After
writing about the “beast
or
the antichrist” and “the
dragon –
the devil or Satan” being worshiped by people upon the earth, John
the apostle wrote, “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 voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in your
sickle, and reap: for the time is come for you 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 your sharp sickle, and gather the clusters
of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe”,
and in chapter fourteen and verse nineteen of Revelation John saw,
“the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered of the
vine of the earth” where
we read:
And
the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine
of the earth,
The
verse reads, “And
the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine
of the earth, ...”
John
began with the words, “and
the angel”
which means “and the messenger, envoy and one sent” “thrust
in”
or “inserted and sent in”
“his sickle”
which means “the angel's pruning-hook a hooked vine knife such as
reapers and vine-dressers use” “into
the earth”
or “in the arable land, country, territory or region” “and
gathered”
which means “and collected” “the
vine”
or “the coiling branch like that of a grape vine” “of
the earth” which
means “the arable land, country, territory or region”. John
shared how this “angel”
began his “harvesting” and “collecting” of the ripe fruit in
the world.
The
verse continues, “...
and cast it
into the great wine-press of the wrath of God.”
John
added the words, “and
cast it into”
which means “and threw, scatter and poured it into” “the
great wine-press”
or “the large, massive and abundant vat, tub or a shaped receptacle
in which grapes are trodden” “of
the wrath” or
“pertaining to the passion, anger, heat, boiling up, glow, ardor
and inflaming wine” “of
God”
which refers to “the Godhead bodily or trinity which is comprised
of God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit”. John
watched as the angel's “harvest” was thrown into a huge
“wine-press” that contained the “anger and ardor” of God.
When
we consider John's words in this verse, we see how God has allowed
this “angel”
to “reap” this “ripe fruit” from the world, and He has
directed that it be “thrown”
into the “wine-press”
of His wrath. This action is directed toward people who have rejected
God's plan of “salvation” through His Son Jesus and have gone
about their own ways. God wants to “save” people from this
“angel's”
harvesting, however, many will refuse to receive Jesus as their
personal “Savior and Lord”. Jesus said, “Enter
in at the strait gate: for wide is
the gate, and broad is
the way, that leads to destruction, and many there be which go in
thereat: Because strait is
the gate, and narrow is
the way, which leads unto life, and few there be that find it.”
(Matthew 7:13-14)
Next
time John shares how, “the
wine-press was trodden without the city”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
No comments:
Post a Comment