Also See The Seven Seals and Matthew 24 What is really interesting here is that the Seven Seals (Revelation 6-7) exactly parallel the Olivet Discourse. In summary, both the Olivet Discourse and the Seals include, in the same sequence, both the events leading up to, and the actual tribulation of the church, followed by the wrath and judgment of God, or the Great Tribulation such as the world has never seen.. The Judgement of God.. The First Six Trumpets: describes The Day of the Lord.. a phrase used to describe the final judgment of the world. A time that Jesus describes as one of great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. He went on to say that “... if those days had not been shortened, no human being would be saved” [Matt 24:21-22] The End of The Age.. The Seven Bowls: God publicly reclaims His rightful rule over the earth as He makes an end of all things in the Seven Bowls and Jesus returns to earth to establish His kingdom.
ON THIS PAGE The Harvest is Gathered into The Barn
The Tares are Cast Into The Winepress
The Second Woe is past: behold, the Third Woe cometh quickly. [Revelation 11:14]
The Sounding Of The Seventh Trumpet /The Third Woe
And the seventh angel sounded; and there followed great voices in heaven, and they said, The kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ: and he shall reign for ever and ever. [11:15]
The kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord …. God has publicly reclaimed his rightful rule over the earth. God has always had the power to do so but, at this point, has begun to use it. All that remains is the cleansing of all evil (human and otherwise) and the reward of those that fear His name [V. 18] The next verse… the last in the chapter [11:19], states that the door of the temple of God in Heaven is now being opened, a fact that will literally have earth-shattering results in a short while.. in chapters 15 and 16. “And there was opened the temple of God that is in heaven; and there was seen in his temple the ark of his covenant; and there followed lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake, and great hail”.
However at this point Revelation once more pauses in it’s recital of ongoing events to show John (in chapters 12, 13 and part of 14) a symbolic panorama of events and people sweeping backwards over the last two thousand years, then forward to the major players and events of the tribulation period. It then continues on to the return of Christ who is depicted as standing on Mt. Zion. [See A Dragon and Two Beasts]
The Seventh Trumpet… Follows the other Six. (Wow! What a concept) I have read some really convoluted arguments about this last trumpet, one of which actually advanced the theory that the seventh trumpet is blown at the start of the tribulation. In other words the seventh trumpet comes before the other six. The lengths that people will go to in an effort to prove predetermined theories never ceases to amaze me. Almost exactly the same things has been done with the Seven Feasts of Israel which symbolize a sequence of events. They were given by God in a set chronological order and the events that they symbolize will take place in the same exact order. I have read way too many interpretations of the Feasts that jump backwards and forwards between them in an effort to make them fit into pre-conceived end time scenarios. [See The Seven Feasts of Israel]
Common sense and a simple reading of the text gives way to elaborate and ridiculous theories while imagination trumps the printed word. It is no wonder that Scripture quotes the people’s instructions to the prophets in Isaiah 30… “You must not prophesy to us what is right, Speak to us pleasant words, Prophesy illusions”. Now, as then, the illusions abound. Let us not read complex nonsense into simple text. We have Seven Trumpets. One comes after the other in sequence, which is the whole point of numbering them. One, two three… but I am sure you get the picture. The dead will rise at the Last Trumpet, which comes after the other six and introduces the Bowls.
Summary of Events At The Seventh Trumpet Scripture is clear that the seventh Trumpet does not describe one specific judgment as do the first six, but incorporates all seven bowls. In other words the seventh Trumpet is the seven bowls which, at their end, usher in God’s kingdom. The Seventh Trumpet is, in a sense, the most consequential of all the judgments since at this call significant changes take place, all of them related. In summary God publicly reclaims his rightful rule over the earth. In other words.. The kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord [11:15] It brings and end to the mystery of God, when the doors to the Kingdom are closed forever and there will be no possibility of redemption for any that have not yet become a disciple of the Lamb embracing His salvation. [See The Mystery of God next] The temple was filled with smoke from the Glory of God which carries a huge significance. [Below] It marks the point when believers or “sons of the kingdom” are ‘Raptured’ or physically moved away from the earth so that the Bowls can be poured out on the earth, in which the wrath of God is finished. [See The Reaper and The Harvest below] It introduces the Seven Bowls or the end of all things. (In the battle of Armageddon and the final Bowl the cities of the nations fall, and the islands and mountains ‘disappear’). [See The End of The Age.. The Seven Bowls/ The Last Woe]
The Mystery of God is Finished [10:5-7]
The angel “standing upon the sea and upon the earth” lifted up his right hand to heaven [10:5] and swore “… by him that liveth for ever and ever… that there shall be delay no longer:” [10:6], “in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then is finished the mystery of God, according to the good tidings which he declared to his servants the prophets.” [10:7]
The mystery of God is finished as the seventh angel is about to sound. In other words, the mystery of God will be complete before the blowing of the seventh trumpet, which incorporates, or is made up of all seven bowls. And what is this mystery? Jesus said to his disciples in “Unto you is given the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all things are done in parables”. [Mark 4:11] And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? And he answered and said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. [Matthew 13:10-11]
We usually think of a mystery as something that we have to figure out. For example a murder mystery is a “whodunit” (Who done it?), where the puzzle itself is the main feature of interest. However this is not what the Bible means by “mystery” which, in Scripture, refers to something that has not yet been revealed, not something that is incomprehensible, or even difficult to be understood. In other words … a believer understands the mystery, which is the good news of the redemption of creation.. the Gospel. [Also Note 1 Corinthians 2:7-8 and Ephesians 3:9] To completely understand what John means when he says ‘The Mystery of God is Finished’ requires a step back in time, to the Old Testament Day of Atonement. The author of Hebrews himself both compared and contrasted the prescribed ritual of the atonement as carried out by the High Priest in Old Testament times, with Christ’s redeeming sacrifice on the cross. He tells us how the imperfect observances on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) are but a type, or a shadow of the perfect to come. So how was this “atonement” carried out? In the Old Testament, the high priest could not go behind the veil into the Most Holy Place of the temple except on this day when he entered the Holy of Holies into the presence of God to atone for the sins of the nation. He slaughtered both a bull as a sin offering for himself, and a goat as a sin offering for the people, brought the blood of each into the veil and sprinkled it on and in front of the Mercy Seat [Leviticus 16]. This ritual, which took place every year, pointed to a future event that had yet to occur... However Jesus, as our High Priest, did not need to make the sacrifice but once, offering His own blood as a one time sacrifice for sin. [For More Information See The Feasts of Israel] Again remembering that the details of this ceremony were laid out by God and a type of an event yet to take place, we turn to the ultimate sacrifice made by Jesus on Calvary. Just as the blood of the goat was shed, Jesus shed His blood for the atonement of sin YES! But Jesus’ blood has (in a sense) to be sprinkled on the Mercy Seat, which is when the atonement actually happens. So Jesus shed His blood, but when does (or did) the second part of the process actually happen? Hebrews 9:24-26 gives us a glimpse into the full symbolism of Yom Kippur…. Note the added emphasis For Christ entered not into a holy place made with hands, like in pattern to the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear before the face of God for us: nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place year by year with blood not his own; else must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once at the end of the ages hath he been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
“Has been” is the perfect tense which, in English, indicates the past, but in the original Hebrew and Greek, the perfect tense is often used when the speaker intends to represent a future action as if it were already accomplished … the past is used instead of the future to emphasize the certainty of an event. However in the vast majority of the cases, the translators have not made a literal translation but have changed the tense, which is understandable as it would only confuse most Christians. In this case the timing of the event is very specific… at the consummation of the ages. This ties in with the fact that the New Testament sometimes says that salvation is an accomplished reality, and at other times says it is still in the future, a seeming contradiction that is not limited to salvation alone, but exists with other topics of crucial importance… justification, redemption, glorification, and adoption. We have been saved through faith [Ephesians 2:8], but the ultimate fulfillment of Christian salvation is still future, for complete deliverance will not be realized until Christ has been manifested to put away sin at the end of the ages. When He (Jesus) will appear “before the face of God for us”. [Hebrews 9: 26]. [Also See The Two Phase Atonement] More evidence (although none is needed) is found in the fact that ....
The Temple was Filled with Smoke: Revelation 15:8 says “the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and none was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels should be finished”. While smoke (and clouds) were a common aspect of manifestations of God’s presence throughout Scripture [Exodus 19:18, Isaiah 6:4], and no one was able to enter the Temple when this happened [Exodus 40:35, 1 Kings 8:10-11], the smoke filling the temple at this point has huge significance. The account in Leviticus 16 tells us that when Aaron, as High Priest, once a year, entered into the presence of God in the Holy of Holies to atone for the sins of the nation, he not only carried with him the blood which was to be sprinkled on and in front of the Mercy Seat, but he also carried a firepan full of coals of fire from the altar and two handfuls of finely ground sweet incense. He put the incense on the fire before the LORD so that the cloud of incense (smoke) covered the mercy seat, (V. 12-13) and doubtless filled the inner temple. So now, at the end of the age, smoke fills the temple as Christ the High Priest appears before the face of the Lord for us, putting away sin [Hebrews 9:24-26]. Deliverance is complete and He can now gather together his sons of the Kingdom and complete His wrath in the Seven Bowls. The Mystery is Finished... The Doors of Salvation have closed.. The Age has Ended
The Reaper and The Harvest [Rev 14:14-20]
And I saw, and behold, a white cloud; and on the cloud I saw one sitting like unto a son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand sharp sickle [14]. And another angel came out from the temple, crying with a great voice to him that sat on the cloud, Send forth thy sickle, and reap: for the hour to reap is come; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. [15] And he that sat on the cloud cast his sickle upon the earth; and the earth was reaped. [16] Another angel came out from the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. [17] And another angel came out from the altar, he that hath power over fire; and he called with a great voice to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Send forth thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. [18] And the angel cast his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vintage of the earth, and cast it into the winepress, the great winepress, of the wrath of God. [19] And the winepress are trodden without the city, and there came out blood from the winepress, even unto the bridles of the horses, as far as a thousand and six hundred furlongs. [20] [Rev 14:14-20] The above verses have been divided into two parts as they talk about two very different situations. The first reaper, who casts his sickle upon the earth, is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, who referred to Himself as the “son of man” well over fifty times in the Gospels. [Note: that the angel crying with a great voice to Jesus to send forth His sickle, is not necessarily a command, but can be interpreted as an appeal] The second gathering is done by is an angel, who also has a sickle.
The Harvest is Gathered into The Barn
Any harvest is the gathering in of the crops which were, at some time previously, sown as seeds. This harvest is no different... The parable of the sower in Matthew 13, tells us that “He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; and the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom”. Some believe that the parable of the wheat and tares is not a description of the world, but of the kingdom. However, Jesus said "The field is the world". Jesus’ words… “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn." (Matthew 13:30) indicates the tares are separated and symbolically ‘bound’ in some way, before the believers are gathered into His barn. In verse 49, He draws the analogy to the end times, saying “So shall it be in the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the righteous” [Matthew 13:49]
Therefore the harvesting in Revelation 14:16 can not be anything but a gathering in of the good crop, the “sons of the kingdom”.. also called The Rapture. Verse 16 ONLY says that He (Jesus) cast his sickle upon the earth; and the earth was reaped. This statement in conjunction with Matthew 24:31 and 49 indicates that He ‘cuts’ or makes the distinction between the good crop and the weeds, but it is the angels who do the separating... gathering and binding the tares, then collecting the elect from the one end of the heaven to the other. [Emphasis Added] "But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send forth his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. [Matthew 24:29-31] [See End Note I]
Please Note: This is not a Mid-Tribulation Rapture, simply because the ‘Rapture’ does not occur in the middle of the Tribulation, but at it’s end when the Seventh Trumpet blows. In a sense, the Tribulation is over, the doors to the Kingdom are closed forever and God publicly reclaims his rightful rule over the earth [Rev. 11:15]. [Although, in the above quote, Jesus describes the phenomena of the sun being darkened etc, as taking place “after the tribulation of those days”, the general tenor of His words is that these physical events will take place simultaneously (or at least very rapidly), and are immediately followed by His return]. The end time Rapture or harvest of God’s people conforms with the very last words God spoke to Daniel "But as for you, go your way to the end; then you will enter into rest and rise again for your allotted portion at the end of the age." [Daniel 12:13]
This is also exactly what Paul was talking about when he said [All Emphasis Added] “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” [1Corinthians 15:50-52] For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. [1 Thessalonians 4:15-17]
Jericho
In Joshua 6:8, seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams' horns marched around Jericho once every day for six days, blowing the trumpets, with the ark of the covenant followed them. On the seventh day they marched around the city as before except, this time, they marched around the city not once, but seven times. On the seventh and final circle around the city, when the priests had blown the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, "Shout! For the LORD has given you the city”. When the people heard the sound of the trumpets, which were the last to be blown, they shouted with a great shout, and the walls fell down flat.
In Christian theology, the account of the fall of Jericho is a type or a glimpse of one or more actual events yet to come. [See Understanding Prophecy and Typology] The pattern of Jericho is repeated in the book of Revelation… At the "last trumpet” not only will we be raised, but the Bowls, or end of all things will cause the walls of Jericho to fall flat and Christ will return to earth (Babylon will be destroyed) [Rev. 16:19].. "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed" (1 Corinthians 15:52).
This is further borne out by the fact that at the rapture there will be a great "shout" as there was when the walls of Jericho fell For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first [1 Thessalonians 4:16].
So the harvesting in of the “sons of the kingdom” is “the Rapture”, when the believers are physically moved away from the earth so that the Bowls can be poured out on the earth, in which the wrath of God is finished. Until this point the faithful were protected from God’s wrath by the mark on their foreheads, but now it has come time to make an end of all things… The battle of Armageddon and the final Bowl when the cities of the nations fall, and the islands and mountains ‘disappear’. However the ‘harvest’ will be standing on the far shore of the Red Sea when the waters come crashing in over the heads of the Egyptian army. Scripture makes the timing of the Rapture so crystal clear that it is almost impossible to believe how incredibly complicated some Christians have made the whole issue and how much they have fooled themselves. For those that wish to read more about the folly of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture position, go HERE.
The Tares are Cast Into The Winepress
However the scenario is completely different in the second gathering carried out by an angel, who gathers the “the vintage of the earth, and cast it into the winepress, the great winepress, of the wrath of God.” The winepress where the grapes are crushed, is used as a symbol to denote the destruction of the wicked, possible because the juice squeezed out of the press does resemble blood. Almost identical symbolism is used in Isaiah 63:1-6 in reference to the destruction of Edom. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and them that do iniquity, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He that hath ears, let him hear. [Matthew 13:41-43] So shall it be in the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the righteous, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. [Matthew 13:49-50]
Continued in... The End of The Age.. The Seven Bowls/ The Last Woe. [Revelation 15, 16]
End Note I
Jesus is quoting from Isaiah 13:10, which was part of “The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see” [V.1]. Jesus is taking a past event and applying it to the future, which is typical of Hebrew prophecy. The past and future are often curiously intermingled in Hebrew prophecy.. Isaiah also spoke of the day of the Lord, when He will punish the world for it’s evil… Behold, the day of Jehovah cometh, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger; to make the land a desolation, and to destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in its going forth, and the moon shall not cause its light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity: and I will cause the arrogance of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. [Isaiah 13:9-11. All Emphasis Added]
Note: The destruction of various kingdoms and nations in the Old Testament are often represented by similar images in Scripture. For example Isaiah 34:4 speaks of the destruction of Idumea, saying that “And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll; and all their host shall fade away, as the leaf fadeth from off the vine, and as a fading leaf from the fig-tree.” Ezekiel 32:7-8, which is a prophecy respecting the destruction of Pharaoh says “I will cover the heavens, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light”. Since we are reasonably sure that none of these verses described literal or physical displacement or darkening of the sun, moon and stars, perhaps the same logic has to be applied to Revelation.. We can not insist that the sun etc. will be literally smitten, although that is certainly possible. [PLACE IN TEXT]
End Note II
It is interesting that (as I understand it) the Talmud states that the dead will be raised on Rosh Hashanah (the Feast of Trumpets). One has to remember that the Talmud (a central text of mainstream Judaism) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs, and history. It is NOT Scripture and therefore far from infallible. However the Seven Feasts of Israel both celebrate a historical event in Israel's past, but also are a prophecy of future events which have been, or will be, fulfilled. In the OT, Rosh Hashanah introduced the Ten Days of Awe.. but there is little to say that this feast does not have more than one future fulfillment. [For More Information See The Feasts of Israel] | 
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