{"id":30352,"date":"2024-03-11T22:00:56","date_gmt":"2024-03-12T05:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/revelation-14_1-13-copy\/"},"modified":"2024-03-05T15:26:17","modified_gmt":"2024-03-05T22:26:17","slug":"revelation-14_14-15_8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/revelation-14_14-15_8\/","title":{"rendered":"Not Holding onto Wrath and Anger"},"content":{"rendered":"

Revelation 14:14-15:8 \u00a0 (CLICK HERE FOR\u00a0BIBLE VERSES)<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today’s passage is\u00a0Revelation 14:14-15:8.\u00a0 As usual, I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help, then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!<\/p>\n

Revelation\u00a014:14-20 (NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one “like a son of man” with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.”
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle.
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, “Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine, because its grapes are ripe.”
\n19\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath.
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses\u00a014-20:\u00a0 Who is the one \u201clike a son of man\u201d sitting on a white cloud with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand?\u00a0 This is most likely a picture of Jesus.\u00a0 The prophet Daniel, writing about a vision he had about the Messiah to come, says, \u201cIn my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven.\u201d (Daniel 7:13)\u00a0\u00a0Jesus often referred to himself as the Son of Man.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Here John sees Jesus\u00a0crowned with a victor\u2019s gold crown (called a\u00a0stephanus<\/em>), often worn by athletes after winning a competition.<\/p>\n

As for Jesus swinging a sickle over the earth to harvest the earth, some commentators interpret this as Jesus gathering His beloved people to Himself.\u00a0 However, other commentators believe that all of the sickle swinging in this passage is about Jesus judging the earth.\u00a0 To support this conclusion, they point to verses 17-20 which compares the ones being harvested to overripe grapes that are thrown in the \u201cgreat winepress of God\u2019s wrath\u201d (v19) and trampled on, causing much blood to flow.<\/p>\n

In my humble opinion, I think the two sickle swings, one by Jesus in verse 16 and the other by an angel in verse 19, might refer to two different actions. When Jesus swings His sickle, this first sickle swing represents Jesus gathering His own people to Himself. \u00a0(The fact that verse 16 ends with the words \u201cand the earth was harvested\u201d suggests to me that Jesus\u2019 one sickle swing was perfect and complete in and of itself to do the work Jesus intended it to do.)\u00a0 The second sickle swing in verses 17-20 represents a different harvest, a harvest of judgment, where those who have rebelled against God \u2013 the \u201cgrapes of God\u2019s wrath\u201d, so to speak \u2013 are harvested and crushed.\u00a0 In a way, I see these verses as Jesus separating the wheat from the chaff, just like John the Baptist said Jesus would (Matthew 3:12; Luke 3:17).<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0 All of us have a choice to make:\u00a0will we be among those that Jesus gathers to Himself to keep and enjoy for eternity or will we be among those that God gathers only to destroy in the winepress of His wrath?<\/strong>\u00a0 To be part of that first harvest simply requires that we believe and receive what Jesus Christ did on the cross for us.\u00a0 To be part of that second harvest simply requires that we ignore or reject what Jesus Christ did on the cross for us.<\/p>\n

Revelation\u00a015:1-4 (NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues–last, because with them God’s wrath is completed.
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name. They held harps given them by God
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0and sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb: “Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages.
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 1-4:\u00a0 Here John sees another vision of heaven.\u00a0 First he sees standing by a sea of glass mixed with fire those Christians who had held onto their faith in Jesus despite the destruction brought by the beast from the sea.\u00a0 They are singing \u201cthe song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb\u201d (v3), the lyrics for which are quoted in verses 3-4.\u00a0 The fact that the \u201csong of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb\u201d are connected here suggests to me two things:<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0In heaven Moses will be honoured for the way he served God.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0We must not think that the ministry of Moses and the ministry of Jesus are opposites.\u00a0 When John 1:17 says, \u201cFor the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ\u201d, John is not saying that Moses\u2019 ministry was bad and Jesus\u2019 ministry is good.\u00a0 The fact is that Moses\u2019 ministry and Jesus\u2019 ministry complement one another.\u00a0 Or put more accurately, Moses\u2019 great ministry was setting up and preparing the way for Jesus\u2019 greater ministry. Moses deserves to be honoured as a great servant in God\u2019s house while Jesus deserves to be honoured as the Son over God\u2019s house (Hebrews 3:5-6)<\/p>\n

Revelation\u00a015:5-8 (NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0After this I looked and in heaven the temple, that is, the tabernacle of the Testimony, was opened.
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests.
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever.
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 5-8:\u00a0 John sees a heavenly version of the Jewish temple, which he calls \u201cthe tabernacle of the Testimony\u201d.\u00a0 (Some commentators believe that here John is more specifically referring to a heavenly version of the ark of the covenant, which was a gold plated box that was kept in the Most Holy Place of the temple.)\u00a0 As the tabernacle of the Testimony is opened up, out come seven angels dressed in clean, shining linen and gold sashes.\u00a0 One of the living creatures gives the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with God\u2019s wrath and containing seven plagues.\u00a0 Recalling previous times in Scripture when smoke filled the house of God (see Exodus 33:9 and 1 Kings 8:10), smoke signifying God\u2019s glory and power then fills the temple such that no one could enter it until the seven plagues are completed.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0 When verse 8 says \u201cthe seven\u00a0last<\/em>\u00a0plagues \u2013\u00a0last<\/em>, because with them God\u2019s wrath is\u00a0complete<\/em>\u201d, this tells me something about God. \u00a0As much as God has wrath toward sin and evil, God never intended for His wrath to carry on forever.\u00a0 Rather, out of love, God comes up with a plan by which His wrath can be extinguished, exhausted and completed.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0God did this at the cross when He sacrificed His Son Jesus for us, so that for all of us who trust in Jesus, God\u2019s wrath against us is extinguished.\u00a0 God does this again here with these seven last plagues, which would extinguish His wrath against those who keep rejecting His Son Jesus.\u00a0 That is why they are called \u201cthe seven last plagues \u2013 last, because with them God\u2019s wrath is complete\u201d (v8).<\/p>\n

God does not hang onto His anger and wrath forever.\u00a0 Once His wrath is complete, heaven can then carry on with rejoicing for eternity.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0While God\u2019s wrath has its place and needs to be expressed, God is far more interested in rejoicing than being wrathful.\u00a0 That is why Psalm 30:5 says, \u201cFor his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.\u201d \u00a0By the way,\u00a0if God does not hang onto His anger and wrath forever, why should you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Father, thank You for being a God of great wrath, but even more a God of great rejoicing.\u00a0 Thank You for not holding onto Your wrath forever, but finding a way through Jesus Christ to complete it so that we can enter into Your presence with joy.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2021 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today’s passage is\u00a0Revelation 14:14-15:8.\u00a0 As usual, I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help, then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!<\/p>\n

Revelation\u00a014:14-20 (NIV)\u00a0
\n14\u00a0\u00a0I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one “like a son of man” with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.
\n15\u00a0\u00a0Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.”\u00a0
\n16\u00a0\u00a0So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On verses\u00a014-20:\u00a0 Who is the one \u201clike a son of man\u201d sitting on a white cloud with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand?\u00a0 This is most likely a picture of Jesus.\u00a0 The prophet Daniel, writing about a vision he had about the Messiah to come, says, \u201cIn my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven.\u201d (Daniel 7:13)\u00a0\u00a0Jesus often referred to himself as the Son of Man.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Here John sees Jesus\u00a0crowned with a victor\u2019s gold crown (called a\u00a0stephanus), often worn by athletes after winning a competition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30354,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30352"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30352\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30355,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30352\/revisions\/30355"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}