End-Time Insights

Revelation moves from Christ’s Death and Resurrection to the final day when God judges the wicked and vindicates the righteous . Christ’s parable of the ‘ Sheep and the Goats ’ portrays the “ Son of Man arriving in glory ” at the end of the present age to gather all nations before his Throne for judgment. He divides them into two groups. One receives “ everlasting destruction ,” and the other, “ everlasting life .”

In the third chapter of  Revelation , Jesus promises to “ keep ” overcoming saints in the city of Philadelphia “ from the hour of trial ” that is coming upon the “ whole habitable the earth .” A comparison with similar passages demonstrates that this ominous “ hour ” is nothing less than the time of judgment and condemnation for all those whose names “ are not written in the Lamb’s book of life ” when they will experience the “ second death ” in the “ Lake of Fire .”

Philadelphia was located fifty kilometers southeast of Sardis and straddled a major road into the interior, making commerce and trade with the other cities of the province vital to its economy. It was established in 189 B.C. by the king of  Pergamos  and came under Roman rule when the last Pergamene king bequeathed the kingdom to Rome in 133 B.C.

In the New Testament, the return of Jesus at the “ end of the age ” is portrayed as a singular event of great finality. His “ arrival ” or ‘ Parousia ’ will be accompanied by celestial and terrestrial upheaval, the appearance of the New Creation, the resurrection of the righteous dead, the judgment and punishment of the ungodly, the “ gathering of his elect ,” and the cessation of Death itself. Decay and mortality will be replaced by immortality, and nothing will ever be the same again!

The ingathering of the fruit of the vine represents the wrath of God on all men who take the mark of the Beast  – Revelation 14:17-20.  Next,  Revelation  presents the ingathering of the “ fruit of the vine , which is then pressed in the “ winepress of God's wrath .” This is the fate of all men who swear fealty to the “ Beast ” and take its “ mark. ” The “ saints ” are gathered to the “ sanctuary of God ,” but the “ inhabitants of the earth ” are “ tread underfoot ” in His winepress.

Two different harvests occur at the end of the age – The reaping of the grain and the ingathering of the fruit of the vine .  In chapter 14,  Revelation  contrasts two distinct groups: Those who follow the “ Lamb ,” and the men who render homage to the “ Beast ,” the “ inhabitants of the earth .” Two different fates await each group presented here as two harvests: the “ grain ” harvest, and the “ fruit of the vine .” Both occur at the final judgment.

Whether one follows the Lamb or the Beast, he will reap everlasting consequences as a result in the coming final harvest  - Revelation 14:6-7.  The preceding sections presented two very different groups - the “ inhabitants of the earth ” that render homage to the “ Beast ,” and the  priests of God , the “ first fruits ” of the earth purchased by the blood of the “ Lamb .” Now, an angelic herald issues the final summons to humanity to repent and pay homage to God while time remains and before the “ final hour ” begins.

Philadelphia receives no correction. She has remained faithful, and therefore, she will be kept from the “hour of trial”  –  Revelation 3:7-13 .  Philadelphia lay fifty kilometers southeast of Sardis and straddled a major road into the interior, making commerce with the other cities of the province vital to its economy. It was established in 189 B.C. by the king of Pergamos, and later, came under Roman rule when the last king bequeathed the Pergamene kingdom to Rome in 133 B.C.