The Revelation of Jesus Christ
180
THE BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON 14:14-20 The last portion of this chapter has to do with the closing event of the tribulation period: "And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the . cloud one sat like unto 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 voi~e to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is 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, which 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 clus ters 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 unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs" (Rev. H: H-20). These verses de$cribe what will take place at the Battle of Armageddon, the last great war on eart~. Just as Satan, through the Antichrist and the God-defying armies of the world, is persecuting the Jews: just as each nation is seeking to destroy the others, the Lord Himself will return in glory to put an end to these wicked devices. The picture is graphically told in Rev. 19: 11-16, and this we shall study in a later lesson. In the verses before us, however, the emphasis is placed upon the terrible harvest of that day. The Lord Himself described the scene when, in Matt. 13:30, He said of the wheat and the tares: "Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn." The saved, represented by the "wheat," will enter into His earthly kingdom: but the wicked, the "tares," will be burned with fire. Terrible judgment in that day will fall upon all the ungodly in the land of Palestine, both Jew and Gentile. The
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker