Returning to the descriptions of Revelation 14, we read first about the harvest of wheat.
I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one “like a son of
man” with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15Then another angel came
out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your
sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” –
Revelation 14:14-16
Destruction of Gentile Unbelievers
The first sickle and the references to the reaping of the harvest of the earth indicate the
reaping of the wheat and the tares from the nations. Jesus foretold this in Matthew 13.
Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in
his field. 25But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat,
and went away. 26When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
27″The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field?
Where then did the weeds come from?’
28” ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
29″ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with
them. 30Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect
the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’ ”
– Matthew 13:24-30
This is a final separation of unbelievers from believers before the beginning of the
Millennium.
The tares or weeds are “harvested” first, and tied in bundles to be burned. When Christ
comes in his glory, he will first annihilate his enemies who are gathered against him at the Battle
of Armageddon. Then he will gather and eliminate the rest of these non-believers to prevent
them from entering into the Millennial Kingdom, which he will immediately establish.
Physically, all unbelievers of that time will then be dead. But what of their spirits? They
are gathered “to be burned.” This implies a still-future event of “burning.” This will be fulfilled
at the time of The Great White Throne Judgment, which is discussed later (Revelation 20:11-15).
The wheat is then gathered into a barn. This is descriptive of collecting the scattered
remnant of believers from their hiding places. Perhaps they will be brought to Jerusalem and
other key locations to fulfill their role of occupying and replenishing the Millennial Kingdom.
Some commentators have tried to equate this gathering into a barn with the rapture. But,
in addition to the many problems associated with placing the rapture at the end of the
Tribulation, the imagery and timing of this gathering just do not fit the rapture. The image of
gathering believers into a barn is meaningful for living survivors of the Tribulation who are
being prepared to inhabit the Millennium, but it is not an adequate picture of the glorious eternal
place promised by Jesus to his believers.
In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to
prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to
be with me that you also may be where I am. – John 14:2-3
The timing of this parable is another strong argument that this gathering is not a reference
to the rapture. The unbelievers (the weeds or tares) are gathered first! Then the believers (wheat)
are gathered.
This series of events is also foretold by the prophet Joel. First Joel discusses the judgment
of the nations on the basis of their treatment of God’s people the Jews.
In those days and at that time,
when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,
2
I will gather all nations
and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.
There I will enter into judgment against them
concerning my inheritance, my people Israel,
for they scattered my people among the nations
and divided up my land. – Joel 3:1-2
This is the same judgment we know as the “Judgment of the Sheep and the Goats” from
Matthew 25. This will be a final evaluation by Jesus of the survivors of the last great terrible war,
and they fall into two classes. He will separate the sheep (believers) from the goats
(unbelievers). The sheep will be those who demonstrated their love for the Lord by their
treatment of others. To the sheep he will say,
Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your
inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and
you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger
and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me,
I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37″Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or
thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or
needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ ― –
Matthew 25:34-39
Then, to the goats, the King will say that they failed to show their love for him when they
neglected the opportunity to help others, so they will be consigned to eternal punishment
(Matthew 25:40-46).
Joel relates the assembly of the nations to the Battle of Armageddon. It is God who draws
these armies into his land.
Proclaim this among the nations:
Prepare for war!
Rouse the warriors!
Let all the fighting men draw near and attack.
10 Beat your plowshares into swords
and your pruning hooks into spears.
Let the weakling say,
“I am strong!”
11 Come quickly, all you nations from every side,
and assemble there.
Bring down your warriors, O LORD!
12 “Let the nations be roused;
let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat,
for there I will sit
to judge all the nations on every side.‖ – Joel 3:9-12
The Valley of Jehoshaphat is most probably the Kidron Valley between the Temple
Mount and the Mount of Olives. This, of course, is not the place where the battle is fought, but
the place where this judgment takes place after the battle.
In Revelation this great event is called “the great supper of God” when it is announced
ahead of time by an angel. It is so-called because of the hordes of vultures and other carrion
eaters who come to devour the corpses littering the land.
And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair,
“Come, gather together for the great supper of God, 18so that you may eat the flesh of kings,
generals, and mighty men, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave,
small and great.” – Revelation 19:17-18
