In Revelation 14:14-16 we see that for our experience and enjoyment Christ is the Son of Man as the Reaper. In the Old Testament, after the reaping of the firstfruits came that of the harvest. Likewise, in Revelation 14 we see first the rapture of the firstfruits, the overcoming believers who ripen earlier, before the great tribulation, and then we see the rapture of the harvest, the majority of the believers on earth, toward the end of the great tribulation. A small number of the New Testament saints who ripen early will become the firstfruits to be offered to God directly on Mount Zion, the third heaven. Christ will then come back with the overcomers and will reap the majority of the saints on earth as God’s harvest. When the firstfruits ascend to Mount Zion, the heavens, Christ is with them (v. 1). But at the time of the harvest, Christ as the Son of Man comes down from the heavens to the air, descending on the cloud seen by others.
As the Son of Man, Christ will be the Reaper. The harvest was sown by Christ in the four Gospels, and the sowing resulted in a good harvest on the earth, which He will reap in Revelation 14. Matthew 13 is the sowing of the seed, and Revelation 14 is the reaping of the harvest, the issue of the growth of the seed. All that Christ sowed in Matthew 13 He will reap in Revelation 14.
Revelation 14:14 says, “I saw, and behold, there was a white cloud, and on the cloud One like the Son of Man sitting, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand.” Christ came as the Son of Man to sow the seed, and He will come again as the Son of Man to reap what He has sown. At His coming back, the Lord Jesus will still be the Son of Man. As the Son of Man, He is qualified to execute God’s judgment on everyone (John 5:27). At this time He will no longer be wrapped, or concealed, in the cloud but will be sitting on the cloud. Prior to this, His coming is hidden, but at this point it will be open and visible. In Revelation 10:1 Christ is still clothed with a cloud, whereas in chapter 14 He is on the cloud. This corresponds to 1 Thessalonians 4:17 and indicates that the Lord’s coming back is now made public.
Surely in the third heaven, where God dwells, there are no clouds. But in the air surrounding the earth, there are many clouds. In Revelation 10:1 the Lord is clothed with a cloud, but in 14:14 He is sitting on the cloud. This indicates that He is now in the air.
Revelation 14:14 further says that He will have “a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand.” The golden crown on the Lord’s head indicates that Jesus is the Lord and that the Lord is the One crowned with glory (Heb. 2:9). The sharp sickle in the Lord’s hand indicates that the Lord is the One who reaps God’s field.
Revelation 14:15-16 says, “The harvest of the earth is ripe. And He who sat on the cloud thrust His sickle upon the earth, and the earth was reaped.” The harvest of the earth is God’s people on earth, the believers in Christ (1 Cor. 3:9). At His first coming to the earth, the Lord sowed Himself into His believers (Matt. 13:3-8, 24). All the believers since that time, who have received Him as the seed of life, have become God’s crop on the earth. The first-ripe ones will be reaped as the firstfruits to God before the great tribulation, as indicated in Revelation 14:1-5. The majority will ripen with the help of the sufferings in the great tribulation and will be reaped, raptured, at the end of the great tribulation.
In light of the truth concerning the rapture of the saints, we need to prepare ourselves, to make ourselves ready for the Lord’s coming by watching and praying. We need to watch and pray so that we can grow and mature in the divine life. Then we will mature earlier and be raptured before the hour of trial, the great tribulation (3:10).
The tribulation may be likened to the scorching, parching sun. The suffering of the great tribulation will “dry” the earthly waters from the remaining believers so that they may ripen. To be ripe is to have all the earthly water dried out. This means that we all need to grow so that we may become ripe for the Lord’s coming back.
The end of Revelation 14:15 indicates that the prerequisite for the reaping is being ripe, but before the great tribulation, the harvest will still be green. No farmer would reap a green crop; thus, the entire field must ripen. When the field has ripened, the time of the harvest will come. The reaping mentioned in Revelation 14:16 will take place after Antichrist forces people to worship him and his image (v. 9). Hence, it refers to the rapture of the majority of the believers who are left on the earth to pass through the great tribulation.
Revelation 14 indicates that the rapture will occur in parts. In the physical type, firstfruits are reaped early, and the general harvest may be reaped a few weeks later. The firstfruits are the fruits that ripen first. Because the rest of the harvest is green, it is left in the field until the earthly waters, the earthly supply, are dried up. Then the harvest will be mature and ready to be reaped. Whereas the overcomers as firstfruits are raptured to the temple of God, the majority of the believers as the harvest are raptured to the air (1 Thes. 4:17), that is, to the barn, which is between the field and the farmhouse. In Matthew 13:39 the Lord Jesus indicated that the crop will be harvested at the completion of this age, which we have not yet reached. Before the time of this reaping, the firstfruits will be ripened and raptured.
In Revelation 14:15 an angel says, “Send forth Your sickle and reap,” and verse 16 says, “He who sat on the cloud thrust His sickle upon the earth, and the earth was reaped.” The sickle in these verses signifies the angels sent by the Lord to reap the harvest (Matt. 13:39). At the time of His coming, the Lord Jesus will send His angels to take the believers out of the field, the world. The angels will first bind the tares, the false believers, to be thrown into the fire and then gather all the wheat, the true believers, into the barn. This corresponds to 1 Thessalonians 4:17, which says that the believers will meet the Lord in the air.
Revelation 17:14 indicates that we also may experience and enjoy Christ as the overcoming Lamb. Christ overcame, He is still overcoming, and He will overcome.
Revelation 17:14 tells us that, because Christ is “Lord of lords and King of kings,” He as the Lamb will overcome Antichrist with his ten kings of the ten kingdoms within the revived Roman Empire (vv. 12-13). Christ, who is God, became a man, lived on earth, died on the cross for our sins as our Redeemer, was buried, was resurrected on the third day, ascended to heaven, and has been enthroned as the Lord and Head of all. Now Christ is the sovereign Lord of lords and King of kings. One day He will come back to rule over the earth and set up His kingdom with the overcoming believers as co-kings.
Verse 14 goes on to say, “They who are with Him, the called and chosen and faithful, will also overcome them.” “Those who are with Him” are the overcoming saints who become the heavenly army. These are the overcoming saints in the New Testament age who will be the heavenly army to join Christ in fighting Antichrist and his kings. The Lord does not want to fight the battle by Himself. In principle, when the Lord deals with the enemy, He needs the saints as His army. Therefore, in order to be overcomers, we need to enjoy Christ as the real Overcomer today so that at His coming, we will enjoy Him as our Leader to fight God’s enemy and annihilate him.
In verse 14 the word chosen is mentioned after called. To be called is to be saved, whereas to be chosen is to be approved by the Lord by virtue of an overcoming life. Today many are called, but in the future few will be chosen (Matt. 22:14). We have been called, but in order to be among the chosen in the future we need to live an overcoming life today. The chosen ones are those who are faithful to the Lord and who will become His army. These are the followers of Christ, the ones who have been raptured, who fight the battle against Antichrist and his army at Armageddon.
These overcomers are the bride of Christ, who will come down from the heavens with her Husband to fight against Antichrist. Those who have overcome every obstacle will be Christ’s co-fighters in the final battle against Antichrist. They have become His co-fighters by His ministering the rich life supply to them.
The burden of the ministry in the Lord’s recovery is to present a feast full of the riches of Christ revealed in the New Testament. The New Testament unveils the riches of the all-inclusive Christ, and each of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament may be considered an all-inclusive meal containing His riches. The New Testament reveals so many aspects of this rich Christ that they are far beyond our apprehension. Although the riches of Christ are inexhaustible, it is wonderful that they are unveiled to us for our experience and enjoyment. The extent to which we can appropriate the riches of Christ depends upon our capacity. May we continue to see how rich our Christ is and to enjoy Him in all His riches.