The End Time Harvest
The End-Time Harvest
By: Irnawan Silitonga
Summary: The End-Time Harvest speaks of reaping souls that have reached maturity for His glory. The end-time harvest is connected with the three major feasts of Israel, namely Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. In the end, all souls will be harvested so that the Father may be all in all.
Many Christians assume that the ‘end-time harvest’ refers to a massive harvest of souls at the end of the age, or a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon every soul. Some even boldly claim that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (in Jerusalem) will occur again, leading to teachings about a “third Pentecost.” All such concepts of the ‘end-time harvest’, although perhaps pleasing to the ears, are not what the Bible teaches us at all.
The Bible teaches that the ‘end-time harvest’ is the harvesting of souls that have already matured. The Greek term ‘therizō’, which appears 21 times in the NT, is an agricultural term meaning the gathering of ripe fruits from a field. Likewise, the Greek term ‘synagō’, which appears 59 times in the NT, fundamentally means ‘to gather a yield’. When these two Greek verbs are applied to the church, the meaning becomes the harvesting of souls that have matured—souls that are ready to be gathered for the glory of God and for the purposes He has prepared beforehand.
We will explain the end-time harvest by examining the three major Jewish feasts: Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. All three are connected to the theme of harvest. We will also examine Revelation chapter 14, which relates to the end-time harvest.
In broad terms, the harvest of souls connected with the Passover feast consists of the Jews (in the Mosaic dispensation) who believed in Jesus and received the New Covenant mediated by Him. Of course, God also had mature souls in the Old Testament era—His chosen ones. Next, the harvest of souls tied to Pentecost involves all of God’s chosen people throughout the church age, who will be manifested at the end of the age (Romans 8:19–21). Finally, during the Feast of Tabernacles, all humanity will be harvested through the ministry of the sons of God, as described in Romans 8:19–21. Through this brief writing, we hope to understand the harvesting of souls that have matured for His glory.
We have seen that the end-time harvest is the gathering of souls that have matured. Now we will relate this gathering of mature souls to the three major feasts of Israel: Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. Here we begin with the end-time harvest in relation to the fulfillment of the Jewish Passover.
Jesus, as our Passover Lamb who was sacrificed, is the fulfillment of Israel’s annual Passover celebration. In John 4:35 it is written: “Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I tell you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest” (LITV). The Greek term translated ‘harvest’ is ‘therismos’, meaning both the process and the season of harvesting. Thus, Jesus declared that the time of harvest had come. The Indonesian LAI translation says ripe for harvest.
The souls in Jesus’ generation had matured and were ready to be harvested. The end-time harvest connected with the Jewish Passover occurred in Jesus’ generation. Who were the harvesters? John 4:38 says, “I sent you to reap…” Thus, Jesus’ disciples were the harvesters. But the sowers were not His disciples. Verse 38 says, “…others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.” The ‘others’ Jesus refers to are all the servants of God in the Old Testament—prophets, priests, kings, and all of God’s chosen ones who served Yahweh. Yet Jesus adds that both the sower and the reaper rejoice together and receive their reward.
Therefore, Jesus’ disciples were the reapers during His generation, while the sowers were God’s chosen people throughout the Old Testament era. We see here that when the Jewish Passover was fulfilled by Jesus as the Passover Lamb, the ‘end-time harvest’ took place.
We have briefly discussed the end-time harvest connected with the fulfillment of the Jewish Passover. Now we will examine the end-time harvest related to the fulfillment of the Jewish Feast of Pentecost.
The outpouring of the Holy Spirit recorded in Acts 2, as the fulfillment of the Jewish Pentecost, was not the end-time harvest. Why? Because the souls who experienced the outpouring at that time were not yet mature. In fact, the church was just being born—like a newborn baby. The church needed to grow. God gave apostles, prophets, pastors, evangelists, and teachers so that the church might grow toward “…the full maturity and the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).
We also know that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was only a ‘pledge’ or ‘down payment’. The Greek word translated ‘guarantee’ in Ephesians 1:14 is ‘arrabōn’, meaning a partial payment given in advance as a guarantee that full payment will come later. Thus, the Holy Spirit given at Pentecost was only “in part,” unlike what Jesus received, for John 3:34 says that the Father gave Him the Spirit “without measure.”
Not long after the early church received this partial measure of the Spirit, Paul declared that savage wolves would attack the elders/leaders of the church, and through false teaching they would draw disciples away—initially from following the Spirit, toward following human leaders. The church began to be torn apart by its own leaders. Some disciples followed one leader, others followed another. Today the church has been torn into thousands of denominations, whose members follow their denominational leaders. Remember that a denomination is not the church. A denomination is a fragment of the church caused by the false teachings of Jezebel, Balaam, and the Nicolaitans (Revelation 2–3). But we will not discuss church division here.
In the midst of this fragmentation, God has His overcomers—those who do not partake in the false teachings of Jezebel, Balaam, and the Nicolaitans. In every era of the church, God has His overcomers. He prepares them and matures them so that at the appointed time He will reveal and manifest them at the end of the age. This is the event described in Romans 8:19–21 and in Revelation 14. It is this moment that constitutes the ‘end-time harvest’ in the fulfillment of Pentecost—when His overcomers receive the Spirit without measure, thus fulfilling Jesus’ words that we will do greater works than He did (John 14:12).
Now, when will this end-time harvest connected with Pentecost occur? The Bible speaks of it in various ways. We will examine two passages that clearly address this theme: Romans 8:19–21 and Revelation 14:1–20.
Romans 8:19–21 says: “For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly awaits the revealing of the sons of God… that the creation itself also will be set free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious freedom of the children of God” (LITV). If we examine the epistle carefully, we see that Romans speaks about the righteousness of God—how God’s chosen ones receive His righteousness. This righteousness comes through growing faith (Romans 1:17, ‘from faith to faith’). Romans explains this through three key concepts: justification by faith, sanctification by faith, and glorification by faith. Paul begins explaining glorification by faith in chapter 8. He writes, “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). When the sons of God have matured and are ready for harvest, that is when glorification occurs. This is what Romans 8:19 refers to. The mature sons of God will be revealed at the end of the age. These mature sons are called the firstfruits of creation, as James writes: “He chose to give birth to us… that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures” (James 1:18, LITV). Thus, the end-time harvest in the Pentecost era consists of the firstfruits of His creation—and the firstfruits of the church.
The church has fractured into thousands of denominations and is certainly far from mature. But God has His overcomers in every era—those whom He, by His grace, has matured so that they may be harvested at the end of the age. This firstfruits harvest is what Romans 8:19 describes as the manifestation of the sons of God. Farmers in ancient Palestine knew that a firstfruits harvest implied further harvests to come. Romans 8:20–21 speaks of the liberation of all creation from the bondage of corruption and its entry into the glorious freedom of the children of God—but we will explain this more fully through Revelation 14.
We have seen that the end-time harvest in the fulfillment of Pentecost consists of the firstfruits of His creation—the firstfruits of the church. Now we turn to Revelation 14:1–5. Before discussing it, we must understand the basic nature of the book of Revelation.
Revelation is the unveiling of Jesus Christ given to John through symbolic language. Revelation 1:1 states, “He made it known (sēmainō) to His servant John.” The verb ‘sēmainō’ comes from the root ‘sēma’, meaning ‘a sign’ or ‘a symbol’. Thus, Jesus communicated His revelation to John through symbols. A symbol implies meaning—a truth hidden behind its form.
Let us now examine Revelation 14:1–5 concerning the firstfruits. Verse 4 states, “…they were redeemed from among men as firstfruits…” The Greek word translated ‘firstfruits’ is ‘aparche’. We will identify these firstfruits from Revelation 14:1–5 and compare them with Romans 8:19–21. First, the firstfruits are symbolized as ‘lambs’, just like their leader—the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ (v. 1). In Revelation, the Lamb has a throne, meaning authority to minister. In Romans 8:19–21, the sons of God will liberate creation from the bondage of corruption. Thus, the firstfruits form a kingdom endowed with authority to liberate creation from bondage into the glorious freedom of God’s children.
Second, the firstfruits follow the Lamb wherever He goes (v. 4). Romans 8:19–21 explains that the firstfruits are the sons of God. The sons of God are those led by the Spirit (Romans 8:14). The firstfruits are those freed from religious bondage—its laws, its external forms of worship, and even from the Nicolaitan system, in which religious leaders seek to subdue so that the laity will follow them. The firstfruits do not follow the leaders of any denominational stream, because they have been set free, so they are able to follow the Lamb wherever He goes.
Third, on the foreheads of the firstfruits is written the name of the Lord Jesus and the name of the Father in heaven. A name here is symbolic and carries the meaning of a person’s reputation, character, glory, and works. Therefore, if the name of the Lord is on the forehead of the firstfruits, it means that the firstfruits possess His character and glory, and have experienced and enjoyed the works of God Himself. Romans 8:19–21 affirms that the children of Elohim possess the glory of God; not only do they possess His glory, but they will also lead all creation into His glory.
For now, we will not discuss all the characteristics of the firstfruits. It is enough to understand that the firstfruits are those who receive the grace to become His overcomers in every church age, and at the appointed time they will be harvested. This is the end-time harvest in the era of the fulfillment of the Jewish Feast of Pentecost.
We have seen in Revelation 14:1–5 and Romans 8:19–21 the end-time harvest in the era of the fulfillment of the Jewish Feast of Pentecost, which is the firstfruits of His creation. Now we will see how the Lord Jesus Himself will use the firstfruits as His instrument to harvest the next souls until the whole earth is harvested, and all souls are gathered in the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles.
Let us look at Revelation 14:14–15, as it is written: “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… ‘Put in Your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.’” Here we see One sitting on a white cloud (singular) with a golden crown on His head. Throughout the Bible, when the term “cloud” appears in the singular, it refers to the cloud of God’s glory, or God Himself. But when the term appears in the plural, “clouds,” it refers to the witnesses of God. Because in this verse the term “cloud” is singular, and the One sitting on it is the Son of Man wearing a golden crown, this Son of Man is none other than the Lord Jesus Himself.
And the Lord Jesus holds a sickle to reap. Because the book of Revelation uses symbolic language, we know that the sickle, which is the instrument in the hand of the Lord Jesus for reaping, represents the firstfruits. Thus is fulfilled the word written in Luke 10:2: “He said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.’” These workers are the firstfruits of creation.
Our verse above says that the harvest of the earth is ripe, meaning that what is to be harvested by the workers (who are the firstfruits) is ‘the earth’. Once again we must understand that the language of the book of Revelation is symbolic. The ‘earth’ to be harvested here does not mean the physical planet we live on. Rather, this “earth” refers to the whole fallen Christian world, from which a beast arises—this beast being the false prophet (see Revelation 13:1; 16:3; 19:20). Thus, the firstfruits will be used by the Lord Jesus to harvest this “earth” or the fallen Christian world, which is now ready to be reaped.
Therefore, the end-time harvest in the era of the fulfillment of the Jewish Feast of Pentecost consists of the firstfruits, and also includes the whole fallen Christian world which, through the work and ministry of the firstfruits, becomes ready to be harvested as well.
We have seen the end-time harvest in the era of the fulfillment of the Feast of Pentecost, which is the firstfruits of His creation. Now let us look at the end-time harvest in the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles.
The Feast of Tabernacles is also called the Feast of Unity (Leviticus 23:40, 42), the Feast of Joy (Deuteronomy 16:14), the Feast of Ingathering (Exodus 23:16), the Feast of Rest (Leviticus 23:39), the Feast of Glory, the Feast of Restoration, and the Feast of His Appearing. But we will discuss only the Feast of Ingathering, because it relates directly to our theme: the end-time harvest.
Let us look at Exodus 23:16 in the ILT version: “Also the Feast of Harvest, the first results of your labors which you sow in the field; and the Feast of Ingathering, at the end of the year when you gather in the results of your labors from the field.” The Hebrew term translated ‘first results’ is BIKKURIM, which means ‘firstfruits’. The harvest of the firstfruits refers to the fulfillment of the Feast of Pentecost, which we have already discussed. But the Feast of Ingathering in this verse refers to the Feast of Tabernacles, when all the results of a person’s labor in the field are gathered. This shows us that the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles occurs when all the results of the labor in the field are gathered—in other words, the Feast of Tabernacles is fulfilled when ALL SOULS ARE HARVESTED as the result of the labor of the reapers.
Let us look at Joel’s prophecy quoted by Peter at the fulfillment of the Feast of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out. Acts 2:17: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, says Elohim, that I will pour out from My Spirit upon all flesh…” The Greek phrase translated ‘all flesh’ is PAS SARX, where PAS means ALL and SARX means human nature, or mankind. Thus the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy at that time—quoted by Peter—was not completely fulfilled; it was only partially fulfilled, because not all mankind received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. As we know, the fulfillment of the Feast of Pentecost produced only the harvest of the firstfruits. But God will use His firstfruits to harvest the next souls until all souls are harvested in the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles.
The harvesting of all souls through the ministry of the “firstfruits” is written in Romans 8:19–21 as follows: “For the deep longing of creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of Elohim, for creation was subjected to futility… that creation itself also will be set free from the bondage of decay into the freedom of the glory of the children of Elohim” (ILT). The sons of Elohim who will be revealed at the end of the age are the firstfruits of creation. Then, through the ministry of these sons of Elohim, all creation will also be set free from the bondage of corruption. Thus the Feast of Tabernacles is fulfilled, when ALL SOULS ARE HARVESTED. Hallelujah, Amen.