Lu6-AGUln3A

Well, good morning. Welcome again to Emmanuel Baptist Church. I want to make one announcement before we read the scripture. And that you probably saw a really big jolting neon sign when you came in to the foyer, that Route 66, historic Route 66. Some of you probably know you know what historic Route 66 was or is.

We refer to Route 66 as the 66 books of the Bible, a route, a route through the 66 books of the Bible. We start that up at two weeks from tomorrow. So it's again a reminder if you're wanting to go through the scripture. And what we do is we meet at the BSM for an hour and a half every morning.

AM is in session, and we read through the whole 66 books of the Bible. And I'll be leading portions of it. John Davis will be leading portions of it. Matthew Jones will be leading portions of it. So that's, again, a reminder that that's coming, and I would encourage you to sign up for that.

And more will come on that. But again, welcome. Please stand for reading of God's Word. We'll be reading from Matthew 13, a familiar parable beginning in verse 24. Matthew 13, beginning in verse 24, the parable of the tares among the wheat. Verse 24. Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.

But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went away. But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field?

How then does it have tares? And he said to them, An enemy has done this. The slaves said to him, Do you want us then to go and gather them up? But he said, No, for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them.

Allow both to grow together until harvest. And in the time of the harvest, I will say to the reapers, First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up. But gather the wheat into my barn. Dropping down a few verses to verse 36. Then he left the crowds and went into the house, and his disciples came to him and said, Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.

And he said, The one who sows the good seed is the good. Is the Son of Man, and the field is the world. And as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom, and the tares are the sons of the evil one. And the enemy who sowed them is the devil.

And the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all stumbling blocks and those who commit lawlessness and will throw them into the furnace of fire.

In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we do come before you this morning recognizing that there are two worlds, two worlds that are in collision and overlapping.

A world that is born from the earth and the independence and sinful thinking of fallen humanity. There is a way of life that is consistent with the pattern of this fallen world. And then there is another world, a kingdom, where those among us, those of us who have put their faith in Jesus Christ, Christ have been born from above.

It is another kingdom from which springs a whole nother way of life and a whole nother way of thinking and a whole nother future. Father, it is in the knowledge of the work of your Son that we can gather here today and boldly be assured that we are of your kingdom because we are of your Christ.

Because of his work, Father, you have drawn us into your kingdom. You have transformed us. You have put in us a new nature, one that is not content with living for ourselves, but one that eagerly seeks to please you and walk in your ways. So, Father, we thank you for this assembly this morning.

We thank you for the work of your Spirit in our hearts. So, Father, we come this morning confessing our sins to you, asking you once again to forgive us and to renew us and to set before us the way that is most pleasing to you. So, Father, it is with joy this morning we come before you, assemble, praising your name.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Well, once again, good morning. Please turn in your Bibles to Revelation chapter 14. We'll be looking at verses 14 through 20 today. Revelation chapter 14, beginning in verse 14. By the way, I want you to know that we aim to please around here.

We've heard a lot of concerns in the past that we keep this place too cold. And so today we thought what we would do is just break the air conditioner. And for those of you who typically come in freezing, and I notice my wife's not wearing her jacket, and so we aim to please around here.

And especially on days when it's 107 degrees outside, it may get a little warm in here. Revelation chapter 14, beginning in verse 14. 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 200 miles.

We're looking at this text that deals with the harvest of the earth. We've been looking at this chapter dealing with looking at the heart of God, and then also now we've come to the harvest of the earth. And that's what we'll be looking at: the harvest of this vine, this vine of the earth.

You know, if you think about it, the metaphor that's being used here to describe the earth inhabitants at this time is that of a vine, an earthly vine, a vine of the earth, the vineyard of the earth. You can think of human history, past, present, and future, really in the context of this two vineyards.

You can think of human history as the tale of two. Vineyards or two vines. There's the vine of the earth that produces a kind of people that ultimately lives for themselves. We see this in Adam. Such people could not remain in paradise because paradise is a place where God is and where He reigns and where He expects to be in union with His people.

Those of the earth are not going to inherit the kingdom of God. Because the kingdom of God is, by definition, a place where God reigns. The kingdom of the earth is a place where the individual reigns, ultimately reigns, knows more than God. Such people are not fit for heaven, the kingdom to come.

There is another kind of vine, and this is one that produces the character of heaven. It is anchored in Christ. It is not characterized by independence from God, but dependence on God. And you see this in Jesus Christ Himself. If there's anything you can say about Jesus Christ, he loved His Father's will, He was dependent upon His Father.

And those who are born of Him are connected to this heavenly vine. And they think differently, and they act differently. They have different allegiances. James. 3.15 speaks about that wisdom that is not from above, but one that is from below, that is earthly, natural, and demonic. But John 3.31 speaks of the one who is from above, and he who comes from above is above all.

Philippians 3.18 says, For many walk, Paul says, of whom I often told you, and now tell you, even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose God is their appetite, and whose glory is their shame, who set their minds on earthly things.

Which vineyard are you part of? Which vine are you connected to? Do you produce that of an earthly dependence, independent from God, that you, oh, yeah, you'll go with God for a while as long as he doesn't conflict with the things that you want to do? Is that you?

Or do you abide in the true vine, the one that came down from heaven? To which are you connected? Ultimately, that's the question we need to ask ourselves. We need to flee every connection to this. Earthly living, and we need to abide more deeply in the true vine.

Well, we've been looking at the heart of God already, as I said in this chapter. We see the heart of God in the first four verses and the way he vindicates his people. We have seen the heart of God, even in the way he issues a final invitation to his strongest enemies to come to him.

And he warns his enemies one last time. He gives them a final invitation and a final warning in verses 5 through 11. And then we see the heart of God in the way he encourages his faithful to persevere. Verse 12, here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.

And I heard a voice from heaven saying, Write, blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them. He encourages his faithful, future generation that is going to be dealing with this.

And who knows when this is going to be. This may be, none of us may see the beginnings of this time, or it may. Begin to happen in our times. This thing could flip around another thousand years, or it could even be approaching quicker than we think. But regardless, there's a message for every person in every generation.

God wants us to persevere in the things that He's called us to do. Persevere in identifying with Christ. Persevere in obeying His commands regardless of the cost. This is what those of the heavenly vineyard do. And for them, it is granted the kingdom of God. What God has in store for His people is a kingdom, one where God reigns, where that isn't contested because there's so much to come.

You've got to get this right. The kingdom of God is the delight and joy of our heavenly Father lavishing his goodness upon the objects of his love and favor throughout all eternity. So if you're not part of the vine of heaven, you're invited to become so today by crying out to Jesus, asking him to forgive you of your sins, and putting your faith in him.

Well, next in this chapter is the harvest of the earth. And that's what we want to look at this morning, the harvest of the earth. And this harvest is going to come in two phases. First, there's going to be the harvest itself, or what I would call the cutting down, the cutting down, and then the vintage, the vintage of the harvest, that is the gathering up and the pressing.

And I want you to see, this is largely about a harvest of the wicked. And I want you to see what happens to those who belong to the earthly vine, so that you will turn to Christ and abide in him, and be all the more diligent to abide with him, even if you have already turned to him.

Abide in him. Well, first, let's look at the harvest. Verse 14. 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. Here we meet the Son of Man, and the very first thing that John sees is the white cloud.

This is what catches his eyes. And there is one sitting upon this cloud. A literal interpretation is the one enthroned on this cloud. He is sitting upon, he is enthroned as one in majestic. Glory, and notice that he has a golden crown on his head. This is that golden crown of victory, that victory wreath, a golden crown.

Notice he also has a sharp sickle in his hand. That's the harvesting tool, which is used to cut down. And the emblem itself is one that speaks of that power to cut down the stand. So when you put it all together, there is this glorious picture. It's a picture of one in victory, one of power, one of judicial authority, the one enthroned, coming to judge.

And this scene is emblematic of Jesus' glorious position in relation to the earth. He is the exalted one. All judgment has been handed over to him. It speaks of Daniel 7:13. You remember Daniel says, I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven, one like a Son of Man was coming.

And he came up to the ancient of days and was presented before him, and to him was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will not be destroyed.

Jesus told his disciples about his glory in the clouds. In Matthew 24, 30, Jesus says, And then the sign of man, the sign of the Son of Man, will appear in the sky. And then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the skies with power and great glory.

And John gets a vision of this: the glory of Christ in the clouds. You remember why Jesus ultimately was crucified? You remember the high priest? They kept pushing him, trying to get Jesus to confess. And then finally, in Matthew 26, 63, the high priest said to him, I adjure you by the living God that you tell us whether you are the Christ, the Son of God.

Jesus said to him, You have said it yourself. Nevertheless, I tell you, hereafter, you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven. What all this is testifying to is emblematic of Christ's glory and his power and judicial authority.

Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, he is the one behind. The harvest. That's what's being depicted here in verse 14. This is who he is, Son of Man. This is the one to whom you and I will give an account. He is the judge of all things, and he is the one behind this harvest, and he is the one in whose power lies the destiny of every one of us.

The Son of Man. And he is the one who is Lord over this harvest. Look at verse 15. 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.

You remember in this chapter, there are six angels. The first three we've already looked at, they announce the pending judgment that's coming. But then the second three angels carry it out. And here, in verse 15, we see the fourth angel. And notice he came out of the temple, the heavenly one.

He comes out from the presence of God with a message from him, not so much to inform the one sitting on the cloud, but to inform John and everyone that what's happening. He's informing. He's the informant in the vision of what is taking place. And he gives notification that, you notice, the hour to reap has come.

The hour to reap has come. It's time. The word for reap, because the harvest of the earth is ripe. Literally, the harvest of the earth has become dry. It has become dry. I remember, I think I was about 14 or 15. No, I guess it might have been 15 years old.

And for some reason, I was in Arkansas on my dad's farm, and there was a big crop in the field. And for some reason, I was the one that was told to go get it out of the field. So I had this big green combine, and my dad told me, for whatever reason, I was the one there on the farm at that time, and I had to go get the crop in.

And so I had this large combine, and for those of you who know much about farming, the first element of the combine, it cuts down everything there, and then it separates the wheat from the chaff. Blows the chaff out the mess, so you just get the kernels. And one thing, so my dad said, go out, harvest.

Okay, well, so I've got this big green machine, and I'm going down harvesting. And my front auger just kept getting balled up. And so I'd stop and clean it out. And finally, at the end of the day, I said, Dad, I didn't get very much in. And he said, you know what?

Clean that thing out. You're not operating it right. Go out and make sure you get that crop in. I need you to do that, and I don't want to hear any more excuses. It's probably not the best advice to give a 16-year-old with a big tractor and big equipment out there.

So I went out there the next morning and I started harvesting. Well, one of the things that kept bawling up, kept bawling up. And finally, I said, well, I'm going to go down to the John Deere and I'm going to get this thing figured out. And I called my dad just before I was going down, told him what I was doing.

And he said, I said, well, just so you know, it keeps bawling up. Every 10 yards, 20 yards, it balls up. And I said, and this rain is killing me, you know. And he's like, please don't tell me you're out trying to harvest in the wet. I said, well, you told me not to let another day go by without getting the harvest in.

And he said, the last thing I want to do is. You to do is to go down to John Deere and tell everybody you're trying to harvest in the rain. That's the last thing I want to hear. Anyway, the point of it being is: you know, harvest has to happen in the dry.

And when it gets dry, that's when it's ready. And so that's what this statement is: the harvest has become dry. The grain, it's dry. The field, and of course, this is the picture of a vineyard. But what's happened is the Antichrist ideology that is upon the earth has reached its full maturity.

It has taken its final expression of rebellion against God. It has taken its peak. There is no repentance. There is no softness to God at all. It is completely hard. It is ready for judgment. And so the much-anticipated harvest at the end of the age has come, and this is the announcement of the fourth angel.

Basically, his message is: the sin has reached its limit. And we know that God has a limit on sin. In Genesis, if you will remember, 15:16, he's speaking to Abraham, and he says, Your children are going to go down into Egypt. There, they're going to be there for 400 years, and then I'm going to bring them out.

And the reason he says they will come back here because the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete. In other words, the Amorites are going to fill up their iniquity over that course of that 400 years. Then God is going to bring the Israelites in because sin has a limit.

Iniquity reaches its fullness. You remember Jesus to the religious leaders in Matthew 23:32, he tells them, fill up then the measure of the guilt of your fathers. It's like I am here witnessing to you, I'm doing things only God can do. I've laid truth before you, and yet you are turning a cold and hard heart against all the evidence.

Fill up then. Go ahead. Go do what you're going to do. Fill up the measure of your iniquity. But God has a limit. Where are you today? Turn away from this whole filling up. Listen, God has made himself very evident to us here. We know, you know, who he is.

Don't persist in your way. Don't persist in growing and maturing from that vineyard of the earth. Sin does have its limit. God has a plan for the unrepentant, and it's to let them go ahead and mature in their iniquity. It's interesting as you're reading through these chapters here, you get this horrific picture of the dragon and his deception and his brutality and his viciousness and his hostility and persecution of God's people.

But then you see this metaphor: what's happening from God's perspective? They're filling up the measure. They're like a crop that is drying out and ready to cut down. The wicked are really like a crop that is simply maturing and getting ready to be harvested. I hope this is not you continually hardening your heart.

So while the earth rages against God and is raging against his people, there are those that are really just progressing and drying out and getting ready to be judged. And then in verse 16, we come to the actual harvest or the actual cutting down of it. Look at verse 16.

Then he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth and the earth was reaped. And the earth was reaped. So he's swinging. This is emblematic. Keep in mind that what we're looking at in this chapter here and the previous ones is a thumbnail sketch of you're going to get more detail of this cutting down and the judging.

You're going to see that more in chapter 16, 17, and 18, and 19. But what you're given here, right before the bowls start pouring out, is you're given a preview, a thumbnail sketch of what's going to happen. And so that's what we are seeing here: this thumbnail sketch of the harvest, what is taking place, and how that's going to play out in subsequent verses.

You see, this is what happens. You remember in Genesis 1, there is the creation of man. And then in Genesis 2, you get this whole other description of the creation of man. In Genesis 1, you have a thumbnail sketch. He made them male and female. And then in chapter 2, you get a more elaborate explanation of that creative process.

The same dynamic is happening here in Revelation. But there is an interpretive issue here. Are we talking about two harvests in this chapter or one harvest? Are we talking about two harvests? One, the righteous, and then the wicked. And that this is what we're seeing in verses 14 through 15.

16 is really the harvest of the righteous. And then in the next chapter, in the next verses with the wine press, we see the harvest of the wicked. Or is it just one harvest? Is it just one harvest? And it's really the harvest of the wicked. Or I guess it could be a mixed harvest.

But I think it's probably not the righteous. Number one, there's not a word about the grain harvest. There's not a mention of the word grain. I mean, you do see in the first fruits of the harvest already in verses 1 through 4, you see this harvest of first fruits, which is, and the 144,000 and those like them.

Could be a mixed harvest. But as you're reading through this, the emphasis, the greater emphasis is clearly upon the wicked. It's upon the wicked, these that have taken the mark, these who would not heed, and they are part of the whole Antichrist ideology. And certainly by this time in Revelation, there are those who have stopped repenting.

Early in Revelation, you see great multitudes that are coming. People are responding to their understanding, okay, the day of the Lord has come, and it's motivating them to turn. But by this time, They have stopped repenting. And so you get this emphasis upon the wicked. And this certainly accords very well with the parable of the wheat and tares, as we read earlier in the service.

You remember in Matthew 13, verse 30? First, gather up the tares and bind them into bundles to burn them up. First, first product, let's get rid of the wicked. And he explains it. The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. That's him. The field is the world.

As for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom. And the tares are the sons of the evil one. They're of the vineyard of the devil. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the one who has slandered God, the very word devil, slander. The harvest is the end of the age.

The reapers are the angels. Just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so it shall be with the end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all stumbling blocks, those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire.

In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their father. He who has ears, let him hear. But certainly with that swinging that we see in verse 16, the emphasis is upon the castle.

Cutting down, the irresistible power of the harvest sickle. And in this vineyard context, the stand of the wicked will be no more. First element: the harvest, the cutting down. Well, then we move on to the vintage. The vintage. The next three verses tell us about the vintage. Look back at verse 17.

And another angel came out of the temple, which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. So here we see the fifth angel, the ministry of the fifth angel. He also emerges from the temple, which is in heaven, and he too has a sharp sickle, and he will use it in gathering the grapes.

Look at verse 18. 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 here's the ministry of the sixth angel. And this angel is the one who has power over fire. But notice where he comes from. He comes out also from the temple, but he comes out from a more specific location, from the altar. And this is the altar of incense.

We've seen this before. You remember in Revelation chapter 6? You remember the fifth seal? It's been a little time since we've looked at this, but let me just read to you, beginning in Revelation chapter 6 and verse 9, for the couple of verses. When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and because of the testimony which they had maintained.

And they cried out with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, will you refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth? And there was given each of them a white robe, and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed, even as they had been, would be completed also.

And so in that seal, you see all these martyrs, and they're crying out for vengeance. Lord, how long are you going to let this go on? It says, just a little bit longer until the full number comes in. And then going to act. And so you get this vivid picture of this earthly vineyard.

They despise. God and they harm his people. Those from the heavenly vineyard, they despise those. And so, but notice that the sixth angel is described as the one who has power over fire, authority over power. I think we've already met this angel. You remember in Revelation chapter 8 and verse 1.

You remember when the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about a half hour. And then there is another angel, seven angels came out who stand before God. Seven trumpets were given to them. So getting ready for the trumpets to blow. And another angel came out holding a golden censer.

And much incense was given to him so that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne. So remember all those martyrs at the altar of incense lifting up their prayers. And then here comes this angel with this golden censer and he adds more of the prayers.

And the smoke of the incense with the prayers of the saints went up before God and out of the angel's hand. Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire of the altar and he threw it to the earth. This is the angel that has authority over fire.

And if you keep on reading Reading, the first four trumpets deal with fire. Verse 7, the first sounded, and there came hail and fire, and a third of the earth burned up. Verse 8, the second angel, is something like a great mountain burning with fire, was thrown to the earth into the sea, and it became blood.

Then in verse 10, the third angel sounded, and a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on the third of the rivers and springs of water, thus destroying a third of the fresh water supply, the inhabitants of the earth. And then the fourth of the angel sounds, and a third of the sun is shortened.

So you get this idea that this angel, the one who has the power over fire, is a very significant angel, and he has cast the fire to the earth in response to the prayers of the saints. So there's definitely God is taking vengeance. And the sixth angel calls out to the fifth angel with a loud voice.

You notice there in verse 16. I mean, sorry, verse 18. He says, put forth the sharp sickle. Put it to work. And it's not just cutting. Down the vine, it is gathering the clusters of the grapes from the vine of the earth. Take this vine of the earth, which is now cut down, and you gather those clusters.

Clusters. You see what has happened? You've got these different groupings, like a cluster of grapes. The earth has produced a class of people who will not listen, who will not repent, who prefer lies to truth, who oppose God, who mock His people, who persecute His people, who irrationally rage against God, and foolishly think they can best God.

So the angel does what He's told. Look at verse 19. 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. Remember, the first phase of the harvest is to cut down, the stand.

The second is to gather. But the gathering here isn't about gathering the grain or the good grape. It's gathering these objects of wrath. It's a grape harvest, the image. It's not a gathering of good grapes, though, but bad ones. And clearly, the Grapes are referring to people who are alive at the end of the age, who have taken the mark, who have gone with Antichrist's paradigm.

But the clusters, how do we think about clusters? Well, submit to you, they depict people, groups, categories of peoples, nations, tribes, political alliances, clusters, armies. And God is interested in these clusters not because He delights in them, but because He despises them. His subtle anger is upon them.

And He is going to make a public spectacle of them when He destroys them. You see, God does have a purpose for the wicked. Either you and I are going to be a living testimony to the goodness of God, or you and I are going to be a living testimony to God's justice, which is also good.

How do you want to testify to the goodness of God by your eternal torment or through eternal blessing? Either way, all the world will give glory to God. And it is his desire, as we have seen. In this chapter, he issues a last invitation. He issues a last final warning because it's clear that God takes no pleasure in anyone being destroyed, but he wants to give them life.

And so, even at this late hour, before the final bowl judgment comes, he is still reaching out. But notice what the angel does: he gathers them and he throws them into the wine press of God's wrath. So, when you think about a wine, a gathering, where do you take the grapes?

Well, you throw them into a wine press. Now, in ancient times, you can think of these wine presses, and you can see them all over ancient the land of Israel and beyond. You'd have two, typically like two vats, two bowls, large stone bowls, large enough for people to get in and to trample.

And you had an upper pool and you had a lower pool. You had an upper bowl and a lower bowl. And there would be a little conduit, a channel that was cut from the upper pool down to the lower pool. And then the grapes would be thrown into the upper chamber.

And they'd be stomped upon. Now, if you're thrown in there, guess what? A grape can't get away. You know, you throw it in that, it doesn't get out of there. It's just ready to be pressed. And so the way it would work is the grapes would be thrown in there, people would smash them and crush them, and the juice would eventually get to the point where it reached that duct and it would flow down, leaving all the mash and stuff behind, and only the juice would go down into the lower pool.

Well, that's the metaphor. You think about this as all coming into God is gathering these clusters into one place, into like one chamber, where he's going to pour out his wrath upon them and trample them. So what is this? Well, I think that what God's doing here is he's given that thumbnail sketch of what's ahead.

And then when the sixth bowl is poured out, this is right at the very end of all of this, of the great day of the Lord that has started. It's getting right here at the very end with the sixth bowl. Listen to what happens. And we'll read this in chapter 16 in verse 12.

We'll see this. We'll go more in depth of this in the future, but just listen to this. The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates, and its water was dried up so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east.

And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs, for they are spirits of demons performing signs which go out to the kings of the whole world to gather them together for the war of the great day of God Almighty.

And they gathered them together to the place which is in Hebrew called Harmageddon. So you think about what this sixth bowl, the Euphrates, is emptied, dried up. And what this does is it creates a nice way for advancing armies to come into Jerusalem. And if anybody doesn't think that Israel has enemies to their east, you better go study what's going on in the world.

Just read the headlines. From the east, many. But there's a lying spirit that goes out. You know, these people aren't just going to come gather. Oh, the day of judgment's coming. We need to show up. We won't want to be late for our judgment. No, there is a cause.

What brings them together? What brings them to Harmageddon? It is their hatred and hostility against God, against Israel, against his people, against the woman, against her children, and ultimately against God himself. And so. They gather them together to the place which is called Armageddon. So there is a depiction of these grapes, these clusters, being harvested and thrown into the wine press, like the upper pool.

Verse 20, look at what happens. 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 200 miles. That's a very graphic picture of the vengeance of the Lord. Deuteronomy 32, 35 tells us that vengeance, God says, vengeance is mine.

Retribution is mine. In due time, their foot will slip, for the day of their calamity is near, and the impending things are hastening upon them. Deuteronomy 32, 41. God says, This, if I sharpen my flashing sword and my hand takes hold on justice, I will render vengeance on my adversaries, and I will repay those who hate me.

When he takes hold of that justice, it's going to be depicted in the bowls. Once those start, they must run their course. And that is why there is that ongoing message throughout. Scripture: if today, if you hear his voice, turn your heart to him. The invitation is to you, it's to me, to know him more deeply, more intimately, to be disconnected from every vestige and influence from this vine of this independent thinking and life that stems from the vine of the earth, and to abide in him.

Romans 12:19 says, Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay. And that day of his vengeance will come. And that's why when the people are crying out in the fifth seal, how long, how long, he says, just rest.

It will come. It will come. But look at how this vengeance is described. Trodden. They've got this wine press, all the grapes in there, trampled, stomped, treaded upon. Certainly a familiar metaphor in Scripture. This happened to Jerusalem, by the way, in the past. Remember in Lamentations 1:15, after the Babylonians came and crushed Jerusalem.

Jeremiah says, This, the Lord has rejected all my strongmen in my midst. He is called an appointed time. Against me to crush my young men, the Lord has trodden as in a wine press the virgin daughter of Judah. So they're very familiar with this imagery, the press, because Jerusalem itself went under such a pressure, such a scourging under the Babylonians by the hand of God.

But notice outside the city, the wine press was trodden outside the city. Some like to suggest that this is Babylon, and that doesn't make any sense at all. Babylon's what's being destroyed. No, it's Jerusalem, outside the city of Jerusalem. The city is Jerusalem. The wine press is outside the city.

And certainly Harmageddon, if you've been to Israel, you know where that is. Armageddon, that's Harmageddon, a large plain. But the emphasis here: look at the blood. An excessive amount of blood is going to flow out of this gathering and crushing. Think about a horse up to its bridle.

You're looking at something around four feet. Look at the distance, four feet deep for 200 miles. 200 miles. Some many come to this and say, well, that's hyperbole. The Bible is overstating something here because this isn't going to happen. Well, as you know, I tend to gravitate to the literal.

Yeah, there's metaphor here. Yes, it's depicting something. But I have more confidence in the literal that it's expressing something here. There is a literal meaning behind the metaphor that's being used. And just to give you an idea of what I think is being communicated, the distance, it doesn't say 200 miles.

You know, that's a measurement that we use. It speaks of 1,600 stadia. And if you do the math, it actually works out to right out 182 miles, which is the length from top to bottom of Israel. It spans the length and eastward to Basra and on, you've got this same kind of area.

But what I think is very clear here is we're talking about a massive Slaughter unlike anything that's ever been seen in the history of humanity. And I think those who witnessed this event will look back and say, no, this wasn't overstated. When you see the mass, I mean, I have seen just images of the battlefield, and I'm sure some of you have as well.

I've seen soldiers walking in their knees, pools of blood up to their knees, and even higher as they're wading through some of the carnage. You have something similar like that going on here. And this is spoken of throughout Scripture. Listen to Joel chapter 3, speaking about this great day of the Lord.

Joel chapter 3, verse 12: Let the nations be aroused and come to the valley of Jehoshaphat. For there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the winepress is full. The vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.

Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision, for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. No, this isn't the valley of decision. Should I follow Christ? Should I not follow Christ? This is the valley of judgment, where God is bringing multitudes and multitudes together.

In Isaiah 63, 1, Isaiah speaks to this event. Who is this one coming from Edom with garments, glowing colors from Basra? This one who is majestic in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Why is your apparel red, and your garments like one who treads in the wine press?

I have treaded the wine trow alone, and from the peoples there was no man with me. I also trod them in my anger and trampled them in my wrath, and their lifeblood is sprinkled upon my garments, and I stained all my raiment, for the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of redemption has come.

This picture of the vintage is God himself coming to destroy, to punish, and it is a massive slaughter, unlike there has ever been on earth, nor ever will be. It is here where the pinnacle of humanity, where the pinnacle of humanity's opposition to God reaches its matured state.

That's globally. That's big picture. I mean, think about this on an individual. Level, we too can harden our hearts to the point where we can be like them, even though we're not in this generation. We could, even in our own times, we can harden our hearts, we can mature in rebellion to him.

So, this morning, we've looked at this end of chapter 14. John has given us a glimpse of the harvest, the cutting down of the enemies of God, the vintage, the gathering up of the enemies of God, and how God is going to deal with them. But all this set before us, the encouragement to us today is to look upon what's going to happen to those who are of the earthly vine.

Look what their end is going to be. Of course, God's going to reign. Of course, he's the creator. Of course, this is his world. Of course, his kingdom is coming. And guess what? Those who honor him are going to be part of it. Those who aren't are not going to be part of it.

So, exhortation, very clear to all of us today. Let's grow in cutting all connections with this earthly vine, this earthly disposition of life. Be joined to Christ. Abide in Him. More and more. Let me close with these words. John 15, verse 4. These are Jesus' words. Abide in me and I in you.

As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him, he bears much fruit. For apart from me, you can do nothing.

If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up, and they gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples. Just as the Father has loved me, I have also loved you. Abide in my love. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, indeed, we come before you today, wanting to abide more and more in you.

Father, forgive us where we have been influenced and turned, and forgive where we have patterned our life according to the flesh and sinful ways. Father, help us to abide in you and your ways, and your Son. Thank you for Your Son's work on the cross that brought us near and brought us to this point to where we, though rightfully objects of your wrath, have been made objects of your great favor.

So, Father, help us to abide. Cause us to abide. Incline our hearts more and more to abide in your Son, for truly he is the source of life for us. We thank you in Jesus' name. Amen.