I do not pretend to understand all the prophecies of the Book of Revelation. And I have made no attempt to explain to you those things that are hidden and shrouded in mystery. Many of the events described in this Book, I am sure, will not be explained or fully understood until they occur. It has been my desire from the beginning of this exposition simply to show you "The Revelation of Jesus Christ" as it was given to and recorded by John. But there are some things plainly revealed in this Book, which even the most casual reader cannot fail to see.
1. The Everlasting Gospel of God's Free Grace in Christ Will Be Preached throughout the Entire World. And it appears that this gospel of grace will be, at some time, declared in all the world at once, that God will raise up faithful men throughout the world to preach the gospel (14:6).
Though false religion will spread through and permeate the entire world, deceiving the multitudes, until it appears that the truth of God is entirely expunged from the earth (11:1-11), there is to be a time of great revival. Just before the end of the world, God shall stretch forth his mighty arm again and reveal his saving goodness, grace and glory in Christ by the gospel. The Spirit of life from God shall enter into his Church again; his witness will stand upon their feet and confound their enemies.
2. The Power of Antichrist shall be utterly Destroyed, Babylon At Last shall Fall, and The Abominations of False Religion Shall Be Thoroughly Defeated (14:8).
The superstitions of papacy, ritualism, free-willism and works religion of every kind, Islam, Judaism, Mysticism and Psuedo-Christianity will be exposed, brought to utter confusion, and destroyed by the power and grace of God, through the preaching of the gospel. Bad as things may appear at the present, the truth of God shall prevail at last. The gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church of the living God.
3. The Lord Jesus Christ will come again to this Earth To Reign Gloriously and Forever in Peace and Righteousness (11:15).
He who loved us with an everlasting love, washed away our sins in his precious blood, called us from death to life by the power of his Spirit, and robed us with his own perfect righteousness shall come again in power and in great glory. He will destroy this present, sin-cursed earth with the brightness of his coming, and create a new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. And in this new creation, Christ shall reign as King forever. With Job of old, we shall see our Redeemer, who "shall stand at the latter day upon the earth" (Job 19:25-27).
4. And when Christ comes again, THERE WILL BE A GREAT, GENERAL RESURRECTION AND JUDGMENT OF ALL MEN WHO EVER LIVED UPON THE EARTH (Rev. 20:11-15).
"The hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation" (John 5:28-29). "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all his holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say to them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world…Then shall he say to them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels…And these shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal" (Matt. 25:31-46).
I do not know how these events are to be chronologically arranged. I will leave it to the theologians to argue about the proper order and sequence of God's works. But it is evidently revealed in Holy Scripture that there is to come, sometime, we know not when, but at the hour ordained by God from eternity, there will come a solemn winding up of all the events of the world's history. I do not know everything that will happen before that last great event. But I do know that God "hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead" (Acts 17:31). I know that it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" (Heb. 9:27). And I know that "we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ: that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men" (II Cor. 5:10-11). It is that great and terrible day of the Lord which John sees and records for us in Revelation 14:14-20. In this passage, the final judgment has arrived. It is described under the symbolism of a twofold harvest.
In this picture of final judgment, John sees the Lord Jesus Christ coming to gather his elect out of the earth to destroy the wicked forever under the wrath of God.
Divisions:As we look at these verses together, I want to show you three things:
1. The Lord Jesus Christ Is Coming To Judge The Earth (v. 14).
2. When Christ Comes Again He Will Gather His Elect Out Of The Earth (vv. 15-16).
3. After He Has Gathered His Elect Out of The Earth, The Son of Man, Our Lord Jesus Christ, Will Send His Angel To Gather Up Every Wicked Unbeliever Out of The Earth And Destroy Them Forever In The Winepress of The Wrath of God (vv. 17-20).
I. First, we see that THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IS COMING TO JUDGE THE EARTH (v. 14).
On that great and terrible day of judgment Christ shall come sitting upon a cloud to judge the inhabitants of the earth – (II Thess. 1:8-10). He says, "Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give to every man according as his work shall be" (Rev. 22:12). The Judge of all men in that great day shall be the Son of man, our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom all authority has been given (John 5:21-22; Dan. 7:13; Rev. 1:7).
"A great white throne shall come sailing along the sky, and on it shall sit the King of kings, and Lord of lords, The Judge of all who has the right to sit in judgment, whose decisions will be impartial and infallible, and whose sentences will assuredly be carried out." – C.H. Spurgeon.
Our Lord does not borrow a throne from man. He sits upon a throne of his own making. No doubt the figure is symbolical, implying both supremacy and purity.
1. When Christ comes to judge the earth, his throne will be so elevated and highly exalted that every eye shall see him.
Our Lord will never come in humiliation again. He will not stoop to assume an earthly throne, either in Rome or in Jerusalem. His throne will be a cloud in the heavens, so highly exalted and elevated that at one time all the inhabitants of the earth shall see him distinctly and hear his voice. All who ever lived shall be gathered before his august majesty!
2. The throne of judgment will be a throne of greatness, majesty and power, and it will be a throne of white purity – (Rev. 20:11).
Here John calls it "a white cloud". That word, "white", does not express so much the color of whiteness as it does the dazzling brilliance of light, holiness and purity – (I John 1:5). This throne shall be without spot or blemish. It will be a throne of strict, inflexible justice, brilliant, dazzling purity, absolute truth and perfect righteousness.
3. Before the august, holy throne, from the lips of this great Judge everyone will receive precisely his just, righteous and true reward.
a. All whose works are perfectly righteous and without any sin shall receive the reward of eternal life.
b. All whose works are evil shall be justly condemned.
c. All who believe on Christ shall be forever accepted on the basis of his blood atonement and imputed righteousness.
d. All who believe not shall be forever damned, on the basis of their own sin.
NOTE: The judgment will not determine or alter anyone's condition or eternal estate. It will only reveal the grounds of man's acceptance or banishment, execute the just sentence of the law, and vindicate the justice of God in both the salvation of his elect and the eternal ruin of the wicked.
B. The throne of judgment is "a white cloud." NOW LOOK AT THE JUDGE HIMSELF.
John says, "and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man." This one whom John saw was the Son of man, our Savior, who is also the Son of God. He is called "the Son of man," because he is the truest man who ever lived. He is the Man after whose image man was created. He is the only man in whom manhood ever reached perfection. And in that day every eye shall see that this Man is himself God over all, blessed forever.
Now get this – Though he is exalted to heaven's lofty throne, our Savior is still a man. And when he comes to Judge the earth, he will still be a man, the perfect man.
C. THIS GREAT JUDGE HAS ON HIS HEAD "A GOLDEN CROWN."
That crown signifies both victory and sovereignty. The word used for "crown" means, "a crown won in conflict." It is the Victor's Crown. When Christ comes to judge the world, he will wear the crown, which he won in the great battle which he has fought as our Substitute. What joy it will be for the believing heart to see him wearing the crown of Victory when he comes. That crown indicates that he is coming to claim the spoils of his victory!
The crown also signifies sovereign dominion. His will is irreversible. His power is irresistible. His judgments are irrevocable. His judgments cannot be overturned.
D. THIS JUDGE, SITTING UPON A CLOUD OF PURITY, WEARING A CROWN OF GOLD, HAS, "IN HIS HAND A SHARP SICKLE."
The scepter of his throne is a great reaping hook. It suggests that he is come to finish his last great work, to reap the harvest of the earth. And his work of reaping will be sharp, swift and decisive. He comes, not to sow but to reap, not to water but to mow down, not to show mercy but to execute justice. What a sight that will be! "He will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness; because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth" (Rom. 9:28). On that great terrible day of the Lord the earth will rock and reel to and fro as he swings his great sickle. The day of harvest will come suddenly, the work will be done swiftly, and when it is over the Lord of the harvest will reign gloriously.
II. In verses 15-16 John shows us that WHEN CHRIST COMES AGAIN HE WILL GATHER HIS ELECT OUT OF THE EARTH.
These verses speak of the harvest of wheat. When Christ comes, the first order of business will be to gather his own people unto himself. He will gather his wheat into his garner before he mows down and burns up the tares (Matt. 3:12). The wheat which he sowed in the earth, watered with his own blood and raised up by his Holy Spirit, that precious grain will be Christ's first, primary concern when he comes again – (See John 12:24).
A. THE REAPING OF THE WHEAT IS THE MATTER OF FIRST IMPORTANCE.
Our Lord looks forward to the day when he shall gather his redeemed ones unto himself. This is his delightful work. His strange work of judgment must be done. But it is the work of his left hand. He puts it off to the very last. But "he delighteth in mercy!"
B. THE REAPING OF THE WHEAT IS THE FIRST IN ORDER OF TIME TOO.
Paul tells us plainly that the dead in Christ shall rise first– (I Thess. 4:13-18).
I have told you that there will be a general resurrection and general judgment. There will not be two resurrections and two judgments, one for the righteous and one for the wicked separated by a long period of time. When Christ comes again the order of events will be:
1. The dead in Christ shall rise first.
2. Living believers will be raptured, translated.
3. Christ will destroy the earth with the brightness of his coming and create all things new.
4. And the unrighteous, unbelieving will be raised to the judgment bar.
Note: The word "meet" I Thess. 4:17 and Acts 28:15, means to meet and accompany, or return with.
C. UNTIL CHRIST COMES THE WHEAT AND THE TARES GROW TOGETHER IN HIS FIELD.
No man can tell the tares from the wheat until the harvest time. Should we try to uproot the tares, we would surely uproot some of the wheat too. But in the harvest time the wheat will be "ripe." The word "ripe" might be translated "dried." The meaning is twofold.
1. The wheat is dried in the field and must be gathered, because the field has nothing more to offer it – There is nothing in the world for the believer, just as there is nothing in the ground for the dried wheat.
2. The wheat, at Christ's coming, will be ripe for heaven – How is a man made ripe for heaven?
a. Christ has put away our sins.
b. Christ has given us perfect righteousness.
c. Christ has given us a new nature.
d. Christ has caused that new man to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord unto the full maturity of faith. He needs only to drop his robe of flesh!
Note: You can tell the wheat from the tares only in the time of harvest. Then the wheat bows its head, while the tares stand straight and tall.
D. Now Notice This: IT IS CHRIST HIMSELF WHO COMES TO PERSONALLY GATHER HIS WHEAT.
"He that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped." (v. 16). He alone knows the value of the wheat. He chose us. He redeemed us. He called us. And he shall gather us. And when he comes to gather his own every precious grain of wheat shall be gathered into his heavenly garner.
May you and I, my dear friends, all be gathered by Christ on that great harvest day! I pray that not one of this assembly shall be left behind when Christ comes to gather his wheat.
Thus far, my message has been all joy, delight and glory. But there is another scene in this picture. I will be brief in describing it; but describe it I must.
III. AFTER HE HAS GATHERED HIS ELECT OUT OF THE EARTH, THE SON OF MAN, OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, WILL SEND HIS ANGEL TO GATHER UP EVERY WICKED UNBELIEVER WHO EVER LIVED OUT OF THE EARTH AND DESTROY THEM FOREVER IN THE WINEPRESS OF THE WRATH OF GOD (vv. 17-20).
The grapes of wrath must also be gathered and trodden in the winepress of the Almighty. And there will be no escape! Though it may make your ears tingle to hear it, hear me now. If you are an unbeliever, this concerns you!
A. AFTER THE WHEAT IS HARVESTED THE GRAPES OF WRATH MUST BE GATHERED AS WELL – (Matt. 13:41-43).
In that day the wicked will be clearly distinguished from the righteous. No one will make a mistake about them then. Here they are often confused. They go to the same place of worship. They sing the same hymns. They believe the same doctrines. We often mistake tares for wheat and wheat for tares now. But then, there will be no mistake. The clusters of unregenerate men will fall like grapes from the vine, when the angel of judgment thrusts in his sickle.
B. NOTICE, IT IS NOT CHRIST, BUT AN ANGEL OF CHRIST, THAT IS SENT TO EXECUTE JUSTICE UPON THE WICKED.
Christ Jesus personally gathers his elect. But he will not even execute the wicked by his own hand. He has an angel appointed for the work of judgment. They would not have anything to do with him. And he will have nothing to do with them, except to deliver them over to the hands of an angel for execution. They despised him. Now he despises them. They mocked him. Now he mocks them. They would not have him. Now he will not have them.
C. THESE UNGODLY MEN SHALL BE JUSTLY CONDEMNED FOREVER, BECAUSE THE ARE FULLY RIPE FOR JUDGMENT – (v. 18).
Like ripe grapes ready for the winepress, they have filled up the measure of iniquity. They have reached the highest point of sin. They have added evil upon evil until they are fully ripe for wrath. Are you such a man? Are you such a woman?
1. You have broken God's law.
2. You have despised God's gospel.
3. You have made God a liar.
4. You have crucified the Lord of glory.
5. Now you attempt to hide your sin by self-righteous rags of religious works and profession!
D. IF YOU GO ON IN YOUR SIN, REBELLION AND UNBELIEF, YOU SHALL SURELY BE TRODDEN IN THE WINEPRESS OF THE WRATH OF GOD WITHOUT THE CITY – (vv. 19-20).
These verses describe the terrible sufferings of lost men and women in eternity!
There is something far more terrible about the doom of the lost than language can ever express!
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