Author: words and signs

Victory of the Lamb

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“These will war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings. They also will overcome who are with him, called and chosen and faithful.”

Revelation 17:14

All that frightens and causes threats to the daughters and son of God’s people will be dealt with severely. The Antichrist and all who have put in their lot both him, that is the false prophet, the Beast, the Great Whore and Satan himself, will perish everlastingly. 

There is war going on. It is a war of attrition and we fight it daily, in our own lives and in our responses to the events of our lives that we have control over and those we have no control over. But there will be a massive push of the forces of evil at the end time and it will be worldwide against God and all that he stands for. The Antichrist will war against the Lamb of God and the Lamb will overcome, because of who He is. All who are trusting in Him and are in the fold of His redeemed people will be victorious with Him. We must endure to the end… We are “called, chosen and faithful,” and that is what we must be.

The water that the Great Whore sat on are the peoples of the world. She lords it over them and dictates what they do think and say and do. She is in complete control of their lives and yet so many think that they are free and making their own choices. The Scripture is clear about this issue. 

“If therefore the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”

John 8:36

This is the only way to be free, but we will not accept Him. We ignore His calling or we reject Him at our own peril. The lamb will overcome and the gods of this world will be made desolate. The ten horns and the Beast will hate the prostitute and will make her desolate and utterly destroy her with fire, carrying out the will of God against their own house. Evil is always treasonous and this will be seen in the dealings of the peoples of earth at the end time. Falsehood will reign, but only for a short time as it collapses in on itself and destroys itself. The world will seem to belong to the Beast but only a long as God allows and until His will is accomplished. 

It seems that there will be an end to “organised religion,” as it will have become so corrupt and the godless and lawless forces of the Beast will not have religion reigning over them any more. We can see this happening today. Churches are closed, and closing and many are so full of falsehood and deluding people about true faith, which is not preached. 

We can see this in the political and economic and religious dealings between the people of earth at this our time and it is universal for we can see into the dealings of people in other countries too. Globalisation gives us another insight into the coming kingdom and truth of the Word of God.

“Jesus answered, “See to it that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumours of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. These things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.”

Matthew 24:4-8

We may live to see or even to live through terrible times, indeed many regard these days as dreadful, but we never forget who we love and who we serve as Christian people. No one can overcome the Lord and He will not let us suffer more than we can bear. When we do suffer, He gives the grace and strength to come through it and remain faithful to our heavenly calling. This is the most important thing. 

“Then they will deliver you over to be persecuted and killed, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will fall away and will betray and hate one another, and many false prophets will arise and mislead many. Because of the multiplication of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold. But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

Matthew 24:9-14

We are very close in these days. Everyone can see it. Without Christ we are without hope in these days, or any days. Let us tell the good news to everyone who will listen that God is able to deliver us from our greatest problem – sin, and the attendant death that stalks us. With Christ we lose our fear of death and rejoice in Him.

Beloved, 

“let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us…”

Hebrews 12:1

A mystery explained

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“The angel said to me, “Why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.”

Revelation 17:7

The mystery of the Great Whore is now explained…

The Beast that the woman sits on is the Beast from the abyss, the great Antichrist. The Beast carries her and supports her in her evil majesty and dominion. It is a temporary and borrowed dominion for she is an opportunist and parasite on the body of humankind. The Beast has seven heads and ten horns and the people who are not the elect of God, marvel at the power and seeming authority of the Beast, because he is the support of the Great final world church. This Beast was, and is not, for its days are numbered by the mighty God and He is working out His purposes in the final days of this world. It is not an eternal entity, but a passing evil, like all evil, that God is dealing with and will finally and forever put in the bottomless pit with all evil-doers.

The mind that has wisdom will understand these things…

The seven heads of the Beast are the seven mountains that the false church rests upon. It is the doctrine of devils that is contrary to the plain Word of God. They are also seven kings, five are fallen already, one exists at the present time, that is John’s time, and the other king and his evil kingdom is to come. It’s the last great world dominion that will over take all and institute the false religion and all will follow it who’s names are not written in the book of life from before the foundation of the world. 

The last world dominion will last but a little while, for the Beast is itself another final king who is heading down to destruction like all who forget God and swallow the lies of the Antichrist, that is, false doctrines and evil practices. 

The ten horns come at the end with the Beast and are kings waiting for their own kingdoms, which they will receive for only a very short time with the Beast. They are all in agreement with regards a world view, philosophy and religion. They give all the support and authority to the Beast and are merely his puppets on the world stage. 

These thing are still yet hidden from us. We dare not make conjecture and wrongly interpret the Word of God, but we can see that God has all these events firmly in His eternal will from the very start. He will not abandon His people to the ravages of falsehood and will protect their minds and hearts with the power of His Holy Spirit. 

The power of God is what keeps His people safe and secure, but we must walk uprightly and with due care and motivation. The victory of CHRIST in these circumstances is assured since he is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and has supreme dominion. He will vanquish all His foes and lead His people into the coming kingdom. We must be ready for it and prepared to fight the fight of faith and hope. All hell is under His control for He carries the keys of that place, at His belt.

“That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”

Philippians 2:10-13

Babylon the Great

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“Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters. The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and those who dwell on the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her immorality.”

Revelation 17:1-2

An Angel who had one of the seven bowls comes to John to show him the end state of the great prostitute who lords it over the kings of the earth and sits in authority over many waters. This is the punishment meted out on her. 

Babylon is a place of falsehood, immorality of all kinds and hatred for the living God. It is full of false religion, and this falsehood leads many astray, including the kings and leaders of the earth. They are the ten kings who give their power, glory and authority to the Beast. They are taken in by the power and prestige, and seek political capital from association with the false religion. Immorality is rife and men do as they please. Gods is mocked and His name is disparaged among the society that has been propagated for political and economic ends. This religion is called false and named as “The Great Whore.” It is the ultimate insult and God has judged her on all points and she is found wanting. Her end has come.

She sits on the many waters of the earth as ruler and master of them. She has duped the kings of the earth and has propagated falsehoods and her lies have taken hold of the minds of the whole of society. This is the last great, wide and powerful world church or religion. It suits everyone and prostitutes itself for political and economic gain. 

“How the faithful city has become a prostitute! She was full of justice; righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers.”

Isaiah 1:21

This last great organisation had power to keep people in thrall to her and is permissible in every foul way. She imposed immoral thought processes and abominations on the people, making everything and everyone corrupt. She is the master of corruption and uses it to keep people bound in chains and dependant. Dressed like a harlot, she drinks the cup of the abominations of the earth, accepting all who will cow-tow to her demands and rewards them with immoral deeds. 

The scarlet coloured animal with so many blasphemous names shows us the strategy of mimicking God and Truth to exercise power and control. This Babylon takes in all and corrupts all. She feigns the truth of God, twists, diverts and is cavalier with its doctrine, making it the doctrine of demons. The woman is arrayed in purple and scarlet expressive of her grandeur and power, which is corrupt as with Jezebel the Queen who hated the elopement for God and His servants the prophets. She had them put to death, such is the vehemence of hatred against the living God by false religion and politics. 

Babylon kills the real Christians and puts them in chains for the sake of Christ and His gospel. There is so much injustice towards the Christians, that she is drunk with the spilt blood of the martyrs. It all looks so splendid with the gaudy clothes ands the sparkling jewels, but a far cry from the simplicity of the worship of CHRIST by His faithful followers. 

Her name is written on her forehead, since she is the great Antichrist. She is called…

“MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”

Revelation 17:5

“Let no one deceive you in any way, for it will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness—the son of destruction—is revealed. He will oppose and exalt himself above every so-called god or object of worship. So he will seat himself in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.”

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4

This last great push of evil will be mighty and will deceive many. It will appear as grand and glorious and even doing works of greatness and miracles of power. We must not be taken in by this show, for it is vacuoius. The LORD our GOD is always in control and the destruction of the Beast, the Antichrist and Babylon is certain. God has revealed it and we believe it. Every child of God is safe and secure for they also are sealed, marked with the gracious work of the Holy Spirit who will comfort and protect them to the end. 

“But we should always thank God for you, brothers who are loved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning to be saved by the sanctification of the Spirit and by faith in the truth. To this He called you through our gospel, so that you may share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

2 Thessalonians 2:13-14

It is done!

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“Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came from the throne in the temple, saying, “It is done!” And there were flashes of lightning, and rumblings, and peals of thunder, and a great earthquake the likes of which had not occurred since men were upon the earth—so mighty was the great quake. The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. And God remembered Babylon the great and gave her the cup of the wine of the fury of His wrath.”

Revelation 16:17-19

Seven. The perfect number. The number for God. This seventh bowl full of the wrath of God is poured out finally and completely on the inhabitants of earth. It is the mighty judgment of the Lord on all evil-doers and those who have rejected his offer of mercy and His overtures of love. The angel pours out the contents of the bowl into the air and a voice from the temple of heaven recognises that the work of judgment is done and the vindication of the people of God and the martyrs is complete. 

There is a selection of sounds, lightnings and thunders and the greatest earthquake that has ever been experienced so that the great city of Babylon is divided into three. The cities of the kings of the earth are annihilated. A war between the three evil forces tears the city apart, infighting that destroys all the power that has been given to it. There is no peace because the evil from the Beast, the Antichrist and the false prophet, have destroyed the fabric of the society that has been falsely woven around the human collective psyche. The whole city and the cities of the nations have fallen because God did not forget Babylon but has poured out the dregs of his fierceness of His wrath on her. 

The whole planet is affected, both the physical and the spiritual. The land flees away from its grounding in the dirt of the earth. The mountains disappear in the force of the Lord’s wrath and the people call out for them to fall on them to hide them for the face of the wrath of the LORD.

Massive hailstones, again, reminiscent of the plagues of the Egyptians, fall from the sky and crush the inhabitant of earth. Even in this distress they curse the LORD and will not turn. 

“Break the arm of the wicked. As for the evil man, seek out his wickedness until you find none. The LORD is King forever and ever! The nations will perish out of his land. The LORD, you have heard the desire of the humble. You will prepare their heart. You will cause your ear to hear, to judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that man who is of the earth may terrify no more.”

Psalm 10:15-18

The wickedness of humankind cannot go on forever. It is unthinkable that there is no final justice and no recompense for those who did not receive it in this life. God will visit people with such trouble and they will see and know the wickedness of their own hearts and will be forced to bow the knee to CHRIST and own Him as Lord of all things. Evil is now judged and everyone can see what it is. 

“Yes, he loved cursing, and it came to him. He didn’t delight in blessing, and it was far from him. He clothed himself also with cursing as with his garment. It came into his inward parts like water, like oil into his bones.”

Psalm 109:17-18

Beloved, let us run from this state of being. Let is run to the LORD our GOD for He will abundantly pardon us and give us His mercy and love. This is the only way. 

Six bowls of God’s wrath

“Behold, I come like a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his clothes, so that he doesn’t walk naked, and they see his shame.” He gathered them together into the place which is called in Hebrew, Megiddo..(Armageddon)”

Revelation 16:15-16

The seven angels that appear in this vision has seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, given to them by the four living creatures. They are instructed to pour them out on the earth, which is the empire of the Antichrist and the Beast, the those who worship in their ways will suffer from these terrible woes. It effects all the aspects of the earth and causes great distress. 

The first angel pours out malignant growths that appear on people who worships the Beast. The sores are loathsome to look at and experience. This could be actual physical sores, or the loathsome manifestations of a bad conscience and bad character, built up over years of sinning and not repenting. It is the ugliness and revulsion of religion that leads people astray and is in itself corrupt. It creates a stench that contaminates many, including those who propagate it.

The second angel pours of the bowl into the sea and it turns to blood. Every living thing in the sea is polluted and brings death to them all. The sea cannot function because it has become so polluted that it cannot support life any more and this effects a huge swathe of humanity. The effect of paganism, popishness and false doctrine have polluted the whole body of religion and there is nothing left untouched by falsehood. 

The wrath of God is carried out, as on the Egyptians, who refused God and kept His people as slaves. These woes are reminiscent of the ten Egyptian plagues, which were the ruination of Egypt and the destruction of their power in the depths of the Red Sea. Pharaoh lost everything because of the hardness of his heart towards the Lord, until the Lord sent him a delusion and hardened his heart without any more chances to change. 

“The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he didn’t listen to them, as the LORD had spoken to Moses.”

Exodus 9:12

The freshwater is also cursed with the water turning to blood. There is nothing to drink. These particular curses against humankind are the result of the blood of the Christians spilt over time and who call out for recompense. These angels of the waters give honour to God for righteousness and the justice that these judgements represent. People are given blood to drink because they have spilt blood, specifically the blood of the many martyrs. 

“I will feed those who oppress you with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I, the LORD, am your Saviour, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

Isaiah 49:26

The forth angel had power over the sun and the sun become so hot it scorches the people with an intense heat so that they call out curses against God for doing his to them. The unbelieving people will not turn to the Lord. They refuse to acknowledge who God is or give Him the glory and they will never repent. They know the message of Christ and recognise its good effect but continue in sin, which hurts them and sears their consciences.

“Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, influenced by the hypocrisy of liars, whose consciences are seared with a hot iron.”

1 Timothy 4;1-2

The fifth angel pours out his bowl of wrath on the “throne of the Beast.” This is the power-house of the world and everything is plunged into darkness, the darkness of idolatry and falsehood. 

“They will pass through it, very distressed and hungry; and it will happen that when they are hungry, they will worry, and curse by their king and by their God. They will turn their faces upward, and look to the earth, and see distress, darkness, and the gloom of anguish. They will be driven into thick darkness.”

Isaiah 8:21-22

The sixth angel dries up the great river Euphrates which stands for the provision of water to those who live near it. It will dry up and the provision of God will cease, but it also prepares the way for the taking over of the world by people from the East. It prepares the last great battleground for the enemies of the LORD. 

There are unclean spirits that come out of the mouths of the Dragon, the Beast and the false prophet. The lies of these three deceivers with the power of hell behind them, grow and the deceit from the words of their mouths become more and more corrupt. These demonic spirits deceive and corrupt the kings of the earth and all are drawn to the lies of the falsehoods that are prevailing. They all assemble for the last great battle, which will take place on the day of God Almighty. 

CHRIST will return and we must be ready. He will come like a thief comes to steal, and we will not be expecting Him. He will return in great power and glory and the people of the world will quake because of Him. We must be awake and watching for Him and have our coats on and ready to leave! Just like the Israelites were instructed at the Passover, to be ready to leave from their state of slavery and be ready to be free. The end has come. All the assembled armies of the kings are in the place called Armageddon…

“But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and the helmet of our hope of salvation. For God has not appointed us to suffer wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 Thessalonians 5:8-9

The Wrath of God

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“After these things I looked, and the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. The seven angels who had the seven plagues came out, clothed with pure, bright linen, and wearing golden sashes around their breasts. One of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power. No one was able to enter into the temple, until the seven plagues of the seven angels would be finished.”

Revelation 15:5-8

We don’t like to talk about he wrath of God, because somehow we think it is unworthy. We have become used to the idea that everyone should get what they want and win everything, so that no ones feels bad. We can find ourselves thinking that everyone should be forgiven and that God is not fair about choosing some for salvation and other not being in the kingdom. We have become facile in our thinking and have forgotten the God that is revealed to us in the Scriptures. We adapt the things we think are too difficult to talk about and that involve us being frank and blunt about what God expects from humankind, and tone down the power of God and the wrath of God to make it acceptable to sinful, unbelieving hearts. 

God has wrath and it will be poured out on human society in the last days like at no other time, more destructive and virulent than Sodom and Gomorrah. God will stop the filth of human sin in its tracks once the last Christian is gathered into the kingdom. There will be no second chances and no reprieve. The angels in this passage are preparing to pour out the wrath of God on the earth from seven perfect golden bowls full of God’s wrath. There is going to be terrible trouble and suffering as God finally and fully puts an end to the evil that has infiltrated the world through the evil hearts of humankind.

God’s mercy is everlasting toward those He calls to Himself. But there are those who will never come. Their hearts never soften to the Lord and they never see their need to repent. They are left out of the kingdom and will have the full force of the wrath of God meted out on their lives. It is a difficult topic, because it is so fearful and not in our control. 

We must trust the Lord in all things. We must know that He will always do what is right. Why he chooses some and not others is a mystery. 

“Listen, my beloved brothers. Didn’t God choose those who are poor in this world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the Kingdom which he promised to those who love him?”

James 2:5

This verse hold a clue. Gods choice is not like human choice which chooses the Big person and leaves the unheard of person out. God deliberately choses the oppressed and those who are side-lined and will one day vindicate them by showing what He has done. When we come to God, He requires humility and that is difficult if you are rich and proud. Even if you say you are just rich, you gave no physical need of God, and so it is hard to see that you need Him. 

But the Bible is clear about our need. It is very pressing. Jesus warns us about neglecting God and our souls. 

“The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in His hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”

John 3:35-36

The choice for us is very simple. We choose eternal bliss with the Lord, with our sins all forgiven and gone and the holiness that goes with knowing God, or everlasting wrath away from God and all that is good. God is not a self-help councillor to help us with our troubles, but is the God who must be obeyed and we must repent of our ways and embrace His ways. It is foolish to not choose the Lord, or to argue with His ways that we don’t understand. One day we will, but until then we come to Him in faith and love and shelter under the wings of Christ for He shelters us from the certain day of wrath that is coming for all who do not believe. 

The Song of Moses

“They sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and marvelous are your works, Lord God, the Almighty! Righteous and true are your ways, you King of the nations.”

Revelation 15:3

The Song of Moses is sung by the Redeemed people of God in their vision. It was sung to the people of God by the servant of God, Moses, and we also will sing it to the Lord our God. The song of the Redeemed will echo the sentiments and doctrine of that glorious song of Moses to the Lord. It begins with blessing the Lord; reminding Gods people what they have been saved from and celebrating the power of God in all circumstances. The Lord is great and has procured a great salvation so that we can sing this song. Because of who he is, He has kept us in all our failings and sufferings.

“For I will proclaim The LORD’s name. Ascribe greatness to our God! The Rock: his work is perfect, for all his ways are just. A God of faithfulness who does no wrong, just and right is he.”

Deuteronomy 32:3-4

God remains faithful to His people when they abandon hope and even prove faithless! Such is the power of our salvation and the overwhelming mercy of God towards His people. He has bourn with us in all our wandering and failures and when we do not seek Him as we should. When we have walked without His felt presence, He has revealed Himself to those He loves. He is faithful and does no wrong. He is perfect and has executed justice fully now that the kingdom has come.

“When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the children of men, he set the bounds of the peoples according to the number of the children of Israel. For The Lord’s portion is his people. Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. He found him in a desert land, in the waste howling wilderness. He surrounded him. He cared for him. He kept him as the apple of his eye.”

Deuteronomy 32:8-10

The Song of the Redeemed will rehearse all that the Lord has done for them in His electing love, because they will really understand what it means to belong to His family and household. The Lord has found his people wandering in a wasteland in desperate need and has rescued them from certain death. The Lord has cared for us and kept us as the apple of His eye. What privileges we enjoy as Christian people and how grateful are the words of the song. As we sing it, we rehearse all that God has done for us according to His tender mercy towards us.

“See now that I, even I, am he, There is no god with me. I kill, and I make alive. I wound, and I heal. There is no one who can deliver out of my hand.”

Deuteronomy 32:39

They will sing of the Lamb once slain, who has taken away their sin through the sacrifice of Himself on the cross. They will understand the cost of it like never before and will eternally wonder at the majestic love of God that has done such wonders. They will adore the perfect keeping power of God who alone has the authority to give and take life and is the great “I am he.”

No one else will be able to sing this song. Only those who have the white robes of salvation, dipped and washed in the precious blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ the only begotten of the Father and still the Lamb of God, who is now forever on the throne. He will be exalted by the song of His people who are now His inheritance and will share in His glory and reign with Him forever. Heaven will be filled with the song and music will be the atmosphere of that blessed place. The expression of emotion will be huge and the passion of the voices raised in worship will be extraordinary. There will be no holding back in those great and eternal days as the people of God exalt their Lord and God.

The Sea of Glass

“I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who overcame the beast, his image, and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God.”

Revelation 15:2

We will overcome the Beast, the image of the Beast and the number of his name. We will have the unspeakable privilege of standing on that sea of glass and fire and enjoying making the music of heaven.

This vision is in preparation for the outpouring of the last seven bowls of the wrath of God on humankind and the final and irrevocable destruction of the Beast. It is a sign and an overview of the working of the mighty power of God through the end times of the gospel age.

The saints of God escape the judgment to fall on all paganism and high and mighty “religion” that sets itself above the Lord in seeming power and glory. It will not last and is to be resisted. This is the message of the Beast and the necessity of avoiding his name and mark on our lives.

The sea of glass represents the pure and peerless death of Christ who has procured such a free and freely offered salvation. He is able to justify and sanctify all who come to Him in faith and humility. The saints stand on the efficacy of that amazing sacrifice, which angels long to understand. The subsequent song of the Redeemed is their song of perpetual praise the the Almighty and ever-living God and they magnify His great name in everything they do. Music is part of heaven and accompanying instruments. But the music and the song are peculiar to the people of God.

The fire in the glassy sea represents the presence and power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in the lives of God’s people and resides in the church of Jesus Christ, living stones, that build the edifice of the living body of the Lord Jesus. We stand only in the power of the Holy Spirit and the strong work of grace in our lives as Christian people.

This picture is so attractive and encouraging. None of the people of God will be left out or lost. Each will take their places on the glassy sea before the throne of God, to worship Him and adore that work that He has accomplished in them. They are sure about why they stand there before the Lord in holiness and purity- because of the perfect sacrifice that was made for them on the cross at Calvary by the perfect Saviour, who laid down His life for them.

All praise, renown and glory will be to Him who is above all praising, yet loves the praise of His people. Such is the love of the humble King of all things that He should love ignoble us…

The Harvest

“Another angel came out from the temple, crying with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Send forth your sickle, and reap; for the hour to reap has come; for the harvest of the earth is ripe!”

“Another angel came out from the temple which is in heaven. He also had a sharp sickle. Another angel came out from the altar, he who has power over fire, and he called with a great voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Send forth your sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for the earth’s grapes are fully ripe!”

Revelation 14:15 and 17-18

This vision is full of gospel mercy. The angels are the messengers of God sent to proclaim the good news that there is forgiveness for sin and escape from eternal punishment. There is no need that people should perish in their sins, but many will. Many will refuse the Lord and His offer of mercy, especially at the end times just before the return of Christ. There will be a great falling away from religion and true Christianity and a return to pagan ways and the seemingly secular ground of atheistic belief systems. But these angels give us hope that the gospel is still being preached in our world and there are still people who are coming to Christ every day.

The signs of the times and the various explanations that people give for them can be very worrying to us and depressing. But these words are give for the comfort and encouragement of the Christians in every time throughout the gospel age. The time for the Second coming of Christ cannot be known or worked out. It will be a big surprise for everyone, except those who are waiting expectantly.

“Now about the times and seasons, brothers, we do not need to write to you. For you are fully aware that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.”

1 Thessalonians 5:1-3

There will be great terror but not for the people of God. When the angels are sent to gather in the tares with the harvest, there will be no mistakes.

“The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his Kingdom all things that cause stumbling and those who do iniquity, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Matthew 13:41-43

The sharp and effective sickle of the gospel will not gather in the harvest forever, but one day the reckoning will come and there will be another ingathering of the righteous and the wicked. The righteous to eternal life and the wicked to everlasting perdition. These are the words of our loving Saviour and we must heed His warnings.

The angel of fire comes from under the altar of God where the souls of the Martyrs are hidden. This angel cries out on their behalf for vengeance against the wicked for the suffering of the martyred people. The fire comes to bring vengeance for vengeance belongs to God and not to us. God will recompense is people for the suffering they have received at the hand of the wicked, and hence we have this harvest where all wrongs will be put right and the justice of the Holy God will be seen to be done. Fire denotes the holiness of God and the sacred fire on the altar of God never went out. Evil might seem to triumph for a short while, but God will not be mocked and He will bring holiness and righteousness and His reign will last forever.

The White Cloud

“I looked, and behold, a white cloud; and on the cloud one sitting like a son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.”

Revelation 14:14

The purity of the white cloud and the golden crown on the head of the person sitting on the cloud, is a vision of the son of man, who is the Lord Jesus Christ. He has come to gather in a people for His own possession.

“And among the lampstands was one like a son of man, clothed with a robe reaching down to his feet, and with a golden sash around his chest.”

Revelation 1:13

“I saw in the night visions, and behold, there came with the clouds of the sky one like a son of man, and he came even to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.”

Daniel 7:13

He comes as the son of man in His incarnation, His sinless life on earth and as the King over all the saints that He is gathering with the sickle. The saints are not the Romish idea of veneration, but those who are the redeemed people of God, bought by the blood of Christ. They are all those who believe and are saved from the coming judgment.

Another angel appears with a sickle to reap and gather in the peoples of earth in the gospel era. This is the time to repent and believe, for the kingdom has come and Christ is gathering His people to Himself. The angel cried out with a loud voice with great vehemency. The gospel call goes out with urgency and great power as the elect are brought in from the four corners of the world. The angel denotes the servants of God who preach the offer of mercy to those who will believe.

“Put in the sickle; for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the winepress is full, the vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.”

Joel 3:13

The end days of great wickedness are coming and there will be terrible events to face. But the door of mercy is still open and the Harvest is still being gathered in. The Saviour is bringing in His people and the messenger of Christ still stands and calls out the message to us. Will we turn from our wickedness and come to the Lord, or will we be castaways and suffer the full force of the just punishment of God for our sin.

Another angel appears with a sickle, at this end time. He is gathering in the grapes of the produce of the sinfulness of the people on the earth. They are gathered and thrown into the wine press of the wrath of God. A loud angel voice from the altar of God instructs the angel to swing the sickle and cut down the grapes and throw them into the judgment. The produce from the wine press yielded a harvest of blood for miles around. This is the last great judgment. The sins of the world are ripe for the harvest of the wrath of God. He has tolerated the sin of the unrighteous long enough, so that His people will be gathered into His kingdom. Not one of them is lost.

“Who is this who comes from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this who is glorious in his clothing, marching in the greatness of his strength? “It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.”

Isaiah 63:1

Only the Lord is able to tread this winepress of wickedness. He is the judge and executioner of the just sentence of the court of God on the ungodly. Christ will have the victory over sin and death and will put all wickedness out of the kingdom that is coming in all its fullness.