A Daily Walk

Guest (Male): Around Christmas time, we celebrate our Lord Jesus coming to this earth to eventually die for our sins. Pictures of him gently lying in a manger, meek and mild, are on display for all to see. But today on A Daily Walk, we'll see a different side of our Lord.

We're told in Revelation 14 he's coming again to judge this earth. Pastor John Randall will point out that it's important that we embrace all the divine attributes of God, and that includes his justice. There's actually great comfort and hope to be found as we learn about the justice of God.

John Randall: Jesus said, "What will it profit a man if he gain the whole world and yet he lose his own soul?" Today you can choose to live your life apart from God, and when you die, you will continue to have what you desire for eternity. You'll be separated from God. That's what the Bible says. But that's why Jesus came so you never have to be separated from God.

John says there's a third angel now, another messenger. This time he comes with a message of punishment for those who are followers of the Antichrist, and he refers to him as the beast. Look at verse nine in your Bible. "Then a third angel followed them saying with a loud voice, 'If anyone worships the beast (that's the Antichrist) and his image and receives his mark on their forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God which is poured out in full strength into the cup of his indignation. Furthermore, he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, in the presence of the Lamb, and the smoke of the torment ascends forever and ever, and they have no rest day or night who worship the beast and his image and whoever receives the mark of his name.'"

For those who reject the message of the Gospel of salvation, the everlasting Gospel, for the ones who disregard the warnings of his coming and the collapse of the Antichrist kingdom called Babylon, and instead they choose to take a mark on their bodies and they worship the beast, it says here their judgment will be final. There are no more chances after this. This is very sobering and concerning.

This announcement is directed toward those who reject Christ's invitation to be saved. They are the ones who worship the beast and they take his mark. They've been brought into a system of lies and deception. They've been swept up into the demonic narrative of the devil and they gladly participate with the majority of the world. I need to tell you this if you're not aware of it. Some of these things are being put in place right now.

If you don't see the world being conditioned for something coming, if you're not aware of what's happening around you as the entire world is getting on board, as you see the scaffolding being set, your eyes are closed. They need to be open. These things are happening now in the sense that we're seeing the world be dramatically impacted and affected all at once. It's a preview of things to come, I believe.

The eternal repercussions of their decision is that scripture says they will drink of the wine of the wrath of God. In verse eight, it says they drank of the wine of Babylon's fornication, which means they took part of it, they embraced it, they accepted it. But now in verse 10, it says they drink again, but this time it's the wine of God's wrath in full strength.

The phrase "drinking of the wine" is a picture of the experience that they will have. It describes what they will receive, what they will partake of. In this context and in the tense of the Greek language, the words are extremely serious because it says here having drunk of the spiritual fornication, they will drink of the full strength of the wrath of God.

In other words, they bought into the world system. They participated in it. They lived a life like they did not know God their entire existence. They just went on the bandwagon with everybody else, what was culturally relevant, what was culturally popular. They turned away from Christ, and now the result is they're going to reap what they've sown.

In full strength, when it says full strength, it means untempered by mercy and the grace of God any longer. It's the strongest language of damnation in all of scripture. For the worshippers of the beast, which are ultimately worshippers of Satan, they will experience eternal judgment. It says in verse 10, they will be tormented with fire and brimstone.

The smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever, and they have no rest day or night. This right here is so serious. There are some that would perhaps like to take that scripture out of their Bible or to explain it away as some allegory, dismiss and deny the reality of hell and eternal punishment for those who reject God.

But friends, the word forever in verse 11 is the strongest expression of eternity in the Greek language. Jesus referred to hell 11 out of its 12 occurrences in the New Testament. Jesus did. And Jesus, our Savior, who died in our place, who took our sins upon himself, who rose again from the dead on the third day to keep us from eternal judgment, instead he offered us eternal life.

He used these expressions more than any other person in the New Testament so people would not go there. Jesus himself took of the cup of the wrath that we deserve upon himself so that we'd never have to drink it. But the person that rejects what he has done will take that cup and drink it for themselves. These truths can't be overlooked. They can't be dismissed. They can't be explained away because, again, eternal destinies hang in the balance.

People run from these truths. They dismiss these truths. I've done memorials for people who lived their entire life in sin and never confessed Jesus as their Savior. When their friends get up and give an account of the deceased, many have attempted to say, "They're in a better place." They want to believe that.

But they're not in a better place unless they have Jesus as their Savior. In reality, they're in the worst place imaginable, a place that Jesus died to keep them from. Hell is as real as heaven is. It's real. Following this solemn warning of coming judgment of those who reject Christ, there is a glimmer of hope and reassurance for those who choose to accept Christ.

Yes, there will be those who get saved during the tribulation period, but they will have to die for their faith. They will be martyred. Notice in verse 12, "Here is the patience of the saints. Here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus." I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on."

"Yes," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors and their works follow them." Friends, there is a stark contrast between those who have no rest for eternity and those who will rest from their labors. Notice that John writes the word "blessed." You know what that word means? It means, "Oh, how happy."

It's a word that is found many places throughout the scriptures. Yet here in verse 13 of Revelation, it may be one of the most unique references of blessing, as John says those who die, the martyr's death at this point, are blessed. The word "saints" is a reference to Jews and Gentiles who get saved during the tribulation period.

They missed the rapture, but they got saved during the tribulation period. They have not taken the mark. They have chosen not to worship the beast nor his image. They counted the cost, they persevered, they followed Christ, and they die for their faith. John hears this voice from heaven pronouncing a blessing upon those who die in the Lord as martyrs for their faith.

The contrast is so evident when comparing those who reject Christ and perish eternally versus those who receive Christ and experience heaven eternally. It's true, again, they will be martyred for their faith, but it is a far better option and even considered a blessing by way of comparison. That is why he writes blessed are those who now die because of what they'll experience for eternity.

Today you can choose to live the life that you want to live. You can choose to accept the love of God as revealed in the finished work of Christ, or you can choose to reject it. Following the reassurance of the tribulation believers' ultimate reward, another revelation is given to John of a coming harvest.

Notice what it says. Verse 14: "Then I looked and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat one like 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 voice to him who sat on the cloud saying, 'Thrust in your sickle and reap, for the time has come for you to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.' So he who sat on the cloud thrust in the sickle on the earth and the earth was reaped."

In this vision, John sees several things. First of all, the Son of Man sitting on a white cloud. The Son of Man is a reference to Jesus Christ. It is a phrase that is used throughout the Gospels. Jesus often referred to himself as the Son of Man, speaking of his humanity. He's the Son of Man and he's the Son of God. Son of Man and Son of God come together in what's called the incarnation of Christ, fully God and yet fully man.

But here John sees Jesus sitting on a white cloud, and the cloud that he sits upon is a reference to his glory. It's symbolic throughout the scriptures of his divine holy presence. The fact that the cloud is described as a white cloud speaks to his purity, his righteousness. There's a crown that's placed upon his head, and it reveals his power and sovereignty, that he's the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

You remember in Matthew's Gospel that Jesus predicted this event would occur. Matthew 24, Jesus said, "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."

In the book of Acts, when Jesus ascended back to glory in heaven, there were two angels that were standing by. They spoke to the disciples who were looking up into the air, and they said in Acts chapter one, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will come in like manner as you saw him go into heaven."

At the very beginning of the book of Revelation, we read of the prophecy of the Lord's return. Revelation chapter one, verse seven, when it says, "Behold, he is coming with the clouds and every eye will see him, even they who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of him." John is now seeing this prophecy being fulfilled.

This is a different description of Jesus in comparison to his first coming because in his first coming, Jesus came to the earth as a suffering Messiah. He came to save men from their sins, to provide a way whereby we could be saved. But here in this description of his second coming, he comes as a reigning King with power and glory, not to save men from their sin, but to judge men for their sin.

It says that there's a sickle in his hand. What is this? The sharp sickle in his hand indicates that it's a time for harvest. Harvesting in biblical times was common practice in this agrarian society. People lived off the land. Many of the feasts that Israel celebrated were agriculturally connected. There was a time to plant seed, a time to water seed, a time to harvest the crops.

During his earthly ministry, Jesus would use examples of sowing and reaping in his parabolic teachings. He used harvesting as a picture and opportunity for evangelism. But there are other places in scripture where the harvest is in reference to the judgment of God. The idea being what you've sown you will now reap. Harvest in this context in Revelation chapter 14 is a harvest of judgment.

There is an Old Testament prophetic scripture that points to this event in Joel chapter three. Joel said, "Assemble and come all you nations, gather together all around, cause your mighty ones to go down there, Oh Lord. Let the nations be awakened and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down, for the winepress is full. The vats overflow with their wickedness is great."

What is the reason for this harvest of judgment? Notice what it says in verse 15. "Thrust in your sickle. The time has come to reap because the harvest of the earth is ripe." In both Joel chapter three and Revelation 14, the reason for the harvest of judgment is because time has run out. The earth is ripe for the judgment of God.

The word ripe means to become dry or withered. The picture is that the fruit or vegetable has become so ripe it's overripe. It's so ripe that it's rotten. And when the judgment of God comes upon the earth, it will be overdue, which reveals something about the character and nature of God, that he's long suffering, that he is patient, that he waits, that he is not swift in judgment as he could be, but he desires people to be saved.

Oftentimes people have a difficult time with the Old Testament because they see the severity of God's judgment revealed and they assume, falsely, that the God of the Old Testament is different than the God of the New Testament. But what is often not taken into consideration when reading the Old Testament scriptures is that hundreds of years, sometimes thousands of years, go by before God measures out his judgment.

He's the same God, and in his attributes and character and nature, he is a God of love. He is a God of compassion. He is a God that desires people to be saved. But he couldn't be a God of love if he were not also a God of justice. To view God as only love and not as light will necessarily result in our manifesting a false god in our imagination and caricature of the true and living God.

Another thing to consider as we get close to wrapping this up is that this is a harvest of judgment coming from Jesus. Jesus said in John chapter five, "The Father judges no one but he has committed all judgment to the Son." Matthew 26, Jesus said, "I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of God, right hand of power and coming with the clouds of heaven."

Peter said in first Peter chapter four, they will give an account of him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. Psalm 96:13 declares, "He is coming and he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with his truth." He's a God of love, he's a God of mercy, of compassion. He doesn't wish that any should perish. But there will come a day of reckoning when the earth is overdue, beyond ripe for the judgment of God.

There'll be a harvest. The Bible says here in verse 17 now, "Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar who had power over fire, and he cried out with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle saying, 'Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.'"

There are only two types of harvest that you read about in the Bible from an agricultural standpoint. The wheat harvest, for example, in Matthew 13, Jesus speaks about the wheat and the tares. A tare looks like the wheat as it grows until harvest time. The tares are ripped out and so is the wheat, and the reapers distinguish between the two. One is bundled and one is burned. There are people like that even today. They look like the wheat but they're tares, and they're not recognized until the time of judgment, and then they are deciphered and discerned.

But there's another harvest that the Bible talks about, the grape harvest, and the method of harvesting is similar but it's different. In those days, a whole community would gather together to harvest grapes, and the press was a cistern that was dug out of a rock with a hole in the bottom and a conduit which led to small vessels.

The grapes would be taken, they would be placed into the winepress, and then they would be trampled underfoot. Unlike the wheat harvest, it's not a time of separation, but all these grapes were thrown in together in the press. It was a harvest of annihilation. What John sees when he uses this word for "ripe" in verse 18 differs from the word described in the wheat harvest.

It means to be at prime. The wickedness of the world had reached a crescendo and now they were judged. In this descriptive and figurative language, God's wrath is being poured out on those who rejected Christ. The nations gathered together in the Valley of Jezreel there for the Battle of Armageddon and they will be trodden underfoot, the Bible tells us.

John sees this as we conclude in verse 19. He said, "The angel thrust the sickle into the earth, gathered the vine of the earth, threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God, and the winepress was trampled outside the city and the blood of that winepress came up to the horse's bridle for 1,600 furlongs."

When we get to Revelation 19, we will see the fulfillment of this, but the result of this reaping of judgment is devastating because the great winepress of the wrath of God, this vivid picture describes what will happen to those who fight against God. I don't know if you've ever heard it before, the Battle Hymn of the Republic: "My eyes have seen the coming of the glory of the Lord. He is trampling out the vineyard where the grapes of wrath are stored. He has loosed the faithful lightning and his terrible swift sword. His truth is marching on." That hymn was inspired by this passage.

In verse 20, we are given the extent to which this judgment is measured out. It says the blood of the winepress was up to the horse's bridle, 1,600 furlongs. That speaks of awful carnage, up to 180 to 200 miles, which by the way is the length of Israel from north to south. This is the end for those who refuse to put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ.

As you look around the world today, you can see that the world is reaching harvest time, that the world will one day be overripe and finally judged. I think of the words of Billy Graham. He said that if God doesn't at some point judge America, then he owes Sodom and Gomorrah an apology.

Think about the abortions per year worldwide, leading cause of death in the world. Think about human trafficking worldwide, 27 million people. Child prostitution, estimated every day 2,000 children are forced into it. Two million children under the age of 18, half of them in Asia and 300,000 plus in the United States.

You think of adult entertainment, as they call it, estimated that Americans now spend somewhere around 10 billion a year on adult entertainment, which is as much as they spend attending professional sporting events, etcetera. You could go on and on. But here we have a picture of God's grace.

Presently God is extending his grace, but one day he will extend his justice. Today is a day of grace, but what is true of the tribulation is also true of today. God will ultimately one day judge the nations. Presently there is an invitation, a gracious invitation.

Friend, listen carefully. This is hard to say but you need to hear it. There are people who are blindly on their way to hell who deny these things, who want to dismiss them, who don't believe them. But let me ask you this question if that's where your mindset is today: what will happen to you when you die? And in addition to that, how did you arrive at that conclusion? What are you basing your eternal destiny upon?

God loves you. He loved you so much that he sent his Son Jesus to die in your place for your sins. He took the cup of the wrath of God. You remember in the Garden of Gethsemane, the Bible says he said, "Father, if there's any other way, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not my will but yours be done."

Jesus took that cup and he drank it in full strength, all of the wrath of God poured out as it were upon Christ, who took our place, the wrath that we deserve so that we never have to experience this. If you reject what he did in your place, then you will experience this.

But that doesn't have to be your story. These things are written in the word of God so that you can know how to be saved. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but by me."

Listen, I'm not here to scare you today, but the truth, if it awakens you, then praise God. I pray that your heart would be stirred, that your eyes would be opened, that you would turn to Christ and be saved. I believe our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. Jesus is coming soon. I don't know the day, I don't know the hour, but I know he's coming, and I can see the signs of the times intensifying with frequency and intensity. Are you ready to meet the Lord? Is Jesus your Savior? If he's not, today could be your day.

Guest (Male): So how about it, friend? Are you ready to meet the Lord? As Pastor John Randall said, if not, that can change right now through simple faith in what Jesus accomplished at Calvary. We'd love to talk more about this with you, so please call us at A Daily Walk. Here's our number: 877-242-0828. We'd like to hear this study from Revelation again, maybe share it with someone who might benefit by hearing this.

Head over to adailywalk.org where you could listen to and share the content, or listen to us wherever you get your podcasts, and at oneplace.com. The Calvary South OC app is another great way to listen to Pastor John on your mobile device, so download that today. It's free. Did you know that Pastor John releases an encouraging daily devotional video each day? Check it out at adailywalk.org and let us know what you think.

Our special offer during the month of August is *Ensnared* by Jack Marino Chen. At one time, Jack was addicted to drugs and alcohol, a sorceress practicing ritual magic. In *Ensnared*, you'll hear her dramatic story of how childhood trauma, addiction, and the occult pulled her deep into spiritual deception. And then Jesus rescued her. Learn how to overcome the darkness of the New Age and occult with the light of God's truth as you read *Ensnared*.

Maybe you can think of someone who is ensnared. Why not share this book with them? It's available for a limited time for the cost of just $12 at adailywalk.org, or call 877-242-0828. That's 877-242-0828 and adailywalk.org.

And please remember, it is your gifts that help us deliver God's word on stations like this all across the nation. We want this ministry to bring the Lord glory and help as many people as possible in their daily walk. And your gift, whatever the size, will help us accomplish that goal. You can make a donation online at adailywalk.org. You can also call us at 877-242-0828.

If you find these studies helpful to your daily walk, we'd like to know. Pastor John reads your emails and he is so encouraged by what you have to say. It's important that we hear from you because it lets us know how the Lord is using this program. Write to us by email at adailywalk@gmail.com. Let us know what station you hear us on. That's adailywalk@gmail.com.

We'll catch you back here next time when our through the Bible journey continues here on A Daily Walk with Pastor John Randall. We'll pick up where we left off in Revelation. This program is made possible through your generosity and brought to you by Calvary South OC.