Welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the Book of Genesis. Tonight, is study #33 of Genesis, chapter 14 and we are continuing to look at Genesis 14:18-20:

And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

Just to remind us, the spiritual situation when Melchizedek appears is the victory won at Judgment Day. It was on May 21, 2011 that Christ took the kingdom of Satan and Satan was put down and deposed from all official rule in the churches and in the world. Christ took the kingdom of Satan, which consisted of all the nations of the world, including the corporate churches in all the world.

Melchizedek came forth and presented “bread and wine” and we must ask why this was done at this point in the historical parable. We know Melchizedek is Christ, who performed the role of the Eternal Priest when He offered up Himself (for sin) at the foundation of the world. That truth was not revealed in its fulness and glory until the time of the end, which is our time. Melchizedek brought forth “bread and wine.” We know that both bread and wine identify with the Word of God, the Gospel. Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.” We can find several verses that relate wine to the blood of Christ or to the Gospel.

Whatever the Word of God, the Bible, says is the Gospel and the Gospel is adapted by God according to appropriate times and seasons. The Gospel for Old Testament Israel was not the same as the Gospel for the New Testament churches and congregations. The Gospel was expanded upon and certain truths were opened up and a clearer understanding was given, for instance, concerning the Gentiles being brought in and that information had been withheld from Old Testament Israel. The Gospel during the Great Tribulation (especially during the second part when the Latter Rain fell) was different than the Gospel for the churches because God had ended the church age and He was no longer saving anyone within the churches, but He was saving people outside of the churches in the world.

The focus of God in Genesis 14 is on Judgment Day and the bringing forth of “bread and wine” has to do with God bringing forth truth, things fitting and appropriate for the time of judgment. Our old understanding of Judgment Day was that Christ would come and the world would be destroyed instantly, so there would have been no time for more Gospel to come forth or more “bread and wine” brought forth. We have learned that Judgment day is a prolonged period of time lasting several years and it is a different “season” than the day of salvation, so God had to open up more information to instruct His people and spiritually feed them throughout the prolonged period of Judgment Day.

It is especially important because it is such a grievous time, a time of severe trial and testing. The people of God are being put through the fire in which we are called upon to glorify JEHOVAH, in Isaiah 25, verse 15. In order that we endure and go through that fire in a God-glorifying manner, God helps us by bringing forth “bread and wine” or Gospel truth. It is why, in the parable of Luke 11 when the door is shut, we find that God is still granting “bread” or “loaves” to His people. Also, it is why in John 21 after the great catch of fish is brought in (which represents the great multitude brought in by the completion of the Great Tribulation and the beginning of Judgment Day), and the fish are brought to Jesus and Jesus has “bread” prepared for them. He commanded Peter three times: “Feed my sheep.” There are a series of “threes” in this account and Jesus was showing Himself to His disciples the third time. In the parable there were three loaves or three bread, indicating that it was God’s purpose for this time of the prolonged Judgment Day to feed His sheep as He brings forth “bread and wine.”

In the same context of Judgment Day, it says in Revelation 19:11:

And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

This speaks of the battle of Judgment Day, just as Genesis 14 is an historical battle that points to the spiritual battle that would take place during the Great Tribulation and the battle of Judgment Day. There are two battles. In the first battle during the Great Tribulation Satan won, as typified by the four kings overcoming the five kings. Satan defeated the churches and ruled in grandeur, like the King of Babylon ruled over his glorious kingdom. But in the second battle, the four kings were defeated. Satan was defeated, just as at the end of the seventy years the Medes and the Persians took the kingdom of Babylon and the king of Babylon was smitten and Cyrus took the kingdom. It was a picture of Christ taking the kingdom of Satan.

It goes on to say in Revelation 19:12-13:

His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

You see, it is the Word of God that is highlighted in Judgment Day because God’s judgment program is dependent upon the revealing of the judgment as the Scriptures are opened to show the people of God what is taking place. This is necessary when there is a spiritual judgment. So, here, in describing the battle of Judgment Day, we find that Christ is figured as the “Word of God.”

Then it says in Revelation 19:14-15:

And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

The sword is pictured as coming out of His mouth because that is where the Word of God comes forth. Hebrews, chapter 4 tells us the Word of God is like a sharp twoedged sword and Ephesians likens the Spirit of God to the Word of God or a sword. As it says here, the Word of God is smiting the nations. It is immaterial whether, or not, the nations are aware of being smitten, just as it was immaterial whether, or not, the churches were aware that the Word of God was smiting them during the 23-year Great Tribulation period. It is not necessary for God to prove His judgment to natural-minded people because they will know the judgment of JEHOVAH through the experience of it. They may be completely unaware of it, intellectually. God is not like us. We would want the one being punished to be aware they are being punished.

It says in the last part of verse 15, “…and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.” We talked about this before, but the Greek word translated as “rule” is the same word translated as “feed” and it is used regarding feeding sheep. This same Greek word is used in Acts 20:28:

Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

Here God calls the flock the church of God. Of course, there was a corporate, external church that consisted of both saved and unsaved, but now that body only contains people that are unsaved. But there is an eternal church that consists of only those that are truly saved and that is the “church” God is concerned about feeding when Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.” They were to feed the flock that is made up of everyone that is truly saved, the great multitude that came out of Great Tribulation; the Great Tribulation is over and the great catch of fish had come in, but now there is this extremely difficult and final stage of history to go through and that is Judgment Day. And Christ is saying, “This is my command to my people that hear my voice: Feed the sheep. Bring forth bread and wine. I will grant you loaves to feed your friends, even though the door is shut.”

You cannot mistake the context in Revelation, chapter 19. It is Judgment Day. It says, “and he shall rule them with a rod of iron,” and that is one side of the sword of the Word of God and it is cutting exclusively to judgment against the filthy that shall be filthy still. Their condition now can never change and they are to be ruled with a rod of iron. The heavens are like brass and they cannot penetrate through it. It is a rule that is not for their benefit or welfare, but it is for their punishment as Christ rules the unsaved nations of the world. And, yet, God uses that Greek word, likewise, to express the other side of God’s twoedged sword. Since there are elect alive and remaining on the earth through the Day of Judgment, they are being fed with that rod of iron. We must carry that idea through and the only way we can understand this is to realize that it the same teaching of the Bible that is so awful and terrible to the unsaved inhabitants of the earth also serves to feed the sheep. How is that possible? It is because the elect are already saved and we have entered in to our citizenship in the kingdom of God and since we have eternal life, it cannot hurt us. What serves to feed us is truth. What serves to nourish the souls of the righteous (who are righteous still) is the true Word of God in its proper time and season, so we feed upon the information that spiritual judgment has come and God is no longer saving and that the elect are standing before the judgment seat of Christ. The other truths of the Bible also feed us, especially truths concerning the Judgment Day program of God and the Judgment day teachings or revelations of God.

If we go back to Revelation, chapter 7 where it speaks of the great multitude, we see God’s intent after He sealed the 144,000 from the twelve tribes (which relate to the firstfruits saved during the church age), as it says in Revelation 7:9:

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

Then it says in Revelation 7:13:

And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?

How convenient it was that this question was asked and, of course, God wanted the question asked so we would know where the great multitude came from, as it goes on to say in Revelation 7:14-15:

And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.

Since God says that they are serving Him “day and night,” there is a time reference, which means they are not the saints in heaven. The world has not yet ended and these have come “out of great tribulation,” which means they have entered in to Judgment Day and during Judgment Day these are to serve God. That is the situation with God’s people at any time in history – they serve God wherever they live. They are still on the earth and they serve Him day and night. God sits on the throne and dwells among them. We talked about this before. Once the temple was completed, the ark was placed within it, meaning that once the spiritual temple was completed and everyone that was to become saved had become saved, then God entered into that body (His temple) in a spiritual manner.

Then it goes on to say in Revelation 7:16:

They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more…

This refers to the fact that they will not hunger and thirst after righteousness, as it says in the Beatitudes, because they are all saved.

Then it says in Revelation 7:16-17:

… neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them.

This word translated as “feed” is the same Greek word translated as “rule” in Revelation 19 verse 15, where it says, “and he shall rule them with a rod of iron.”

It says in the last part of Revelation 7:17:

… and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

The word “shall” is future tense because there is still the matter of completing the prolonged Judgment Day and the end of the world and then there will be no more tears or sorrow or death, and so forth. But, here, it is still in the future because it refers to our present time in which Christ is feeding His sheep. And He will accomplish this in the way He has always accomplished it, with the multiplication of the “bread” or “loaves.” He broke the bread, gave it to the disciples and gave the disciples to the multitude. God reveals truth to His people and His people then share these truths with others. We do not “see” God while the world is still operating, but it is the spiritual process of opening the understanding of the spiritual eyes of His people and then we share the things God has opened up to us.

One more point I would make about Revelation 19:15:

And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

We just talked about feeding the sheep through the identical information that is so destructive to unsaved people and, yet, serves to feed the righteous left on the earth. Well, Melchizedek brought forth bread and wine and, here in Judgment Day, Christ treads “the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.” We saw similar language in Revelation 14:10-11:

The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

It should say the smoke of their torment ascends up to ever and ever (to the point of eternity at the end of this world). They have no rest “day nor night,” a time reference for Judgment Day on this earth. Then it says in Revelation 14:12:

Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

The saints are present on the earth in the Day of Judgment and that is why God is emphasizing their patience and their keeping of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, not their own faith.

A few verses later we read of the winepress in Revelation 14:18-20:

And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

The vine of the earth that is cast into the winepress represents people and that is why blood comes out. It is the crushing of the lives of the wicked, the unsaved people of the earth. This is the winepress that it speaks of in Revelation 19:15:

… and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

You see, as the information from the Bible goes forth that the door is shut and the sun is darkened, it smites the nations and rules with a rod of iron, but we saw it also feeds the sheep. Likewise, the same Biblical information crushes the life out of the unsaved people that have rebelled against God. It is as though God is treading them underfoot in the day of His wrath and the blood is coming forth like wine, just as Christ suffered the wrath of God and the Bible likened His blood to wine. It is a wine to drink that can give life, but in this case, this cup of wrath will give no life to the wicked. It will deliver no one. It is the Bible’s declaration that they must be punished and die for evermore and on the last day they will cease to exist. But the information that God is crushing the life out of the wicked of the earth is truth and it is like “new wine” that is served to the people of God and we are drinking. We are being fed with “bread” or doctrine that declares these same things. It is as if we are drinking of the wine of the wrath of God, but for the people of God it does not hurt us. It does not destroy us, but it provides nourishment. It provides Gospel blessing.