Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

As some of you may know, I am reading through the Book of Revelation.  You may have noticed that my posts have become more infrequent and that I have not written much, if anything, on my devotions.  Revelation is difficult for me to understand.  Nevertheless, it is an important book.  Revelation 1:3 states:  “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it;  for the time is near.”

 

It is time to write.  My devotion for today concerned Revelation 14:14-20.  This concerns the story of the Reapers.

                                                    

The Reapers   

                                         

^“Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand.  And another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.”  Then He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.

And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle.  Then another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe.”  So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God.  And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles.”  Revelation 14:14-20.

On his commentary of Revelation 14:14-20, Rev. Herman Hoeksema in his book Behold he Cometh!  An Exposition of the Book of Revelation at page 505 states:  “… he who supervises the reaping of the earth, is none other than Jesus Christ our Lord”.  Rev. Hoeksema at page 510 states:  “And the gathering of the wheat is a symbol of the removal of God’s people from the earth.  So also the harvest of the wicked is more than once referred to in the Word of God as the cutting of the grapes and the gathering of them in the winepress, to be pressed and trodden.” 

In conclusion, the prior post talked generally about God’s TOTAL PERFECT TRIUMPH.  Here in Revelation, we see a specific example of TOTAL PERFECT TRIUMPH.  We see the harvest of God’s people.  We see the harvest of the wicked.  God is in absolute control, accomplishing all of His purpose.