08/25/2023 – The Lord of the Harvest
Revelation 14: 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.”
NOTHING about the Return of Christ Should be a Surprise to Us. Life is full of surprises- so the saying goes, and for many of us, this is true. But there is a day that should not surprise us (1 Thessalonians 5:4) and that is the day the Lord returns. It is the most announced and awaited day in history. Some people set their alarm twice and even three times; but the Bible reveals seven alarms- seven trumpets leading up to this day. At the last trumpet, Christ- our Christ, will return to this earth. Still…even us, His children, may be surprised not only by the timing, but especially by the purpose of His return.
What is the purpose of His return?
It is revealed by the symbol in his right hand… a sickle. We must admit, if we are honest, that it is surprising. We tend to forget the sickle. The book of Revelation uses great symbolism to communicate the glory of Christ when He returns to this earth as king of kings. We remember the cloud of glory and the crown of victory. But we tend to forget that in His hand, He will be holding a sharp sickle. I am quite familiar with this tool because my last name comes from it. It is an instrument of labor that is use to gather the crops. The fact that it is in His right hand makes it clear that this is the primary purpose of His return is to gather the harvest of all that He planted on the earth.