The Grim Reaper, Part 1

Nobody's running across that sea of glass and getting up to the throne and saying, why did you let that happen in 1973? Or why did you allow this difficulty in my life in 1984?

Or why did I lose my job in 2005? Significant things to us now that we ask God for wisdom about. But when you get there, listen, this choral outburst is focused upon and flooded with the exaltation of God. One author wrote generations ago, in the perfect presence of God, self is wholly forgotten. Have you ever thought something like this? When I get to heaven, I want to ask God why he allowed me to be unjustly fired. Or I can't wait to ask God why he allowed evil in the world. The truth is, when we get to heaven, we will be so consumed with the glory of God that we won't be thinking about ourselves. We'll be thinking about him and praising him.

I'm glad you've joined us today here on Wisdom for the Heart. For each one of us, death is inevitable. We need to be certain about where we are spending eternity. So here's Stephen Davey with a lesson he's calling The Grim Reaper. One of the most recognizable figures of all time is simply named The Grim Reaper. He's typically caricatured as a skeleton, wearing a black robe.

His face is nearly hidden by his hood. His hands are mere bones, and you see them exposed as he raises that one particular possession of his, that scythe or sickle. In the Western world, going all the way back to the medieval period, he often rode or was pictured as riding a pale horse or was driven in an old coach pulled by pale white horses. You can trace The Grim Reaper all the way back to Rome. In fact, even before then, through the mythologies of Greece, Kronos was supposedly the Grecian god, the original Grim Reaper. He was given a scythe or a sickle by his mother as he had been held captive by his father inside of Earth. With that sickle, he escaped and then killed his father. The trouble was he became so fearful of his own life, he used that sickle on everyone who came near him. The character of The Grim Reaper developed through the centuries as one who actually just came to take people away when their time was up. He supposedly had the power to determine death with the mere touch of his sickle. It was he who led departed spirits to the afterworld. In the occultic world, The Grim Reaper is actually the symbol of death.

He is universally held in some form or another. Eventually everyone meets up with this hooded agent of death. One poet put it rather simply when he wrote, you can be a king or a street sweeper, but everyone dances with The Grim Reaper. So the world over attempts to mitigate their fear of this terminal touch of The Grim Reaper. In one Wall Street Journal article I was given some time ago by a church member, it talked about some rather extravagant efforts on the part of a lot of people in one particular country to try to avoid the concept of death. It's the country of Madagascar.

When you think of Madagascar, you think of animals escaping to go back and live there, right? These are people who save up money for years and then with that money throw a party. They exhume the body of some departed loved one, wrap them in a new shroud and then introduce them to all of the people in their lives. They pay dearly to cater food for hundreds of people who will come to these special events.

This one particular man interviewed had more than a thousand come that he paid to feed. These departed family members come in nightmares to their living relatives complaining that the tomb is cold. And if they loved them, they would let them out in what they call a ceremony of turning the dead. Now those who do this for their deceased relatives are assured that their departed loved ones will give them life and health and wealth and happiness.

But if the dead are left neglected and cold in their tomb, they will bring unemployment, disease and misery. So these people are convinced that those who have died must be familiar with their lives in order to help them. And so they literally stroll through their towns carrying their shrouded loved ones on their shoulders, showing their ancestors what's new, new buildings that have been built, new family members. They introduced them to children who've been born since they were placed in the tomb. They interviewed one individual who'd become a Christian and who refused to participate any longer. He stated that he no longer believed that the departed dead were even interested in a party and that they certainly couldn't respond with gratitude having been brought from their tombs for this revelry.

For his disbelief, he and many other believers are often disowned. I found it interesting that in the 19th century, the queen of this country ordered her soldiers to push all converts to Christianity off the nearby cliffs, which they did. And today, much of their religion is bondage and fear of dying. This article added that people in this country try to lead a good life so that they will not be forgotten by their families when they die. And so they live in such a way that they themselves will be brought out of their tombs one day to party with the families of their own in the light of day. How tragic is that? But this is their way to somehow avoid the touch of the grim reaper, to mitigate that touch. It reminds me of the terrible reality of life after death for those who don't know Christ, revealed for us in Luke 16 by the Lord who spoke of the man in torment as he begged for a drop of water to touch his tongue. And when he was refused, he said, please send somebody back to my family and warn them of this place.

He was refused that as well, of course. Listen, if these shrouded skeletons in Madagascar could actually speak to the revelers at their party, they would not be promising them wealth and happiness. They would be warning them of this place yet to come.

The grim reaper is nothing to celebrate. For the believer, this is the assurance, we do not fear some grim reaper. For to be absent from the body is to be present with whom? The Lord, 2nd Corinthians 5.8.

There is the immediate translation of the Spirit, the immaterial part of you, which is really you. To heaven, to be with Christ. Our bodies go in the grave to decay, but there will be a coming, a resurrection where our bodies will be instantly recreated and glorified, reunited with our spirits that have been enjoying the presence of Christ in that glorified, immortal state to enjoy the kingdom and the eternal state of the new heaven and the new earth, 1 Corinthians 15. Now just where did mankind get this universal concept of a grim reaper from the truth of God? Written on their hearts, Romans 2, verse 5. Mankind knows, well, that having read, that it is appointed unto man to die, and after that, something.

The Bible clearly states it is the judgment. So mankind, because he has this intuitive sense that something's happening, and they may not be ready for it, and it may not be very good, they come up with religious escape hatches and spiritual loopholes to try and bring some comfort. Maybe we'll bring the bones out of the grave and we'll consider them still alive, they're really not in any place really. Maybe we'll bury the bones in a beautiful tomb in a church graveyard or maybe we'll bury them inside the church.

There's an idea. So you go to the cathedrals of Europe and faraway places and notice they are nothing more than indoor graveyards for the wealthy and the politically connected. Poor people are buried outside.

At least they're close. Or perhaps their bones are kept in some underground vault. At least you're near the church. I have walked through the corridors underneath St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, Austria, where so many religious leaders lie in caskets on shelves of stone and plaster. The names and the dates of religious leaders are there on the caskets and you can walk down hallways and see them. I've stood by the caskets of religious leaders whose burial dates corresponded with the ministry of Martin Luther, the monk who attempted to reform the church, and that reformation through Austria and everywhere else into an uproar. I have stood in underground St. Stephen's vault before the casket of the bishop who served Vienna, led it during Martin Luther's ministry and I stood there and couldn't help but wonder because he had indeed heard, had he believed, that the just shall live by faith.

I hoped he had. I looked at all the bones stacked inside these underground vaults, many of them having died in the bubonic plague of 1735. They would have considered it a privilege to have their bones stacked underground. You're close. You're close to the altar in the basement but no matter. It's safe. But upstairs, to be buried in the floor of the cathedral nearest the altar, that's even safer.

And so inside the church of St. Stephen's are the tombs of kings and princes and the remains of members of royal dynasties. The well-connected, the wealthy hoping somehow they could soften the touch of the grim reaper. A few years ago a movie came out called The Bucket List. I read it was about two terminally ill men. I didn't go see it but it was played by two men, one Jack Nicholson and the other Morgan Freeman. They take a road trip together to do the things they always said they'd want to do before they kick the bucket.

And Nicholson was interviewed by Parade Magazine before the movie came out and asked about his personal beliefs and I found these quite sad. He said, well, I used to live so freely. I said, hey, you can have whatever rules you want so I'm going to have mine. I'll accept the guilt. I'll pay the check.

I'll do the time. Sounds brave, doesn't it? He said, I chose my own way but as I've gotten older, I've had to adjust. Don't we all, when we get older, begin to think a little differently?

He said, we all want to go on forever, don't we? But we fear the unknown and everybody goes to that wall. Yet nobody knows what's on the other side.

Nothing could be further from the truth. We have been told what's on the other side of death. I have found it fascinating in my study to discover that this nearly universal metaphor of death, the grim reaper, is actually found in scripture. You won't believe in what book? Revelation.

Amazing, isn't it? Turn to Revelation then and let's find it together. Chapter 14, this is the place where the hood will be taken off, so to speak, and the robe thrown aside and mankind will discover too late that the caricature of the grim reaper is in reality none other than Jesus Christ, sovereign Lord. Now before we dive into the particulars, John previews for us what is going to happen in the latter months of the great tribulation. John will refer to the coming of Christ and he'll use the metaphor of two different harvests that take place by reapers. Two different metaphors are used for the reaping of God's judgment on earth.

One is a harvest of grain. That's verses 14 to 16. The other is what we could call the harvest of grapes.

That's verses 17 to 20. Now the harvest of grain is an overview of the coming bowls of wrath that are poured out in the last cataclysmic acts of judgment upon earth. The harvest of grapes is an overview of the battle of Armageddon where the final battle is fought as Christ returns to establish his earthly reign for 1,000 years. Both harvests include a sickle. Both harvests involve reaping. The detailed accounts of these two harvests are given to us in chapters 16 through 19. John's just giving us an overview, a preview of things to come in these two chapters, chapters 14 and 15.

Let's look at the first reaping that takes place in this harvest of grain. Revelation chapter 14 verse 14. Then I looked and behold a white cloud and sitting on the cloud was one like the son of man having a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Ladies and gentlemen, here is the genuine grim reaper.

Here is that intuitively known nightmare of mankind returning in living color. This is no cartoon. This is no joke. This is real.

This reaper is Jesus Christ. Now we're told and immediately arrested by several descriptive phrases. John writes then I looked and behold, that's his way of saying and can you believe it, wow, a white cloud sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man. Now this is more than a fluffy cloud. This is referring to more than a fluffy cumulonimbus or maybe even a nimbostratus. I had to look that up so hold your applause, okay? I had to practice saying it just right.

I'm glad it came out the third time just right. This is more than those fluffy white clouds we think of. The word cloud is very significant in the Bible and you can trace references to clouds and the appearance or the power of God. There's the cloud of God's Shekinah glory that is referenced.

In fact, it's here in Revelation chapter 14 verse 14. This is the brilliant display of God's glory and this cloud just sort of follows the Lord from eternity to eternity and you find them tracking as it were surrounded by the Shekinah brilliance referred to as a cloud from Old to New Testament. This is the cloud that referenced God's presence as it led the Israelites and their wandering through the wilderness in Exodus 13. This is the same cloud that appeared when Moses was given the law on Mount Sinai beginning in Exodus chapter 19. This is the cloud that covered the Lord when he came to speak to Moses after Moses selected the 70 elders in Numbers 11. This is the cloud of glory that filled the temple when it was completed. First Kings chapter 8 reads that the cloud filled the house of the Lord so that the priest could not stand and minister because of the cloud for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

This is more than fluffy vapor. This is a reference to the Shekinah glory of our sovereign God. In fact, when Mary was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit as she a virgin conceived by the power of God. A.T. Robertson the noted Greek scholar said that these words suggest that she was overshadowed by this cloud of glory encircling her representing the presence and power of God. This is the same cloud that received Christ as he ascended into the heavens Acts chapter 1. This is the Shekinah glory that knocked Saul off his horse causing blindness as he raced toward Damascus to find and persecute more Christians. These are the clouds of Shekinah glory that envelops the church as she is raptured to meet the Lord in the clouds in the air. That is the very presence of the glory of God. This unbelievable brilliance perhaps seen only by us as we're raptured.

These are the clouds of Shekinah glory that the Daniel spoke of where a son of man which is a reference to the Messiah will return with the clouds of heaven Daniel 7 13. In other words he's going to return one day to earth with a display of divine brilliance and splendor. Jesus Christ said of himself in Luke chapter 21 they shall see the son of man coming in the cloud of great glory. So picture in your mind this is brilliant light displayed to all speaking of the full and glorious deity of our Lord Christ. So here he comes which by the way means we're there with him. This is your future you're reading. We're not just floating on some fluffy cloud this is a reference to the fact that when we return with Christ instead of his kingdom we're going to be surrounded by the brilliant light and incredible splendor of our sovereign's glory. We're in here.

This is our future experience. Now you may have wondered as I read certainly struck my mind why John would write a son of man instead of the son of man in verse 14. I believe it's more than likely to strengthen the connection of his statement with the prophecy of Daniel where Daniel refers to a son of man a messianic title. So John refers to him this way in fact there's no question in Daniel 7 who this is nor is there any question in Revelation chapter 14.

John will also use the expression a son of man in chapter 1 of Revelation and there's no question he's talking about the second person of the Godhead our Lord living Lord Jesus Christ. In fact notice the next phrase here in verse 14 we're told this son of man has a golden crown on his head. The crown is the Greek word is Stephanos it was a crown given to conquerors those who were victorious it was given athletes it was just a simple wreath it would be given to those who were victorious soldiers a general returning in victory would wear a Stephanos. Later on in chapter 19 of Revelation that word will be changed from Stephanos to diadema which gives us our word diadem it's the crown of the monarch. So Christ is coming here back to reign and he's coming and in his initial coming he's announcing his victory. He is the victorious general and a battle will ensue for just a brief moment in human history. Later he will sit on David's throne as the monarch the king of kings and the Lord of lords and by the way before we go any further here in this text you are reading for the last time any reference to Jesus Christ as the son of man this is it the Lord often used this phrase in fact it was his preferred title as he would emphasize his full humanity and yet his messianic title referring to his full deity he God incarnate had come as God's anointed but here in Revelation 14 verse 14 this is the last time you hear this title to use I think it's interesting the first time we ever saw this title is in Matthew chapter 8 verse 20 where we're told that the son of man has nowhere to lay his head in other words he owns nothing and now in this last time the title is used we're told he owns everything he's coming to claim the world as his own he God incarnate the son of man the Messiah the embodiment of deity got a knock on the door two Jehovah's Witnesses came interrupted my study of this very text it's perfect timing I just wouldn't let him go either I got to practice I need to practice and and they pulled the other friends pulled up waited they three times we really thank you sir we really need to need to leave no you stay right there I'm not done yet finally cut them loose they were happy to leave the first time Jesus Christ came he came in poverty the second time he comes he comes in power but don't miss it the first time the son of man appears on the scene he comes as a sower now he comes as a reaper in divine judgment and he will come wrapped in the Shekinah glory of his own deity displaying the fullness of the Godhead now just as we've seen many events take place on earth during these days signaled by some announcement by an angel who sort of pulls the trigger so an angel pulls the trigger so to speak on Christ's judgment of earth look at verse 15 and another angel came out of the temple crying out with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud put in your sickle and reap for the hour to reap has come because the harvest of the earth is ripe and he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth and the earth was reaped now in these bowls not all unbelievers die in fact there will be those who will be separated as tares from the wheat in the judgment following this period of time but this will be great devastation in fact I agree with one author who wrote that this phrase the earth was reaped is one of the most tragic and sobering statements in all of scripture where the mercy of God is finished so to speak we're hitting the pause button right here because there's much more to this lesson but we don't have time for it today as we've seen so far Jesus comes as either the great Redeemer or as the grim reaper depending on your relationship with him you've been listening to wisdom for the heart with Stephen Davey in addition to being our daily bible teacher Stephen is also the pastor of a church in Cary North Carolina and he's the president of shepherds theological seminary how would your life be impacted if you were to set aside one year to study God's word experience authentic community grow in discipleship take a trip to Israel to do some study and earn your master's degree in theological studies all in one year the school Stephen leads offers a special program called shepherd's institute where you can experience all that I just described this unique one-year program offers life-changing opportunities for all believers no matter your vocation we've had men and women join us right out of college and before entering their career they spend one year in God's word earn their master's degree and then enter the workforce better equipped to serve God in their church and community we've also had men join us who believe they were called to be a pastor whatever God has called you to investing one year like this will help you invest one year of your life to equip yourself for the rest of your life Stephen and the world-class faculty are eager to invest in you learn more at shepherds.edu I also invite you to explore our website wisdomonline.org which is filled with resources to help you grow in your faith as I said earlier we'll conclude this lesson tomorrow so join us here on wisdom for the heart. you