The Seventh Trumpet, The Third Woe
The Harvest of the Earth
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Artwork Used By Permission © Pat Marvenko Smith
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13 Then I heard further [perceiving the distinct words of] a voice from heaven, saying, Write this: Blessed (happy, to be envied) are the dead from now on who die in the Lord! Yes, blessed (happy, to be envied indeed), says the Spirit, [in] that they may rest from their labors, for their works (deeds) do follow (attend, accompany) them! 14 Again I looked, and behold, [I saw] a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud One resembling a Son of Man, with a crown of gold on His head and a sharp scythe (sickle) in His hand. 15 And another angel came out of the temple sanctuary, calling with a mighty voice to Him Who was sitting upon the cloud, Put in Your scythe and reap, for the hour has arrived to gather the harvest, for the earth's crop is fully ripened. 16 So He Who was sitting upon the cloud swung His scythe (sickle) on the earth, and the earth's crop was harvested. 17 Then another angel came out of the temple [sanctuary] in heaven, and he also carried a sharp scythe (sickle). 18 And another angel came forth from the altar, [the angel] who has authority and power over fire, and he called with a loud cry to him who had the sharp scythe (sickle), Put forth your scythe and reap the fruitage of the vine of the earth, for its grapes are entirely ripe. 19 So the angel swung his scythe on the earth and stripped the grapes and gathered the vintage from the vines of the earth and cast it into the huge winepress of God's indignation and wrath. 20 And [the grapes in] the winepress were trodden outside the city, and blood poured from the winepress, [reaching] as high as horses' bridles, for a distance of 1,600 stadia (about 200 miles).
Revelation 14:13-20 Amplified Bible
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In this vision of John we are still in the time period between the sounding of the seventh trumpet (the last trumpet) and the pouring out of the first of the seven golden bowl judgments, and in this vision John is seeing the harvest of the earth come in to the kingdom of God. The significance of this vision is that he is seeing two groups of people coming into the kingdom of God;
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The first is the full number of the Gentiles coming into the kingdom of God.
13 Then I heard further [perceiving the distinct words of] a voice from heaven, saying, Write this: Blessed (happy, to be envied) are the dead from now on who die in the Lord! Yes, blessed (happy, to be envied indeed), says the Spirit, [in] that they may rest from their labors, for their works (deeds) do follow (attend, accompany) them! 14 Again I looked, and behold, [I saw] a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud One resembling a Son of Man, with a crown of gold on His head and a sharp scythe (sickle) in His hand. 15 And another angel came out of the temple sanctuary, calling with a mighty voice to Him Who was sitting upon the cloud, Put in Your scythe and reap, for the hour has arrived to gather the harvest, for the earth's crop is fully ripened. 16 So He Who was sitting upon the cloud swung His scythe (sickle) on the earth, and the earth's crop was harvested.
Revelation 13:13-16 Amplified Bible -
And secondly, the eyes of the Jews have been opened to the Gospel and their number is now coming into the kingdom of God.
17 Then another angel came out of the temple [sanctuary] in heaven, and he also carried a sharp scythe (sickle). 18 And another angel came forth from the altar, [the angel] who has authority and power over fire, and he called with a loud cry to him who had the sharp scythe (sickle), Put forth your scythe and reap the fruitage of the vine of the earth, for its grapes are entirely ripe. 19 So the angel swung his scythe on the earth and stripped the grapes and gathered the vintage from the vines of the earth and cast it into the huge winepress of God's indignation and wrath. 20 And [the grapes in] the winepress were trodden outside the city, and blood poured from the winepress, [reaching] as high as horses' bridles, for a distance of 1,600 stadia (about 200 miles).
Revelation 13:17-20 Amplified Bible
During this time, the false prophet is putting to death all those who will not bow down to the statue that was erected in the image of the antichrist.
And he is permitted [also] to impart the breath of life into the beast's image, so that the statue of the beast could actually talk and cause to be put to death those who would not bow down and worship the image of the beast.
Also at this time there is a great slaughter among the Jews and they are are taken outside of the city to be killed; the river of blood of those slaughtered reaches as high as a horse's bridle for a distance of 200 miles.
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Their victory over resisting the beast and from his statue and from the number corresponding to his name was the choice between living or dying. 'And I saw what seemed to be a glassy sea blended with fire, and those who had come off victorious from the beast and from the statue and from the number corresponding to his name were standing beside the glassy sea, with harps of God in their hands. And they sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb, saying, "Mighty and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God the Omnipotent! Righteous and true are Your ways, O Sovereign of the ages, King of the nations! Who shall not reverence and glorify Your name, O Lord giving You honor and praise in worship? For You only are holy. All the nations shall come and pay homage and adoration to You, for Your just judgments, Your righteous sentence and deeds have been made known and displayed."'
2 Then I saw what seemed to be a glassy sea blended with fire, and those who had come off victorious from the beast and from his statue and from the number corresponding to his name were standing beside the glassy sea, with harps of God in their hands. 3 And they sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb, saying, Mighty and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God the Omnipotent! Righteous (just) and true are Your ways, O Sovereign of the ages (King of the [a]nations)! 4 Who shall not reverence and glorify Your name, O Lord [giving You honor and praise in worship]? For You only are holy. All the nations shall come and pay homage and adoration to You, for Your just judgments (Your righteous sentences and deeds) have been made known and displayed.
This vision that John sees of the Gentiles and the Jews gathered around a glassy sea blended with fire, the Amplified Bible describes as another vision that has ominous significance.
1 THEN I saw another wonder (sign, token, symbol) in heaven, great and marvelous [warning of events of ominous significance]: There were seven angels bringing seven plagues (afflictions, calamities), which are the last, for with them God's wrath (indignation) is completely expressed [reaches its climax and is ended]. 2 Then I saw what seemed to be a glassy sea blended with fire, and those who had come off victorious from the beast and from his statue and from the number corresponding to his name were standing beside the glassy sea, with harps of God in their hands. 3 And they sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb, saying, Mighty and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God the Omnipotent! Righteous (just) and true are Your ways, O Sovereign of the ages (King of the [a]nations)! 4 Who shall not reverence and glorify Your name, O Lord [giving You honor and praise in worship]? For You only are holy. All the nations shall come and pay homage and adoration to You, for Your just judgments (Your righteous sentences and deeds) have been made known and displayed.
Upon first glance you may suppose that the wonder, great and marvelous, is the coming forward of the seven angels carrying the last of the seven plagues (the seven golden bowl judgments), but that is not the wonder that is so great and marvelous, it is not the wonder that has ominous signficance. So what is? What we are seeing is the unveiling of another of the mysteries of God, the mystery that Paul did not want us to miss.
25 Lest you be self-opinionated (wise in your own conceits), I do not want you to miss this hidden truth and mystery, brethren: a hardening (insensibility) has [temporarily] befallen a part of Israel [to last] until the full number of the ingathering of the Gentiles has come in, 26 And so all Israel will be saved. As it is written, The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will banish ungodliness from Jacob.
Now what is so significant about this mystery? Well we only have to look at the next verse to find out, "And so all Israel will be saved. As it is written, The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will banish ungodliness from Jacob."
25 Lest you be self-opinionated (wise in your own conceits), I do not want you to miss this hidden truth and mystery, brethren: a hardening (insensibility) has [temporarily] befallen a part of Israel [to last] until the full number of the ingathering of the Gentiles has come in, 26 And so all Israel will be saved. As it is written, The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will banish ungodliness from Jacob.
The wonder, great and marvelous, is found in the words, "And so all Israel will be saved"; with the full number of the ingathering of the Gentiles and now the Jews is the unveiling and fulfillment of the mystery concerning the unification of Israel. And this fulfillment is an ominous sign because with the reinstatement of the Jews, the greater glory of God's power is displayed.
11 So I ask, Have they stumbled so as to fall [to their utter spiritual ruin, irretrievably]? By no means! But through their false step and transgression salvation [has come] to the Gentiles, so as to arouse Israel [to see and feel what they forfeited] and so to make them jealous. 12 Now if their stumbling (their lapse, their transgression) has so enriched the world [at large], and if [Israel's] failure means such riches for the Gentiles, think what an enrichment and greater advantage will follow their full reinstatement!
So it is with their reinstatement, that the angels carrying the seven last plagues (the seven golden bowl judgments) come forward.
6 And there came out of the temple sanctuary the seven angels bringing the seven plagues (afflictions, calamities). They were arrayed in pure gleaming linen, and around their breasts they wore golden girdles. 7 And one of the four living creatures [then] gave the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath and indignation of God, Who lives forever and ever (in the eternities of the eternities). 8 And the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory (the radiance, the splendor) of God and from His might and power, and no one was able to go into the sanctuary until the seven plagues (afflictions, calamities) of the seven angels were ended.
And it is with their reinstatement that, "all Israel will be saved", which leads us to the mystery of the unification of Israel.
The Mystery of the Unification of Israel
15 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, 16 Son of man, take a stick and write on it, For Judah and the children of Israel his companions; then take another stick and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and all the house of Israel his companions; 17 And join them together into one stick that they may become one in your hand. 18 And when your people say to you, Will you not show us what you mean by these? 19 Say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph--which is in the hand of Ephraim--and the tribes of Israel his associates, and will join with it the stick of Judah and make them one stick, and they shall be one in My hand. 20 When the sticks on which you write shall be in your hand before their eyes, 21 Then say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations to which they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land. 22 And I will make them one nation in the land, upon the mountains of Israel, and one King shall be King over them all; and they shall be no longer two nations, neither be divided into two kingdoms any more. 23 They shall not defile themselves any more with their idols and their detestable things or with any of their transgressions, but I will save them out of all their dwelling places and from all their backslidings in which they have sinned, and I will cleanse them. So shall they be My people, and I will be their God. 24 And David My Servant shall be King over them, and they all shall have one Shepherd. They shall also walk in My ordinances and heed My statutes and do them. 25 They shall dwell in the land in which your fathers dwelt, that I gave to My servant Jacob, and they shall dwell there, they and their children and their children's children, forever; and My Servant David shall be their Prince forever. 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them, and I will give blessings to them and multiply them and will set My sanctuary in the midst of them forevermore. 27 My tabernacle or dwelling place also shall be with them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 28 Then the nations shall know, understand, and realize that I the Lord do set apart and consecrate Israel for holy use, when My sanctuary shall be in their midst forevermore.
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The stick of Judah is representative of the remnant that made up the Bride of Christ, the 144000; and the stick of Joseph is representative of the countless multitude that had to go through the Great Tribulation (Revelation 7:9-17) as well as the ingathering of the remnant of Israel that came into the kingdom of God after the full number of the Gentiles came in. For it was to Joseph that was promised two portions,
Thus says the Lord God: These shall be the boundaries by which you shall divide the land among the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions.
Therefore, by the Cross of Christ He has now made them one nation (a holy nation), and one King shall be King over them all; and they shall no longer be two nations, neither be divided into two kingdoms (the nation Israel and the Church) any more.
And I will make them one nation in the land, upon the mountains of Israel, and one King shall be King over them all; and they shall be no longer two nations, neither be divided into two kingdoms any more.
And by this unification in the kingdom of God, "All Israel will be saved."
25 Lest you be self-opinionated (wise in your own conceits), I do not want you to miss this hidden truth and mystery, brethren: a hardening (insensibility) has [temporarily] befallen a part of Israel [to last] until the full number of the ingathering of the Gentiles has come in, 26 And so all Israel will be saved. As it is written, The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will banish ungodliness from Jacob.
Now with the ingathering of the fullness of the Gentiles, followed by the remnant of the Jews coming into the kingdom of God, the seven angels carrying the seven golden bowl judgments come forth. These seven plagues are the last for with them God's wrath, His indignation, is completely expressed and has reached its climax and is ended.
1THEN I saw another wonder (sign, token, symbol) in heaven, great and marvelous [warning of events of ominous significance]: There were seven angels bringing seven plagues (afflictions, calamities), which are the last, for with them God's wrath (indignation) is completely expressed [reaches its climax and is ended].
We know that the seven golden bowl judgments can not take place until these events happen because we see that the angel with the first golden bowl judgment pours out God's wrath on all those who have received the mark of the beast and who did homage to the beast.
1 THEN I heard a mighty voice from the temple sanctuary saying to the seven angels, Go and empty out on the earth the seven bowls of God's wrath and indignation. 2 So the first [angel] went and emptied his bowl on the earth, and foul and painful ulcers (sores) came on the people who were marked with the stamp of the beast and who did homage to his image.
