Peace and grace in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Revelation 14:14-20 is about the harvest on earth. It can be divided as follows:
Revelation 14:14-16
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.
14:15. 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."
14:16. So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.
There are two separations in the harvest of wheat on earth as follows:
ad. 2. The separation between wheat and chaff through the winnowing.
The church of God experiences two times of the winnowing as follows:
The spiritual meanings of the chaff are as follows:
The spiritual meaning of the ripe wheat is the servant of God who prioritizes the true teaching Word or the shepherding one. He wants to be filled with the repeated Word continuously.
The shepherding Word is the true teaching word which is entrusted by God to a shepherd to be preached to the congregation faithfully, regularly, continually, and repetitively to become the food for them. We must be filled with the shepherding Word to become the ripe wheat. The shepherding Word also becomes the command for the congregation, so they know the things which they can and cannot do, so they do not get wrong direction but keep going to the New Jerusalem, the last sheepfold.
Where is the place for filling the ripe wheat?
Acts 2:41-42
2:41. Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.
2:42. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
There are three rooms in the Tabernacle, namely the Court, the Holy Place, and the Most Holy Place. We believe in Jesus, enter the water baptism, and live in righteousness. It refers to the Court. Further, we must be filled with the Word through the perseverance in committing the three kinds of services to God (the Holy Place) as follows:
The sheepfold is the place for filling the ripe wheat until we enter the Most Holy Place (perfection).
God blesses us.
Revelation 14:14-20 is about the harvest on earth. It can be divided as follows:
- Verse 14-16, namely the harvest of wheat on earth to be brought into the barn of the heavenly kingdom.
- Verse 17-20, namely the harvest of grapes on earth to be thrown into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
Revelation 14:14-16
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.
14:15. 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."
14:16. So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.
There are two separations in the harvest of wheat on earth as follows:
- The separation between wheat and tares.
Matthew 13:36-43
13:36. Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field."
13:37. He answered and said to them: "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.
13:38. "The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.
13:39. "The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.
13:40. "Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.
13:41. "The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness,
13:42. "and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
13:43. "Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear! - The separation between wheat and chaff through the winnowing or test.
Matthew 3:12
3:12. "His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
ad. 2. The separation between wheat and chaff through the winnowing.
The church of God experiences two times of the winnowing as follows:
- Luke 22:31-32
22:31. And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.
22:32. "But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren."
The winnowing through the crisis, temptation, or shockwhich is done by Satan to make our faith fall. One who falls because of the winnowing is the same as becoming chaff that will be burnt and destroyed forever. - Matthew 3:12
3:12. "His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
The winnowing by Jesus through the test or sprinkle of blood, so the church of God becomes the ripe wheat. It means becoming the pure heavenly bride to enter into the barn of the heavenly kingdom.
The spiritual meanings of the chaff are as follows:
- The servant of God who just looks for the physical thing and is satisfied with it, so he does not want to be filled with the repeated true teaching Word or the shepherding one. He does not want to be shepherded. He loathes, criticizes, and rejects the Word.
1 Corinthians 15:19
15:19. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.
If we follow Jesus for the physical thing, we will be of all men the most pitiable. We experience toil and tears as well as suffer up to perdition in the hell. - The servant of God who does not want to confess his sin, but blames at God and others to cover his sin.
1 John 1:9-10
1:9. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1:10. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
The chaff is the Christian who is empty or without the truth of the word of God. He just has the self-truth. He is like the house which is swept, so he becomes the place of seven spirits, and the last state of that man is worse than the first before he knew God up to perfection in evil and uncleanness. Consequently, he becomes Satan's bride who will be destroyed forever.
The spiritual meaning of the ripe wheat is the servant of God who prioritizes the true teaching Word or the shepherding one. He wants to be filled with the repeated Word continuously.
The shepherding Word is the true teaching word which is entrusted by God to a shepherd to be preached to the congregation faithfully, regularly, continually, and repetitively to become the food for them. We must be filled with the shepherding Word to become the ripe wheat. The shepherding Word also becomes the command for the congregation, so they know the things which they can and cannot do, so they do not get wrong direction but keep going to the New Jerusalem, the last sheepfold.
Where is the place for filling the ripe wheat?
Acts 2:41-42
2:41. Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.
2:42. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
There are three rooms in the Tabernacle, namely the Court, the Holy Place, and the Most Holy Place. We believe in Jesus, enter the water baptism, and live in righteousness. It refers to the Court. Further, we must be filled with the Word through the perseverance in committing the three kinds of services to God (the Holy Place) as follows:
- Persevering in the apostles' doctrine and breaking of bread (the Table of Showbread). It refers to Bible Study Service and Holy Communion.
- Persevering in the fellowship (the Golden Candlestick). It refers to General Service.
- Persevering in the prayer (the Golden Altar of Incense). It refers the Prayer Service.
The sheepfold is the place for filling the ripe wheat until we enter the Most Holy Place (perfection).
- The first filling is the perseverance in General Service(the Golden Candlestick).
Romans 10:17
10:17. So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
In General Service, Holy Spirit helps us to hear or eat the shepherding Word earnestly until we understand and believe in it, so the true teaching Word becomes faith in our heart. In the first filling, our mind is filled with the understanding of the Word and our heart is filled with the faith. As a result, Satan cannot fill our heart and mind with the other thing. The evil and uncleanness spirits, and the bitterness cannot enter into our heart and mind.
The results are as follows:- We receive the pure satisfaction or the heavenly one, so we do not need to look for the apparent satisfaction in the world that causes us to fall into sins up to the peak. We are full spiritually, and we always give thanks to God.
- Psalm 119:11
119:11. Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You!
The true teaching Word becomes the brake in our life, so we do not commit sins up to the peak. We can live in righteousness according to the true teaching Word.
- We receive the pure satisfaction or the heavenly one, so we do not need to look for the apparent satisfaction in the world that causes us to fall into sins up to the peak. We are full spiritually, and we always give thanks to God.
- The second filling is the perseverance in committing Bible Study Service and Holy Communion(the Table of Showbread).
In this service, the Word is digested up to small parts. The Word whose secret is revealed through one verse explains the other verses in the Holy Bible is digested, so it is ingrained in our life. It means that the Word becomes our daily practice. The usefulness of Holy Communion is helping to hasten the process of the repeated true teaching Word's being ingrained in our life. Why? Because we compete with the time of Jesus' second coming.
The results are as follows:- Matthew 7:24-25
7:24. "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:
7:25. "and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
We become a wise man who endures when we face the winnowing by the trinity of Satan.
The three times of the winnowing by Satan are the rain, floods, and winds. If we endure, we will not fall.- The rainrefers to Satan with the spirits of evil and uncleanness that trigger us to sin. If the Word is ingrained in our life, we will keep on living in holiness.
- The floodrefers to the Antichrist with the power of the lust of the flesh that makes people become disobedient and against God. If the Word is ingrained in our life, we will endure and obey God no matter risk may come. It is the stable faith.
- The windrefers to the false prophet with the power of the false teaching. If the Word is ingrained in our life, we will keep holding fast one true teaching Word.
- The rainrefers to Satan with the spirits of evil and uncleanness that trigger us to sin. If the Word is ingrained in our life, we will keep on living in holiness.
- 1 Peter 1:22
1:22. Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,
By faith we have hope. It means that we live in holiness. The shepherding Word becomes the source of hope in our life. We just hear the Word and hope God whatever we face. We will never get disappointed and desperate. The holy man has hope and can be hoped. The riches cannot guarantee us to have the hope and be hoped.
Ephesians 4:11-12
4:11. And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
4:12. for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
If we are holy, we will receive the tunic of many colors from God. It means being used in the ministry of the building of the perfect body of Christ. Our life becomes beautiful because we receive the tunic of many colors from God. We can minister the body of Christ, starting from marriage, namely a husband loves his wife, a wife submits to her husband, and a child obeys his parents. Further, we minister in the shepherding and inter-shepherding until we become one perfect body of Christ. If we are used by God, we will have the hope and can be hoped. God wants to use our life with the thing we have. For example, God wanted to use a rich man with his riches, Moses was used with his rod.
1 John 3:1-2
3:1. Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.
3:2. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
The highest hope is becoming the perfect God's bride.
- Matthew 7:24-25
- The third filling is the perseverance in committing Prayer Service(the Golden Altar if Incense).
In this service, the food essence of the Word is absorbed until it is ingrained, so it does not only become our practice but also becomes the characteristic in our life, namely the loving attitude.
John 14:15
14:15. "If you love Me, keep My commandments.
The facts found in the loving attitude are as follows:- We love God more than anything. We believe and hope God. We just worship God even worship Him delightfully.
- We love others with a pure heart as we love ourselves, even we can love our enemy. We just do the good thing or give alms until we repay good for evil.
1 Peter 1:22
1:22. Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,
Acts 10:1-4
10:1. There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment,
10:2. a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always.
10:3. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, "Cornelius!"
10:4. And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, "What is it, lord?" So he said to him, "Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God.
Prayer and alms are the same as lifting up our hands to God. We stretch out our hand of faith (believe in God), and God will stretch out His merciful hands to us. God is remembering and heeding us. He struggles with us. Faith and mercy will result in miracle. Our position is like a baby in his mother's hug. We just believe in our mother. It means that we just believe in God, nothing else. We love God, and He loves us.
Isaiah 49:14-16
49:14. But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me, And my Lord has forgotten me."
49:15. "Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you.
49:16. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me.
The results are as follows:- God's merciful hand is able to protect and take care of us in the midst of the difficulties in the world until the Antichrist reigns over the world for three and a half years. We will be evacuated to the wilderness. We are taken care of by God directly until we receive the eternal life.
- God's merciful hand is able to bear all of weariness, heavy burdens, labor, and tears, so all things become easy, light, and happy in due time.
- Revelation 21:12,21
21:12. Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
21:21. The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.
The pearls refer to the Gentiles. God's merciful hand is able to lead us, both the Israelites and Gentiles, until we reach the New Jerusalem, the last sheepfold. It means that God's merciful hand renews us from the fleshly men to the spiritual ones.
How is the condition of the new man who is worthy to enter the New Jerusalem?
Revelation 21:11
21:11. having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.
Being clear as crystal refers to honesty. If we are honest, we will become strong like the wall of the New Jerusalem that cannot fall. Being honest and having pure faith (being honest and believing in God) are the same as becoming a baby who just cries to God. God's hand will do anything that we cannot think anymore. God hugs us in His merciful hand. God never forgets us. He always remembers and struggles with us. Nothing is impossible for God. He is also able to perfect us, so we can enter the New Jerusalem or the heavenly kingdom forever.
- We love God more than anything. We believe and hope God. We just worship God even worship Him delightfully.
God blesses us.