Chapter 56 – Four Groups at Judgement
Chiasms help us see four groups when God judges. We have already seen that there are two Closings of Probation, the first when the 144 000 are sealed (chapter 7) and the second when the Probation of the World is Closed corporately (chapter 12). At both sealings, there are people sealed as saved, or sealed as lost. This makes up the four groups of people.
Revelation 7 describes those that are sealed favourably: The first 8 verses describe angels ready to loose the winds of strife, but then another angel calls for them not to let the winds go until all of the 144 000 are sealed:
1 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.
2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,
3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
The sealing of the 144 000 occurs at the beginning of the 3.5-year period, at the Outpouring of the Latter Rain. We have seen that when they are sealed, they no longer have the inherent propensity to sin. The next four verses of Rev 7 describe how 12 000 of the 144 000 come from each of the twelve tribes of Israel, respectively. The purpose of this is to show that this priesthood – the 144 000 are priests – is not a Levitical priesthood, but a different order of priests. We will see in another chapter how one of the tribes of Israel is left out. These priests are called from among all of Israel, representing all of the peoples of the World. The 144 000 has nothing to do with the state of Israel today.
At the end of the 3.5 years, when Probation Closes in general, a great multitude of people are sealed favourably. In chapter 54 we saw that 10 percent of the population on Earth are sealed for God. Rev 7:9-17 describes this group of people. It is clear that they are the living at the Close of Probation:
13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
14 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.
They have experienced immense difficulties during the 3.5 years. Further indication that they are alive at the Close of Probation is what they have suffered in this period of time:
16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.
The righteous dead from all the ages are not included in these two groups. They will be resurrected at the Second Advent and be gathered together with the living saints who comprise the Great Multitude of Revelation 7:
1 Thess 4:16 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:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Chiasticly opposed to Rev 7 is the last part of Rev 14, following the Three Angels’ Messages. Two harvests are described here: First the grain harvest, then the grape harvest. Everyone accepts that the grape harvest represents the impenitent with 320 kilometers of blood coming out of the winepress, deep enough to reach the bridles of horses. However, most people believe the grain harvest to be the harvest of the righteous. There is one hint though that indicates that the grain harvest is also a harvest of lost souls. Here is the Scriptural portion of Rev 14 that describes the grain harvest:
14 And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
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.
16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.
Verse 15 indicates that the harvest of the Earth is ripe. Let us look at the Greek word that describes ripe: xērainō. This word is used for the ripening of crops, but it has more the meaning of withering away, dried up. It is used to describe a limb of a person that is dried up and not in use. Some translations of this verse indicate that the harvest is overripe (God’s Word, and Afrikaans) or has dried (DARBY and Disciple’s Literal New Testament). Can the harvest of God’s righteous be overripe? I would hardly think that they can be described thus. We are saved by grace, not our merits. It would be better described as not quite ripe. Being overripe better describes the wicked, because they have perpetually rejected God’s wooing and have become hardened in their choice. They are overripe.
To complete the chiastic structure, both these harvests must be harvests of the lost, since we have two “harvests” of the saved in Rev 7. Which harvest of the lost occurs at the sealing of the 144 000 at the Outpouring of the Latter Rain before the 3.5 years, and which occurs at the Corporate Close of Probation at the end of the 3.5 years? The sheer volume of the blood at the wine harvest suggests this harvest to be at the Corporate Close of Probation:
17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
18 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.
19 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.
20 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.
There is another indication that sorts out these two harvests. For the grain harvest an angel emerges from the temple, telling Christ to thrust in His sickle and reap. For the wine harvest an angel comes from the altar, telling the angel to reap the clusters of grapes. At the beginning of Rev 11 we saw the sealing of the 144 000 is indicated with measuring the temple, the worshippers and the altar (chapter 7). One can assume the altar refers to the altar of incense for two reasons: the altar of sacrifice was in the courtyard which was not to be measured at this stage. Secondly, this measuring has to do with the priesthood, who officiated in the temple on the Day of Atonement and the altar of incense played a central role here. So the angel proceeding from the temple represents the priesthood. The angel proceeding from the altar is for the populace at large. This represents the altar in the outer court which, by implication, was only to be measured at the end of the 3.5 years.
Another interesting difference between these two harvests is that Christ harvests the grain, but an angel harvests the grapes. The 144 000 are the bride of Christ (chapter 15) and He is personally involved in their sealing.
The blood from the winepress reminds us of the ultimatum on Mount Carmel, where Elijah slaughtered the 450 priests of Baal. You don’t want to be a part of this group that have rejected the God of creation.
The implications of the grain harvest is frightening. When God seals His 144 000, He also seals to their doom, 3.5 years before the rest of the lost, a group of people. Who are these that are damned earlier than the rest? One can only conclude that they are people that are earmarked to be part of the 144 000, but do not qualify. They are people that know the Scriptures, that know who God is and what he desires of them, but for some or other reason do not submit to Him while He is sealing. These will include many ministers – part of the priesthood. People who should receive the mark of God but end up receiving the mark of the beast. There are many pastors today that know that God is not a trinity, but that He is one true God with His Only Begotten Son. They know this but do not preach this to their parish because if they do, they will become unpopular. They may lose their positions as pastors in the church. They may lose their pensions and livelihoods. However, Christ is the Pearl of Great Price, and we need to sell everything that we have in order to obtain that pearl. How do pensions, livelihoods and popularity weigh up to being the bride of Christ. The choice is for Christ, or for eternal damnation. There are many other people besides ministers that also have this knowledge. Others will also be sealed for damnation at the earlier Close of Probation.
What a privilege to be earmarked by God to be one of the 144 000 and number among those that are the bride of Christ. What loss if we in our worldliness do not make the sacrifice and “sell all that we have” to be given that privilege and be eternally lost. Prayerfully submit to God and allow Him to seal you as part of His priesthood, if He has chosen you for that position by the merits of Christ only.
Chiasms help us see four groups when God judges. We have already seen that there are two Closings of Probation, the first when the 144 000 are sealed (chapter 7) and the second when the Probation of the World is Closed corporately (chapter 12). At both sealings, there are people sealed as saved, or sealed as lost. This makes up the four groups of people.
Revelation 7 describes those that are sealed favourably: The first 8 verses describe angels ready to loose the winds of strife, but then another angel calls for them not to let the winds go until all of the 144 000 are sealed:
1 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.
2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,
3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
The sealing of the 144 000 occurs at the beginning of the 3.5-year period, at the Outpouring of the Latter Rain. We have seen that when they are sealed, they no longer have the inherent propensity to sin. The next four verses of Rev 7 describe how 12 000 of the 144 000 come from each of the twelve tribes of Israel, respectively. The purpose of this is to show that this priesthood – the 144 000 are priests – is not a Levitical priesthood, but a different order of priests. We will see in another chapter how one of the tribes of Israel is left out. These priests are called from among all of Israel, representing all of the peoples of the World. The 144 000 has nothing to do with the state of Israel today.
At the end of the 3.5 years, when Probation Closes in general, a great multitude of people are sealed favourably. In chapter 54 we saw that 10 percent of the population on Earth are sealed for God. Rev 7:9-17 describes this group of people. It is clear that they are the living at the Close of Probation:
13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
14 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.
They have experienced immense difficulties during the 3.5 years. Further indication that they are alive at the Close of Probation is what they have suffered in this period of time:
16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.
The righteous dead from all the ages are not included in these two groups. They will be resurrected at the Second Advent and be gathered together with the living saints who comprise the Great Multitude of Revelation 7:
1 Thess 4:16 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:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Chiasticly opposed to Rev 7 is the last part of Rev 14, following the Three Angels’ Messages. Two harvests are described here: First the grain harvest, then the grape harvest. Everyone accepts that the grape harvest represents the impenitent with 320 kilometers of blood coming out of the winepress, deep enough to reach the bridles of horses. However, most people believe the grain harvest to be the harvest of the righteous. There is one hint though that indicates that the grain harvest is also a harvest of lost souls. Here is the Scriptural portion of Rev 14 that describes the grain harvest:
14 And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
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.
16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.
Verse 15 indicates that the harvest of the Earth is ripe. Let us look at the Greek word that describes ripe: xērainō. This word is used for the ripening of crops, but it has more the meaning of withering away, dried up. It is used to describe a limb of a person that is dried up and not in use. Some translations of this verse indicate that the harvest is overripe (God’s Word, and Afrikaans) or has dried (DARBY and Disciple’s Literal New Testament). Can the harvest of God’s righteous be overripe? I would hardly think that they can be described thus. We are saved by grace, not our merits. It would be better described as not quite ripe. Being overripe better describes the wicked, because they have perpetually rejected God’s wooing and have become hardened in their choice. They are overripe.
To complete the chiastic structure, both these harvests must be harvests of the lost, since we have two “harvests” of the saved in Rev 7. Which harvest of the lost occurs at the sealing of the 144 000 at the Outpouring of the Latter Rain before the 3.5 years, and which occurs at the Corporate Close of Probation at the end of the 3.5 years? The sheer volume of the blood at the wine harvest suggests this harvest to be at the Corporate Close of Probation:
17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
18 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.
19 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.
20 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.
There is another indication that sorts out these two harvests. For the grain harvest an angel emerges from the temple, telling Christ to thrust in His sickle and reap. For the wine harvest an angel comes from the altar, telling the angel to reap the clusters of grapes. At the beginning of Rev 11 we saw the sealing of the 144 000 is indicated with measuring the temple, the worshippers and the altar (chapter 7). One can assume the altar refers to the altar of incense for two reasons: the altar of sacrifice was in the courtyard which was not to be measured at this stage. Secondly, this measuring has to do with the priesthood, who officiated in the temple on the Day of Atonement and the altar of incense played a central role here. So the angel proceeding from the temple represents the priesthood. The angel proceeding from the altar is for the populace at large. This represents the altar in the outer court which, by implication, was only to be measured at the end of the 3.5 years.
Another interesting difference between these two harvests is that Christ harvests the grain, but an angel harvests the grapes. The 144 000 are the bride of Christ (chapter 15) and He is personally involved in their sealing.
The blood from the winepress reminds us of the ultimatum on Mount Carmel, where Elijah slaughtered the 450 priests of Baal. You don’t want to be a part of this group that have rejected the God of creation.
The implications of the grain harvest is frightening. When God seals His 144 000, He also seals to their doom, 3.5 years before the rest of the lost, a group of people. Who are these that are damned earlier than the rest? One can only conclude that they are people that are earmarked to be part of the 144 000, but do not qualify. They are people that know the Scriptures, that know who God is and what he desires of them, but for some or other reason do not submit to Him while He is sealing. These will include many ministers – part of the priesthood. People who should receive the mark of God but end up receiving the mark of the beast. There are many pastors today that know that God is not a trinity, but that He is one true God with His Only Begotten Son. They know this but do not preach this to their parish because if they do, they will become unpopular. They may lose their positions as pastors in the church. They may lose their pensions and livelihoods. However, Christ is the Pearl of Great Price, and we need to sell everything that we have in order to obtain that pearl. How do pensions, livelihoods and popularity weigh up to being the bride of Christ. The choice is for Christ, or for eternal damnation. There are many other people besides ministers that also have this knowledge. Others will also be sealed for damnation at the earlier Close of Probation.
What a privilege to be earmarked by God to be one of the 144 000 and number among those that are the bride of Christ. What loss if we in our worldliness do not make the sacrifice and “sell all that we have” to be given that privilege and be eternally lost. Prayerfully submit to God and allow Him to seal you as part of His priesthood, if He has chosen you for that position by the merits of Christ only.
Chapter 56 – Four Groups at Judgement
Chiasms help us see four groups when God judges. We have already seen that there are two Closings of Probation, the first when the 144 000 are sealed (chapter 7) and the second when the Probation of the World is Closed corporately (chapter 12). At both sealings, there are people sealed as saved, or sealed as lost. This makes up the four groups of people.
Revelation 7 describes those that are sealed favourably: The first 8 verses describe angels ready to loose the winds of strife, but then another angel calls for them not to let the winds go until all of the 144 000 are sealed:
1 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.
2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,
3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
The sealing of the 144 000 occurs at the beginning of the 3.5-year period, at the Outpouring of the Latter Rain. We have seen that when they are sealed, they no longer have the inherent propensity to sin. The next four verses of Rev 7 describe how 12 000 of the 144 000 come from each of the twelve tribes of Israel, respectively. The purpose of this is to show that this priesthood – the 144 000 are priests – is not a Levitical priesthood, but a different order of priests. We will see in another chapter how one of the tribes of Israel is left out. These priests are called from among all of Israel, representing all of the peoples of the World. The 144 000 has nothing to do with the state of Israel today.
At the end of the 3.5 years, when Probation Closes in general, a great multitude of people are sealed favourably. In chapter 54 we saw that 10 percent of the population on Earth are sealed for God. Rev 7:9-17 describes this group of people. It is clear that they are the living at the Close of Probation:
13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
14 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.
They have experienced immense difficulties during the 3.5 years. Further indication that they are alive at the Close of Probation is what they have suffered in this period of time:
16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.
The righteous dead from all the ages are not included in these two groups. They will be resurrected at the Second Advent and be gathered together with the living saints who comprise the Great Multitude of Revelation 7:
1 Thess 4:16 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:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Chiasticly opposed to Rev 7 is the last part of Rev 14, following the Three Angels’ Messages. Two harvests are described here: First the grain harvest, then the grape harvest. Everyone accepts that the grape harvest represents the impenitent with 320 kilometers of blood coming out of the winepress, deep enough to reach the bridles of horses. However, most people believe the grain harvest to be the harvest of the righteous. There is one hint though that indicates that the grain harvest is also a harvest of lost souls. Here is the Scriptural portion of Rev 14 that describes the grain harvest:
14 And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
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.
16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.
Verse 15 indicates that the harvest of the Earth is ripe. Let us look at the Greek word that describes ripe: xērainō. This word is used for the ripening of crops, but it has more the meaning of withering away, dried up. It is used to describe a limb of a person that is dried up and not in use. Some translations of this verse indicate that the harvest is overripe (God’s Word, and Afrikaans) or has dried (DARBY and Disciple’s Literal New Testament). Can the harvest of God’s righteous be overripe? I would hardly think that they can be described thus. We are saved by grace, not our merits. It would be better described as not quite ripe. Being overripe better describes the wicked, because they have perpetually rejected God’s wooing and have become hardened in their choice. They are overripe.
To complete the chiastic structure, both these harvests must be harvests of the lost, since we have two “harvests” of the saved in Rev 7. Which harvest of the lost occurs at the sealing of the 144 000 at the Outpouring of the Latter Rain before the 3.5 years, and which occurs at the Corporate Close of Probation at the end of the 3.5 years? The sheer volume of the blood at the wine harvest suggests this harvest to be at the Corporate Close of Probation:
17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
18 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.
19 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.
20 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.
There is another indication that sorts out these two harvests. For the grain harvest an angel emerges from the temple, telling Christ to thrust in His sickle and reap. For the wine harvest an angel comes from the altar, telling the angel to reap the clusters of grapes. At the beginning of Rev 11 we saw the sealing of the 144 000 is indicated with measuring the temple, the worshippers and the altar (chapter 7). One can assume the altar refers to the altar of incense for two reasons: the altar of sacrifice was in the courtyard which was not to be measured at this stage. Secondly, this measuring has to do with the priesthood, who officiated in the temple on the Day of Atonement and the altar of incense played a central role here. So the angel proceeding from the temple represents the priesthood. The angel proceeding from the altar is for the populace at large. This represents the altar in the outer court which, by implication, was only to be measured at the end of the 3.5 years.
Another interesting difference between these two harvests is that Christ harvests the grain, but an angel harvests the grapes. The 144 000 are the bride of Christ (chapter 15) and He is personally involved in their sealing.
The blood from the winepress reminds us of the ultimatum on Mount Carmel, where Elijah slaughtered the 450 priests of Baal. You don’t want to be a part of this group that have rejected the God of creation.
The implications of the grain harvest is frightening. When God seals His 144 000, He also seals to their doom, 3.5 years before the rest of the lost, a group of people. Who are these that are damned earlier than the rest? One can only conclude that they are people that are earmarked to be part of the 144 000, but do not qualify. They are people that know the Scriptures, that know who God is and what he desires of them, but for some or other reason do not submit to Him while He is sealing. These will include many ministers – part of the priesthood. People who should receive the mark of God but end up receiving the mark of the beast. There are many pastors today that know that God is not a trinity, but that He is one true God with His Only Begotten Son. They know this but do not preach this to their parish because if they do, they will become unpopular. They may lose their positions as pastors in the church. They may lose their pensions and livelihoods. However, Christ is the Pearl of Great Price, and we need to sell everything that we have in order to obtain that pearl. How do pensions, livelihoods and popularity weigh up to being the bride of Christ. The choice is for Christ, or for eternal damnation. There are many other people besides ministers that also have this knowledge. Others will also be sealed for damnation at the earlier Close of Probation.
What a privilege to be earmarked by God to be one of the 144 000 and number among those that are the bride of Christ. What loss if we in our worldliness do not make the sacrifice and “sell all that we have” to be given that privilege and be eternally lost. Prayerfully submit to God and allow Him to seal you as part of His priesthood, if He has chosen you for that position by the merits of Christ only.
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