Click here for the Revelation 14:12-16 PODCAST
12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus. 13 Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.” 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. ~ Revelation 14:12-16
We return today to our study of Revelation 14. This chapter began with the loud singing of the song of the redeemed. And, that was followed by the appeal of God to mankind to repent from following Satan and to worship the living God. This appeal was largely unheard.
So, in v.12 we read, "This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus."
At this point, the earth will be so filled with violence and widespread hatred, it will appear, from earth's perspective that Satan will win. This will call for a determined effort on the behalf of those who follow God on the earth to endure in their obedience to His commands.
In v.13 we read, "Then I heard a voice from heaven say, 'Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them."'
Then the promise will come from the voice of the Holy Spirit. John is told to write this down as a special guarantee. The believers of that day will feel as if they have missed the resurrection! The church has already been taken out of the world, and these believers know it. And, for those who will be on the earth after that, they will think that they have no hope. The Holy Spirit will say, "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on," because they, too, are guaranteed eternal bliss because of what the Lord Jesus did for them on the cross so long ago.
In v.14 we read, "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."
This one seated on the cloud "like a son of man" is the Lord Jesus. He will be seated and He will have a golden crown on His head indicating His complete authority to rule. He will have a sickle in His hand indicating the imminent harvest of souls.
He will have a golden crown or stephanos on His head. This is not the diadem or the crown of the king. This is the crown of the victor. This is the runner’s crown, not the royal crown. This pictures the Son of Man coming to conquer, coming to prevail over His enemies. This was a crown that was made out of a laurel wreath, leafed in gold, worn on festive occasions, worn for wars and great athletic events won by the victors.
In v.15-16 of today's text we read, "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."
In Matthew 13, the Lord Jesus spoke the parable of the wheat and the weeds to His disciples. In that parable, the servants asked the Lord, "Shall we pull up these weeds?" But he said to them, "No, let both grow together until the harvest, and then I will tell the harvester, 'First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned, and then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.'"
Then the Lord Jesus interpreted that parable to His disciples, saying, "The harvest is the end of the age (the 7-year period to which we have come in this book), and the harvesters are the angels." This agrees exactly with what we have here in Revelation 14. The angels announce that the time of harvest has come, and the words of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 13 will be literally fulfilled.
In Daniel 7:13-14 we read, “13 In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”
The image that John sees here in Revelation 14 is drawn from Daniel 7. The Lord Jesus as the Son of Man will come in fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy. In Matthew 24:30 we read, “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.”
Today's text began with these words in Revelation 14:12, "This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus."
God's patience means saved souls. God is slow to anger not wanting any to perish. In fact, He is more patient than we are sinful. When we show patience to an impatient world, we glorify the One who was patient with us. God's patience with us is only surpassed by His patience with Himself. God's patience towards His creatures is His power over Himself. If not for the infinite restraint God puts upon Himself, we could not exist one moment. His mercy withholds His judgment, His goodness restrains His justice, His patience curbs His power, and thus the patience of God is the salvation of man. Sadly, for those who never turn to Him for salvation, His patience will run out because His justice must be met. Otherwise, we have no truth.
