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Revelation 14
The Winepress of God
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Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.
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Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
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Another angel, a second, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.”
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And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”
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Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.
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And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”
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Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped.
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Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.” So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse's bridle, for 1,600 stadia.
*******
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In the previous chapter, we saw that Satan takes control of a group of nations, which in turn gains authority over the whole earth. This group of nations gets a new figure, the second beast that exercises the authority of the group of nations. The new figure seems to be a person because he requires that everyone take his mark, which is his name, on their foreheads or on their right hand. Everyone whose name is not written in the Lamb’s book of life will take the mark and worship this beast, and the first beast, and Satan.
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Those that take the mark of the beast will get to buy and sell, and they will get to have groceries for 3 ½ years. Those that do not take the mark of the beast will not get to buy groceries for 3 ½ years. They will also go into captivity or be slain. That is the short term effect of what the beast will do. The beast is also often referred to as the anti-Christ.
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Now we get to chapter 14, and we find out that there are also some long term consequences for those that take the mark of the beast.
The first thing that happens is that John looks, and he sees the Lamb standing on Mount Zion with the 144,000 that have his name and the name of the Father written on their foreheads. The Lamb is ready to rule and to accomplish that, he has the 144,000 that were sealed. They have the name of the Lamb, and the name of God written on their foreheads, so it will be impossible for them to take the mark of the beast.
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Standing on Mount Zion is very significant. Psalm 2:6 says, "I have installed My King on Zion, upon My holy hill." The fact that they are standing on Mount Zion is a claim that the prophesies about God’s king and God’s kingdom on earth are about to take place.
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The fact that the 144,000 have the name of the Lamb and the name of the Father written on their foreheads is very significant. When we went through the gospel of John, we noted that Jesus claimed the name of God for himself. This is important. We think of verses like John 8:58, where Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” Using the words, “I am” in the Greek, references what Jesus would have used in Hebrew, “Yahuweh,” which means “I was, I am, I will be.” Yahuweh was the name of God in the Old Testament. This is most likely the name that John is referring to here. In John’s mind, this is both the name of the Lamb and the name of the Father. Now, we know that the Jews did not have a problem with the idea of pre-existence of reincarnation because they asked John the Baptist if he was Elijah. In John chapter 8, after Jesus says, “I am,” the Jews picked up stones to stone him because in their minds, he was claiming God’s name.
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The idea that Jesus is God was a part of early Christian doctrine has also been confirmed by early Christian archaeology. Christians would secretly identify themselves to each other by drawing an arc in the sand. If the other person was also a Christian, he would draw another arc forming a drawing of a fish. The Greek word for fish is ICTHUS, and the acrostic they used for ICTHUS was Iesus Christos Theou Yios Soter, which means, Jesus Christ God’s Son Savior. This symbol helped Christians communicate without persecution. “This Christian symbol might well have been intended to oppose or protest the pagan apotheosis of the Roman emperor during the reign of Domitian (81 - 96 C.E.).” (http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Ichthys) Coins found in Alexandria referred to Domitian as the “Son of God.”
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The earliest known literary reference to the ichthys as a symbol of primitive Christianity was made by Clement of Alexandria (c.150-c.215). (http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Ichthys)
Dated to the year 230, very early in the Christian era, this mosaic bears three inscriptions in ancient Greek – one explicitly calling Jesus a deity.
“The god-loving Akeptous has offered the table to God Jesus Christ as a memorial,” the writing says, in black tesserae letters 7.5 to 9 centimeters in height. Akeptous is believed to be the name of a woman who paid for a communion table that probably served for the Eucharist ceremony. This was found in Northern Israel. (https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/MAGAZINE-archaeological-park-to-be-opened-on-site-of-prison-in-northern-israel-1.5866058)
(A sample of the many ICTHUS inscriptions and mosaic tiled floors used by Christians in the 1st and second Century A.D.)
Another early Christian archaeological inscription found commonly was the Sator Square. 5 words with 5 letters each. It reads the same across as it does down, backwards or up. Literally, it means, “The ploughman must work by turning the wheel.” This is found in many early churches and houses owned by Christians. At first, it was wondered what the Christian significance was. By repositioning the letters around the central letter Ν (en), a Greek cross can be made that reads Pater Noster (Latin for "Our Father", the first two words of the "Lord's Prayer") both vertically and horizontally. The remaining letters – two each of A and O – can be taken to represent the concept of Alpha and Omega, a reference in Christianity to the omnipresence of God. Thus the square might have been used as a covert symbol for early Christians to express their presence to each other. It is then translated, “Christ on the Cross, the Alpha and the Omega.” One was found at Herculaneum on a pillar of the west wall in a wrestling school and in Pompeii etched into the wall in the house of one Publius Paquius Proculus. The two cities were buried in August of 79 AD when Mt. Vesuvius erupted, so these very early Christian Squares were incised before then, maybe in the late 60’s AD (only c. 30 years after the Resurrection) when the Imperial persecution of Christians began in earnest.
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(https://earlychurchhistory.org/christian-symbols/the-romanrotas-square/)
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(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sator_Square)
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So, you have a scenario during the writing of the book of Revelation, where Domitian is persecuting the Christians and claiming to be God. The Christians were proclaiming the one true God, Jesus Christ. In the book of Revelation, you have in chapter 13, a man forcing people to worship him, as Domitian did. In chapter 14, we see the true God again, The Lamb, Jesus Christ. The Lamb is going to respond to the false god, the beast of Revelation 13.
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Suddenly, we go from Mount Zion to heaven.
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Verses 2 and 3,
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“And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.”
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This is the second time so far in Revelation that John hears the sound of many rushing waters, loud thunder, and the sound of harpists. When I think about what that must sound like, I can only think of electric guitars. So they must have electric guitars, and I can’t wait till I get there and play one of those very loud electric guitars.
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No one could learn the song except the 144,000 that were sealed by God. I’m anxious to find out why they only could learn their special song. And how are they going to defeat Satan?
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Verses 4 and 5,
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“It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.”
Have you figured out how they are going to defeat Satan yet?
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(Their purity, their honesty, their blamelessness)
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(They will produce so many fellow believers according to Revelation 7 that the tribulation saints cannot be counted)
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It must be noted that some very specific things are said about the 144,000.
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“It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.”
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Notice that it says, “It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes.” That is the whole goal of Christianity – to follow Jesus. Today we are finding that many people who claim to follow Jesus, don’t follow Jesus wherever he goes. Sometimes they follow the crowd instead. Sometimes they follow a scientist instead. Sometimes they follow a cult leader instead. Sometimes they follow a profiteer. The goal of the Christian life is to follow Jesus – always. Everything that Jesus taught must be taken to heart – Everything.
But, the Anti-Christ is still ruling the earth, what about that? What is the Lamb going to do about that?
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Verses 6 and 7,
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“Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
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So, there is going to be a last call for repentance and an announcement that the time for God’s judgment has come.
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Verse 8,
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“Another angel, a second, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.”
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So, the great city that represents the kingdom of the beast or is the capital of the kingdom of the beast will fall.
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For years I vacillated over the meaning of the idea that she “made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.” Isn’t sexual immorality an individual decision? How does a government make others drink the wine of the passion of sexual immorality? Is this just speaking figuratively? Some of postulated that it refers just to the fact that others made alliances with this entity.
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Recently, I have noticed a very disturbing trend in government. Governments have been promoting or even forcing sexual immorality.
In Texas, their LGBT law does not exempt religious institutions, and churches could be forced to hire gay or transgender pastors. (https://www.christianpost.com/news/lgbt-law-regulating-church-hiring-decisions-reflects-our-values-and-culture-austin-city-council-227856/) (https://www.statesman.com/news/20181008/pastors-group-seeks-to-overturn-austins-lgbt-hiring-protections)
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Many educators, and even government education programs have not just sought to teach that same sex relationships are okay, but have in fact encouraged them. (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/11517177/Promote-gay-relationships-as-positive-in-school-teachers-say.html)
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“In recent years, there has been increasing scientific research on possible genetic or heritable influences to the etiology of pedophilia.” (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4393782/)
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There is even a clinical diagnosis of Pedophilia based on genetics. As European Countries struggle with the migrants from the Middle East that come in with underage wives, some experts are allowing it based on the scientific reports that there is a genetic link to the sexual orientation. And that is exactly what many people are calling it, a sexual orientation just like heterosexuality or homosexuality.
“Pedophilia is no longer a choice, says Margo Kaplan of Rutgers University. It is simply a mental illness and seems to be biological. Kaplan proceeds to say that pedophilia has neurological origins. Pedophilia could result from a failure in the brain to identify which environmental stimuli should provoke a sexual response. M.R.I.s of sex offenders with pedophilia show fewer of the neural pathways known as white matter in their brains.” (https://www.veteranstoday.com/2015/04/05/margo-kaplan-pedophilia-is-biological-and-not-a-choice/)
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“Using the same tactics used by “gay” rights activists, pedophiles have begun to seek similar status arguing their desire for children is a sexual orientation no different than heterosexual or homosexuals.” This is from an article in a Greely, Colorado newspaper. (http://www.greeleygazette.com/press/?p=11517)
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For further study, read the following links:
https://www.thelocal.se/20180329/swedish-agency-backtracks-following-child-marriage-brochure-storm
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-37518289
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-brides-idUSKCN0XI1MZ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHu62RBzjMQ
http://www.mondaq.com/uk/x/434482/Crime/Genetic+Predisposition+To+Paedophilia+And+Child+Abuse
https://www.thedailybeast.com/what-science-reveals-about-pedophilia
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2012/09/pedophiles-born-that-way/#.W-ygQtVKjcs
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With society’s tendency to put science above the Bible, or at least on an even par with the morals taught by the Bible, it makes me wonder how things are going to turn out in this area.
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Not only do we have to think about how our society treats science, but how it puts all religions on an even par. Some religions teach that bestiality and child marriage are okay.
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As leaders try to synthesize the world into a globalist community, how will these other Non-Biblical morals be integrated?
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And even non-Christians are justifying these bad behaviors by saying, “this is the way God made me!”
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Now, let’s investigate that idea a bit. When God cursed Adam and Eve after they sinned by eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, he said to the woman, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing.” To Adam, he said, “till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” A change in birth rate and a change from a body that never dies to one that dies requires a change in DNA. Scientists have also attributed the limitation of lifespan to a specific gene.
(https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/genetic-control-of-aging-and-life-span-847)
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Therefore, our current genetics is not necessarily what God had intended to begin with. We know that God curse the whole earth for the sake of Adam’s sin because in Genesis 3, he said, “Cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you.” Thus the earth has been cursed, and the earth has lacked the protection of God that it once had. New viruses have invaded the human race and viruses have the ability to alter human DNA. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viral_transformation)
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Shall we say then that because God allowed this to happen, that people have an excuse for these behaviors?
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Matthew 28:19-20 says,
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“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”
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How did the early church apply Jesus’ commands in light of the fact of how genetics may have affected them? 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 says,
“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
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Now, let’s fast forward to the future. Let’s fast forward to the 144,000. This is in the future. It could be thousands, or even millions of years from now, and the 144,000 will be dealing with more environmental junk and more genetic junk than we are now, yet is says of them, “It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes.” They follow Jesus in everything.
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Verses 9 through 11,
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“And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”
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I have run into some people that teach that when Satan, and the beast, and those that do not believe in God get thrown into the lake of fire, they just get incinerated and then don’t exist anymore. Verses 9 through 11 prove otherwise. Those that are outside of God’s plan, those that defy God, will be tormented with fire and sulfur and they will have no rest day or night. This is eternal, constant torture.
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Verse 12,
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“Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.”
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This seems to be an interdiction by the author. Why does John say this?
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John is saying be faithful, don’t lose faith, those that do evil will be given this recompense for their evil.
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Verse 13,
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“And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”
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This reinforces John’s thought. Those that die in the Lord are blessed for two reasons. First, they no longer have to labor. Second, their deeds follow them. In other words, they will certainly be rewarded for their good deeds.
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Okay, so at this point, the Anti-Christ is still in control of the earth. What’s next?
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Verses 14 to 16,
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“Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped.”
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The phrase, “one like the son of man,” can only refer to Jesus Christ since he called himself “the son of man” many times. So, Jesus is going to reap the earth.
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This also refers back to Daniel 7:13-14,
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“I saw in the night visions,
and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
14 And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.”
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Now what’s going to happen?
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Verses 17 to 20,
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“Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.” So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse's bridle, for 184 miles.”
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That’s a lot of blood!
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This is reminiscent of Isaiah 63:1-6,
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“Who is this who comes from Edom,
in crimsoned garments from Bozrah,
he who is splendid in his apparel,
marching in the greatness of his strength?
“It is I, speaking in righteousness,
mighty to save.”
Why is your apparel red,
and your garments like his who treads in the winepress?
I have trodden the winepress alone,
and from the peoples no one was with me;
I trod them in my anger
and trampled them in my wrath;
their lifeblood spattered on my garments,
and stained all my apparel.
For the day of vengeance was in my heart,
and my year of redemption[b] had come.
I looked, but there was no one to help;
I was appalled, but there was no one to uphold;
so my own arm brought me salvation,
and my wrath upheld me.
I trampled down the peoples in my anger;
I made them drunk in my wrath,
and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth.”
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Also, Joel 3:13,
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“Put in the sickle,
for the harvest is ripe.
Go in, tread,
for the winepress is full.
The vats overflow,
for their evil is great.”
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God is a God of Wrath because he loves his people and he won’t let those that persecute his people go unpunished.
Whenever I see how that Christians abroad are persecuted, I wish for this day to come soon.
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Song: David Crowder Band God of Wrath