Are there any any guests that you'd like to introduce here this morning? None over here I have some guests to introduce my parents are here from Nebraska today you know what that means that means you have to be nice to me this morning okay put away your customary especially you Frank your customary habits what's that well that has yet to be seen I'm afraid do well I think that I will go ahead and while we're still waiting for people to come in I'll read the passage that will deal with today and then we'll pray is the the tape going back there okay thanks more all right let's open our Bibles to Revelation chapter 14 verses 6 through the end of the chapter fairly long section let's let's hear God's word Revelation 14 verse 6 and then I saw another angel flying in mid-Heaven with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth through every nation and tribe and tongue and people and he said with a loud voice fear God and give him glory for the hour of his judgment has come and worship him who made heaven and earth the sea and the fountains of water another angel a second followed saying fallen fallen is babble on the great she who made all nations drink the wine of her impure passion another angel a third followed them saying with a loud voice and we're at Revelation 14 9 for the late cumbers if anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand he also shall drink the wine of God's wrath poured unmixed into the cup of his anger and he shall be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the lamb and the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever and they have no rest day or night these worshipers of the beast and its image and whoever receives the mark of its name here's a call for the endurance of the saints those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus and I heard a voice from heaven saying write this blessed are the dead who die in the Lord henceforth blessed indeed says the spirit that they may rest from their labors for their deeds follow them then I looked and low a white cloud and seated on the cloud one like a son of man with a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand then another angel came out of the temple calling with a loud voice to him who sat on upon the cloud putting your sickle and reap for the hour to reap has come for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe so he who sat upon the cloud swung his sickle on the earth and the earth was reaped and another angel came out of the temple in heaven and he too had a sharp sickle then another angel came out from the altar the angel who has power over fire and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle put in your sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth for its grapes are ripe so the angel swung his sickle on the earth and gathered the vintage of the earth and threw it into the great wine press of the wrath of God and the wine press was trodden outside the city and blood flowed from the wine press as high as a horse's bridle for 1,600 stadia my God bless the reading and hearing of his word okay we're in the middle of chapter 14 maybe we should just review for a moment where we've been and just the very basic outline I know we've done this from time to time but people have said that this helps doing this once in a while basic outline of the book of Revelation as you know many people divide Revelation in different ways we've suggested in this class a simple and I think texturally based way of dividing Revelation and that's into its four major visions now there are of course many little smaller visions but four major visions in Revelation at the beginning of each one of those visions John mentions being in the spirit and there's some reference to where he is either on the island of Patmos in chapter 1 or transported to heaven in chapter 4 chapter 17 he is taken to to a mountain or excuse me he's taken to a desert and then in chapter 21 he's taken to a mountain and there are there are various elements like this that indicate that there are these four major long visions some of them longer than others in fact the second one the one where we've been for a long time which starts in chapters 4 and 5 goes all the way to the end I would say all the way to the end of chapter 16 so we're in the middle of that second great long vision and we've noticed a number of quite a number of things of course happening but a number of even structural things that is we've had seven well we've had series of seventh haven't we what are some of the sevens that we've seen so far seven trumpets seven lampstands back in chapter 1 right seven seals okay those are the the major ones in the second vision I think you've got the wrong class friend thanks can seven it was seven maids of milking okay you can always tell the seminarians here you know right in this second vision we've had especially the the seven seals remember seven seals on this this book that was in the the hand of the lamb given to the lamb in chapter 5 sealed with seven seals and each of those seals was broken then we had seven trumpets and as each seal was broken or as each trumpet was blown John saw something associated with that now after that seventh seal and before the seven bowls which we're going to get to in chapter 15 there is a sort of interlude in between that now some interpreters would divide that interlude itself into seven sections and that that's possible to do as well but in any case those seven sections are not as clearly marked for us as the seven seals and the seven trumpets and bowls which are actually you know named one seven so we are in the in that interlude area that started in chapter 12 remember what happened in chapter 12 John saw a portent or a sign in heaven and it was a woman right a woman clothed with the sun and the moon and stars around her and also a great dragon right the woman was with child and about to bear a man a man child who would rule the nations with the root rod of iron and the dragon is waiting to devour the child will the child is caught up to heaven before the dragon can devour it and there follows a battle in heaven and Satan the dragon is thrown down and then we're told that heaven might may rejoice but woe to you or earth and sea for the devil has come down in his wrath knowing his time is short and then we have rising from the sea a great beast that bears in many ways the image of the dragon and then we have this is chapter 13 and then we have another beast rising from the earth this time seeming to support the domination of the first beast supported in particularly religious ways causing people to worship the first beast then at the beginning of chapter 14 we had a comforting and encouraging vision of the saints on mount Zion 144,000 which we've suggested is a symbolic number not a literal number but symbolizing the church as the true Israel made up of all the tribes of Israel 12,000 from each tribe that brings us to where we are today in chapter 14 ready to go on to really the last part of this interlude before we get to chapter 15 and 16 where the bowls are introduced the bowls of judgment
in chapter 14 verse 6 then there is John is shown three angels in a row three angels with three messages they seem to form a kind of a group one after another and each one is numbered first second and a third the first angel proclaims an eternal gospel is flying in mid heaven proclaiming an eternal gospel to those who dwell on the earth that gospel is summarized in this way fear God and give him glory for the hour of his judgment has come and worship him who made heaven an earth to see and the fountains of water what would you say about this this gospel or this proclamation of good news in the context of the book of Revelation it's number of things are interesting about it it is an exhortation to worship the true creator the one who made heaven an earth to see and the fountains of water we've noticed I think once or twice that revelation tends to characterize or summarize God's creation in this fourfold way heaven and earth the sea and then the fountains are the springs of water I guess that's four and many interpreters have noticed that four seems to be a sort of universalistic number it's a characterizes the earth or the creation of God and we can see the creations divided into four aspects in fact we've seen this in the in the judgment of the trumpets and in the judgment of the we will see it in the judgment of the bowls the first four trumpets and the first four bowls bring judgment upon these four aspects of God's creation and you might ask well why would God do that you know why would God bring judgment upon his own creation any ideas on that because it's fallen what did God do in the very first act of judgment with the first curse he cursed the creation along with man man as the head of creation and because man as the head of creation and man sinned and fell both male and female he he curses the earth as well and we know that there's a tendency throughout human civilization to worship the creature rather than the creator right various aspects any aspect of creation rather than the creator and if you just think back through biblical history you know you have Egypt and the point of many of the plagues on Egypt where it was that it had to do with something with with some of the Egyptian gods you know the Nile for instance or the sun god and the darkness being a judgment on on their false religious system in John's day as well there were earth deities and sun deities and sea deities and so forth so it's very appropriate that when mankind turns its worship away from the creator to the creature that God and his judgment his judgment would be upon man through the creation showing that there is one creator of all of this there's one god of heaven one god of earth one god of the sea and all the fountains of water out you know in our day we don't we don't set up altars to the sun or the earth or the sea but there is a kind of there's a kind of worship of nature around isn't there I'd say both both in the sort of scientific way in which our our scientific culture tends to worship and also we've seen it break out recently in all kinds of sort of pagan or neo-paganism and nature worship and wicked and so forth we actually have singing more nature worship in our days so it's still it's still appropriate I think to us to hear this proclamation about God the one creator the one god of all these elements of nature and he is the one that we should worship and that's the the content of the preaching of this first angel in chapter 14 well then John sees another angel second following saying fallen fallen is babble on the great she who made all nations drink the wine of her impure passion now this is actually the first mention of babble on in the book of Revelation first mentions right here we're going to have a lot more about babble on in future chapters particularly chapter 17 and then 18 and 19 as well I think we will postpone most of our discussion of babble on who or what is babble on until we get to chapter 17 but just to notice that here is babble on introduced and already just from this notice what would you say about babble on you know what can you pick up any kind of any kind of information about babble on in this verse any impression that it leaves with you immoral and why do you say that
okay there's unfaithfulness there the wine of her what's your translation say John wine of her fornication okay okay her adulteries or fornication okay impurity some the wine of her impure passion is what the RSV says right so there is already a notion very clear that babble on is associated with immorality sensualism adultery okay nothing more really said about that at this point it would seem as though John's first hearers must have known or John must have known when he heard from the angel what babble on was but maybe not we don't really get an explanation until chapter 17 I think we're going unless you have any particular questions on the verse I think we're going to talk about babble on more when we get to chapter 17 Dale was that a question I see just a just a smirk okay okay that's all right I like smirks all right we go on then to the third angel and this angel has a message of doom first angel had a message of good news it was called a gospel an eternal gospel second angel had a message of well doom I guess a message it was actually a message of good news because babble on already we know is an evil entity and it is fallen so that that itself is also good news so it's an initiation of the downfall of babble on this third angel has another message of doom and this is on the worshippers of the beast now this is this is so so horrific I mean I don't even like to think about this but it says clearly that they shall drink that is those who worship the beast and its image receiving his mark on their forehead or on their hands they shall drink the wine of God's wrath poured unnixed into the cup of his anger and shall be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels in the presence of the lamb their smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever and it continues and it just keeps guys it's getting worse and worse and they have no rest they are night these worshippers of the beast did you notice the first thing he says about them first ten they shall he shall put in the singular drink the wine of God's wrath notice a correspondence with the second angel the message of second angel battle on made some people drink the wine of her fornication impure passion God will make them drink the wine of his wrath the sort of punishment fits the crime aspect here payment for their revelry for their fornication for their their indulgence God will pay them back with the cup of his wrath they will be tormented without rest in the presence of the holy angels and the presence of the lamb now in a way you know I can't think of a more terrifying notion to be tormented in the presence of the holy angels and the presence of the lamb it means that the lamb really does have wrath and we've had we've mentioned back in chapter six the wrath of the lamb has already mentioned chapter six this image of the beast worshippers being tormented in the presence of the lamb himself quite striking but you know one thing it also tells me is that because it's in the presence of the lamb it means it's not going to be unfair there's it's not going to be unjust it's in the presence of the holy angels and the presence of the lamb uh so whatever else that communicates as terrifying and horrifying as that is uh it also it's not as though it's not as though it's away from the lamb totally separated from his sovereignty no even this is in his control and even and this will be just comments on that Frank yeah I think it could you certainly have to say that the the image here is an image of eternal punishment and those who who would argue against eat the notion of eternal punishment might say well this is just an image you know it's it's not to be taken literally so there's some ambiguity I would think from a text like this that that is symbolic yet uh you have to say too that it has to be symbolic of something has to be symbolic of something and I can't think of what eternal torment would be symbolic of other than eternal torment but uh yeah certainly it's a it's a it's an image of eternal punishment okay thanks yeah there's there's an idea called annihilationism that says that the wicked will be judged on the last day but their judgment will be that of annihilation that is they will be simply destroyed and taken out of existence and therefore there will be no eternal punishment punishment that that is that is eternally felt by them that's that's not in the the traditional understanding of judgment by the church and in the historic creeds and it's a text like this and text like Jesus several uh several sayings of Jesus about weeping and gnashing of teeth and and uh their smoke going up I guess that's this passage their smoke going up forever that uh that sincerely present the picture of an eternal uh torment uh John
yeah right yeah that that's that's a good point that uh if you if you take the a very consistently futurist and literalist view then this would only apply to those people living in the last probably three and a half years of world history uh who actually received the literal mark and then this would set them off from any other uh great sinners of the past in in their punishment and that's uh yeah I think that's a good point uh seems to be seems to be uh generally supportive of the idea that the beast is always around and potentially there uh to be worshipped by those who reject God reject his Christ and uh join in in persecuting them that day where is the real horror in annihilation is I mean I would say I feel five deep drinks of you Mary through both standing in just the space for a prayer of extinction I mean if I'm extinct there's nothing I'm not gonna be able to make you want this but yeah yeah but I mean I just see me these yeah yeah yeah yeah 70 or 80 years of uh living it up for a moment of torture uh some people would take that risk yeah uh right yeah Dale's pointing out the the fact that the annihilationism doesn't seem to present like the great terror that scripture does present when it talks about the judgment of the wicked uh yes sir yeah yeah it does yeah it does definitely I mean that's an interesting point isn't it because that's how we often think of hell I think popular notions and I suppose there's an aspect of that that is you you're away from his from his uh blessed presence a God cannot stand in the presence of sin and so uh sinners will be far removed from him uh in terms of his holiness in terms of his blessedness but but yeah that's why it's so striking here that it says that they will be tormented in the presence of the Lamb there's something still very personal about sin that it's in the presence of the Lamb that they were they received their their judgment yes yeah that's that's a good question the the scripture allow that you might have the mark of the beast in a general and in a specific way that is would there be and we we've kind of touched on this before would there be at a given time in history and a given culture uh would there be a more or less uh literal physical focused mark that people by which they would identify themselves with the beast I think that's possible I think that's possible yeah as along with a more general identification with the beast when when people individually or corporately take the side of the the state or the the persecuting body over against God's people yeah I think that's possible we mentioned in the second and third centuries when when emperor will worship itself seems to be the big deal and worshiping the emperor gets one out of persecution but if you if you don't if you refuse to worship the emperor you may be faced with death for being a Christian where there it could be it could be very focused on that one thing
yes from the front row you see where she's driving he's pointed questions I okay yeah I think that's that's that's also very interesting isn't it wouldn't the saints be aware of this and how does that fit how does that jive with our notion of heaven or eternal blessedness is it consistent to think of eternal blessedness God wipes away every tear from our eyes and when his presence to know that that there are some that are suffering that are being punished eternally right yeah yeah that's that's a jarring that's a jarring thought isn't it and I don't really know how to how to answer that I mean I cannot I can't get my mind around that idea I think we have to confess that we have to maybe make a confession or something we don't fully understand that is that both are possible and that if we are fully aligned and the more fully aligned we are with God and with his purposes and with his holiness and his will that the more in line we will be with his judgment yeah that's true that's true the story of Lazarus mm-hmm has that that element right sure yeah right
right yeah right yeah yeah exactly yeah and we've seen that of course coming through revelation several times both in chapter 6 where the saints under the altar cry out for for justice for vengeance and at chapter 8 where the prayers it seems to be the prayers of the saints that unleash the judgments of the of the trumpets and they come in answer to that we've seen that before and so that it shouldn't maybe surprise us that much and I think what what Marcy the particular point she's getting at is that it's not only that that judgment will be over with you know at the time of Christ's second coming we can maybe picture that that vengeance finally being exacted but not only that but there will be an eternity of punishment and you know can we then picture the saints in in blessedness yet aware of of this I think that's the more even I mean that that's jarring as well and but it may just be an extension of what you're pointing out sheriff's that that the saints do cry out for vengeance and God's judgment in one real sense is is the answer to all those prayers and it's God delivering his people so it just goes on for eternity yes yeah yeah that's an interesting point that's a good point yeah about the the damned and the and the blessed needing the resurrection for their the full participation in the blessing or the the curse John you don't talk about the kindness and the sternness of God and I wonder if you know in our day of time kind of the evangelical culture we live in if we don't really have an appreciation that we should the biblical appreciation for the stern side of God that he is a stern God who's judged and you know his wrath will come and there will be a judgment I sometimes think that we are as a evangelical culture we're a little out of tilt on that and therefore you know in a sense you have to come up with theories like an annihilationism which kind of keeps God in the kind category and not as much a stern yeah but he's both and that's there is administrative it's hard to understand how God can be gracious and kind and at the same time just adjust judge who will bring his wrath yeah that's that's a good point and I'm sure that's that's why you put your finger on it why people labor to come up with with alternatives to this right and it's something we we need to take both sides very seriously Andy yeah yeah Andy's making a point about are there different levels of punishment as there might be different levels of blessedness or awards yeah I think that that is scriptural to to believe that there will be different levels you might say of punishment depending on the seriousness of the opposition to God those who are given more knowledge of them much more is required that implies that those who have less knowledge are have less responsibility everyone has responsibility and and according to Romans one has enough knowledge of God on which they may be judged and judged deficient but there does seem to be and the notion in scripture of of levels of punishment and here in this particular text we don't see that it's concentrating on the worship of the beast and and what is what is deserved by worshipping the beast and receiving his mark so there's some text where that's not made plain to us but I think that's yeah yeah there's some that are a lot more savoury than others I don't I don't know if it's based so much on how I don't know that that's interesting how good you are or how how blatant you are maybe focus at the other direction how blatant you are I don't think there's any any merit in anybody's goodness before God but there's there there may be more demerit for your badness if you know what I mean
yes currently yeah like Socrates and Plato perhaps and yeah yeah Curtis
Frank you want that one is it that I mean it hasn't been around for a long time I suppose it has an individual teachers I think we really start we really start seeing it more after the time of the enlightenment and with movements like deism and then some 19th century groups I think is who have made it well known but it seems to me that it's more found almost individually than in in groups other than like Jehovah's Witnesses and I don't know if there any more that John Stott as an individual has has has broached and at least embraced that that idea as as a viable biblical possibility yeah but he's not his his view is not associated with any one group his his church do you agree with that Frank anymore
now I don't know if that's just because in the people that I move will go into the entertainment
circle right yeah yeah yeah yeah well you know I don't know John off the top of my head there there may be some I know that that there's a more general appeal I think to the goodness of God from what I know yeah right how could a good God do this I think uh rather than particular I there there there are no doubt are a few texts but I I don't know the one on top of my head um why don't we go on to the next uh the next section uh right after this this terrifying portion in verse 11 verses 9 through 11 there is this call in 12 here's a call for the endurance of the saints those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus in the light of this dreadful insurer punishment there's a call to be faithful and to endure who's seen that endurance is an important theme in revelation all the way throughout to John chapter 1 says I John who share with you the the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance verse 13 here John hears a voice from heaven a beatitude that is a blessing right this he hears a voice from heaven saying that's interesting it's it's not just that he hears this voice but he's told right this right this that blessed are the dead who die in the Lord henceforth blessed indeed says the spirit that they may rest from their labors for their deeds follow them uh notice that the contrast start contrast to what we have just read where it's pointed out that day and night they have no rest but here of the dead the blessed dead the Christian dead that they have rest blessed are they
that they may rest from their labors here is the here is the eternal Sabbath rest their labors are finished their labors of life labors concerning which they will be judged and now they have rest following the pattern of God's work and then rest on the seventh day
throughout revelation we've had and and we'll continue to have several encouragement to persevere and promises especially for those who are slain because of their testimony to Christ I think of chapter 6 and then there are a number of others as well but this text I think tells us explicitly what we should know implicitly that is that it's not only the martyrs that are blessed with the life of heaven the eternal life of heaven there's no limitation put on these
they're all slain or they're all martyrs those who die in the Lord henceforth it's all who follow the lamb who will who die in the Lord henceforth who are blessed I think it's also interesting this this phrase and their deeds follow them are good and righteous deeds have an afterlife too you know so many of the righteous deeds of the saints go and notice by man nobody sees them nobody knows about them but God knows God sees and even those good deeds that the righteous do that are noticed well people forget about them right people will forget about them but God doesn't forget
it's very encouraging to me that the deeds of the righteous follow them in chapter 19 verse 8 if you were to skip ahead a little bit it's said of the bride of the lamb it's time for the wedding feast and the bride of the lamb is said to have been clothed it's granted to her to be clothed with fine linen bright and pure for the fine linen is anybody the righteous deeds of the saints and then you you can think back already to chapter 6 when the the martyrs under the altar and they are given what remember what they're given when they craft for vengeance they are given white robes and told to rest a little longer then we could look at chapter 19 verse 14 and this is speaking of Christ's second coming in his heavenly entourage when he comes the armies of heaven who accompany him at his return and 1914 says this and the armies of heaven arrayed in fine linen white and pure followed him on white horses you're righteous deeds those that are seen those that are unseen become in God's eyes and by his favor the sparkling and pure adornment of the bride of Christ and those righteous deeds are what clothe the saints the armies of heaven when they join him in battle on the last day and you might say but I have miserably few righteous deeds and even those that I have are tainted with sin but we have to remember those striking words of chapter 7 verse 14 where we're told of the saints that they have washed their robes and made them white how do they do that in the blood of the lamb right they have washed them and made them white in the blood of the lamb the lamb died to purify your works so I think it's an encouraging thing to hear that the works the deeds of the saints follow them we come now then to verses 14 to 16 which gives a picture of a harvest of the grain I would argue that this is another picture then here to the end of the chapter of the last judgment remember we've had a couple at least one in chapter 6 one in chapter 11 and here I think we have another one here the last judgment is depicted as a harvest to compare the coming judgment with a harvest is not an uncommon thing in scripture and you probably think of some passages yourselves in the parable excuse me parable the wheat in the tears in Matthew 13 remember that the householder tells his servants to let both the wheat in the tears grow until the harvest and at the harvest time he'll tell the reapers gather the weeds first and bind them into bundles to be burned but gather the wheat into my barns you know the wheat and the weeds are tears and this is later explained by Jesus remember how he explains that parable he says that the harvest is the clothes of the age and the reapers are angels just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire so it will be at the clothes of the age the son of man will send send his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and evil doers and throw them into the furnace of fire their men will weep and gnash their teeth then the righteous will shine like the sun and the kingdom of their father or mark 4 26 to 29 the parable of the growing grain remember that's the one in which the man goes out in plants and the seed grows he knows not how and the earth produces of itself first the blade then the ear then the full grain in the ear and when the grain is ripe he at once puts in the sickle because the harvest has come okay another instance where harvest is used as a metaphor for judgment for reaping at the last day this is even reflected in our much of our humidity there is one very familiar harvest hymn that we often sing around Thanksgiving time written by Henry Alfred who was by the way also a commentator on the book of Revelation even though he was pre-mill I hate to admit but he was a good commentator and was a good lyricist it's very familiar him I thought I'd read it because not only helps us to appreciate our humidity but it's a good illustration I think you remember how it starts out come you thankful people come raise the song of harvest home all is safely gathered in air the winter storms begin God our maker doth provide for our wants to be supplied come to God's own temple come raise the song of harvest home you see it's a harvest song it's thanking God for the harvest for the fruit of the land but then interestingly I hope you've noticed this in the second verse there's a beautiful transition from the the literal harvest that we're thankful for to a metaphorical meaning all the world is God's own field fruit unto his praise to yield wheat and tears to gather stone unto joy or sorrow grown first the blade and then the ear then the full corn shall appear Lord of harvest grant that we hold some grain and pure maybe you see we're the we're the Lord's good planting and seeing the harvest every year should make us think of our own lives our own lives fruitful or are they unfruitful and then in the third and fourth verse there's another transition to the harvest as the metaphor for judgment for the Lord our God shall come and shall take his harvest home from his fields shall in that day all offenses purge away give his angels charge at last in the fire the tears to cast but the fruitful ears to store in his garner evermore even so Lord quickly come to thy final harvest home gather thou thy people in free from sorrow free from sin therefore ever purified in thy presence to abide come with all thine angels come raise the glorious harvest home very I think beautiful him that takes the biblical image of harvest from its from its its literal and physical nature that we see every every day and applies it the way the Bible does to our spiritual lives and to to the end of the age well here in Revelation 14 we have another we have I think what you could call a symbolic enactment of this biblical metaphor for harvest again harvest is used to depict the coming judgment but it's developed in a unique way here in Revelation we have a dual harvest that is the first few verses here tell us about a grain harvest and the last several verses tell us of a vine harvest harvest of the grapes now interpreters have approached approached this duality different ways are they both a judgment of all mankind are they both a judgment of the wicked only are they the first one a judgment depiction of the judgment of the righteous or the gathering of the righteous and the last the gathering of the wicked you know what's going on how do you how do you view this well I tend to go along with those who see these as depictions first of the gathering in of the righteous in the the sort of the grain harvest image and the last part the the grape harvest at a depiction of the judgment of the wicked I think that makes a lot of sense the first in first verses 14 through 16 we see the agent of the harvest is one like a son of man we've seen that image before in chapter 1 where it describes the risen Christ and as we recall of course the son of man is an image that that Jesus like to use of himself I think this this is an image of Christ himself having a great sickle and then an angel announces that it's time to reap and he swings the sickle on earth and you know by the way again this is very difficult to conceive of in a literal way a swing of the sickle and the earth is harvested it is an image but the earth is harvested then we're not told about about what happens but there's there's no particular well there's no image of burning or anything like that I think this probably should be identified with with Christ gathering in his people at the end and you know this is the part of the parable that the the grain is stored up in his father's barns okay so I think this is a a picture of redemption but the second vision in verses 17 through 20 seems a bit different here it's not the son of man himself but an angel who comes out with the sickle in his hand and I think that that may be significant of course Christ could be pictured in either capacity as judging as it's gathering the righteous or judging the wicked but the fact that he is there for one and not the other maybe indicates that the first one where it's the son of man doing the reaping he's reaping the righteous and the second where there it's an angel it may be showing that it is it is a judgment on the wicked the other thing excuse me take a drink the other thing that points to judgment in this last portion is verse 19 where it's mentioned that the grapes are thrown into the great wine press of the wrath of God so that that pretty much settles that the last one is at least talking about judgment on the wicked
we have then these two images the image of a grain harvest and that of a wine harvest a vine harvest and when you think about the image of a vine harvest I don't know if any of you are actually vine farmers or have had any experience in this I haven't but you can just imagine what goes on in the treading of grapes in a wine vat and how how graphic of an image that might be how it sort of naturally lends itself to the notion of blood and violence right and in fact we see that this is used elsewhere in scripture there's a very striking image back in Isaiah 63
memorable passage speaking of God's judgment on his enemies who is this that comes from Adam in crimson crimson garments from Basra he that is glorious in his apparel marching in the greatness of his strength it is I announcing vindication mighty to save and then comes the question why is thy apparel read and thy garments like his that treads in the wine press and then the answer I have trodden the wine press alone and from the people's no one was with me I trod them in my anger and trampled them in my wrath their life blood is sprinkled upon my garments and I have stained all my raiment for the day of vengeance was in my heart and my year of redemption has come I looked but there was no one to help I was appalled but there was no one to uphold so my own arm brought me victory and my wrath upheld me I trod down the peoples in my anger I made them drunk in my wrath and I poured out their life blood on the earth you can see the same image of treading out the grapes as used for God's wrath and enjudgment upon his enemies we do have of course this is sometimes reflected in our humidity too there's one very famous hymn so called that starts my eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord he is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored comes from this biblical image of God or the lamb treading out the grapes all right the wine press of God's wrath is trodden and there is a huge amount of blood but unfortunately would come to the end of our time and I think we'll take up that issue next time but once again I would just remind you I think this is not to be taken in a literal fashion that there will be there will be blood high as the horses bridle stretching out about close to 200 miles but we'll talk next time a little bit more about what what it might mean any final questions comments okay thanks for staying a little late let's close in prayer we thank you our Lord for your goodness for your grace and your mercy we pray for greater understanding that we might understand your ways and be more fully aligned with your purposes we thank you for the great and glorious promise that those who die in the Lord are blessed and that their deeds follow them in Christ's name we pray Amen