Jesus Christ made the following startling comment in John 5:37:

“And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.”

He also said this in John 6:46:

“Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father.”

The Apostle John added the following in John 1:18:

“No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.”

He added in 1 John 4:12: “No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.”

The Apostle Paul, likewise, confirmed in 1 Timothy 6:13-16:

“I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Jesus Christ… that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, which He [God] will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.”

At the same time, we find different accounts about a voice from heaven or out of a cloud, speaking about Jesus Christ as “My beloved Son.”

Referring to the account of Christ’s baptism through John the Baptist, Matthew 3:17 says: “And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’”

Another account can be found in John 12:28-29, shortly before His betrayal:

“[Christ prayed:] ‘Father, glorify Your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.’ Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, ‘An angel has spoken to Him.’ Jesus answered and said, ‘This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.’”

Also, when Christ and some of His disciples were on the Mount of Transfiguration, Matthew 17:5 records: “While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!’”

Peter would later reflect on that experience in 2 Peter 1:17-18: “For He [Jesus] received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.”

There exist quite a few attempts to explain this apparent inconsistency and contradiction.

One argument is that Jesus just talked to the Jews at His time, when He said in John 5:37 that they had never heard the voice of God. But His statement follows His baptism, when a voice was heard by those Jews (cp. John 1:29-34). This rules out the possibility that Jesus was limiting His comments to the Jews at His time.

Other explanations attempt to spiritualize Christ’s statements.

Jamieson Fausset and Brown say:  “[They] never recognized Him in this character. The words are ‘designedly mysterious, like many others which our Lord uttered’… “

This explanation is clearly wrong, as Christ emphasized that they had not heard God’s voice nor seen His form… this has nothing to do with a recognition “in this character.” There is nothing “designedly mysterious” about it.

The Matthew Poole’s Commentary offers this somewhat adventurous concept:

“Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape; you have no knowledge of him, nor any acquaintance with him. It is expounded… Ye have not his word abiding in you: for though indeed God appeared to the Jews in no shape or similitude; yet they (that is, their forefathers) had heard his voice [Deuteronomy 4:12], speaking out of the midst of the fire… God, being an incorporeal Being, hath no such organs of speech as we have, by which we declare our minds unto others; but God had formed an audible voice, by which he revealed his will unto the Jews; so as it could only be said of the Jews of that generation and their forefathers, from the time of giving the law, that they had not heard his voice; for, Exodus 20:19, they then desired that Moses might speak to them, and that God would speak no more immediately. Accordingly, he did by the prophets speak to them…”

Even though God is a spiritual being, consisting of Spirit, that does not mean that He does not have form and shape, nor, that He does not have a “voice” with which to communicate. We read about communication between God and His angels, or even with Satan.  When He speaks, then it is His voice, and it is not just the formation or creation of an audible voice which otherwise does not exist. The idea is also based, in part, on the false concept that God does not have a voice or form and shape, and that that is the reason why people could not have heard His voice or seen His form. Only confused “theologians” could come up with such a nonsense.

A third explanation is advanced by Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, as follows:

“Jesus does not here deny that God had ‘appeared’ in this manner, but he says they had not seen – that is, had not ‘paid attention to,’ or ‘regarded,’ the appearance of God. He had manifested himself, but they disregarded it, and, in particular, they had disregarded his manifestations in attestation of the Messiah. As the word ‘hear’ means to obey, to listen to, so the word ‘see’ means ‘to pay attention to, to regard’…”

Again, this explanation overlooks the fact that we read, for instance, in John 1:18, that “NO ONE has seen God AT ANY TIME” (compare too 1 John 4:12). Surely, righteous people like Abraham, Moses, David and all the ancient prophets “paid attention to” or “regarded” the words of God and the “attestations” of the Messiah (cp. 1 Peter 1:10-12).

None of these “explanations” are correct; still, as The Pulpit Commentary confirms, “Doubtless the voice of Jehovah had been heard (Exodus 20:19…), the face of Jehovah had been seen (Genesis 32:30; Exodus 24:10; Numbers 12:8; Deuteronomy 5:4, 24). Isaiah saw the glory of… the Lord (cp. John 12:41) and Ezekiel likewise by the river of Chebar (Ezekiel 3:23).”

Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible comes closer to the Truth, by pointing out an important aspect that is being overlooked by most commentaries:

“… ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape; for the voices that were heard, and the forms that were seen under the Old Testament dispensation, from the first of this kind in Eden’s garden, to the incarnation of Christ, which are ascribed to God, or to a divine person, were either by the ministry of angels, or they were voices uttered by the Son of God, or forms assumed by him, who often appeared in an human form, as a prelude of his incarnation; so that it was unusual, and wonderful, and remarkable, that the Father should bear a testimony to the sonship of Christ by a voice from heaven; and which therefore ought to be attended to, and received as a sufficient and valid testimony.”

At least, the commentary seems to acknowledge that the voice people heard in Old Testament times might have been the voice of Jesus Christ—not of the Father—even though some of the other remarks miss the point.

When Christ and the New Testament writers said that no one has seen God or His form and that people had not heard His voice, the reference is to God the FATHER. On the other hand, people DID hear the voice and see the form of the GLORIFIED Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Christ was the God of the Old Testament who communicated and dealt with the people.

Philippians 2:5–7 reads: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of GOD, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, TAKING THE FORM OF A BONDSERVANT, and coming IN THE LIKENESS OF MEN.”

Notice, too, John 1:1–3: “In the beginning was the WORD [Note that Christ is still referred to as the “Word of God,” for instance in Revelation 19:13], and the Word was with God, AND THE WORD WAS GOD. He was in the beginning with God [that means there were two God beings—Christ, the “Word of God,” and God the FATHER]. All things were made through Him [the Word, Jesus Christ, compare Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:1–2], and without Him nothing was made that was made.”

John 17:5 adds these words of Christ, “And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.” Earlier, Jesus had this to say while instructing His disciples: “I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father” (John 16:28).

The Bible reveals that Christ was the Personage within the Family of God who actually dealt directly with mankind. God the Father created everything, including man, through Jesus Christ. Christ talked with Abraham (John 8:56-58). He was the God being who led Israel out of Egypt (1 Corinthians 10:1-4). It was Christ who was tried by disobedient Israel (verse 9). And, most importantly, it was the Spirit of CHRIST which dwelled in the prophets of old, as 1 Peter 1:10-11 clearly proves: “Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST [WHICH] WAS IN THEM was indicating when [it] testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.”

These passages are clear and speak for themselves. The biblical testimony is unequivocal: Jesus Christ was GOD before He came to this earth!

One of the purposes for Christ’s first coming was to reveal the EXISTENCE of God the Father.

John 1:18 tells us: “No one has ever seen God [the Father]. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known” (New Revised Standard Version). Notice the rendering of this passage in the New American Bible: “No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him.”

In our free booklet, “God is a Family,” we said this under the headline, “Jesus Came to Reveal the Father”:

“The Jews at the time of Christ did not know—and most still don’t know today—that God is a Family, presently consisting of two God beings. Christ came to REVEAL the Father to them (Matthew 11:27; Luke 10:22). The Jews thought they knew the Father, not realizing that the God of the Old Testament, who directly worked with and dealt with Israel, was Jesus Christ—not God the Father.

“We have already read in John 1:18 that ‘no one has seen God at any time.’ John 5:37 confirms that ‘you have neither heard His [the Father’s] voice at any time, nor seen His form.’ Again, we read in John 6:46: ‘Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God,’ that is, Jesus Christ. Finally, 1 John 4:12 repeats, ‘No one has seen God at any time.’

“Still, we have read that God did appear to the ancient Israelites. They did hear His voice many times. Some even saw the form of God, to an extent, in His glorified state (compare Genesis 32:30; Exodus 33:11, 17–23; 34:6–8; Numbers 12:8; Deuteronomy 34:10; Isaiah 6:1–10; Ezekiel 1:26–28; 3:23; 8:4).

“According to Biblical testimony, some did see ‘God’ in Old Testament times, and they did hear His voice.  On the other hand, Christ and the apostles taught that no human has ever seen… ‘God.’ Since God does not contradict Himself in His Word, He is obviously talking about two different personages here. Indeed, the Bible clarifies that no one has ever seen God the Father (compare again John 5:37; 6:46). But some did see ‘God’—that is, the second being in the God Family—Jesus Christ, in His glorified state.

“The Bible confirms that it was Jesus Christ who appeared to people and spoke with them in Old Testament times (compare John 8:56–58; 1 Corinthians 10:4, 9).”

It is true, of course, that righteous people in the Old Testament, such as Abraham, Moses, David and the prophets, knew about the Father, but this is not true for the overwhelming majority, nor for the Jews living at the time of Jesus. For instance, Acts 3:13 states that the “God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His servant Jesus.” Abraham, Isaac and Jacob understood that their God was the Father, who would later glorify Jesus Christ, the Son.

Still, Christ, as the Son of God, had to come to reveal the Father, even though the Old Testament clearly revealed His existence. References to “the Father” in the Old Testament can be found in Isaiah 63:16; Malachi 1:6; 2:10; 2 Samuel 7:13–14; 1 Chronicles 22:10; and Deuteronomy 32:6.

In those passages, Christ—the “Word” or Spokesman for the Father—communicated to the people the words of the Father. When the Bible speaks of the “Father,” it normally refers strictly and exclusively to the highest God being in the God Family.

However, the Jews were under the misimpression that they were worshipping “the Father.” They did not understand that the God being functioning as the Messenger or Spokesperson of the Father and the God Family, who had been dealing directly with the ancients, was actually Jesus Christ. (Compare Christ’s words in John 8:54, “It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God.”)

We have explained that Jesus’ words that no one has seen the form of God and that people did not hear the voice of God refer to God the Father, as people did see the form of the Son of God—Jesus Christ (compare again Numbers 12:8), and they did hear His voice. It was Christ who communicated and spoke the words of the Father. This makes sense for Old Testament passages, but what about the fact that people heard a voice from heaven about Jesus Christ when Christ was here on earth? This voice could not have been the voice of Christ.

Nor could it have been the voice of the Father, because we read later that people did NOT hear the voice of God (the Father) at any time. It is also quite ridiculous to assume that God the Father just formed an audible voice for the occasion, which He otherwise does not have.

In his comments, Gill had referred to the possibility of angels ministering to the people.

Already in Old Testament times, we read that an angel spoke on behalf of God, voicing the command of God. We read in Zechariah 6:5-8 (Authorized Version):

“5 And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth. 6 The black horses which are therein go forth into the north country; and the white go forth after them; and the grisled go forth toward the south country. 7 And the bay went forth, and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth: and he said, Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth. So they walked to and fro through the earth. 8 Then cried he upon me, and spake unto me, saying, Behold, these that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country.”Even though an angel speaks to Zechariah, it says that “my spirit” has been quieted—an obvious reference to God’s Holy Spirit. So, the angel is communicating God’s words to the prophet, but it appears as if God spoke directly to Zechariah.

In the New Testament, we read the angelic message, “the true sayings of God” (Revelation 19:9-10), coming from God the Father and Jesus Christ, in Revelation 22:8-16 (Authorized Version):

“8 And I John saw these things, and heard [them]. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. 9 Then saith he unto me, See [thou do it] not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God. 10 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. 11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. 12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward [is] with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. 13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. 14 Blessed [are] they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. 15 For without [are] dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. 16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, [and] the bright and morning star.”

In the passage above, we see that the message of the angel contains the direct words of Jesus Christ, but it is the angel who communicates these words to John. In fact, the message is from God the Father, given to Christ who gave it to the angel to communicate to John (Revelation 1:1). In the same way, an angel communicated the words of the Father to the people when the voice of the angel said: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

Revelation 14:14-16 reads:

“Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, ‘Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.’ So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.”

Revelation 14:17-20 continues:

“Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, ‘Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.’ So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs.”

There are different challenges with the understanding of these passages, and commentaries are deeply divided in several respects.

First, who is the personage in verse 14, sitting on the cloud “like the Son of Man”?

Please note that according to the Interlinear Literal Translation of the Greek New Testament, the literal rendering says: “… on the cloud sat one like a son of man.” The NIV states it this way: “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.” The Philips New Testament Translation simply says: “…with someone sitting upon the cloud with the appearance of a man.”

The term “son of man” is used many times throughout the Bible for ordinary human beings and could also refer to either Christ or an angel, resembling, in form and shape, a human being (note for example Mark 16:5; Luke 24:4; John 20:12).

In rendering it, as the New King James Bible does, as “One like THE Son of Man,” and capitalizing the nouns and pronouns throughout the passage in relationship to the personage sitting on the cloud, the impression is given that this must be a reference to Jesus Christ. But this is an interpretation, even though most commentaries conclude this to be the case. (On the other hand, Revelation 1:13 clearly describes Jesus Christ where John sees “One like the Son of Man.” Still, the literal Greek says here as well “son of man…”, not “THE Son of Man.” Also compare Daniel 7:13.)

However, insofar as Revelation 14:14 is concerned, the designation of “a son of man” as describing Jesus Christ is not without problems, as we will see.

One problem is that IF this were talking about Jesus Christ, an angel would tell Him what to do. This obvious dilemma is attempted to be explained away in this manner:

Meyer’s NT Commentary says:

“In the first picture of the ripeness of the earth for judgment… it is the coming Judge himself who appears on a white cloud, with a sharp sickle in his hand… The description… allows us to think only of Christ himself, but could not mean an angel, who possibly represented Christ… Decisive is the solemn designation… [Also] the appearance on the cloud… and the golden crown indicating a special glory as victor, make the reference to Christ himself still more certain… the objection that Christ himself could not have received a command from an angel, is settled by the fact that the angel is only the bearer of the command coming from God.”

This is not convincing. Angels have golden crowns too (compare Revelation 4:4), and they sometimes are described as having the appearance of human beings (Daniel 8:15-16; 9:21; Ezekiel 40:3). And they too are at times pictured as appearing on clouds (Revelation 10:1). In addition, please note that after the “one like a son of man” is introduced, it continues to say that “ANOTHER angel came out of the temple…” Further, the returning Jesus Christ is being described as wearing many crowns, not just one (Revelation 19:12).

Still, Blunt, the Annotated Bible, gives a similar explanation as Meyer’s, quoted above, adding that the angel talking to the one on the cloud “‘came out of the temple’ and is thus represented as coming from the immediate Presence of God, bringing a message from the Father to the Son…”

The Nelson Study Bible agrees, stating:

“The reference to the Son of Man with a golden crown on His head indicates that the figure is Jesus Christ… Some, however, hesitate to make this identification, largely because another angel give the first figure the command to reap, which seems improper if ‘One like the Son of Man’ is Christ. Yet there is no impropriety in having a representative of God the Father entrust judgment to the Son of Man… the harvest of the earth is surely ripe for salvation… as well as judgment…”

The commentary continues, when speaking of verses 17 and 18:

“Another angel is placed in charge of the harvest of the clusters of grapes that are also ripe…”

The New Bible Commentary: Revised, states the following objections and gives this explanation:

“It is common to regard these verses (Revelation 14:14-16) as depicting the gathering of the church by Christ at His coming and vv. 18-20 as the gathering of the unbelieving world for judgment; it is possible that this is the true reading of the passage, especially in view of the use of the phrase, ‘one like a son of man’ in v. 14 (cf. 1:13). Yet it seems strange that Christ should be commanded by an angel to perform His saving work. His description, too, lacks the splendor of the visions of the Lord in 1:12f, and 19:11f. It seems better, accordingly, to regard the humanlike form as an angel, sharing something of the glory of Christ like the ‘mighty angel’ in 10:1… For the reaping of the earth by angelic instrumentality, cf. Mt. 13:41,42.”

It is indeed difficult to see how Christ would only be in charge of harvesting the faithful, while an angel would be in charge of harvesting the wicked (compare again Revelation 14:17-18). Rather, Christ would be in charge of both. Especially when it comes to the punishment of the wicked, we read, “He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God” (Revelation 19:15). But He is using angels helping Him to carry out His Will.

Secondly, are there really TWO harvests described in Revelation 14, as suggested above? The assumption is stated in many commentaries that Revelation 14:14-16 describes the harvest of the saints, while Revelation 14:17-20 describes the harvest of the wicked ones.

For instance, Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible, says:

“He [the one on the cloud] casts His sickle down to the earth, and the harvest of the saints is gathered (vv. 15f). Then the angel of the fire [Rev. 14:18]…calls for the gathering of the wicked for the winepress of God’s wrath…”

The Wycliffe Bible Commentary agrees, stating:

“The chapter concludes with two scenes that can occur only at the end of the age. The first (vv. 14-16) represents a harvest, a reaping of souls, and apparently a gathering in of the redeemed, to which our Lord refers in Mt 13:30, 39; 24:30, 31. There has been some dispute over these two scenes, but it seems to me that the second one, which is not a harvest but a vintage scene [beginning in verse 17], must depict the gathering of unbelieving and wicked ones of the earth. These are anticipatory paragraphs… ‘The Woman’s seed furnishes the Harvest, while the Dragon’s seed furnishes the Vintage.’ See also Joel 3:13.”

Halley’s Bible Handbook says: “‘Harvest’ seems to be of the Saved. The ‘Vintage’ of the Lost. The ‘winepress’ is of the Wrath of God on the Wicked.”

Unger’s Bible Handbook says:

“The figure of the harvest portrays judgment which separates the righteous from the wicked… The judge is the Son of Man… The judgment proceeds from the temple… The angels are the actual reapers … the Son of Man reaps through the instrumentality of the angels… The Vintage… is God’s wrath outpoured on sinners… The judgment of the wicked is fully ripe… unmitigated divine wrath falls upon sinners… and is executed ‘without the city’ (Jerusalem)… in the valley of Jehoshaphat… “

Other commentaries disagree and question whether two harvests or gatherings are described, while suggesting that only one harvest—that of the wicked—is discussed.

The Benson Commentary writes regarding Revelation 14:14-16:

“Namely, the appointed time of judgment, for which the world is ripe; the voices of the three warning angels, spoken of from Revelation 14:6-11, not having their due effect, it is here predicted that the judgments of God would overtake the followers and adherents of the beast, which judgments are represented in this paragraph under the figures of harvest and vintage, figures not unusual in the prophets, and copied particularly from the Prophet Joel…”

Benson adds the following comments regarding verses 17-20, alleging that the judgment of the wicked (which, according to Benson, is described in verses 14-16), continues in verse 17:

“‘And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven’ — As the former had done; ‘he also having a sharp sickle’ — To assist in this execution, and finish the destruction of the enemies of the truth…”

Lehman Strauss, The Book of the Revelation, agrees with Benson. He points out on pages 272-275, in referring to Revelation 14:14 and the following verses:

“This is a judgment scene. The Judge is about to sweep the earth clean of all evil… The harvest here is not the gathering of the good wheat into His garner as in Luke 3:17, but rather the tares which are the children of the wicked one as in Matthew 13:38-42… [Compare Jeremiah 51:33; Joel 3:11-16]… It is the ‘earth’ that is reaped [verse 16] because this is where men dwell and where they have perpetuated their evil works… the cup of iniquity is full, the harvest is ripe, and the time of God’s judgment has come…”

Thirdly, the question is as to WHEN, exactly, these events are to take place, and if one accepts the concept of TWO harvests, whether there is a time lapse between the two. Commentaries seem to be in agreement that there is no time lapse involved. All of this will occur at the same time, when Christ returns, and He returns only once, not twice. Even proponents of the [false] Rapture concept do not feel that Revelation 14:14 and the following verses give any credence to the idea of a time lapse. Nor do these passages support the false concept that Christ will come first to take the saints to the Third Heaven for the marriage supper, and then return with His saints to establish God’s Kingdom on earth.

Lehman Strauss, The Book of the Revelation, points out on page 259:

“In chapter 14 there is a series of seven separate visions, each complete in itself. They are disconnected pictures, however, and are not intended to present a chronological sequence of events… you have probably observed that from time to time [the Book of Revelation] sets forth in outline a panoramic view of things to come, and then… goes on later to fill in the details. Chronologically, the events in chapters 15 and 16 occur before the reaping and harvest visions in chapter 14. For example, in chapter 14, verse 8, a brief announcement, or vision, shows the judgment of Babylon, but her actual doom is described under the seventh vial of wrath and judgment in chapter 16, verses 17 to 21.”

God’s Church has understood for a long time that certain chapters in the book of Revelation are insert chapters, interrupting the chronological story flow. They might be flashbacks, going back in time to show certain developments in the past, leading to the events in the main story, or they may already introduce or announce events which will happen later and which will then be fully described in subsequent chapters. This is for instance true for chapters 12 and 13, and apparently also for chapter 14. The story flow continues in chapters 15 and 16, while being “interrupted” again in chapters 17 and 18. The 19^th chapter shows us the second coming of Christ and the chronological flow continues in chapters 20, 21 and 22.

Even accepting the somewhat questionable concept that it is Christ [rather than an angel] who is described in Revelation 14:14-16, and also accepting the somewhat disputed scenario that two harvests or gatherings are described in Revelation 14 [the harvest of the good and the vintage of the evil], they still do not signify a time lapse, and they do not show that Christ would come back twice—first, to gather the saints by bringing them to the Third Heaven (a totally false concept), and second, by returning with the saints from the Third Heaven (a totally false concept as well) to punish the wicked.

Note 2 Thessalonians 1:3-10, which reads:

“We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other, so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer; since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed.”

There is not even a hint as to two comings of Christ and a time lapse between the glorification of the saints and the punishment of the wicked. Clearly, all of this will happen at exactly the same time.  Christ will return only once, not twice, at the time of the seventh or last trumpet (there can only be one last trumpet). Then, not before then, the dead in Christ will be resurrected to eternal life, and those in Christ who are still alive will be changed to immortality, while the wicked, following and being a part of the end-time Babylonian system, will be punished in that one day (Zechariah 14:4, 7).

Please read for further information the following Q&As:

“Does 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 teach a ‘secret rapture’?” 

“Would you please explain Mark 13:17?”

“Where will the marriage supper between Christ and His church be held?” 

Lead Writer: Norbert Link