The Harvest

Reflections on Revelation 14:14-20

The opening of the seven seals and the sounding of the seven trumpets ended with God's judgment.  After revealing God's enemies, John again reassures the saints that those enemies will be judged, so this section, like the previous two, ends with God's judgment. 

This time, the judgment is pictured as a harvest.  The righteous are gathered safely on Mount Zion (14:1), but outside the gates, the harvest is ready.
 
The picture of the harvest is based on a couple of passages in the Old Testament.  Joel 3:12 speaks of the nations being gathered in the Valley of Jehoshaphat outside the holy city for judgment.  At that time, God commands, "Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Go in, tread, for the winepress is full. The vats overflow, for their evil is great" (Joel 3:13 ESV). 

The grapes are gathered and trampled in the winepress of the wrath of God.  The Lord himself says, "I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with me; I trod them in my anger and trampled them in my wrath; their lifeblood spattered on my garments, and stained all my apparel. For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and my year of redemption had come" (Isaiah 63:3-4).

Silence in Heaven

Reflections on Revelation 8:1

I remember as a child having to answer my dad when he asked, "Son, did you do this?" I seldom wanted to answer the question, but I usually had to say, "Yes."

Theater in Samaria, 1975

Then Dad asked, "Why did you do it?" I never knew what to say, and usually said, "I don't know." Well, I usually did know, but I also knew that my reason would never stand up under Dad's judgment. Inevitably, I had disobeyed an explicit command or had known better than to do it. I could never argue with Dad's judgment. I could only accept it in silence.

The same is true when the seventh seal is opened, and God announces his judgment. Heaven is filled with silence. God's judgment is conclusive, no opposition remains, and the wicked are silenced.

But the Lord is in his holy temple;
let all the earth be silent before him.
-- Habakkuk 2:20 NIV

The defiant, belligerent, and proud will have nothing to say on that day. Those who make excuses and those who cry "unfair" will also be silenced. Those who spurned the Lamb, or ignored him, will not say a word. The judgment of the Almighty is final (Beale, 1999, p. 447 ff.).

Signs in Heaven

Reflections on Revelation 6:12-17

The opening of the sixth seal corresponds to the signs of the coming of the Son of Man in Matthew 24:29 and following verses. When the sixth seal is opened, the sun turns black as sackcloth, the moon turns red as blood, and the skies are rolled back like a scroll to reveal the coming of the Son of Man. Kings, generals, the rich and powerful, slaves and free men are all alarmed. They call for the mountains and rocks to cover them and hide them from the wrath of the Lamb. The judgment of the nations will soon be completed; the blood of the saints will soon be avenged.