The church gossip and self-appointed spokesperson of the church's morals kept sticking her nose into other
people's business. Several church members were unappreciative of her activities
but feared her enough to remain silent. She
made a mistake, however, when she accused George, a new member, of being drunk
after noticing his truck parked in front of the town's only bar. On Sunday,
right in front of several people, she commented that everyone seeing it there
would know what he was doing. George, a
man of few words, stared at her for a moment and just walked away. He didn't
explain, defend, or deny; he said nothing. Later that evening, George quietly parked his
pickup in front of her house and left it there all night.
Do you think this gossip learned
her lesson? I doubt it. People like her refuse to be taught; they will
not admit their sin. And John the Apostle
reminds us that, “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living
in the truth” [1]
(1 John 1:8).
I meet very few people who enjoy
being confronted about their sin. However, in Christian circles, this is actually a healthy exercise. A true believer is willing to admit their sin.
They recognize their need for a Savior and turn to Christ in faith. This is the lesson we read in the book of
Romans. Paul, a first-century
evangelist, teaches us that without conviction
there is no salvation. After all, if we
deny our sin, why would we need a Savior.
Contrasting Adam and Jesus, Paul writes,
“When Adam
sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to
everyone, for everyone sinned. Because
one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person
obeyed God, many will be made righteous” [2]
(Romans 5:12,19).
Ever since the first man and woman
sinned, God has been working on a process to undo the effects of sin. By the death of Jesus, we have been delivered
from sins penalty. In His resurrection,
we have been delivered from sins
power. One day, when He returns, we will
be delivered from sins presence. And it is this last part – the removal of
sins presence – we see unfolding in Revelation 14.
(Revelation 14:14-20) 14 Then I saw a white
cloud, and seated on the cloud was someone like the Son of Man. He had a gold
crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.
15 Then another angel came
from the Temple and shouted to the one sitting on the cloud, “Swing the sickle,
for the time of harvest has come; the crop on earth is ripe.” 16 So
the one sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the whole
earth was harvested.
17 After that, another
angel came from the Temple in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. 18 Then
another angel, who had power to destroy
with fire, came from the altar. He shouted to the angel with the sharp sickle,
“Swing your sickle now to gather the clusters of grapes from the vines of the
earth, for they are ripe for judgment.” 19 So the angel swung
his sickle over the earth and loaded the grapes into the great winepress of
God’s wrath. 20 The grapes were trampled in the winepress
outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress in a stream about 180
miles long and as high as a horse’s bridle. [3]
Angels announce that God’s wrath
will trample the wicked in a great battle. Blood will probably be splattered as high as a horse’s bridle, not necessarily that deep.[4]
The description here makes us wonder if God really hates people this much. Is
God fuming and fussing in Heaven as we speak, anticipating the day He can let
loose a whole barrage of curses on humanity?
Although words like “wrath” and “anger” are used here, we must remember
that God does not want anyone to die (Ezekiel 18:32), so there must be a more in-depth explanation to this event.
“God’s anger and wrath must always
be seen in relation to His maintaining
and defending His attributes of love and holiness, as well as His righteousness
and justice. The emotion or passion that
moves God to this maintaining and defending is exposed by the terms
‘displeasure’, ‘indignation,’ ‘anger,’ and ‘wrath.’”[5]
So, it’s best to understand these events
as God removing sin’s presence from
the earth. These events depict the world
being prepared for the arrival of Jesus – the glorified Jesus.
Jesus describes this period like a farmer separating the wheat from weeds. He says, 40 “Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the world. 41 The
Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and
all who do evil. 42 And the angels will throw them into
the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then
the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom. Anyone with
ears to hear should listen and understand! [6](Matthew
13:40-43). In another parable, Jesus
describes the last days as a fisherman separating his catch. 47 Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a fishing
net that was thrown into the water and caught fish of every kind. 48 When
the net was full, they dragged it up onto
the shore, sat down, and sorted the good fish into crates, but threw the bad
ones away. 49 That is the way it will be at the end of the
world. The angels will
come and separate the wicked people from the righteous, 50 throwing
the wicked into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth [7]
(Matthew 13:47-50).
To fully understand what will
happen at this point in history, we need to dismiss the notion that God loses
control of His emotions and flies off in an uncontrollable rage. We cannot describe God using human emotions,
for this diminishes His holiness. To put
it simply, the great battle depicted here
is God purifying the land. Since Jesus
will be returning to rule for a thousand years, the earth is being made holy;
everything that causes sin and all who do evil will be removed. The Millennial rule of Christ will be marked
by righteousness, purity, and justice.
In Matthew 24 Jesus spoke of two
men standing in a field or two women grinding at the mill. One will be taken away, and one will be left behind (Matthew
24:40-41). Days before Jesus returns to
the earth, the wicked will be pulled out from among the righteous and cast
aside. The righteous will be left behind.
Yes, I imagine these last days
will be difficult for God. It will be
with great sorrow the Father casts the unrighteous aside. He has continually reached out to those with
stiff necks and hard hearts. Even in
these last days, God will send angels to call sinners to repentance. But many people will refuse; they refuse to
be humble or admit their sin… leaving God no other choice. To maintain His holiness, God will pass
judgment. He will separate. And far too many people will find themselves
cast aside. However, because the Lord can
see into the deepest part of our hearts,
His judgment will be just and fair; not one single innocent person will suffer
in the “winepress of His wrath.”
This section of Revelation speaks
of those who are still alive near the end of the Tribulation period. These are people who have survived the
effects of the 7 Seals and the 7 Trumpets mentioned in earlier chapters of
Revelation. This includes some who have
worshiped the beast (receiving his mark) and those who have refused. And a day will come when God must harvest humanity; we will reach a
point where wickedness threatens to spoil the whole crop (compare verse 15). So, the events mentioned here happen in the
future; we don’t know when, but they will happen.
You can be spared all of this by merely humbling yourself before God,
admitting your sin, and accepting Jesus as your Savior. It’s true!
By placing your faith in Jesus, you will be spared these trials; you
will not endure this time of earthly purification. Don’t be like those who are stubborn and
stiff-necked. You can be made righteous
because of the death of Jesus by allowing Him to remove the penalty for your sin.
[1] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (1 Jn 1:8). Carol Stream,
IL.
[2] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Ro 5:12,19). Carol Stream,
IL.
[3] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed., Re 14:14–20).
Carol Stream, IL.
[4] Walvoord, J. F. (1985). Revelation. In J. F. Walvoord & R.
B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge
Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 965). Wheaton, IL:
Victor Books.
[5] The Wrath of God; Baker Theological
Dictionary ©1996 by Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI.
[6] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed., Mt 13:37–43).
Carol Stream, IL.
[7] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed., Mt 13:47–50).
Carol Stream, IL.
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