Harvesting the VineyardRevelation 14:6-20

If you like wineIf you have visited a vineyard

It is an artPatienceBeauty

Wine is about…Festivity

ClassConfidence

In scripture wine, grapes and grape juice represent many of these thingsWine was provided for the wedding

However, wine or grape juice, is also a reminder of death and blood

Communion

Revelation 146 Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people.

First AngelThe Gospel is good news

But here it is mostly a warningTime is running out to make a

choice for Christ

7 He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

Second AngelTime’s up

The time of judgment is here

8 A second angel followed and said, “Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great, which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”

Third AngelSome choices are irrevocable

Some commitments are eternalSome decisions inevitably anger God

9 A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, 10 he, too, will drink of the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.

Note: A mark versus a seal

A actual doing versus a believingIdentifiable mark versus an unseen glory

2 Corinthians 1:21-2221 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

Ephesians 1:13-1413 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

The harvest that will take place is based on the mark or the seal

Description of torment continues for those worshipping the beastA call for believers to be faithful

11 And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name.” 12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.

At the given time Christ will gather his people

The earth will be ripeIt will be harvested

14 I 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.

15 Then 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.” 16 So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

There is more than one harvest

17 Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 Still 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.”

The winepress of God’s wrathTrampledSqueezedPunished

19 The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. 20 They 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.

We have choices to makeWho is our Lord and leader?

Do we believe?Are we sealed?

Why are we looking into the future?We are making eternal choices

Not just long term choicesMake sure…

You know Christ nowYou believe in Christ

You are sealed with the Spirit