The Judgment and the Harvest

What testimonies did the prophets bear concerning the judgment?

• Daniel 7:9, 10 - "I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened."

• Daniel saw preparations for the start of the judgment and the opening of the books of record for its commencement.

What is the reason for the books?

• Revelation 20:12 - "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works."

• The books contain our deeds, and we are judged according to those things written in the books.

When were the names and records entered in the books?

• Psalm 139:16 - "Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them."

• Psalm 87:6 - "The LORD shall count, when he writeth up the people, that this man was born there."

• The names and records were entered while each person was living.

What is the reason for the judgment?

• Exodus 32:33 - "And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book."

• Revelation 22:19 - "And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book."

• Jeremiah 17:13 - "O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters."

• The books contain the names of a mixed multitude, both those who stood firmly in the faith and continued patiently to the end, and those who did not.

• So, there must come a day of reckoning, a day when the names of those who are found unworthy of eternal life will be blotted out of the Lambs book of life - a proceeding termed “investigative judgment.”

• Thus, we are told in 1 Peter 4:17: "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?"

How are names retained in the books?

• Matthew 10:30 - "But the very hairs of your head are all numbered."

• Ecclesiastes 5:6 - "Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?"

• At the moment we accept Christ as our personal Savior through the Word of Truth, at that supreme moment God forgives us our sins, and the hands bloodstained by Calvary inscribe our names in the Lambs book of life. Then simultaneously the pen of angels begins in the heavenly ledger the life-or-death chronicle of our Christian experience separate from our past.

• Failure to investigate additional truth and failure on the part of those who accept the truth to faithfully live up to it and proclaim it brings ruin upon oneself.

• Ezekiel 3:20, 21 - "Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock [a message] before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul."

When was the time appointed for the judgment?

• Daniel 8:13, 14, 16, 17 - "Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed…And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision. So he came near where I stood; and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision."

• The 2,300 days are 2,300 mornings and evenings - "And the evening and the morning were the first day." Genesis 1:5.

• Prophetically, it is 2,300 years - "I have appointed thee each day for a year." Ezekiel 4:6.

• The prophecy climaxes in the end time - "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." Daniel 12:4.

How is the 2,300 days or years broken down?

• Daniel 9:25-27 - "Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem [456 BC - Ezra 7:21-27] unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: [69 weeks or 483 years - up to 27 AD] the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: [7 years - 27 AD to 34 AD] and in the midst of the week [3 1/2 years - 31 AD] he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate."

• From the start of the 2,300 days prophecy in 456 BC, we add 70 weeks or 490 years that were determined to the Jews, we get (490 - 456 = 34 AD). We then add 1,810 (2,300 - 490) to 34 AD, and we arrive at 1844, the time for the cleansing of the sanctuary.

What will the judgment among the living be like?

• Matthew 13:30 - "Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn."

• A time of investigation will come and then the angels will remove the sinners from "the congregation of the righteous." Psalm 1:5.

• Matthew 13:47-49 - "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,"

• In both of these parables, Christ is sounding the forewarning that the investigative judgment will take place in the time called "harvest," which is the end of the world - the time in which the 2,300 days culminate, just as the angel declared: "Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision." Daniel 8:17. "…shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days." Daniel 8:26. "…for yet the vision is for many days." Daniel 10:14.

• Malachi 3:1-3 - "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness."

• Ezekiel 9:2-6 - "And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar. And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer's inkhorn by his side; And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house."

• From this separation in the church (Malachi 3:1-3; Ezekiel 9:2-6) comes the first fruits.

• Matthew 25:31-34, 41 - "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world… Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:"

• From this separation among the nations (Matthew 25:31-34, 41) come the second fruits.

What is the difference between the judgment of the dead and the judgment of the living?

• With the judgment of the dead, the work of separation takes place in the books in the heavenly sanctuary.

• With the judgment of the living, the separation takes place among the people in the church as well as among their names in the books in the heavenly sanctuary, thus showing that both sanctuaries will finally be cleansed.

What is the meaning of the symbols in the harvest parable?

• Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 - "Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn… Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear."

• Christ the Son of man sowed the good seed.

• The field is the world - "But we must understand this as signifying the church of Christ in the world…" Christ Object Lessons 70.2.

• The good seed are the children of the kingdom.

• The tares are the children of the wicked one, the devil.

• The enemy that sowed them is the devil.

• The harvest is the end of the world.

• The reapers are the angels.

How many periods does the parable of the kingdom contain?

• Three periods.

• First, the period of sowing the seed - the time of Christs ministry.

• Second, the period of growing - the time from the ascension of Christ to the harvest.

• Third, the time of harvest - a short period of time "at the end of the world" (Matthew 13:49).

When did Christ sow the good seed?

• Matthew 3:16 - "And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water…"

• Matthew 4:1 - "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil."

• Matthew 4:17 - "From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

• After sowing the good seed for three and a half years, Christ was crucified. He celebrated the Passover with His disciples on the 15th day of the first month (Leviticus 23:5, 6; Matthew 26:17-21) and was crucified the next day, the 16th. Therefore, He was baptized three and a half years before His crucifixion, on the 16th day of the seventh month during the Feast of Tabernacles.

• Thus, Christ began sowing the good seed after His baptism.

When did the devil sow the tares?

• Mark 13:34 - "For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch."

• Matthew 13:25 - "But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way."

• Testimonies for the Church Volume 2, 337.2 - "Men and women are in the last hours of probation, and yet are careless and stupid, and ministers have no power to arouse them; they are asleep themselves. Sleeping preachers preaching to a sleeping people!"

• The devil sowed the tares after the ascension of Christ and while men slept.

• Ezekiel saw the tares - Ezekiel 44:6, 7.

• John the Baptist saw the tares - Matthew 3:7, 8.

• The apostles saw the tares - Acts 5:1-10.

• Review and Herald, May 21, 1901, paragraph 8: "Too much hasty work is done in adding names to the church roll."

When is the time of harvest?

• Matthew 13:40 shows that it is "in the end of this world," not merely at the very last moment.

• The harvest includes the last day, the second coming of Christ. However, the Scriptures do not limit its meaning to the final day.

• Hebrews 9:26 points to Christs work as Mediator in the Most Holy Apartment of the heavenly sanctuary since 1844, thus showing that the term "the end of the world" is not limited to the last day.

• 1 Corinthians 10:11 speaks of those who live in the last days of earths history. It is not limited to the final day.

• Thus, the spiritual harvest is not a momentary event. It goes on for a period and brings the end of the world just as naturally as the years harvest brings the end of summer.

• Christ Object Lessons 71.3 says: "The tares and the wheat are to grow together until the harvest; and the harvest is the end of probationary time."

• The harvest is a part of probationary time, the last portion of it. It begins with the removal of the tares from the SDA Church. According to Jeremiah 8:20, when the harvest is past, the wicked realize that they are lost. During the time of harvest, they could have been saved, but they squandered their opportunity.

What announcement is made about the harvest?

• Isaiah 52:1 - "Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean."

• Nahum 1:15 - "Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off."

• The wicked will be cut off from among the people of God. Just before this, however, a message calling for Zion (the church) to awake and announcing that the harvest is about to begin is to be proclaimed to the church.

Who is responsible for separating the wheat from the tares?

• Matthew 13:41 - "The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;"

• Testimonies to Ministers 47.2 - "We are not to say what constitutes the wheat, and what the tares. The time of the harvest will fully determine the character of the two classes specified under the figure of the tares and the wheat. The work of separation is given to the angels of God, and not committed into the hands of any man."

• Early Writings 118.1 - "I then saw the third angel. Said my accompanying angel, 'Fearful is his work. Awful is his mission. He is the angel that is to select the wheat from the tares, and seal, or bind, the wheat for the heavenly garner. These things should engross the whole mind, the whole attention.'"

• The angels are responsible for the separation.

How many fruits will the harvest yield?

• Revelation 7:4 - first fruits from the church.

• Revelation 7:9 - second fruits from the nations.

• Revelation 14:14-16 - first fruits reaped by the Son of man.

• Revelation 14:17-19 - second fruits reaped by an angel.

• Luke 14:16-22 - first fruits gathered from the streets and lanes of the city (the church).

• Luke 14:23, 24 - second fruits gathered from the highways and hedges (the nations).

• Isaiah 66:15, 16, 19, 20 - first fruits escape the judgment and gather second fruits.

What are the three ceremonies that supported the two grain harvests in ancient Israel?

• Leviticus 23:10, 11, 14-17, 39 - "Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it…And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD. Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD…Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath."

• The ceremony of the wave sheaf at the beginning of the first harvest.

• The ceremony of the wave loaves at the close of the first harvest.

• The Feast of Tabernacles at the close of the second harvest.

What is the significance of the wave sheaf ceremony?

• Patriarchs and Prophets 539.6 - "Barley was the earliest grain in Palestine, and at the opening of the feast [Passover] it was beginning to ripen. A sheaf of this grain was waved by the priest before the altar of God, as an acknowledgment that all was His. Not until this ceremony had been performed was the harvest to be gathered."

• The sheaf was offered at the beginning of the first harvest.

• It signified fruits to be harvested after the sheaf was offered.

• It was offered on Sunday in Passover week.

• It pointed forward to a spiritual harvest of first fruits to be gathered.

• It was a thank offering for the first fruit.

What is the significance of the wave loaves ceremony and the Feast of Tabernacles?

• Patriarchs and Prophets 540.1 - "Fifty days from the offering of first fruits, came the Pentecost, called also the feast of harvest and the feast of weeks. As an expression of gratitude for the grain prepared as food, two loaves baked with leaven were presented before God. The Pentecost occupied but one day, which was devoted to religious service."

• The wave loaves were offered at the close of the first harvest.

• Being a finished product, they signified fruits previously gathered.

• They were offered on Pentecost, fifty days after the typical sheaf was offered.

• They were a thank offering for the first fruits.

• Patriarchs and Prophets 540.2 - "In the seventh month came the Feast of Tabernacles, or of ingathering…It was the crowning festal gathering of the year. The land had yielded its increase, the harvests had been gathered into the granaries, the fruits, the oil, and the wine had been stored, the first fruits had been reserved, and now the people came with their tributes of thanksgiving to God, who had thus richly blessed them."

• The Feast of Tabernacles was celebrated at the close of the second harvest.

• It was kept on the 15th day of the 7th month.

What was projected by the wave sheaf ritual?

• Acts of the Apostles 14.1 - "The whole system of types and symbols was a compacted prophecy of the gospel, a presentation in which were bound up the promises of redemption."

• The Desire of Ages 785.4 - "Christ arose from the dead as the first fruits of those that slept. He was the antitype of the wave sheaf, and His resurrection took place on the very day when the wave sheaf was to be presented before the Lord."

• Matthew 27:51-53 - "And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many."

• Early Writings 184.1 - "When Jesus, as He hung upon the cross, cried out, 'It is finished,' the rocks rent, the earth shook, and some of the graves were opened. When He arose a victor over death and the grave, while the earth was reeling and the glory of heaven shone around the sacred spot, many of the righteous dead, obedient to His call, came forth as witnesses that He had risen. Those favored, risen saints came forth glorified. They were chosen and holy ones of every age, from creation down even to the days of Christ."

• The Desire of Ages 833.2-834.2 - "All heaven was waiting to welcome the Saviour to the celestial courts. As He ascended, He led the way, and the multitude of captives set free at His resurrection followed… He enters into the presence of His Father. He points to His wounded head, the pierced side, the marred feet; He lifts His hands, bearing the print of nails. He points to the tokens of His triumph; He presents to God the wave sheaf, those raised with Him as representatives of that great multitude who shall come forth from the grave at His second coming."

• The wave sheaf ritual projected the resurrection of Christ and those who arose with Him.

What are the applications of the wave sheaf?

• Christ and those who arose with Him were the antitypical wave sheaf of the dead for the first fruits of the dead, the 120 disciples - Acts 1:15.

• Those who arose with Christ ascended with Him as trophies of His victory over death and the grave, and thereby became a living type, the wave sheaf of the living for the first fruits of the living, the 144,000 servants of God - Revelation 7:3.

What are the applications of the wave loaves?

• The Holy Spirit fell upon the 120 disciples (Acts 2:1-4) on the very day the wave loaves were to be presented before the Lord, the Apostolic Pentecost, which was the prototype of the ceremonial Pentecost. Hence the wave loaves were a figure of the 120 Spirit-filled disciples.

• In the final Pentecost, the antitype of the ceremonial Pentecost, the wave loaves are also a figure of the 144,000 Spirit-filled servants of God.

• Thus, the wave sheaf and the wave loaves have a double application, each to the dead and to the living, together comprising the total fruits of the antitypical harvest.

What are the applications of the first and second fruits and the Feast of Tabernacles?

• As the 120 disciples on the day of Pentecost were the gospels first fruits of the dead, the multitude added daily to the church (Acts 2:40-47) were the gospels second fruits of the dead.

• The 144,000 disciples on the final Pentecost being the gospels first fruits of the living, it follows that the great multitude that will be added (Revelation 7:9) to the church are the gospels second fruits of the living.

• As the wave sheaf and the wave loaves are typical, then also the Feast of Tabernacles must be typical. Otherwise, the ceremony would not have been observed as a part of the harvest rite.

• Patriarchs and Prophets 541.2 - "The Feast of Tabernacles was not only commemorative but typical. It not only pointed back to the wilderness sojourn, but, as the feast of harvest, it celebrated the ingathering of the fruits of the earth, and pointed forward to the great day of final ingathering, when the Lord of the harvest shall send forth His reapers to gather the tares together in bundles for the fire, and to gather the wheat into His garner."