Rev 14:14 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. 15 And another angel came
out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud,
"Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to
reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe." 16
So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was
reaped. 17 Then another angel came out of the
temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. 18 And another angel came out from the altar, who had
power over fire, and he cried with a loud cry 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." 19
So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the
earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and
blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses' bridles, for one thousand
six hundred furlongs. Rev 15:1 Then I saw another sign in
heaven, great and marvelous: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in
them the wrath of God is complete. 2 And I
saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the
victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over
the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God. 3 They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and
the song of the Lamb, saying: "Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord
God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints! 4 Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name?
For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, For
Your judgments have been manifested." 5 After
these things I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle
of the testimony in heaven was opened. 6 And out
of the temple came the seven angels having the seven plagues, clothed in pure
bright linen, and having their chests girded with golden bands. 7 Then one of the four living creatures gave to the
seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and
ever. 8 The temple was filled with smoke from the
glory of God and from His power, and no one was able to enter the temple till
the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
In the end, God reaped a harvest of souls.
Admittedly, there are those who are uncomfortable with
the graphic presentation of God’s judgment. They prefer the loving Christ they
have familiarized themselves with through the gospels and some of the teachings
found in the New Testament. But it’s a funny thing we do when we skip over the
judgment bits – moving on to what we may describe as the ‘loving bits.’ The
truth is there is plenty of evidence of God’s impending judgment (His wrath,) throughout
both Testaments. The fact God is the same yesterday, today, and forever escapes
notice when it comes to judgment – but is counted on completely when it comes
to love.
The main fact we can trust is: God knows. And thank God
the judgment He makes and the wrath He pours out is not capricious…it is in
fact PROTECTIVE…of those He loves and of those who love Him.
It has been well-said that heaven will be so heavenly in
part because only those who love God will be there. I, along with the angels,
am glad for His sickle because it sharpens my focus.
-Pastor Bill
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