Revelation Chapter 14
VERSE 15-16 continued “And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” So, he who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.”
“In this picture in Revelation, A.D. 1878 corresponds to the time, in the type, when Jesus presented himself as King to the people of Jerusalem. This former entry into the Holy City was prophesied in Zech 9:9, “Behold, thy King comes unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and [even] upon a colt the foal of an ass.”
The fact that Jesus *came invisibly as a King in A.D. 1878, at his Second Advent, does not mean he took to himself his great power and reigned at that time. At the First Advent Jesus was spoken of as a “Savior” prior to his baptism at Jordan and the commencement of his earthly ministry—when he was just a newborn babe (Luke 2:11). Zech 9:9 describes Jesus as being “King” when he came on an ass and presented himself to the nation five days before his death. His testimony before Pilate and the sign affixed to the cross, set Jesus forth as a “King.”
When he rose from death, prior to his ascension to heaven, he said, “ALL power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matt. 28:18). Yet he was King not in the sense of exercising the power but in the sense of having secured the right to do so because of his faithfulness unto death upon the Cross. In other words, there was no danger of his losing the title of “King”—he had earned the crown; it was his. After his resurrection and ascension to heaven, he still did not exercise that power in a kingly sense because Psalm 110:1 (RSV) informs believers that Jesus’ King (Jehovah) said unto Jesus, “Sit at my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool.” The point is, although seated beside God—on the right hand of God’s power and authority—Jesus did not exercise kingly power but had to wait until authorized by God to do so. Thus, Jesus both received the
Kingdom and became King prior to his return at the Second Advent (Luke 19:12,15; Psa. 2:6).”
*The actual date of our Lord’s invisible return, his Parousia [or presence] we understand took place in A.D. 1874 as in accordance with the Jubilee prophecy, however it should be noted that this day, the Day of his Parousia is not confined to one specific day alone, but rather encompasses the whole of the millennial age, 1000 years.
When it is stated that our Lord “came” as “King” in A.D. 1878 we are not to understand that he went back to heaven after his initial return in 1874 only to return again 4 years later in 1878, Heavens No! what is meant is that he “came” into or assumed his Kingly office in A.D. 1878, just as later on in this same period he will “come” or assume his office as The Mediator, and will begin the work of initiating the New Covenant with mankind. He has always been the Mediator of the Covenant, but has as of yet assumed the office. This will not take place until the Great Mediator, both Head and body are complete.
There are not multiple “comings”, there is only one initial “coming” or “arrival” which took place at the beginning of his Parousia in A.D. 1874, but at different periods during this Parousia he will come into or assume the various offices associated with the work then due.
“There can be no doubt Jesus has been exercising authority and power to protect his true Church and to make sure that the road is always open for the guardian angels of the saints…that the holy angels have a clear corridor into the bastion of sin down here. No real interference with these lifelines has been tolerated throughout the Gospel Age. Such action has required the use of great power and influence, but not in the sense of Jesus’ taking his great power to suppress all evil. The power has been employed merely to keep Satan back from particular individuals or areas at certain times. For instance, the staying of the French Revolution required great power—when Jesus stood symbolically on the earth and upon the sea to hold back the turbulence (Rev. 10:2). Of this act the world is or was completely unaware.
But when Christ assumes his rule over the earth, the people will know that a supreme being or power has taken over and that divine wrath and judgment are involved. The literal earthquake or shaking of the earth at the time of the Crucifixion convinced some (Matt. 27:54), but the power to be manifested down at this end of the age is to occur in such a manner that the world in general cannot help but know that God, figuratively speaking, is mightily shaking the earth—tolerating disobedience no longer. Otherwise, why would this aspect of Jesus’ coming in “great power and glory” be emphasized (Mark 13:26)?
In Rev 14:14,15 Jesus, as earth’s returned King, is seen seated doing a harvesting work. Matt 13:30 reads, “In the time of harvest I will say to the reapers…[reap].” In other words, Jesus is the Chief Reaper. He comes “as a thief” (quietly) to first deal with the faithful, the Lord’s jewels (Rev. 16:15; Mal. 3:17). These jewels are rightly his, even though they are in another house (Satan’s house, i.e., the present world order). After Jesus takes the jewels—and they are “crown” jewels, for they shall be a royal diadem in the hand of God (Isa. 62:3)—he will then surprise the inhabitants of the house, particularly the householder, Satan, and wreck his house or spiritual dominion (Matt. 24:43) over earth’s affairs. Jesus will lay hold upon the Adversary, take his kingdom, and change it to that of the Lord. Jesus’ coming back to earth is one thing; his entering Satan’s headquarters or spiritual house is another. “How can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil [that is, when viewed from Satan’s perspective, destroy] his goods, except he first binds [completely] the strong man? and then [afterward] he will spoil [again when viewed from Satan’s perspective, destroy] his house” (Matt. 12:29).
In Rev 14:14,15 Jesus is pictured as sitting down, but his still future standing up as Michael (his Old Testament name) “for the children of thy [Daniel’s] people [Israel]” (Dan. 12:1) is related to Jehovah’s speaking once, twice, and thundering from on high (Job 33:14; 37:1–4; Psa. 62:11; Isa. 42:13). Another Scripture, “Arise, O God, judge the earth” (Psa. 82:8), refers to Jesus’ exercise of power as King and to his reign.”
We move on to Verse 17 in our next post.
