lord bless the reading. and preaching of his word to our hearts. Dear friends, on the day of judgment, there will be two harvests. There will be a harvest of the godly and a harvest of the ungodly. The harvest of the godly is described in our text chapter, Revelation 14, the verses 14 to 16, which we looked at last time. And there John says that he looked and saw a white cloud, and on the cloud sat one like the Son of Man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And the man, of course, was the Lord Jesus Christ. And as he gazed at the sight, he saw an angel coming out of the temple, from the very throne room of God, And he cried with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, thrust in your sickle and reap, for the time has come for you to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And that is what he did. And we read in verse 16, so he who sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth and the earth was reaped. Well, today we come to the other harvest, the harvest of the ungodly, which is described in verses 17 through 20. This is not a separate harvest, meaning it is not a harvest that takes place sometime after the harvest of the godly. This is part of the one harvest of souls that will take place at the end of time. But John distinguishes it from the harvest of the godly so that we might carefully ponder its meaning and significance. Now, before I expound these verses, I must warn you that what you're about to hear is not pleasant. In fact, it is rather frightening and unsettling. But this too is part of the holy word of God, and therefore it too must be proclaimed. So with this in mind and God's help, let's consider these verses under the theme, the harvest of the ungodly. And we'll use the same points as last time. First, we'll consider the reaper of this harvest. Secondly, the ripeness of this harvest. And thirdly, the reaping of this harvest. As John watched the Son of Man take his sickle and reap the wheat, he saw another angel, as he says in verse 17. This is the fifth angel mentioned in our text chapter. The first three proclaimed messages for all the earth to hear. The fourth commanded the Son of Man to reap. And this is, as I said, the fifth angel. Now, like the fourth angel, this angel also came out of the temple. And again, this is not a reference to the actual physical temple in Jerusalem. By the time John wrote Revelation, that temple no longer existed. It was destroyed by the Romans some 20 years earlier. This is a reference to the heavenly temple, the temple to which the temple in Jerusalem pointed and in which it found its fulfillment. It is a reference, in other words, to the dwelling place of God. And John confirms this when he adds that this temple was in heaven. And so the idea is that this angel, this fifth angel, came directly from the presence of God. And as he did, he held in his hand a sharp sickle, as did the son of man who sat on the cloud. Now, as we observed last week, a sickle is an implement that farmers in ancient times used to cut down wheat. And it consisted of a sharp curved blade, either attached to a pole or a short handle. And the farmer would swing the sickle back and forth so that when the blade made contact with the standing grain, the stalks would be cut and fall to the ground, allowing the heads of grain to dry in the sun. And that's exactly the picture here. This angel had in his hand a sharp sickle, indicating that the time of harvest had come. Just then, another angel, this is now the sixth angel, appeared. And he too came from the temple. But he came from a specific place in the temple, from the altar, John says. Now the temple in Jerusalem had two altars. There was the large brazen altar outside the temple on which the priests sacrificed animals. And then there was a smaller altar which was located in the center of the temple inside the holy place, before the curtain separating the holy place from the most holy place. And this was called the altar of incense. And that's because on this altar the priest would burn incense which would fill the holy place with smoke and a wonderful aroma. And this represented the prayers of the saints. Now we read about this altar in chapter 8 verses 3 to 5. And there we read how another angel having a golden censer came and stood at the altar. And he was given much incense that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar, which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense with the prayers of the saints ascended before God from the angel's hand. And then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar and threw it to the earth. And there were noises and thunderings, lightnings and an earthquake. Here, the altar and the incense on the altar represents the prayers of the saints of God. And that is true in our text as well. The angel comes from the altar. In other words, he comes in answer to their prayers. What is more, John says he came with power over fire. Literally, the Greek says the fire. Now the reference here is probably to the hot coals of the brazen altar, which the priests placed on the altar of incense in the holy place in the temple in order to burn the incense. When John says that this angel had power over fire, he probably means that he had power to execute the judgment of God on earth in answer to the prayers of the saints. And that's exactly what he does. And we read in verse 18 that the angel who had power over fire, or the fire, cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle. And he said, thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth. The language here is borrowed from the prophecy of Joel 3 verse 12. And there Joel quotes God as saying this. Let the nations be wakened and come to the valley of Jehoshaphat. For there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle for the harvest is ripe. Come go down for the wine press is full. The vats overflow for their wickedness is great. So Joel here calls on the wicked of the nations to gather in the valley of Jehoshaphat. The Valley of Jehoshaphat, also called the Valley of Decision, in Joel 3 verse 14, is a valley adjacent to the city of Jerusalem, on the east side of the city, now known as the Valley of the Kidron. It's called the Valley of Jehoshaphat because during Jehoshaphat's reign, it was here that the Lord delivered Judah and Jerusalem from the combined forces of Ammon, Moab, and Seir. causing the enemy forces to become confused and to slaughter one another. We can read about that in 2 Chronicles 20 verses 1 to 29. And as such, it is an appropriate place for God to judge all of the nations. And this angel does the same. He commands the angel with the sharp sickle to thrust in his sickle and gather at the clusters of the vine of the earth. Now the vine of the earth represents the ungodly across the entire world. Those who have not repented, those who have not believed the gospel, whose hearts are full of enmity towards God and his Christ. They are the vine of the earth. And the sharp sickle represents the time of harvest. So when the angel from the temple commands the other angel to thrust in his sickle and reap, he's commanding him to pour out the wrath of God upon the ungodly. And you'll notice that he commands the angel to do this. Not Christ, as is the case in verse 15, where the angel commands the son of man, who is Christ, to thrust in his sickle and reap the harvest of wheat. No, he commands the angel to harvest. And that should not surprise us, because the scriptures teach that angels are actively involved in the final judgment. And that is true here as well. It is an angel who reaps the harvest of the wicked. Now, why does Christ not do this himself? Because after all, he gathers in the harvest of the godly. Why does he not also gather in the harvest of the ungodly? Well, it's certainly not because he is squeamish about casting millions of people into hell. He's not. In Revelation 19, he's pictured as riding on a white horse to judge and make war and to trample on his enemies. And so why does he not do this then? Why does he not take the sharpsicle and gather the ungodly? Why does he gather the harvest of the godly but not of the ungodly? Well, as we learned last week, he gathers in the harvest of the godly because they are his. And he loves them. And he loved them from all eternity. And he laid down his life for them. And therefore, he himself will gather them into his bosom. But the ungodly are not his. He does not love them. He did not lay down his life for them. And therefore he freely delegates the harvest of the ungodly to an angel. And so the angel begins to gather the harvest of the ungodly. Now, when will this happen? And that brings us to our second point. The angel with the sharp sickle will come and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth when her grapes are fully ripe. That's what our text says. Now that too is an allusion to Joel 3 verse 12. And there Joel quotes God as saying, put in the sickle for the harvest is ripe. Now, what does the angel mean when he says that the harvest is ripe? Well, it's interesting that the word ripe here is not the same Greek word that is used in verse 15. This word in our text refers to something fully ripe and in its prime. We could say fully ripened. Now, as I mentioned earlier, the clusters of the vine of the earth is a metaphor for the wicked and unbelieving in general. The word grapes is a metaphor for each individual within these clusters. And so when the angel says, the grapes of the clusters are fully ripe, What he means is the ungodly have become ripe for judgment. They have become so wicked and so defiant and so hateful, every one of them individually, that they deserve nothing less than the severe judgment of God. But until then, God is patient and long-suffering toward them, and he affords them every opportunity to repent. In a sermon on this text, the great American preacher and theologian, Jonathan Edwards, says that we learn from this, and I quote, that God sometimes defers or postpones the punishment of sinners till they are finally ripe for destruction and the wrath of God. God, he says, is not as earthly princes who, when affronted and enraged, pursue immediate revenge. Instead, he exercises great patience. He forbears with them. He is long-suffering toward them, and he earnestly invites them to repent and be saved. But there will come an end to God's patience. God will not be patient and long-suffering forever. The time will come when he will execute judgment upon sinners, and this time may come sooner than we think. Now, this raises the question, why are sinners said to be ripe for judgment? When does God finally say enough is enough? Well, we can't answer that question precisely. All we know is that there will come a point when God has had enough. He is patient and He is long-suffering, but the time is coming when He will put in His sickle and He will harvest the ungodly and cast them into judgment. So why does He delay? Well, I quoted Jonathan Edwards a moment ago. Let me quote him again. He gives two reasons why God delays. First of all, he says, God delays in punishing sinners in order to make known the riches of his mercy and forbearance. You see, God would be perfectly just to destroy the wicked in an instant, and sometimes he does. Think, for example, of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, who rebelled against Moses, and the earth swallowed them up. Or we can think of Nadab and Abihu who offered strange fire to the Lord and they were consumed with fire from heaven. But that's not God's normal way. Normally, God forbears. And while he forbears, he urges, he invites, he commands all men to repent and be saved. And in doing so, he displays his great mercy. But secondly, Edwards says that God delays in punishing sinners so that his justice in their destruction may be made more conspicuous. In other words, he delays in punishing sinners so that it may be made abundantly obvious that God is perfectly just. Let me quote Edwards. He says, he uses all means with men till it is evident to all that they will not be reformed. and that they must be destroyed. Mercy from time to time is offered, but they will by no means accept it. Merciful corrections are used, but they are ineffectual. Now therefore nothing but justice remains, and certainly God will get himself honor by severe justice on such. Think, for example, of Pharaoh of Egypt. God would not have plagued Egypt had Pharaoh obeyed God and allowed the people of Israel to leave, but he refused. And as a result, he suffered the consequences, which is exactly what he deserved. So what can we learn from this? Two things. First of all, we learn how to reconcile the wisdom and equality of God's providence and the prosperity of the wicked. Remember, this was Asaph's burden in Psalm 73. It bothered him greatly that the wicked prospered while God's people suffered. How could that be, he wondered. How was that fair and just? But then Asaph went into the sanctuary of God, and he understood their end. In other words, he realized that in the end, the wicked will perish, but the righteous will live forevermore in sweet and blessed communion with God to all eternity. The same is true for you, dear believer. When you see the wicked prosper, do not be dismayed. Remember, they are merely treasuring up wrath for themselves on the day of judgment. And in the end, they will perish, but you will live to all eternity. Secondly, we learn here how seriously we must take the call to repent and believe. This is especially true for those who have grown up with the truth, but have never responded to it. Does that describe you? Were you perhaps raised with the Bible in your home? Did you perhaps years ago attend a Christian church? You heard the gospel, you heard the warnings, you heard the invitations, but you did not respond to them. Well, if that is the case with you, I fear for you, for the Bible teaches that you will suffer far greater punishment in hell than those who have never heard. And so since that is so, beware, because the Lord is coming in judgment. That's the message of our text. He is sharpening his sickle even now. And when he does, there will be no more opportunity to repent. And he will cut you down and throw you into the wine press until every last drop of your blood is wrenched from your lifeless body. And so do not delay, dear friend. Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him while he is near so that you might be saved. And so the harvest is gathered in when the grapes are ripe. Now what will happen when it is? That brings us to our third and final point. Our text ends with a description of the actual harvest. We read in verse 19 these words. So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. A winepress consisted of two stone basins made of brick or hewn stone connected by a narrow trough. Grapes would be piled into the upper basin and trampled by foot. And the juice would then flow through the narrow channel into the lower basin, which would then be made into wine. The splattering of the juice as the grapes are stomped is a picture of splattered blood of the wicked, whom Christ will destroy at the end of time. This metaphor is borrowed from the Old Testament. In Isaiah 63, verses three and four, God says, I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with me, for I have trodden them in my anger and trampled them in my fury. Their blood is sprinkled upon my garments, and I have stained all my robes, for the day of vengeance is in my heart, and the year of my redeemed has come. In Lamentations 1, verse 15, Jeremiah similarly writes, the Lord has trampled underfoot all my mighty men in my midst. He has called an assembly against me to crush my young men. The Lord trampled as in a winepress the virgin daughter of Judah. And in Joel 3, verse 13, we read these words. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down. For the winepress is full, the vats overflow, for their wickedness is great. Now we have the same language here. The destruction of the wicked will be like trampling grapes in a winepress. And you'll notice from verse 20 that this winepress is located outside the city. The city represents salvation. To be outside the city means to be unsaved. It means to be rejected by God and the object of his wrath and condemnation. And so in Revelation 22, verses 14 and 15, we read these words. Blessed are those who do his commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside, that is outside the city, are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters and whoever loves and practices a lie. Believers are inside the city. Unbelievers are outside the city. To be outside the city also means to be under the wrath and condemnation of God. Remember that Jesus was crucified outside the city. One commendator writes, and I quote, it was there, outside the city, that he gave himself to be trodden in the great winepress of the wrath of God, bearing our sins and absorbing their punishment so that we might be clothed with his pure and holy righteousness. Well, now is the hour of Christ's return. Judgment comes at the same place, outside of God's city. And as the wicked are trampled, we read in verse 20, that blood came out of the winepress up to the horse's bridles for 1,600 furlongs. 1,600 furlongs is roughly the length of the land of Israel from north to south, about 184 miles. Now, this has led some premillennial commentators to argue that what is being described here is the so-called Battle of Armageddon. when all the nations of the earth will supposedly gather in the plain of Megiddo, which is some 60 miles north of Jerusalem, to fight against the Lord and his people. And the ensuing slaughter will be so great, it is claimed, that it will literally cover the land of Israel in a sea of blood, up to the horse's bridles, which is about four feet deep, stretching from the north to the south. But dear friends, like all of the numbers in Revelation, it's better to interpret this figuratively rather than literally. According to this view, 1,600 is four times four times 10 times 10. Four represents the earth, since there are four cardinal directions, north, south, east, and west. 10 is a number of fullness. And so the idea here is that this judgment will encompass the wicked from all the nations of the earth. The picture of the horses and the sea of blood is a symbolic representation of a judgment encircling the entire earth, a full, final, and complete judgment of the world. Now, many people recoil in shock or even loathing from such horrific descriptions of the wrath of God. The imagery seems out of place, we think, with our idea of God as a God of love, But that's because we do not share God's revulsion for sin. Sin, no matter how small, is no minor matter in the eyes of God. It is an act of rebellion, an act of cosmic treason against a good doing and a holy God. And as such, it must and will be punished. If sin is not punished, then God is not God. And what is more, let us never forget that God's wrath against sin is not irrational, much less capricious. It is considered. It is moral and righteous. When God punishes sin, He has every right to punish sin, and His punishment is always right and just and fair. The point is, at just the right time, God will come in judgment. And when he does, there will be no second chance. There will be no more opportunity to repent. And he will thrust in his sickle, and he will cast the wicked and the unbelieving into hell. And there they will remain to an everlasting eternity. Oh, what a warning there is here to those who are not saved. And what an incentive we have here to warn others to flee from the wrath to come. Our parents, our siblings, our children, our grandchildren, our co-workers, our neighbors, our friends. For as one commentator put it, unless our sins are redeemed by the blood of Christ through faith in his cross, then they and we must be trodden like ripe grapes in the wine press of his wrath. In his famous allegory, Pilgrim's Progress, John Bunyan tells of Christian who learned in God's book that he dwelt in the city of destruction on which God's wrath might fall at any moment. And after several sleepless nights and concern for his soul and the soul of his wife and his children, Christian meets a man named Evangelist who pointed him to the cross of Christ as the way of escape. And leaving his former life behind and with God's book open in his hand, he began running toward the cross, crying, life, life, eternal life. You see, this man understood what was at stake. He knew that apart from Christ he would perish, but in Christ he would live. And so he made haste and fled to the cross. Dear friends, the day of judgment is coming. Are you ready for it? If not, flee to Christ. Only through Him can we have eternal life. Amen. Dear friends, it's our great joy and privilege to be able to preach to you the Word of God every Sunday on this station. If you were blessed by or have a comment on the message you've heard today, we would very much appreciate hearing from you. I want you to please take the time to write us a short note. Our mailing address is Banner of Truth, 3386 Mount Lehman Road, Abbotsford, British Columbia, V4X2M9. When you write, please indicate the call letters of this station. Support for this program is provided by the Free Reform Churches of North America. For more information about our churches, including where you can find a church nearest you, please visit our denominational website at www.frcna.org. That's www.frcna.org. Thank you for listening, and now until next week, may the Lord be with you all.