Good evening and welcome to EBible Fellowship's Bible study in the Book of Revelation.  Tonight is study #41 of Revelation, chapter 14, and we have been looking at Revelation14:15:

And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.

In our last study we saw that the Greek word “pempo,” which is translated in this passage twice as “thrust,” is overwhelmingly translated as “send” or “sent” every other time it is used in the New Testament.  It is translated as “send” or “sent” 79 out of 81 times and the only time it is not translated this way is here in Revelation, chapter 14.

We can certainly understand this to be a command, “Send in thy sickle and reap.”  We saw how God’s people are the reapers.  We went to John, chapter 4, and we are going to go back there now.  It says in John 4:34-38:

Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.

Here in this passage we see that Christ is speaking to His people and He is speaking of sowing and reaping.  It is the true believers that sow the Gospel seed and it is the true believers that reap of the same.  Jesus’ statement, in verse 38, states: “I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour.”  He is speaking to His disciples, to the true children of God: “I sent you to reap.” 

But there is more to reaping than just the end of the world, as we are reading about in Revelation, chapter 14.  It is Judgment Day and it is the final harvest at the end of the world and Christ is “sending in the sickle,” which relates to sending His people with the Word of God at this present time of judgment in which they declare that salvation is complete, and so forth, including all the information we have learned in these days after the Tribulation.  As we share it, we will be actively involved in the reaping process.

But, it says here in John 4:35, “Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.”  So we need to look further in the Bible in order to understand this statement that Jesus is making.  Basically He is saying that “now” is harvest, but they are saying that harvest is four months away.  I think as we examine some Biblical statements concerning “harvest,” we will understand much better what is being said here in John 4:35.

The Bible speaks of three periods of “rain.”  We discussed this recently in Joel, chapter 2.  Let me read this passage in Joel because it is a wonderful picture that God provides about the “times and seasons” of His salvation program.  It says in Joel 2:22-24:

Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength. Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in JEHOVAH your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil.

Here, we see the connection.  God sends the rain and the fruit comes forth and the wine and the oil overflow.  The crops are brought in during harvest.  The rains bring the fruitful and plentiful harvests.  When we look at the Bible, we find the Bible speaks of three rains.  It speaks of the “former rain moderately,” which would better be understood as the “former righteous rain.”  Then there is the “former rain” or “early rain” and then there is the Latter Rain. 

We have talked about this before, but the “former righteous rain” was during the Old Testament period, especially during the period of Israel’s formation until Christ came into the world; He was the fruit that rain produced.  When Jesus went to the cross it was the harvest of the fruit.

Then came the “early rain” which identified with Pentecost and it brought in the firstfruits unto God, which were all those saved during the church age.

Then the third and final season was the “Latter Rain” that brought in the final fruits in the Feast of Ingathering, and the great multitude was saved out of the “little season” of the Great Tribulation.

Let us go to Leviticus, chapter 23, and we will see how God speaks of these harvests.  It says in Leviticus 23:10:

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof…

And here is the language of reaping the harvest we are interested in, and it goes on to say in Leviticus 23:10-11:

…then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the sheaf before JEHOVAH, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.

This is the first of the firstfruits, which is how God speaks of this in another place, in Exodus 23:19:

The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of JEHOVAH thy God…

Here it says, “first of the firstfruits.”  In Leviticus 23:10 it said, “ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest,” and the word “firstfruits” is the Hebrew word “ray-sheeth” and it is Strong’s #7225 and this is a different Hebrew word than the word used for “firstfruits” that we find in other places in the Scripture that relate to the Day of Pentecost, the day of firstfruits.  That is a different word.  That word is “bik-koor” and it is Strong’s #1061.  The “first of the firstfruits” is the feast that identifies with the Lord Jesus Christ.  He is the first of the firstfruits, as it says in 1Corinthians 15:23:

But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.

Jesus is called the “firstfruits” and that is derived from Leviticus 23:10 and Exodus 23:19, which speak of the “first of the firstfruits,” as it says the “sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest is brought unto the priest,” and this is the initial harvest, the “first of the firstfruits,” which would identify with the “early righteous rain.”  Again, God’s Word finally produced (after the Old Testament period had ended) the Messiah who entered into the human race; Christ came into the world and as He lived out the tableau, He would demonstrate that He was the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world and He would go to the cross to picture the “first of the firstfruits.”  Notice it says that the “first of the firstfruits” harvest is to be held when you come into the land.  We read of Israel crossing Jordan in Joshua 4:17-19:

Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, Come ye up out of Jordan. And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of JEHOVAH were come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all his banks, as they did before. And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho.

That “tenth day of the first month” is significant.  It relates to the time when the lamb would be chosen and this is the crossing of Jordan into the Promised Land, as it said in Leviticus, “When ye be come into the land… The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring.”  Here, they are entering in to the Promised Land of Canaan on the “tenth day of the first month,” and then it says in the next chapter, in Joshua 5:10:

And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho. And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day.

This relates to the timing of the “first of the firstfruits,” but it also relates to the feast of firstfruits.  It says in Leviticus 23:15-17:

And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto JEHOVAH.  Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto JEHOVAH.

This is “bik-koor,” the Hebrew word for “firstfruits,” Strong’s #1061.  It is a different word than “ray-sheeth,” the “first of the firstfruits,” which is Christ.  This is pointing to Pentecost, the bringing in of the firstfruits, which would spiritually represent all those saved during the 1,955 years of the church age.

But, notice how God sets it up: “When ye be come into the land,” then the day after the Sabbath, and so forth, you start counting for to the feast of weeks until you number fifty days, and we can see how this related, historically, when Christ went to the cross.  First, He was selected as the Lamb of God when He entered into Jerusalem and they all cried out, “Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.”  Christ was selected to be the “first of the firstfruits.”  Then, later, it was at the time of the Feast of Passover that Christ went to the cross and died, demonstrating the things He had done from the foundation of the world.  Following that, as God spelled it out how to count the fifty days, we go to fifty days later and it is Pentecost and Acts 2 tells us, “When the day of Pentecost was fully come,” because these prior two feasts, the first of the firstfruits, the Lord Jesus, and the feast of Passover, were spiritually fulfilled at their proper seasons, and on the very day of Pentecost, it was spiritually fulfilled when the Holy Spirit was poured out and 3,000 became saved.  And they are all related to “harvest.”  The rain brings in the harvest: Christ was the “first of the firstfruits” when He went to the cross and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost signaled the next season of “harvest” in God’s program of times and seasons.

In Deuteronomy, chapter 16, the Lord gives us further confirmation that His whole plan of salvation and judgment are interwoven with the seasons of “harvest.”  It says in Deuteronomy 16:16:

Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before JEHOVAH thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread…

The feast of unleavened bread is another term for Passover.

… and in the feast of weeks…

This is another way of saying “Pentecost.”

… and in the feast of tabernacles…

The Feast of Tabernacles and the Feast of Ingathering are held simultaneously. Then it goes on to say in Deuteronomy 16:16-17:

…and they shall not appear before JEHOVAH empty: Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of JEHOVAH thy God which he hath given thee.

Notice that language.  God says there are three times in a year that all the males must come to the place that He chooses.  Then He lists them: Passover, Pentecost and Ingathering.  Then He says, “And they shall not appear before JEHOVAH empty.”  Why not?  It is because they are harvest times and it is when you bring in the fruit and, therefore, you should have an offering out of the abundant crop and out of the fruitfulness and the blessings with which God has blessed you.  So we see how those three times in the year relate to God’s three harvests.  Christ was the first, firstfruits were the second, and the third was the harvest that comes at the end of the year.  The Bible speaks of this third harvest as being “in the end of the year,” even though it was the Hebrew seventh month. 

Now that we have this information, if we go back to John, chapter 4 and look at what is being said in John 4:35:

Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.

If we understand that the fourteenth day of the first month is likened to a “harvest,” the time of Passover (when the first of the firstfruits are brought in) and you go fifty days, it brings us to one of the earlier days of the third Hebrew month and that would relate to Pentecost, which would occur in one of those early days of the third Hebrew month.  So we can see why they would say, “There are yet four months” to the harvest, because the final harvest of Ingathering that is held in conjunction with Tabernacles is in the seventh month.  So, from the third month, the harvest of firstfruits, you would still have four months before you get to the seventh month.  I think Christ is making reference to His own harvest, which would take place shortly (as He is the fruit) when He went to the cross and then the harvest of firstfruits would shortly follow in just fifty days from Passover.  So Jesus is saying that those particular aspects of God’s overall “harvest” are (soon to be) actively taking place, so that is why His reference to the fields being “white” already to harvest.  When we read Matthew 13, we know that the “harvest” is the end of the world and we can read it in Revelation 14:15: “Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.”  So there is no doubt that God speaks of Judgment Day as a time of harvest and of reaping and, yet, there had been previous harvests in His overall salvation program and previous times of reaping.  I just wanted to clarify that.

Also, going back to the Book of John, it says in John 4:38: “I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.”   

I mentioned that the Greek word translated as “thrust” in Revelation 14 is translated 79 times as “send” or “sent.”  The same word is found in John 4:34, “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me.”  (This is “pempo.”)  But, in John 4:38, it is a different Greek word.  It is not “pempo,” but it is “apostello,” Strong’s #649, and this is also a word that is overwhelmingly translated as “send” or “sent.”  Actually, it is used more times than “pempo,” to indicate “sending.”  I think it is found 125 times in the Bible and at least 121 times it is translated as “send” or “sent.”  One time it was translated as “set,” and one other time “apostello” is translated as “put in,” in Mark 4:26-29:

And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.

The Greek word “apostello” is translated as “putteth in,” and notice, again, that it is used with the word “sickle.”  The word “sickle” in the New Testament is always translated as “sickle.”  I think it is found seven times in Revelation 14 and once here, and that is all.  So God says in Revelation 14 to “Thrust in the sickle,” and He uses the word “pempo,” or “send,” and it is overwhelmingly used in association with sending messengers: “Send in the sickle.”  Then we read John 4:38, where it says, “I sent you to reap,” and He is speaking to the true believers.  I have to admit that I was at first disappointed that it was not the word “pempo,” because it would have fit so well with what we are reading in Revelation, chapter 14.  But then I looked it up and it is a word that basically has the very same meaning as “pempo,” and it is actually a word that is translated even more often as “send” or “sent.”  God uses that word, also, in the context of Mark 4:29: “But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle.”  And as we read Revelation 14, we know that Judgment Day began May 21, 2011, when God completed the Latter Rain.  The harvest was finished and the fruit of the great multitude was brought in (they were all saved).  The great multitude came out of Great Tribulation and immediately after, it is said to “Put in the sickle,” or “Send in the sickle.”  That is what the word means and it is a word that God used in John 4:38: “I sent you to reap.”  He is commissioning us and He is sending us.  This is our task at this time.  The sowing season is done.  We are never to sow again.  That time is past, but we are to be busy, occupying in reaping.